MPAA: Issa-Wyden bill 'goes easy on Internet piracy'

By Gautham Nagesh - 12/08/11 04:15 PM ET

The Motion Picture Association of America blasted the online piracy bill unveiled Thursday by House Oversight chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), claiming it "goes easy on Internet piracy."

MPAA senior executive vice president for global policy and external affairs Michael O’Leary credited the sponsors of the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade (OPEN) Act with trying to address the problems of online piracy but said their draft legislation falls far short of what is needed.

“The bad news is that this draft legislation fails to provide an effective way to target foreign rogue websites and goes easy on online piracy and counterfeiting," O'Leary said.

"By changing the venue from our federal courts to the U.S. International Trade Commission, it places copyright holders at a disadvantage and allows companies profiting from online piracy to advocate for foreign rogue websites against rightful American copyright holders."

Unlike the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) sponsored by House Judiciary chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), the OPEN Act doesn't force search engines to delete links to foreign sites deemed dedicated to copyright infringement. That and other provisions drew strong opposition from Google and other Web firms.

"Rogue websites and the pirates behind them represent the hijacking of American genius, and must be stopped. But the Stop Online Piracy Act's overly broad language will seriously hinder the growth of new businesses, new investments, and new jobs," said OPEN Act co-sponsor Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.).

"The economic opportunities and innovation created by the Internet and start-ups could be crushed under the weight of SOPA. That's why I hope our draft legislation serves as a good starting point for future discussions on how to best protect U.S. intellectual property rights."

The sponsors of SOPA and its Senate counterpart the PROTECT IP Act have said they are open to some changes to address legitimate concerns from Web companies but also have vowed to push ahead with the legislation. Issa said Wednesday he doesn't think SOPA can pass the House as it is currently drafted.