Congress Postpones Consideration of Piracy and IPR Bills
Senate Majority Leader Reid, who had previously planned to bring the Protect IP Act (S. 968, PIPA) up for consideration in the Senate on January 24, 2012, has decided to postpone the vote on PIPA. In his statement, Reid encourages the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee to continue engaging with all stakeholders to forge a balance between protecting U.S. intellectual property and maintaining openness and innovation on the internet. He expressed optimism that a compromise can be reached in the coming weeks.
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Senator Leahy, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, called the postponement of the PIPA vote a “knee jerk reaction” and noted that the postponement benefits intellectual property rights violators in China, Russia, and other countries that do not respect U.S. IPR.
House Judiciary Committee Postpones Consideration of SOPA Until Solution Reached
The Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which was expected to continue its markup of the House piracy and IPR bill, Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA, H.R. 3261), in February 2012 announced that the Committee would postpone consideration of SOPA until there is wider agreement on a solution.
The Committee states that it will continue work with copyright owners, Internet companies, financial institutions to develop proposals that combat online piracy and protect America’s intellectual property and remains committed to finding a solution to the problem of online piracy that protects American intellectual property and innovation.”
(See ITT’s Online Archives 12011805 for summary of the “black out” actions against PIPA and SOPA by Wikipedia and others.)
Reid statement available here
Leahy statement available here
House Judiciary Committee statement on SOPA available here