Rep. Chuck Fleischmann's response to my inquiry on SOPA and PROTECT-IP

From: Lynn Dixon 
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All,
Below is the response I got back from Rep. Chuck Fleischmann or someone
from his office on my inquiry on SOPA.  It looks as if taking a more
balanced approach at the legislation.  You can be the judge.
Note: My first name is Gary, so that is why its addressed as it is.

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Dear Gary:



Thank you for contacting me with your concerns about the Stop Online Piracy
Act.  I appreciate hearing your thoughts about online intellectual
property,and I am honored to be your Representative in Congress.



As you may know, H.R. 3261 the Stop Online Piracy Act was recently
introduced by Rep. Lamar Smith, where it was referred to the House
Committee on the Judiciary. Companion legislation in the Senate, S. 968,
the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of
Intellectual Property Act of 2011 (PROTECT-IP) was introduced by Senator
Patrick Leahy and is pending on the Senate Legislative Calendar under
General Orders.    This legislation would give the federal government
expanded authority to pursue websites which provide pirated or counterfeit
content.



This new legislation would be a substantial change from the current method
of "notice and take down," which is currently used to enforce copyright
infringement issues.  For this reason, concerns have been raised about
excessive government regulation of internet speech, especially for user
uploaded websites such as YouTube and Facebook.  These are legitimate
concerns, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on the House
Committee on the Judiciary to ensure that the needs of copyright protection
are balanced with the First Amendment Rights of Americans.



Although this legislation is still pending in the House Committee on the
Judiciary, you can rest assured that I will keep your concerns in mind
should this legislation arrive on the House floor. Thank you again for your
concern about this important issue, and please do not hesitate to let me
know if I may be of additional assistance in the future.



Sincerely,

Chuck Fleischmann
Member of Congress

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From: Cameron Kilgore 
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Since I have nothing positive to say about a politician doing a better job
of lampshading the issue, here's an ASCII nyan cat.

 =E2=80=8E

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From: Nick Smith 
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I got the same reply.



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From: Chris Mowery 
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I did as well.

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