Provisions to let the Justice Department seize computers used for...

markup Thursday. The bill still lets the agency sue file-sharers, though. A manager’s amendment directs a court that’s hearing an infringement case to “enter an appropriate protective order” to impound records to ensure that sensitive information isn’t disclosed. Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said the committee “very recently” heard concerns about the “privacy interests of innocent third parties” when the government seizes servers. The amendment requires formation of an “advisory committee” for the intellectual property enforcement coordinator created in the original bill. Its Senate-confirmed members would include representatives of the Office of Management and Budget, DoJ, the Patent and Trademark Office, the Office of U.S. Trade Representative, the Copyright Office, the departments of State and Homeland Security, the Food and Drug Administration and some component agencies. The words “piracy” and its variants were replaced with “infringement.” The amendment would ensure that at least two assistant U.S. attorneys are assigned to each office with a computer hacking and intellectual property crime unit. An approved amendment by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, would repeal the section of the law creating the National Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordination Council but let the new coordinator called for by the bill use the phased-out council’s services and personnel to ensure an “orderly transition.”