On Nov. 19, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved the Combating Online Infringements and Counterfeits Act (COICA), which allows the government to use court orders to shut down websites thought to infringe on copyright. Also known as S.3804, COICA was introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy on Sept. 20 as an attempt to prevent the spread of piracy websites.
Under the bill, a blacklist of domain names is formed, and the Attorney General may blacklist domain names with the consent of the judicial district in which the domain name registrar is located. The legislation allows the government to lock domain names and remove websites from view.
“Each year, online piracy and the sale of counterfeit goods cost American businesses billions of dollars and result in hundreds of thousands of lost jobs,” said Leahy. “The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act will protect the investment American companies make in developing brands and creating content and will protect the jobs associated with those investments. Protecting intellectual property is not uniquely a Democratic or Republican priority — it is a bipartisan priority.”
Read the full story at the MIT Tech.
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