Dear Friend:
Thank you for contacting me regarding S. 968, the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (the PROTECT IP Act, or PIPA). The parallel, but not identical, legislation in the House of Representatives is H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). I welcome your thoughts and comments.
I did not cosponsor this legislation. By letter, e-mail, and telephone call, thousands of constituents like you have highlighted the potential pitfalls in the bill.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who was a strong supporter of PIPA, has withdrawn the bill from Senate floor consideration. I agree with this decision. Although there are legitimate issues to be addressed regarding so-called internet piracy, I believe that several provisions of the current legislation need to be clarified or revised.
Protecting intellectual property is more challenging than ever before. For example, high speed broadband enables access to the entire catalog of movies, music, books, television, and technology. These protections should not censor free speech, nor should they hinder innovation.
Online promotion of counterfeit goods by foreign entities is also a growing concern. Assessing how to protect copyright, patent, and intellectual property rights — and doing so without infringing on consumers’ legitimate interests — requires dealing with a complex series of problems.
Please be assured that I will keep your views in mind should this bill or related legislation be reported to the floor for action by the full Senate. I appreciate hearing from you, and I hope that you will not hesitate to contact me on any issue that is important to you.
Sincerely,
Kay Bailey Hutchison
United States Senator
284 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5922 (tel)
202-224-0776 (fax)
http://hutchison.senate.gov
If you would like more information about issues pending before the Senate, please visit the Senator's website at http://hutchison.senate.gov. You will find articles, floor statements, press releases, and weekly columns on current events.
Thank you.
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