BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1356|
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CONSENT
Bill No: SB 1356
Author: Lieu (D)
Amended: 4/10/14
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 4/22/14
AYES: Jackson, Anderson, Corbett, Lara, Leno, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Monning
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Counterfeit goods: abatement: nonresidential
premises
SOURCE : Los Angeles City Attorney
DIGEST : This bill extends the operation of existing
provisions in law regarding nonresidential buildings or places
used by a person who is convicted for willfully manufacturing,
intentionally selling, or knowingly possessing for sale any
counterfeit mark, from January 1, 2015 until January 1, 2016.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Defines a nuisance as anything which is injurious to health,
including but not limited to, the illegal sale of controlled
substances, or is indecent or offensive to the senses, or an
obstruction to the free use of property, so as to interfere
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with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property, or
unlawfully obstructs the free passage or use, in the customary
manner, of any navigable lake, river, bay, stream, canal, or
basin, or any public park, square, street, or highway.
2.Makes it a crime for any person to willfully manufacture,
intentionally sell, or knowingly possess for sale any
counterfeit mark registered with the Secretary of State or
patented by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Provides
for certain criminal fines, imprisonment, or both, where the
offense involves 1,000 or more of counterfeited goods, or has
a total retail or fair market value equal to or greater than
that required for grand theft as defined.
3.Makes it a crime for any person to fail to disclose the origin
of a recording or audiovisual work if, for commercial
advantage or financial gain, he/she knowingly advertises or
offers for sale or resale, or sells or resells, or causes the
rental, sale, or resale of, or rents, or manufactures, or
possesses for these purposes, any recording or audiovisual
work, the outside cover, box, jacket, or label of which does
not clearly and conspicuously disclose the actual true name
and address of the manufacturer thereof and the name of the
actual author, artist, performer, producer, programmer, or
group thereof, except as specified. Prescribes the punishment
for any convictions based upon the volume of articles
involved.
4.Provides, until January 1, 2015, that if there is a conviction
by any person for a violation of the specified Penal Code
provisions, then a nonresidential building or place used by
that person for the purpose of willfully manufacturing,
intentionally selling, or knowingly possessing for sale any
counterfeit goods shall be deemed a nuisance which may be
enjoined, abated, and prevented, and for which damages may be
recovered, whether it is a public or private nuisance.
Specifies, among other things, the remedies and procedures
that may be applied by the court, and requires that an owner
be provided with 30 days' notice prior to the filing of an
action to abate a nuisance.
5.Requires a district attorney, county counsel, city attorney,
or city prosecutor that maintains an action(s) to enjoin,
abate, or prevent a counterfeiting nuisance report to the
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Senate and Assembly Judiciary Committees, by October 1, 2013,
on their use of the provisions of existing law and their
effectiveness. The report shall include, but not be limited
to, all of the following:
A. The frequency of use of the nuisance abatement
provisions as well as statistics on whether the use of the
abatement provisions correlates with a decrease in the use
of criminal penalties; and
B. Any statistics or information concerning the impact of
the use of these provisions on counterfeiting overall, both
in the relevant county or city and overall.
This bill extends the sunset on the counterfeiting abatement
provisions of existing law from January 1, 2015 to January 1,
2016, and extends the deadline for the mandated reports to
February 1, 2015.
Background
Under existing law, a nuisance is defined to mean anything which
is injurious to health or is indecent or offensive to the
senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property, so as to
interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property.
Existing law deems certain uses of buildings or places to be a
nuisance and authorizes a district attorney, city attorney, or
any citizen to bring an action to abate and prevent the
nuisance. Such uses include buildings or places used for the
purposes of illegal gambling or prostitution, unlawfully
selling, serving, storing, keeping, manufacturing, or giving
away any controlled substance, and unlawfully selling, serving,
or giving away alcoholic liquor.
In 2009, AB 568 (Lieu, Chapter 453) was enacted to provide that
if a person is convicted for willfully manufacturing,
intentionally selling, or knowingly possessing for sale any
counterfeit mark, as specified, then a nonresidential building
or place used by that person for that purpose shall be deemed a
nuisance which may be enjoined, abated, and prevented, and for
which damages may be recovered, whether it is a public or
private nuisance. The bill also required a 30 days' notice to
be sent to the owner prior to the filing of any such action.
Additionally, the bill required that any district and city
attorneys, county counsels, and city prosecutors who maintain an
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action to enjoin, abate, or prevent a nuisance pursuant to these
provisions provide specified reports to the Senate and Assembly
Judiciary Committees by October 1, 2013. The provisions added
by AB 568 will sunset on January 1, 2015.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/5/14)
Los Angeles City Attorney (source)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
Los Angeles and New York City hold the dubious distinction of
being the nation's leading centers for trafficking in pirated
and counterfeited goods.
Counterfeit goods are a danger to consumers, undermine
legitimate businesses, and deprive tax-payers of revenues
needed for public services.
Counterfeit goods sellers play a major role in the underground
economy and rarely pay taxes or contribute to workers
compensation funds. In a time of critical shortages in public
budgets, these massive losses in tax revenues translate into
reductions in vital services that we can ill afford.
According to the Los Angeles County Economic Development
Corporation (LAEDC), counterfeiting and piracy have cost Los
Angeles County at least 70,000 manufacturing jobs and 36,000
retail jobs, resulting in the loss of $482 million in tax
revenues for the city of Los Angeles and county of Los
Angeles.
In January of 2014, the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC) reported that counterfeit goods are a minimum of
a $250 billion problem worldwide. Some estimates put the
total far higher. For example, the International Chamber of
Commerce estimates counterfeit goods are a $650 billion dollar
problem worldwide, and will be a $1.7 billion dollar problem
in 2015.
AL:k 5/7/14 Senate Floor Analyses
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SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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