Piracy of the content created by movie, music, and software companies, and the sale of counterfeit goods that include inauthentic clothing, pharmaceutical drugs, and consumer electronics, negatively impacts the American economy. However, many websites trafficking in copyrighted content or counterfeit goods are registered and operate entirely in foreign countries. S. 968 , the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (PROTECT IP Act), and H.R. 3261 , the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), are legislative responses to the jurisdictional problem of holding foreign websites accountable for piracy and counterfeiting. The bills also authorize new enforcement mechanisms against domestic sites that facilitate infringing activities. These bills would create new obligations for U.S.-based domain name servers, Internet advertisers, search engines, and financial transaction providers to address such harm to intellectual property rights holders. There has been considerable public debate about the changes to existing law that are proposed by these two bills. 3782 ) has been introduced in response to the concerns raised about the PROTECT IP Act and SOPA. In the case of service providers that provide either (1) system caching, (2) storage of information on systems or networks at direction of users, or (3) information location tools, the court may grant injunctive relief with respect to a service provider in one or more of the following forms:
an order restraining the service provider from providing access to infringing material or activity residing at a particular online site on the provider's system or network; an order restraining the service provider from providing access to a subscriber or account holder of the service provider's system or network who is engaging in infringing activity and is identified in the order, by terminating the accounts of the subscriber or account holder that are specified in the order; such other injunctive relief as the court may consider necessary to prevent or restrain infringement of copyrighted material specified in the order of the court at a particular online location, if such relief is the least burdensome to the service provider among the forms of relief comparably effective for that purpose. However, the global nature of the Internet presents problems to the civil forfeiture approach used by ICE. On May 12, 2011, Senator Leahy introduced S. 968 , the PROTECT IP Act. On October 26, 2011, Representative Lamar Smith, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced H.R. On January 20, 2012, Senator Reid announced that, "in light of recent events," he was postponing the cloture vote that had been scheduled for the PROTECT IP Act on January 24, although he expressed his hope that a compromise could be reached between supporters and opponents of the legislation "in the coming weeks." A federal law enforcement officer (with prior court approval) may serve a copy of such court order (to cease and desist from undertaking any further activity as an Internet site dedicated to infringing activities) to the following entities that would be required to take the specified actions:
Operators of non-authoritative domain name servers: Non-authoritative domain name servers are intermediary servers used to resolve a domain name to its Internet protocol address. Protecting U.S. Others claim that the legislation will give owners of copyrighted content "broad censorship powers." Foreign entities would be entitled to these same procedural safeguards as U.S.-based website operators. Furthermore, supporters believe the DNS blocking provisions of the legislation are key to preventing foreign sites from infringing American intellectual property rights: 
Reaching sites originating outside the U.S. is critical to fighting a worldwide epidemic that is destroying the ability of the [content owners] to obtain the financing needed to produce future [content].... Internet sites that steal and distribute American intellectual property are often foreign-owned and operated, or reside at domain names that are not registered through a U.S.-based registry or registrar, setting them outside the scope of U.S. law enforcement. Supporters of SOPA observe that while the DMCA has worked well for copyright holders and service providers to address online infringement, the DMCA's "notice and takedown" procedures are ineffective against foreign rogue sites; furthermore, the DMCA does not apply to trademark infringement and does not address the use of financial intermediaries such as payment processors and Internet advertising services. Summary of the OPEN Act

On December 17, 2011, Senator Wyden, along with Senators Cantwell and Moran, introduced S. 2029 , the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act (OPEN Act), to serve as an alternative to the PROTECT IP Act and SOPA. Additionally, the ITC may issue cease and desist orders against individuals determined to be violators of intellectual property rights.
The global nature of the Internet offers expanded commercial opportunities for intellectual property (IP) rights holders but also increases the potential for copyright and trademark infringement. Piracy of the content created by movie, music, and software companies and sales of counterfeit pharmaceutical drugs and consumer products negatively impact the American economy and can pose risks to the health and safety of U.S. citizens. Although rights holders and law enforcement agencies currently have some legal tools to pursue domestic infringers, they face difficult challenges in enforcing IP laws against actors located abroad. Many websites trafficking in pirated copyrighted content or counterfeit goods are registered and operate in foreign countries. These foreign "rogue sites" sell subject matter that infringes U.S. copyrights and trademarks to U.S. consumers, yet the website operators remain beyond the reach of U.S. courts and authorities.
Some believe that legislation is necessary to address the jurisdictional problem of holding foreign websites accountable for piracy and counterfeiting. On May 12, 2011, Senator Leahy introduced S. 968, the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (PROTECT IP Act), that would allow the Attorney General to seek an injunction from a federal court against a domain name used by a foreign website that engages in, enables, or facilitates infringement; such court order may then be served on U.S.-based domain name servers, Internet advertisers, search engines, and financial transaction providers, which would be required to take actions such as preventing access to the website or suspending business services to the site. IP rights holders may also sue to obtain a cease and desist order against the operator of an Internet site dedicated to infringement (whether domestic or foreign) or the domain name itself.
On October 26, 2011, Representative Lamar Smith introduced H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). SOPA is similar to the PROTECT IP Act yet is broader in scope by including several provisions not found in S. 968, such as those that increase the criminal penalties for online streaming of copyrighted content, create criminal penalties for trafficking in counterfeit drugs, and require the appointment of dedicated IP personnel in U.S. embassies.
There has been considerable public debate about the PROTECT IP Act and SOPA. Critics claim these measures amount to "Internet censorship" and that they would impair free speech. There are also concerns that the legislation will disrupt the technical integrity of the Internet. Supporters of the bills argue that in order to reduce digital piracy and online counterfeiting, new enforcement mechanisms are vital for U.S. economic growth and needed to protect public health and safety. After intense lobbying against the legislation, Senator Reid on January 20, 2012, postponed a cloture vote that had been scheduled for the PROTECT IP Act, and Representative Smith announced that the House Judiciary Committee would similarly postpone consideration of SOPA, until a compromise could be reached between supporters and opponents of the legislation.
An alternative to these bills is the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act (OPEN Act; S. 2029, H.R. 3782) that would authorize the International Trade Commission (ITC) to investigate foreign websites that allegedly engage in willful IP infringement. The ITC may issue a cease and desist order against the infringing foreign website; such an order may be used by the rights holder to oblige financial transaction providers or Internet advertising services to stop doing business with the website. Unlike the PROTECT IP Act and SOPA, the OPEN Act does not apply to domestic websites and also would not require search engines or domain name servers to block access or disable links to foreign websites.