January 27, 2012
Dear John:
Thank you for your recent letter to Senator Lee regarding S. 968, the PROTECT IP Act.
When the Judiciary Committee first received this bill, Senator Lee raised a number of concerns about portions of the bill that could threaten Internet security and stifle innovation in the online retail market. At the time, Senator Lee pledged to work with the chief cosponsors of the bill, Judiciary Chairman Senator Patrick Leahy and Ranking Member Senator Chuck Grassley, to fix the offending provisions in the bill.
After several months of trying to find the proper balance between protecting intellectual property rights and not unduly burdening online businesses, the Senator determined that the bill as it stands still goes too far and he will not support it.
That said, Senator Lee still believes that the protection of private property rights is an essential foundation of our nation’s free market economy, and online piracy poses a significant threat to the intellectual property rights of American innovators. He remains committed to addressing this problem and finding the right solution to hold infringing pirate web sites accountable to the rule of law.
For more on what Senator Lee is working on, you can follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/senatormikelee and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SenMikeLee.
Thank you again for writing and please don’t hesitate to contact our office if there is anything we can do to be of assistance in the future.
Best,
Peter Blair
Office of Senator Michael S. Lee
(202) 224-5444
