[bediger]

The "gap" existing in current laws hasn't been demonstrated. That's one of the real issues here. How much harm does counterfeit drugs do? How much harm does "stolen" "IP" do?

Once we establish harm, then we can propose solutions. Once we propose solutions, we can see if any solution actually cures the problem, and doesn't cause more problems than it solves.

That's basic policy making 101. Don't make everyone look at your Beautiful Assistant while you shove the problems induced by the solution behind the black curtain.

[rayiner]

> How much harm does counterfeit drugs do?

My dad works in public health, and counterfeit drugs do a lot of harm.

I think SOPA, etc, is bad, but I also think the reaction of the geek crowd has been monumentally ineffective. These laws are all ultimately drafted by policy wonks. They actually do have the statistics on the prevalence of counterfeit drugs if you take the time to do the research. You can't oppose bad laws by pretending the political process doesn't exist, by dismissing off-hand what other people consider to be legitimate grievances, especially without having studied the subject.

[bediger]

Then go after counterfeit drugs specifically. SOPA casts far too wide a net, conflating counterfeit drugs, counterfeit/unauthorized fashion and copyright infringement. This conflation may be part of calling it all "IP" (a falsehood in fact, I believe), or it may be part of some effort to slip the mechanism of censorship in, but it's still a bad law, and "IP" is still a messy, confusing concept.