Tuesday, January 24th 2012
SOPA Being Sugarcoated as OPEN?
Forgive my use of internet jargon, but after the epic fail that SOPA/PIPA legislations suffered after being faceplanted by everyone from Jimmy Wales to your neighborhood lolcat, Freedom and Democracy Corporation (read: US Congress) is working on a new legislation introduced by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Cali.), which he claims will plug the shortcomings of SOPA and PIPA.
The bill is meticulously named OPEN (riding on the "keep web open" moniker), the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act., (H.R. 3782), was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday (01/18), the same day as an Internet protest when a number of high-profile websites such as Wikipedia went dark. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) has introduced the OPEN Act in the U.S. Senate. OPEN is essentially similar to SOPA, except that the discretionary authority that will address IP infringement complaints will be the International Trade Commission (ITC), instead of US Department of Justice. This would also make the legislation palatable to the international community which has been concerned over US' unilateral actions on the very functioning of the internet.
Says Rep. Darrell Issa, "If the ITC investigation finds that a foreign registered website is 'primarily' and 'willfully' infringing on the IP rights of a U.S. rights holder, the commission would issue a cease and desist order that would compel payment processors (like Visa and Paypal) and online advertising providers to cease doing business with the foreign site in question. This would cut off financial incentives for this illegal activity and deter these unfair imports from reaching the U.S. market."
The likes of Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, have expressed satisfaction with the bill, however the Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA) is not very happy, as it thinks it goes too soft on pirates. The fine-print of the bill can be accessed here (PDF).
Source:
PCWorld
The bill is meticulously named OPEN (riding on the "keep web open" moniker), the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act., (H.R. 3782), was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday (01/18), the same day as an Internet protest when a number of high-profile websites such as Wikipedia went dark. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) has introduced the OPEN Act in the U.S. Senate. OPEN is essentially similar to SOPA, except that the discretionary authority that will address IP infringement complaints will be the International Trade Commission (ITC), instead of US Department of Justice. This would also make the legislation palatable to the international community which has been concerned over US' unilateral actions on the very functioning of the internet.
The likes of Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, have expressed satisfaction with the bill, however the Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA) is not very happy, as it thinks it goes too soft on pirates. The fine-print of the bill can be accessed here (PDF).
20 Comments on SOPA Being Sugarcoated as OPEN?
I am glad that the RIAA is losing influence though. The MPAA is the big threat we hear about constantly now.
Specifically what is preventing them from cracking down on piracy with current laws all these bills seem like a power grab by a scared government.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8Xg_C2YmG0scared indeed. apparently, too many information revolutions are starting to occur worldwide. people are waking up
lol told ya so. All the protesting in the world is not gonna stop SOPA or a bill like SOPA with a different name.
Also for you people bitching about the US snatchin yo people up you better look at YOUR OWN government. They are allowing them to do so.
www.cinemablend.com/television/Watch-Jon-Stewart-SOPA-Rant-Daily-Show-38792.html
People really need to contact their senators and representatives and tell them that we don't need these useless new regulations, in any shape or form.
I'd much rather have a minority of the population being able to freeload media than have any amount of my own liberties taken away. If greedy corporations want to crack down, then they should research new ways to encrypt, scramble, or otherwise make it a hassle to pirate said media, and make good incentives to purchase legitimate versions. Instead they are wasting billions on lobbying.
Here is a novel idea how about you make a product that is worth buying, you are not losing billion of dollars in revenue when NO ONE would buy the product to begin with. I really think the criminal that back SOPA and PIPA had to go the extremes because ISPs were not being compliant with their insane wishes maybe if simply had to pay the retail value of the item you pirated instead of $5000
If it was really a matter of protecting IP, then the first thing needed would be to update the antiquated copyright system which has never provisioned for the advent and proliferation of the internet.
Good luck USA, Europe is not far behind with their soulless politicians.
Goddammit Ron, stop being such an idiot. :shadedshu
You can put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig, it would just look nicer on the outside.
People we are over legislated, and it's getting nuts.
take a look at this :
If the ITC investigation finds that a foreign registered website is ‘primarily’ and ‘willfully’ infringing on the IP rights of a U.S. rights holder.
so if the admin can prove that he\she didn't that there were copyright content in their website then the admin and their website will not ended like megaupload.