Anti-piracy bill goes to Senate

ROGUE A GO-GO: The Senate Judiciary Committee has unanimously approved the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, which would empower the DOJ to take action to shut off access to websites offering unauthorized copyrighted or counterfeit content. "Rogue websites are essentially digital stores selling illegal and sometimes dangerous products," said Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT). "If they existed in the physical world, the store would be shuttered immediately and the proprietors would be arrested. We cannot excuse the behavior because it happens online and the owners operate overseas." But not everyone is as happy about the bill’s passage as Jim Urie. "We are disappointed that the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning chose to disregard the concerns of public-interest groups, Internet engineers, Internet companies, human-rights groups and law professors in approving a bill that could do great harm to the public and to the Internet," said Gigi Sohn, who heads consumer advocate org Public Knowledge. "We look forward to working with the Committee next year to craft a more narrowly tailored bill that deals with the question of rogue websites." The bill next moves to the full Senate. A House version has yet to be introduced, and it's unlikely the legislation will be taken up again until next year. (11/19a)