PIPA - PROTECT IP Act What is it and what’s the fuss about? - - PIPA, the PROTECT IP Act (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act) is an amendment/re-write of the failed Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) in Under the proposed law, PIPA, would give the government and copyright holders, tools to prevent access to rogue websites that are dedicated to counterfeit goods or infringe the intellectual property act. -The bill was introduced on May 12, 2011 by Senator Patrick Leahy. - On January 18, 2012, several thousand websites opposing the law, including Reddit, Boing Boing, Wired, WordPress, Wikipedia and Mozilla Firefox launched a service blackout in protest of PIPA.

-The legislation would have allowed the U.S. government to seize domains with infringing content and require ISPs to cut off connections with the offending sites. - NetCoalition takes issue with a clause that allows private right of action, or the ability for the average person to sue over violations of the bill. - NetCoalition is also concerned that the bill does not have the appropriate safe harbors.

What safeguards will the Protect IP Act put in place? -One of the big catchphrases in American politics today is, “protect [or create] American jobs.” -Protecting IP from acts of piracy and counterfeiting is something governments around the world should be concerned with. -Such protection should not come at the expense of putting ordinary people under the government’s microscope — especially in United States. -It’s even worse when United States — the land of the free and the home of the brave — considers censoring the World Wide Web. - According to the House Judiciary Committee, HR 3261 is summarized as follows: The bill modernizes our criminal and civil statutes to meet new IP enforcement challenges and protect American jobs.

But how will PROTECT IP work? -The bill proposes a four track solution to identifying, monitoring, and cracking down on foreign websites that peddle pirated intellectual property and counterfeit goods. -The proposed act would blacklist and block these foreign websites from doing business in the United States. -HR 3261 is vague enough that it leaves the door open for the federal government to give corporations deriving profits from their intellectual property creations to go after a person who unwittingly posts an offending link on their social media profile, have that person’s social media profile removed from the host site, and hold the host site responsible for what the user posted. -Passing the Protect IP Act (PIPA) won’t do anything to solve the problem of people stealing intellectual property over the Internet. -PIPA could affect how you, an online entrepreneur, earn a living.

Supporters  Legislators -The PROTECT IP Act has received bipartisan support in the Senate, with introduction sponsorship by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and, as of December 17, 2011, co-sponsorship by 40 Senators.Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT)  Companies and trade organizations -The bill is supported by copyright and trademark owners in business, industry, and labor groups, spanning all sectors of the economy. -The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and AFL-CIO have come together in support of the bill.U.S. Chamber of CommerceAFL-CIO -In May and September 2011, two letters signed by 170 and 359 businesses and organizations, respectively, were sent to Congress which endorsed the Act and encouraged the passage of legislation to protect intellectual property and shut down rogue websites.  Others -Constitutional expert Floyd Abrams, representing the MPAA and related trade groups, wrote a Letter to Congress stating that the proposed PROTECT IP Act is constitutionally sound.Floyd AbramsMPAA -In January 2012 ITIF Senior Research Fellow Richard Bennett said that criticism of the legislation was misinformed and overblown: “the critics either don't understand what the bills do or are misrepresenting what the bills do”.

Opponents  Legislators -Oregon Senator Ron Wyden (D) has publicly voiced opposition to the legislation, and placed a Senate hold on it in May 2011, citing concerns over possible damage to freedom of speech, innovation, and Internet integrity.OregonRon WydenSenate hold -Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown (R) has also publicly voiced his opposition to the legislation as well as its sister bill in the House, SOPA.Scott Brown -Congressional opponents of PROTECT IP have introduced an alternative bill called the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act (OPEN Act).Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act  Companies and organizations -Among those who oppose the legislation are the Mozilla Corporation, Facebook, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Yahoo!, eBay, American Express, reddit, Google, Reporters Without Borders, Human Rights Watch, English Wikipedia, Entertainment Consumers Association and Uncyclopedia.Mozilla CorporationFacebook Electronic Frontier FoundationYahoo!eBayAmerican ExpressredditGoogle Reporters Without BordersHuman Rights WatchEnglish Wikipedia Entertainment Consumers AssociationUncyclopedia -A letter of opposition was signed by 130 technology entrepreneurs and executives and sent to Congress to express their concern that the law in its present form would "hurt economic growth and chill innovation in legitimate services that help people create, communicate, and make money online". -English-language Wikipedia sites joined other Internet sites in protesting the PIPA and SOPA legislation by staging a "blackout" of service for 24 hours on January 18, 2012.

Concern for user-generated sites -Opponents of the legislation warn that the PROTECT IP Act would have a negative impact on online communities. -Journalist Rebecca MacKinnon argued in an op-ed that making companies liable for users' actions could have a chilling effect on user-generated sites like YouTube.Rebecca MacKinnonchilling effect -Policy analysts for New America Foundation say this legislation would enable law enforcement to take down an entire domain due to something posted on a single blog: "Yes, an entire, largely innocent online community could be punished for the actions of a tiny minority."New America Foundation

Business and innovation issues -A legal analysis by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) notes concerns by opponents such as American Express and Google that the inclusion of a private cause of action would result in stifled Internet innovation, protect outdated business models and at the cost of an overwhelming number of suits from content producers.Congressional Research ServiceAmerican ExpressGoogle -The Recording Industry Association of America points to a 2007 study by the Institute for Policy Innovation which found that online piracy caused $12.5 billion in losses to the U.S. economy and more than 70,000 lost jobs. -Companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, and startups like Dropbox, Kickstarter, and Twilio are the leading exporters and job creators of this time. -The impact of the law on small businesses and entrepreneurs may also be disproportionate due to the high costs of complying with its legal, technical and administrative requirements.

Online protests against the bill and announcement of delay -On January 18, 2012, widespread online protests against SOPA and PIPA were held that included an English Wikipedia blackout.widespread online protests -Several senators who sponsored PIPA, including Roy Blunt and John Boozman announced that they would withdraw support for the bill; on January 20 Senate Majority Leader Reid announced that a vote on PIPA would be postponed. -Senator Leahy issued a press release stating that he understood Reid's decision "but the day will come when the Senators who forced this move will look back and realize they made a knee-jerk reaction to a monumental problem.