I put reply in quotes because Kohl is either an extremely dedicated senator, or is an extremely fast typer. I will leave it up to the Nation to decide if either of those are true.
I will note however that in typical politician style he did not address any of the points I made, he simply restated his position on the issue in a very long, drawn out process. Admitted, I didn't know quite everything he mentioned, and I don't think he's lying. But he hasn't really changed my opinion on the matter or made me not question his ability as a senator.
Anyways...here's the full email. Not edited or enhanced. It's freshly squeezed, straight from his..erm.."desk".
____________________________****************_____________________________________
Dear Mr. Beben:
Thank you for contacting me about legislation in Congress to address online piracy and consumer fraud. I value the correspondence I receive from fellow Wisconsinites, and welcome this opportunity to address your concerns.
Federal copyright law originates from the Copyright and Patent Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which authorizes Congress to "promote the Progress of Science and Useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." Our modern copyright law protects original works by allocating certain rights to their creators for a specific amount of time. As our use of the Internet has continued to grow, the number of websites we use has grown exponentially. In recent years concerns have been raised about websites pirating original content or deceiving users with counterfeit products, and whether our copyright laws can still adequately protect creators right to their works and the safety and security of American consumers who wish to purchase them online.
American businesses lose billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs to online piracy and sales of counterfeit goods over the Internet. While U.S. law can reach domestic websites that sell illegal counterfeit products, law enforcement cannot pursue websites owned and operated by foreign entities with domain names registered outside the U.S. To address this problem, on May 12, 2011, Senator Leahy (D-VT) introduced the "Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011," S. 968. I am a co-sponsor of this bill, which is known as the PROTECT IP Act. Our bill made changes to a similar bill introduced in the 111th Congress that more narrowly target it to only the most seriously infringing foreign websites.
Under S. 968, the Attorney General would be authorized to file a civil action in court only against foreign based websites that are "dedicated to infringing activities" and have no significant use other than engaging in illegal activity such as streaming pirated movies and selling counterfeit consumer products and pharmaceuticals. The Attorney General is required to notify the registrant of the Internet domain name, providing due process and an opportunity for him or her to respond to the allegations. Only if a judge finds that a website is dedicated to infringing activities and harms U.S. consumers and intellectual property owners, the Attorney General would have the authority to serve the court order on third parties. Those third parties, such as Internet service providers, payment processors, online advertising networks, and search engines, would be required to take reasonable measures, if feasible, to stop doing business with and prevent access to that website. The bill includes safeguards, including the ability of website operators to challenge the Attorney General's allegations and petition the court to reconsider its order after removing the infringing content. On May 26, 2011, the Judiciary Committee approved S. 968 by a voice vote.
As you may have heard, on January 13, 2012, Senator Leahy announced that he plans to make major modifications to the bill in order to address concerns about the provision that permits the court to order third party Internet Service Providers to use the Domain Name System to block consumers from accessing foreign websites dedicated to illegal online infringement. We will be studying them to see how they square with the concerns we're hearing, and I look forward to working to improve the bill. Similar changes will also be examined in the House version of the PROTECT IP Act, H.R. 3261, the "Stop Online Piracy Act." Known as "SOPA", this bill is being considered by the House Judiciary Committee.
In an effort to promote a compromise on the legislation, on January 20, 2012, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid [D-NV] announced that he would postpone a vote on cloture on the motion to proceed to the bill, originally scheduled for January 24.
As we work to find common ground and improve the PROTECT IP Act, please be assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind. Again, thank you for contacting me.
Sincerely,
Herb Kohl
United States Senator
____________________________****************_____________________________________
I am very assured that Herb Kohl will be thinking of me.
No problem for contacting you! My pleasure!
So SOPA/PIPA has been delayed, however, that doesn't mean efforts to halt them need to be delayed. Contact your senator/representative today!
Contact Kohl
http://kohl.senate.gov/contact.cfm
A good website showing state by state. Click on state for more comprehensive list by state.
http://projects.propublica.org/sopa/states
TGIF!
-Mi
