IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 414 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that foreign governments should work diligently to legalize all computer software used by 

such foreign governments, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 17, 2007 

Mr. GOODLATTE (for himself and Mr. SCHIFF) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

foreign governments should work diligently to legalize 

all computer software used by such foreign governments, 

and for other purposes. 

Whereas the United States copyright industries have created 

millions of high-skill, high-paying United States jobs and 

pay billions of dollars in annual United States tax revenues; 

Whereas copyright piracy results in billions of dollars in lost 

revenue for the United States copyright industries each 

year and even greater losses to the United States economy in terms of reduced job growth and exports; 

Whereas the United States copyright industries face high 

rates of piracy in many foreign countries, portions of 


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•HRES 414 IH 

which are attributable to unauthorized software use by 

government agencies, as well as the use of official government computers and networks to commit all types of 

copyright infringement; 

Whereas governments around the world are among the largest users of computer software; 

Whereas the public announcements and efforts of foreign governments to use only authorized software, and to denounce the use of software in ways that violate applicable 

copyright laws and treaties, can set important examples 

for industries and citizens alike in those countries; 

Whereas the public announcements and efforts of foreign governments to enact policies designed to prohibit copyright 

infringement on their computers and networks can set 

important examples for industries and citizens alike in 

those countries; 

Whereas official usage policies for computers and networks 

can be effective tools to ensure that government computers and networks are not used to facilitate infringement of copyrighted works, including software, movies, 

music, games and other content; 

Whereas the United States House of Representatives, the 

United States Senate, and the Office of Management and 

Budget have all adopted policies intended to prohibit government computers and networks from being used to facilitate copyright infringement; 

Whereas the United States Government, which is one of the 

world’s largest purchasers of computer-related services 

and equipment, stated in Executive Order 13103 (1998) 

that ‘‘[it] shall be the policy of the United States Government that each executive agency shall work diligently to 


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•HRES 414 IH 

prevent and combat computer software piracy in order to 

give effect to copyrights associated with computer software’’; 

Whereas Executive Order 13103 also ordered that ‘‘[e]ach 

agency shall establish procedures to ensure that the agency has present on its computers and uses only computer 

software not in violation of applicable copyright laws’’; 

Whereas the United States Government has previously directed the United States Trade Representative to work 

with other governments to reduce their unauthorized use 

of software and to reduce their overall rates of copyright 

piracy in general; 

Whereas most foreign countries and territories have not yet 

undertaken measures mandating the authorized use of 

software by government agencies, and those that do mandate the use of authorized software by government agencies often fail to implement these commitments; 

Whereas most foreign countries and territories have not instituted usage policies to prohibit the use of government 

computers and networks for facilitating copyright infringement; 

Whereas proper software asset management is critical to ensuring that government agencies receive the full benefits 

of computer software and operate in compliance with relevant copyright laws and international obligations; and 

Whereas the International Organization for Standardization 

recently issued a standard—ISO/IEC 19770–1—for software asset management that can assist organizations in 

implementing software asset management procedures 

that are commensurate with rigorous corporate governVerDate Aug 31 2005 07:20 May 18, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR414.IH HR414

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ance and information security requirements: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that— 

3 (1) foreign governments should work diligently 

4 to legalize all computer software used by government 

5 agencies in order to give full effect to copyrights as6 sociated with computer software, consistent with the 

7 applicable provisions of the World Trade Organiza8 tion Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intel9 lectual Property Rights, the Berne Convention for 

10 the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, and 

11 the World Intellectual Property Organization Copy12 right Treaty; 

13 (2) foreign governments should require all gov14 ernment agencies to adopt and implement appro15 priate procedures to ensure that such agencies have 

16 present on their computers only computer software 

17 that does not violate applicable copyright laws, and 

18 that they do not acquire, reproduce, distribute, or 

19 transmit computer software in violation of applicable 

20 copyright laws; 

21 (3) foreign governments should require that 

22 contractors and other recipients of government funds 

23 or financial assistance have appropriate systems and 

24 controls in place to ensure that government funds 


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1 are not used to acquire, operate, or maintain com2 puter software in violation of applicable copyright 

3 laws; 

4 (4) foreign governments should enact usage 

5 policies designed to ensure that government com6 puters and networks are not used to facilitate copy7 right infringement of any kind, including infringe8 ment of software, movies, music, games, and other 

9 content; and 

10 (5) foreign governments should lead by example 

11 and publicly denounce the use of software in ways 

12 that violate applicable copyright laws and treaties, 

13 and should publicly announce their efforts to only 

14 use authorized software, as well as their efforts to 

15 prohibit copyright piracy of any kind on their com16 puters and networks. 

Æ 


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