Senator threatens to block online IP bill

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Thursday threatened to block legislation aimed at curbing piracy and counterfeiting on foreign Web sites, saying the bill is a heavy-handed solution to the problem.

"It seems to me the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act as written today, is the wrong medicine," Wyden, the chairman of the Finance International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness Subcommittee, said during a hearing on international trade and the digital economy. "Deploying this statute to combat online copyright and infringement seems almost like a bunker buster cluster bomb when really what you need is a precision-guided missile."

Wyden said that unless changes are made to the bill, introduced by Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., to ensure it "no longer makes the global online marketplace more hazardous to consumers and American Internet companies, I'm going to do everything I can to take the necessary steps to stop it from passing the U.S. Senate."

The bill, which was approved Thursday morning by the Senate Judiciary Committee, would authorize the Justice Department to file a civil action against a domain name linked to piracy or counterfeiting and seek a preliminary order to shut down the domain name. It is backed by a wide range of copyright-related industry groups and by several labor organizations.

When asked about the bill at the Finance subcommittee hearing, Computer and Communications Industry Association President Ed Black mentioned his concerns with the bill's domain name language. Black said while his group is concerned about copyright infringement and counterfeiting, he argued there hasn't been adequate hearings or input from the business community on the measure.

Even though the bill passed on a 19-0 vote, at least two senators on Judiciary voiced concern with the bill. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., called on the Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing on the bill.