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Titles Actions Overview All Actions Cosponsors Committees Related Bills Subjects Latest Summary All Summaries

Titles (3)

Popular Titles

SOPA (Identified by CRS)

Short Titles

Short Titles - House of Representatives

Short Titles as Introduced

Stop Online Piracy Act

Official Titles

Official Titles - House of Representatives

Official Title as Introduced

To promote prosperity, creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation by combating the theft of U.S. property, and for other purposes.


Actions Overview (1)

Date Actions Overview
10/26/2011 Introduced in House

All Actions (7)

Date All Actions
12/16/2011 Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Action By: Committee on the Judiciary
12/15/2011 Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Action By: Committee on the Judiciary
12/14/2011 Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet Discharged.
Action By: Committee on the Judiciary
11/16/2011 Committee Hearings Held.
Action By: Committee on the Judiciary
11/02/2011 Referred to the Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet.
Action By: Committee on the Judiciary
10/26/2011 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Action By: House of Representatives
10/26/2011 Introduced in House
Action By: House of Representatives

Cosponsors (23)

Cosponsor Date Cosponsored
Rep. Conyers, John, Jr. [D-MI-14]* 10/26/2011
Rep. Goodlatte, Bob [R-VA-6]* 10/26/2011
Rep. Berman, Howard L. [D-CA-28]* 10/26/2011
Rep. Gallegly, Elton [R-CA-24]* 10/26/2011
Rep. Deutch, Theodore E. [D-FL-19]* 10/26/2011
Rep. Chabot, Steve [R-OH-1]* 10/26/2011
Rep. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN-7]* 10/26/2011
Rep. Bono Mack, Mary [R-CA-45]* 10/26/2011
Rep. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA-29]* 10/26/2011
Rep. Watt, Melvin L. [D-NC-12] 11/03/2011
Rep. Bass, Karen [D-CA-33] 11/03/2011
Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-20] 11/03/2011
Rep. King, Peter T. [R-NY-3] 11/03/2011
Rep. Amodei, Mark E. [R-NV-2] 11/03/2011
Rep. Marino, Tom [R-PA-10] 11/03/2011
Rep. Nunnelee, Alan [R-MS-1] 11/03/2011
Rep. Barrow, John [D-GA-12] 11/14/2011
Rep. Owens, William L. [D-NY-23] 11/14/2011
Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-32] 11/30/2011
Rep. Larson, John B. [D-CT-1] 11/30/2011
Rep. Baca, Joe [D-CA-43] 12/07/2011
Rep. Sherman, Brad [D-CA-27] 12/07/2011
Rep. Cooper, Jim [D-TN-5] 12/12/2011

Hide cosponsors who withdrew

Cosponsors Who Withdrew Date Cosponsored Date Withdrawn CR Explanation
Rep. Quayle, Benjamin [R-AZ-3] 12/13/2011 01/17/2012 --
Rep. Terry, Lee [R-NE-2]* 10/26/2011 01/18/2012 --
Rep. Holden, Tim [D-PA-17] 11/30/2011 01/18/2012 --
Rep. Griffin, Tim [R-AR-2]* 10/26/2011 01/23/2012 --
Rep. Ross, Dennis A. [R-FL-12]* 10/26/2011 01/23/2012 --
Rep. Scalise, Steve [R-LA-1] 11/14/2011 01/23/2012 --
Rep. Lujan, Ben Ray [D-NM-3] 11/14/2011 01/23/2012 --
Rep. Carter, John R. [R-TX-31] 11/03/2011 01/24/2012 --

Committees (1)

Committees, subcommittees and links to reports associated with this bill are listed here, as well as the nature and date of committee activity and Congressional report number.

Committee / Subcommittee Date Activity Related Documents
House Judiciary 10/26/2011 Referred to
11/16/2011 Hearings by
12/16/2011 Markup by
House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet 11/02/2011 Referred to
12/14/2011 Discharged from

Related Bills (2)

Bill relationships are identified by the House, the Senate, or CRS, and refer only to same-congress measures. Read more About Related Bills.


Latest Summary (1)

There is one summary for H.R.3261. View summaries

Shown Here:
Introduced in House (10/26/2011)

Stop Online Piracy Act - Authorizes the Attorney General (AG) to seek a court order against a U.S.-directed foreign Internet site committing or facilitating online piracy to require the owner, operator, or domain name registrant, or the site or domain name itself if such persons are unable to be found, to cease and desist further activities constituting specified intellectual property offenses under the federal criminal code including criminal copyright infringement, unauthorized fixation and trafficking of sound recordings or videos of live musical performances, the recording of exhibited motion pictures, or trafficking in counterfeit labels, goods, or services.

Sets forth an additional two-step process that allows an intellectual property right holder harmed by a U.S.-directed site dedicated to infringement, or a site promoted or used for infringement under certain circumstances, to first provide a written notification identifying the site to related payment network providers and Internet advertising services requiring such entities to forward the notification and suspend their services to such an identified site unless the site's owner, operator, or domain name registrant, upon receiving the forwarded notification, provides a counter notification explaining that it is not dedicated to engaging in specified violations. Authorizes the right holder to then commence an action for limited injunctive relief against the owner, operator, or domain name registrant, or against the site or domain name itself if such persons are unable to be found, if: (1) such a counter notification is provided (and, if it is a foreign site, includes consent to U.S. jurisdiction to adjudicate whether the site is dedicated to such violations), or (2) a payment network provider or Internet advertising service fails to suspend its services in the absence of such a counter notification.

Requires online service providers, Internet search engines, payment network providers, and Internet advertising services, upon receiving a copy of a court order relating to an AG action, to carry out certain preventative measures including withholding services from an infringing site or preventing users located in the United States from accessing the infringing site. Requires payment network providers and Internet advertising services, upon receiving a copy of such an order relating to a right holder's action, to carry out similar preventative measures.

Provides immunity from liability for service providers, payment network providers, Internet advertising services, advertisers, Internet search engines, domain name registries, or domain name registrars that take actions required by this Act or otherwise voluntarily block access to or end financial affiliation with such sites.

Permits such entities to stop or refuse services to certain sites that endanger public health by distributing prescription medication that is adulterated, misbranded, or without a valid prescription.

Expands the offense of criminal copyright infringement to include public performances of: (1) copyrighted work by digital transmission, and (2) work intended for commercial dissemination by making it available on a computer network. Expands the criminal offenses of trafficking in inherently dangerous goods or services to include: (1) counterfeit drugs; and (2) goods or services falsely identified as meeting military standards or intended for use in a national security, law enforcement, or critical infrastructure application.

Increases the penalties for: (1) specified trade secret offenses intended to benefit a foreign government, instrumentality, or agent; and (2) various other intellectual property offenses as amended by this Act.

Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review, and if appropriate, amend related Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

Requires the Secretary of State and Secretary of Commerce to appoint at least one intellectual property attache to be assigned to the U.S. embassy or diplomatic mission in a country in each geographic region covered by a Department of State regional bureau.