Lamar Smith, the chief sponsor of the Stop Online Piracy Act,  has announced that he is pulling the bill until there’s a wider agreement on the solution. In a recently released statement, he said:

“We need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products. “The problem of online piracy is too big to ignore. American intellectual property industries provide 19 million high-paying jobs and account for more than 60% of U.S. exports. The theft of America’s intellectual property costs the U.S. economy more than $100 billion annually and results in the loss of thousands of American jobs. Congress cannot stand by and do nothing while American innovators and job creators are under attack.”

“The online theft of American intellectual property is no different than the theft of products from a store. It is illegal and the law should be enforced both in the store and online.

“The Committee will continue work with copyright owners, Internet companies, financial institutions to develop proposals that combat online piracy and protect America’s intellectual property. We welcome input from all organizations and individuals who have an honest difference of opinion about how best to address this widespread problem. The Committee remains committed to finding a solution to the problem of online piracy that protects American intellectual property and innovation.”

The withdrawal of SOPA has come after a host of major websites including Wikipedia and Reddit, blacked out on Wednesday. Many congressmen began dropping their support for SOPA on that day. Senators also dropped support for PIPA. PIPA has now been withdrawn.

So what do you think about this development? Do you support the withdrawal of SOPA? Please leave us a comment

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