Stop Online Piracy Act: The Details

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Tex.), Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.), IP Subcommittee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), and former Subcommittee Chairman Howard Berman (D-Calif.), together with a number of other Republican and Democratic House Members, have introduced H. R. 3261, the "Stop Online Piracy Act," to "promote prosperity, creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation by combating the theft of U.S. property."

The bill empowers the U.S. Attorney General to take court action "to protect U.S. customers and prevent U.S. support of foreign infringing sites" and creates a "[m]arket-based system to protect U.S. customers and prevent U.S. funding of sites dedicated to theft of U.S. property." The bill also imposes important obligations on service providers, Internet search engines, payment network providers, Internet advertising services, and other parties.