Today, many websites like WordPress.org and Wikipedia are “going dark” as way to stand against the bills SOPA and PIPA . Others like Google are participating by using their homepages to inform the public. SOPA, short for the “Stop Online Piracy Act,” and PIPA, an acronym for the “Protect Intellectual Property Act,” are essentially efforts to stop copyright infringement committed by foreign websites. However, many believe that if these bills were approved, many law-abiding small and large U.S. businesses would be affected and potentially put out of business.

Under the proposed legislation, many search engines would have to block content from their search results, and many U.S. businesses will have to monitor everything that is linked or uploaded by users. Many large companies, including Google, EBay, Facebook and Twitter, among others, wrote to congress explaining why these bills threaten the American economy and technological progress.

This also means that any video or music incorporated into a site whose copyright belongs to another also has the potential of a felony charge. SOPA also allows complete power to Congress to block international websites from being accessed from within the United States. This means that there is a possibility that you may lose access to a vendor or supplier in a foreign country, resulting in lost orders, dissolution of business relationships, and perhaps going out of business.

Congress is scheduled to vote on the bills January 24, 2012. You cam read the full bills here (SOPA and PIPA). If you are interested in signing a petition at Google or at SOPAStrike.com

Creatuity will continue to monitor the news and updates will be posted here on our blog.