I’ll Be Back: SOPA to be Resurrected and Markup to Resume in February

Multiple sites have gone ‘Dark’ today in protest of two bills  in Congress that are designed to stop copyright infringement.  Those bills are the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA).

Wikipedia today blacked out the U.S. version of its website in protest and Google has blacked out the logo on its homepage and linked to a page that allows users to sign a petition against the two acts.

We reported earlier this week that Congress shelved SOPA and was putting off action on the bill. In that post we also reported: It’s possible that a related version of SOPA could come back at some point down the road — though probably not this year — but for now, the push against the bill has succeeded beautifully.

It is now clear that it NEVER really went away. Just ask Lamar Smith, SOPA author:

Stop Online Piracy Act Markup to Resume in February

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) today said that he expects the Committee to continue its markup of the Stop Online Piracy Act in February.

Chairman Smith: “To enact legislation that protects consumers, businesses and jobs from foreign thieves who steal America’s intellectual property, we will continue to bring together industry representatives and Members to find ways to combat online piracy.

“Due to the Republican and Democratic retreats taking place over the next two weeks, markup of the Stop Online Piracy Act is expected to resume in February.

“I am committed to continuing to work with my colleagues in the House and Senate to send a bipartisan bill to the White House that saves American jobs and protects intellectual property.”

Sourced From WebProNews

 

We encourage  everyone to step up and speak out against SOPA and PIPA.

Update: Link to Complete List of Sites Participating in the Blackout – http://sopastrike.com/