Look! Pro SOPA...
The Internet Navy's (T.I.N.) goal is to blog, promote, and create awareness about the benefits of SOPA and how it can effect our community as well as our nation.
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It had been weeks and we had yet to receive anyone’s input and standing ground on SOPA. My partner and I panicked, but only briefly. After emailing about five to six different groups and individuals, we hit the jack pot. We were able to reach Jake Soberal, an intellectual property attorney residing within our local area. I had just emailed him yesterday and gotten a hold on him this morning via phone call. Automatically, his welcoming tone reverberated when he answered my call. The interview was brief, but quite enlightening. I didn’t walk away with an encyclopedia full of information on SOPA, but I walked away accomplished and more knowledgeable.
Upon asking Jake if he was for or against SOPA, he answered that taking a stance on SOPA wasn’t really possible at this time, because the bill is still not complete. Because of its broadness, the bill is currently being revised at this moment. Jake feels that the content owners that created this bill have every right to want to enhance their intellectual property protection; however SOPA doesn’t address the core problem. The problem here is the inability to commercialize newspapers, music, movies, etc. via the Internet.
I asked Jake if the passing of SOPA will affect our economy, and he simply stated, “No.” So there will be no positive nor negative effects? It will however, without a doubt, affect other international properties in other countries. The way the U.S. manages its Internet use will have a dominoes affect.
Lastly, I asked him what most folks fail to see in SOPA, as far as opposers and criticizers go. He explained that there’s always been a debate regarding intellectual property protection, etc. The issue here is that most people don’t fully comprehend the bill and end up criticizing it unknowingly. The controversy isn’t really that “monumental,” as Jake puts it.
With the insightful input that we received from Jake Soberal, we feel that it’s safe to say SOPA has a long way to go. It’s not fool-proof, it’s not popular, but this isn’t a full defeat. Thanks to Jake, we have a little more background on our topic. We can only wait and see how things turn out.
Pachia X.
