Okay, my article in the 'News' section about this was taken down for having, and I quote:
"nothing to do with comic book movies"
So I'm going to post an editorial about it. The editorials section is broad enough to have this topic permitted, or at least it should be. After all, it directly affects this website.
The short story:
The American Government wants to pass a particularly unsettling bill. This bill, called the "Stop Online Piracy Act" (SOPA) is in talks for being passed as you read this article. What will SOPA do? Basically, it will outlaw any and all 'unauthorized content' from being streamed on the internet. The bill is mainly geared towards games and movies being downloaded on the net, but what does this mean for CBM?
None of the following--
* Bootlegs of trailers
* Pictures snapped of trailers/posters/ect
* Any videos, music, images that are posted on sites everywhere that are copyright protected.
So apart from official press releases, CBM.com will become an underground information train if the bill passes. Does that make any sense?
And just to scare you, the Motion Picture Association of America has already shown what they think of this bill. They like it.
The Long Story:
(From Wikipedia)
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), also known as H.R.3261, is a bill that was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on October 26, 2011, by Representative Lamar Smith [R-TX] and a bipartisan group of 12 initial co-sponsors. The bill expands the ability of U.S. law enforcement and copyright holders to fight online trafficking in copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods.[3] Now before the House Judiciary Committee, it builds on the similar PRO-IP Act of 2008 and the corresponding Senate bill, the Protect IP Act.
The bill would allow the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and others to seek court orders against websites accused of enabling or facilitating copyright infringement. Depending on who requests the court orders, the actions could include barring online advertising networks and payment facilitators such as PayPal from doing business with the infringing website; barring search engines from linking to such sites and requiring Internet service providers to block access to such sites. The bill would make unauthorized streaming of copyrighted content a felony. The bill also gives immunity to Internet services that voluntarily take action against websites dedicated to infringement, while making liable for damages any copyright holder who knowingly misrepresents that a website is dedicated to infringement.
Proponents of the bill say it protects the intellectual property market, including the resultant revenue and jobs, and is necessary to bolster enforcement of copyright laws especially against foreign websites. Opponents say it is censorship, that it will "break the internet", cost jobs, and will threaten whistleblowing and other free speech.
So, as you can see, I doubt this needs more explanation. What can you do to help stop this? The following website has everything you need.
http://americancensorship.org/
Thank you for reading this, and please do take this seriously.
Link to the bill in its entirety:
http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/112%20HR%203261.pdf
With Love for ComicBookMovie.com,
Fartman