40 Cosponsors and Counting… Rogue Sites Legislation Is One Step Closer to a Reality
Have you noticed? Despite all of the hyperbole coming from the anti-IP crowd, the PROTECT IP Act in the Senate has reached a huge milestone: 40 cosponsors. In fact, four were added in just the past week. These cosponsors, like the companies and associations that support shutting down the worst-of-the-worst online IP infringers, hail from every corner of America and represent every political demographic.
Just to put into perspective how big of a deal reaching 40 cosponsors on a piece of legislation in the Senate is, let’s play a game of comparison. The recently passed America Invents Act (patent reform) had just 15 cosponsors. It is readily apparent that PROTECT IP is pretty special. One of the beautiful things about rogue sites legislation is that it is NOT a partisan issue. Au contraire, members from both aisles and both chambers are lining up behind the idea that theft of American intellectual property cannot be tolerated.
Congress has recognized that our U.S. enforcement agencies are working with their hands tied. At present, we do not have the proper tools to actually enforce existing IP laws, allowing online counterfeiters and pirates a free pass to steal American intellectual property to their heart’s content. They’re not only stealing our property, but they’re stealing our jobs, innovation, and endangering our consumers. Measures like the PROTECT IP Act and the House’s Stop Online Piracy Act plug this loophole and upgrade IP enforcement for a 21st Century economy.
