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Smith and Reid give in, setting aside SOPA and PROTECT IP

By: Neil Stevens (Diary)  |  January 20th, 2012 at 10:30 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

According to Darrell Issa, SOPA is officially postponed by House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith. Issa broke the news on Twitter, which only underscores how important it is that we protect the Internet from capricious censorship, as was the risk under a SOPA-like regime.

On the Senate side, Harry Reid has canceled the vote on PROTECT IP, killing momentum for the proposal in both houses of Congress.

Smith’s and Reid’s decisions come on the heels of disgraced former Senator and current MPAA head Chris Dodd calling for cross-industry discussions on property protection. It may have been the death blow for PROTECT IP and SOPA’s biggest industry supporter to start talking compromise, when in the past the Dodd MPAA had taken a hard line against any deviation from the bills.

In other SOPA news, Marsha Blackburn also announced a change of heart on SOPA. I agree with Blackburn’s new position: scrap SOPA and start with something new. Issa’s and Ron Wyden’s OPEN Act is also worthy of consideration.

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  • izoneguy

    Let the internet and the marketplace decide.

    Hollywood is in decline because of the crappy movies they make,
    not the fact that some guy uploaded a torrent file…..

    Hollywood is afraid of losing it’s death grip on distribution.

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    It’s not a “marketplace” decision that foreign firms free ride on American copyright without obeying American copyright.

  • http://www.planettron.com NickDeringer

    Inside every liberal is a totalitarian screaming to get out.

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    Foreign firms make goods that imitate American brand names and designs, without matching the quality, then make money off of those American brand names unfairly.

  • izoneguy

    Feds Kill Megaupload

    Mixtape mecca and openair piracy expo Megaupload has a serious problem: it’s just been shut down by the feds. The feds. And they didn’t even need SOPA!

    Let’s also think about the timing of this bust. It’s a pretty spectacular coincidence that the Department of Justice Task Force on Intellectual Property was able to destroy a copyright villain without any help from SOPA or PIPA the day after the internet’s giant SOPA protest. Do you hear that, lawmakers? The law, as it stands right now was able to kill Megaupload.com, no draconian censorship powers required. The power you have now?with due process?is achieving the things you say you want to do. Your IP is protected. Online piracy was stopped, except for the dozens of Megaupload rivals like HulkShare and MediaFire. And I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re next.

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    Megaupload is a US firm per your own link.

    SOPA targets foreign firms.

  • Melody Warbington (rwm52)

    had withdrawn her support for SOPA, but haven’t found a story confirming. Have you heard anything?

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    Read the post?

  • Melody Warbington (rwm52)

    Doing one or the other works better. Not both.

    Thanks for your efforts on this.

  • izoneguy

    Something as innocent as linking a photo or Youtube video could shut Redstate.com down –

    Companies at Risk Should SOPA Pass

    The purpose of the legislation is to target foreign companies ?whose primary purpose is to sell stolen or counterfeit goods,? however, opponents of the legislation say ?domestic companies could still be held liable for linking to their content.? Although there are companies who purposely avoid investing in certain industries due to the copyright risks, under SOPA and PIPA, the risk ?would hit just about any Internet company.? Brad Burnham, managing partner at Union Square Ventures said that SOPA and PIPA, ?take the risk of frivolous litigation? to the entire Internet.?

  • izoneguy

    The Department of Justice has issued a gleeful statement regarding the takedown, coordinated with police around the world, calling it “among the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought by the United States,” and listed the individual charged with “racketeering conspiracy, conspiring to commit copyright infringement, conspiring to commit money laundering and two substantive counts of criminal copyright infringement.”

    And you want to give the Feds MORE power???
    SOPA will only target foreign firms?? Yeah Right….
    SOPA will kill innovation and investment in AMERICA….

    A study conducted by McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) found that the ?Internet accounted for 21 percent of GDP growth over the last five years among the developed countries MGI studied.? The US led the group ?capturing more than 30 percent of global Internet revenues and more than 40 percent of net income.? Should SOPA pass, all companies who have any presence online may be in jeopardy because copyright holders are allowed to enforce the law empowering them ?to push around anyone who may compete with them under the guise of upholding the law. Giant media companies? could easily take advantage of this situation.? How will affect business? And, imagine the number of lawsuits and potential costs that could be passed on to the American public.

  • izoneguy

    SOPA Is Dead: Smith Pulls Bill

    Lamar Smith, the chief sponsor of SOPA, said on Friday that he is pulling the bill ?until there is wider agreement on a solution.?

    ?I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy,? Smith (R-Texas) said. ?It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products.?

    Defeat Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX)

  • http://impudent.edublogs.org/ kyle8

    nt

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    SOPA is bad. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a legitimate issue that needs solved with a new bill.

  • Bill S

    Did you read the first sentence?

    “According to Darrell Issa, SOPA is officially postponed by House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith.“