SOPA Postponed "Indefinitely"

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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SOPA Postponed "Indefinitely"


SOPA lead sponsor Representative Lamar Smith says markup in the bill will be postponed "indefinitely" until wider consensus on how to combat piracy can be reached.

It wasn't exactly a "Day of Rage," although there was no shortage of pissed-off stupid at @herpderpedia [https://twitter.com/#!/herpderpediaa], but the "No Wiki Wednesday" [or whatever you'd like to call it] was nevertheless noticed by the Powers That Be. Republican Representative Lamar Smith, the House Judiciary Chairman and lead sponsor of the Stop Online Piracy Act, announced today that he's putting the brakes on the bill.

"I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy. 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," Smith said in a statement, once again hitting his odious "foreign thieves" note.

He said Congress will continue to work with "copyright owners and internet companies" to come up with ways to combat online piracy and also invited input from anyone "who has an honest difference of opinion about how best to address this widespread problem."

"The problem of online piracy is too big to ignore," he continued. "American intellectual property industries provide 19 million high-paying jobs and account for more than 60 percent of U.S. exports. The theft of America's intellectual property costs the U.S. economy more than $100 billion annually and results in the loss of thousands of American jobs. Congress cannot stand by and do nothing while American innovators and job creators are under attack."

Several politicians had already withdrawn their support [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/115322-Acknowledging-Blackout-Politicians-Ditch-SOPA] for SOPA and its Senate sister PIPA prior to Smith's statement, including SOPA co-sponsors Ben Quayle and Lee Terry, and PIPA co-sponsors Mark Rubio and Roy Blunt. And although it's not quite as sweet and satisfying as an outright acknowledgment that the whole idea was a bad one from the get-go, this is definitely a step in the right direction.

Source: Silicon Republic [http://www.siliconrepublic.com/new-media/item/25434-lamar-smith-decides-to/]


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FalloutJack

Bah weep grah nah neep ninny bom
Nov 20, 2008
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Okay, so they're starting to realize how ham-fisted they're being? Good. Let's all dance in the streets a bit.
 

mad825

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Mar 28, 2010
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Well, in my opinion there are only two mains ways to combat piracy:

introduce an authoritarian law

or

introduce a pointless law that creates needless red tape and does noting at all to combat it.
 

Something Amyss

Aswyng and Amyss
Dec 3, 2008
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Wasn't it just postponed indefinitely a couple days ago, then brought back?

Call me skeptical, but...
 

Regiment

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Nov 9, 2009
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mad825 said:
Well, in my opinion there are only two mains ways to combat piracy:

introduce an authoritarian law

or

introduce a pointless law that creates needless red tape and does noting at all to combat it.
That's pretty much what I've been thinking. There are two ways to fix these problems:

1) Enact slow, primarily societal changes that change the public perception of piracy while exploring alternative methods of content distribution that are acceptable to producers and consumers alike

2) Cull the Internet. Burn it to the ground and start from scratch.

Obviously, #2 is less than desirable.

On topic: Yay, go Internet!
 

Callate

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Dec 5, 2008
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"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," Smith said in a statement
Wow. Classy. "We're only trying to do the best thing for you ungrateful kids, but if you're just not going to appreciate our hard work..."

Here's an idea, Smith. How about we revisit the problem of piracy some time when you're no longer in office? Soon, hopefully.
 

Mrmac23

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Aug 12, 2011
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So the tides are turning? They're beginning to realise that it's a bad idea?

Good news, men. The enemy is retreating. Now chase them into the ground.
 

Kevlar Eater

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Sep 27, 2009
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I don't believe it for a second. This is just another tactic to divert attention from the bills as they ninja their way into law.
 

Daverson

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Nov 17, 2009
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I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy. 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...
Erm... I'm not entirely sure if Mr. Smith understands exactly how piracy works, unless there's some kind of covert mass-network of patent theft on the web, which steals industry secrets and uses them to build evil duplicates of good god-fearing American technology that I've somehow managed to avoid exposure to?

The reason the Chinese are able to build exact duplicates of patented technology isn't because they've stolen the designs using their much-rumoured secret hacker network. It's because companies handed them the designs on a silver platter when they moved their manufacturing over to China, that's how their IP laws work over there.
 

Zhukov

The Laughing Arsehole
Dec 29, 2009
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I really hope I'm not the only one who starts seeing a little red when the phrase "foreign thieves" gets thrown about.

[sub][sub]Yes yes, I know, "you're never the only one". Shut the fuck up, it's a figure of speech.[/sub][/sub]

After all, it's not like any American has ever engaged in a spot of piracy, and of course that fucking clown knows it. He's just trying to leverage a bit of good ol' xenophobia, the miserable, rotten little... grrr...
 
Apr 28, 2008
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Zhukov said:
I really hope I'm not the only one who starts seeing a little red when the phrase "foreign thieves" gets thrown about.

[sub][sub]Yes yes, I know, "you're never the only one". Shut the fuck up, it's a figure of speech.[/sub][/sub]

After all, it's not like any American has ever engaged in a spot of piracy, and of course that fucking clown knows it. He's just trying to leverage a bit of good ol' xenophobia, the miserable, rotten little... grrr...
Especially since I'm willing to bet most of these "foreign theives" are "stealing" because the products aren't even legally available in their country to begin with.

No, I don't have stats to back this up. But then again, Mr. Smith up there doesn't have any stats to back up his claims either. And if his claim is enough to get these bills introduced, my claim should be just as valid.

But then again, I'm not backed by millions upon millions of lobbying dollars from the big companies that are supposed to be hurting very hard from piracy.
 
Dec 14, 2009
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"I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy. 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"

Stay classy, because nobody in America pirates anything, am I right?
 

CM156_v1legacy

Revelation 9:6
Mar 23, 2011
3,997
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Frostbite3789 said:
Otaku World Order said:
By "postponed indefinitely", I hope they mean "buried in a shallow unmarked grave".
If it's unmarked, how can I pee on it?
If you don't mind, I think I'll join you for that.

OT: My reaction:


Ah, Scalia. You always know what I'm thinking.

Anyhow, I'm glad to hear this.
 

Atmos Duality

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Mar 3, 2010
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Regiment said:
That's pretty much what I've been thinking. There are two ways to fix these problems:

1) Enact slow, primarily societal changes that change the public perception of piracy while exploring alternative methods of content distribution that are acceptable to producers and consumers alike
This would be the 2nd most ideal solution in theory (the ideal would be people would stop pirating, and keep the exchange simple, while allowing for a full refund. Economics would take over afterward), except I know how that would actually go:

Publishers change games over completely from Products to Services. Online connection becomes mandatory (this is the hardest DRM scheme there is; it's also the most effective if done ala Cloud-Gaming, where the gamer/client keeps little to none of the game's actual files on his/her computer).

Publishers will do what most service-centric companies do; tighten the thumb-screws and rate-hike. (This is the direction gaming is leaning towards in the next two decades, methinks. It's dependent on a few other things happening first, but I can see it)

So instead of "Coaxing people to stop pirating" we get publishers "Slow boiling the proverbial frog until it pops".

The trick is trying to find that distribution system that lets gamers play without requiring them to jump through legal hoops or constantly connect to the internet. Steam is a good base model, but still hardly ideal; I have issues with Steam from time to time.

2) Cull the Internet. Burn it to the ground and start from scratch.
*chuckles*
You're welcome to try. I've no doubt a talented and coordinated group could do serious temporary damage to the net, but by its very nature, the Internet is like a hydra; hack off a piece, and another grows to replace it.

EDIT:
Daystar Clarion said:
"I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy. 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"

Stay classy, because nobody in America pirates anything, am I right?
*Puts on Sympathy for the Devil*
Time to play a little Devil's Advocate. *ahem*

Behind the xenophobic attitude of the bill is this "logic" (*cough*):
"The American pirates are assumed to already be in Federal Jurisdiction. Foreign nations, obviously are not. SOPA effectively aims to create a legal workaround for that, since it's very difficult to actually apprehend and prosecute them."

But I still agree that the bill sounds incredibly Xenophobic (borderline racist, even though no country is specifically mentioned) in its wording.
 

RatRace123

Elite Member
Dec 1, 2009
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So this time, can it be gone for more than a day?

And also, stop with the foreign thieves thing. It's just a tactic to make it sound "scary and unknown and wooooooooh FOREIGN THIEVES woooooh".

Still, nice to see that all of our online bitching has finally pierced some of those thick skulls over in Washington.