O’Reilly, better known as that company that sells nerdy books with animals on the cover, has an open letter to one of the sponsors of the PROTECT IP Act:
The idea of a “private right of action that would allow rights holders to enforce directly violations of their intellectual property rights” is abhorrent to U.S. law. What is basic to U.S. law is not IP rights but the oversight of the courts. If someone were to attempt to murder me, a much more serious (if less economic) crime than copyright violation, I would not have the right to pursue remedies outside of the court system. That’s revenge, and while we may glorify revenge in our pop culture, it’s important that it’s illegal.
But that’s precisely what SOPA and PROTECT IP are proposing: remedies to copyright violation that never come under the scrutiny of the legal system. I don’t understand at all why Blumenthal says that he tried to balance “protecting freedoms” against “protecting legitimate commercial, economic and safety considerations.” “Counterfeiters and thieves” may not be allowed to disobey copyright laws, but they certainly do get their day in court.
There are a lot of people who’re a lot smarter than me writing really intelligent things about how stupid SOPA and PROTECT IP are. This is one of them. Please go read the rest.