3 Count: SOPA Backlash

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1: Strange Bedfellows: Nancy Pelosi, Ron Paul Join SOPA Opposition

First off today, as controversy about the Stop Online Piracy Act, which would allow U.S. Courts to order ISPs to block access to foreign “rogue” websites and also cut off payment processor and ad revenue to them, two Congressmen including Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul and House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, have come out in opposition to the bill. Another Representative, Darrel Issa, has said that the bill stands almost no chance on the House floor due to it being “too extreme”. The bill just finished a round of hearings and may be heading to for a vote soon.

2: European Parliament ‘Opposes’ SOPA Copyright Law in New Resolution

Next up today, the EU Parliament, the lower house of the 27-member organization, has passed a resolution that opposes SOPA and domain seizures by the U.S. government for dealing with infringing sites. The U.S. government has seized domains in the past, including .com, .net and .org domains that are under U.S. jurisdiction, but SOPA would make that process easier and add other enforcement measures. The Parliament’s resolutions goes on to highlight the importance of safety and security online but say that it should “not be met at the cost of sacrificing core principles relating to civil liberties”.

3: Netflix Facing Copyright Hurdles

Finally today, Netflix is preparing to make its entrance into the UK and Irish markets for its streaming service but seems to be receiving some push back from movie studios over the issue. Studios, eager to abandon regular licensing in favor of “per transaction” licensing that would have Netflix paying per viewing of a film, are resisting signing deals with Netflix to allow them to stream to the region. Another issue is that there are already subscription-based services operating in the region and many studios are reluctant to license to another. Netflix is hoping to open its doors to the UK and Ireland in early 2012.

Suggestions

That’s it for the three count today. We will be back tomorrow with three more copyright links. If you have a link that you want to suggest a link for the column or have any proposals to make it better. Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. I hope to hear from you.

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