Lamar Smith Writes Manager’s Amendment To Online Piracy Bill, Sets Dec. 15 Markup

Circulating a manager’s amendment to the Stop Online Piracy Act (H.R. 3261) three days before the Dec. 15 House Judiciary Committee markup, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) has sought to bring the bill more in line with its Senate counterpart, the Protect IP Act (S. 968), by providing clarity to some broad definitions that have been heavily criticized.

Under the new language of the bill, rights holders would not be able to unilaterally have a suspected infringing website’s financial services cut off without first obtaining a court order. The amendment also narrows the definition of what type of website would be ...