Markup of anti-piracy bill postponed

The House Judiciary Committee has canceled its scheduled Wednesday morning markup of the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).

A Judiciary aide said that because the House will not be in session Wednesday, the committee will take up the measure when Congress returns.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said the House would be in session “as necessary” over the holiday season for work on the payroll-tax bill.

SOPA would empower the Justice Department and copyright holders to demand that search engines, Internet providers and ad networks block access to sites “dedicated” to copyright infringement.

The legislation is aimed at shutting down foreign sites such as The Pirate Bay that offer illegal copies of movies, music and television shows with impunity.

 A broad coalition, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Hollywood, the recording industry and organized labor strongly back the bill.

But consumer groups and major Web companies, including Google, Yahoo and Facebook, warn that SOPA could stifle innovation and infringe upon free speech.

Opponents of the bill offered dozens of amendments to it last week, forcing the markup to drag on for two days.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), SOPA’s sponsor, and his allies on the committee voted down the amendments, accusing the bill’s opponents of using stalling tactics and misrepresenting the legislation.  

The committee is expected to approve the bill when it finally comes up for a vote.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has moved to bring the Senate’s version of the bill, the Protect IP Act, to a vote in January.

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