Bipartisan Senate legislation to fight online piracy would give the...

and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, introduced the measure Monday. The bill was co-sponsored by Sens. Herb Kohl, D-Wis.; Arlen Specter, D-Pa.; Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.; Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and George Voinovich, R-Ohio. The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act would allow DOJ to crack down faster on websites, authorize the department to file civil lawsuits against domain names and allow it to seek preliminary court orders declaring that they provide infringing material. Justice would have to publish notice of the actions immediately and “meet clear criteria that focus on the sites’ substantial and repeated role in online piracy or counterfeiting,” the Judiciary Committee said Monday. The bill would allow a domain-name owner or site operator to petition the court to lift the order. The bill would allow only the Justice Department to file an action and give federal courts the “final say about whether a particular site would be cut off from supportive services,” the committee said. “Each year, online piracy and the sale of counterfeit goods cost American businesses billions of dollars, and result in hundreds of thousands of lost jobs,” Leahy said. The bill “is critical to our continued fight against online piracy and counterfeiting,” Hatch said. “By coordinating our efforts with industry stakeholders and law enforcement officials, we'll be better able to target those who are profiting from illegal activity.” The MPAA supported the legislation, calling it “a major step forward in efforts to combat … a growing threat to the financial health and welfare of the men and women who work in our industry.” The Copyright Alliance also praised the bill. “Internet sites dedicated to facilitating infringement, while profiting from selling advertising or ’subscriptions’ to unlicensed content, are clearly operating outside the law,” said Executive Director Patrick Ross. Others voiced reservations. The Leahy bill has “some troubling political and technical implications, particularly as it attempts to extend U.S. control over the worldwide Internet addressing system,” said Public Knowledge Deputy Legal Director Sherwin Siy. “Domestically, we are concerned that the bill would establish an Internet black list of sites that the Justice Department thinks are ‘pirate’ sites but against which it hasn’t taken action,” Siy said. “We are also concerned about some of the vague definitions of what constitutes an infringing site and of the level of proof needed."