More than 400 organizations have publicly expressed support of the contentious Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), or the passage of other similar anti-piracy legislation. Here's the complete list.
Ed. note: Please remember while reading: not every organization on the list below has explicitly expressed support for SOPA or PIPA. Every company on this list has, however, explicitly supported the passage of legislation that achieves the goal SOPA and PIPA aim to accomplish — the end of intellectual property theft. Inadvertently or not, support for that breed of legislation at this time bolsters SOPA and PIPA supporters and their efforts to pass these pieces of legislation. It is for this reason that those who do not come out specifically against SOPA and/or PIPA remain on this list. Those who do will be removed the moment we learn of their anti-SOPA and/or anti-PIPA stance. This message is repeated again before the start of the list.
With the next House Judiciary Committee markup hearing delayed until “early next year,” opponents of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) are looking for more ways to fight back against these contentious pieces of legislation, while they still have a chance.
The anti-SOPA crowd includes everyone from Internet giants like Google, Facebook, eBay, Wikipedia, Mozilla and Yahoo! to The New York Times, the Stanford Law Review and even the very people who created the Internet in the first place. Experts say SOPA and PIPA would not only stifle free speech by allowing widespread censorship (in the name of copyright protection), but could castrate innovation, destroy the open Internet, and disrupt the very foundation upon which the Internet was built, the domain name system. (See a comprehensive list of SOPA opponents here.)
From the pro-SOPA side, we’ve heard much from organizations like the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the US Chamber of Commerce — not to mention politicians, like Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the chief sponsor of SOPA, and the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. But far too little light has shone on the hundreds of organizations that continue to support SOPA, despite the staggering dangers it holds for the Internet as we know it.
Below is a list of 439 corporations, unions, law firms and other groups that have explicitly expressed their support of SOPA, or similar anti-piracy legislation. This list is derived from two sources: the official list (pdf) of SOPA supporters from the Judiciary Committee’s website, and a letter (pdf) addressed to Congress from the Global Intellectual Property Center, which is an affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce.
Some have begun organizing a mass boycott of these organizations, and a list (Google Doc) of contact information for each is currently in the works. We’re not advocating any specific action, but we do think it is important for people to understand who is for and against SOPA and PIPA; if passed, either of these bills will fundamentally change the online world, whether you think that’s a good idea or not.
UPDATE: We have learned that Petzl America has explicitly stated that while it supports greater protections of intellectual property, and signed the Global Intellectual Property Center letter to Congress (along with 401 other companies on this list), it “does not support SOPA or the Protect IP Act,” or any other legislation that will “harm the freedom of the Internet.” We have taken their name off the list.
UPDATE 2: All of the law firms that originally appeared on the Judiciary Committee’s list of SOPA supporters have been removed. We have removed them from the list below. They include:
BakerHostetler LLP
Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP
Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, P.C.
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Irell & Manella LLP
Jenner & Block LLP
Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
Kendall Brill & Klieger LLP
Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert LLP
Lathrop & Gage LLP
Loeb & Loeb LLP
Mitchell Silberberge & Knupp LLP
Morrison & Foerster LLP
Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP
Phillips Nizer LLP
Proskauer Rose LLP
Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP
Shearman & Sterling LLP
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom LLP
White & Case LLP
It has not yet been officially explained why these firms have been pulled off the list. At least one firm, however, Davis Write Tremaine LLP, has said that it does not support SOPA, but two of its lawyers privately support the bill.
Update 4: The Redwing Shoe Company has emailed, informing us that it “does not support SOPA as it is currently drafted.” Redwing is one of the 402 companies that signed the GIPC letter mentioned above, which does not specifically name any legislation.. We have removed their name from the list below.
Update 5: Gibson Guitars has also clarified that it does not support SOPA: “Hey guys – Gibson does NOT support this legislation. Gibson’s CEO has demanded that Gibson be removed from the list of company’s supporting SOPA. Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet!”
Ed. note: Please remember while reading: not every organization on the list below has explicitly expressed support for SOPA or PIPA. Every company on this list has, however, explicitly supported the passage of legislation that achieves the goal SOPA and PIPA aim to accomplish — the end of intellectual property theft. Inadvertently or not, support for that breed of legislation at this time bolsters SOPA and PIPA supporters and their efforts to pass these pieces of legislation. It is for this reason that those who do not come out specifically against SOPA and/or PIPA remain on this list. Those who do will be removed the moment we learn of their anti-SOPA and/or anti-PIPA stance.
| 1-800 Contacts, Inc. 1-800-PetMeds 2b1 Inc 3M Company 60 Plus Association ABRO Industries, Inc. Acushnet Company Adidas America Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) Allen Russell Photography Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP) Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers Alliance of Visual Artists (AVA) Altria Client Services American Apparel and Footwear Association American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) American Board of Internal Medicine American Federation of Musicians American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) American Gramaphone LLC American Made Alliance American Mental Health Counselors Association American Photographic Artists American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) American Society of Media Photographers American Society of Picture Professionals American Watch Association Anatoly Pronin Photography Andrea Rugg Photography Anti-Counterfeiting and Piracy Initiative (ACAPI) Applied DNA Sciences Art Holeman Photography Association of American Publishers (AAP) Association of Equipment Manufacturers Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) Association of Talent Agents (ATA) Association of Test Publishers AstraZeneca plc Australian Medical Council Autodesk, Inc. Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association Baker & Taylor Ent. Bay State Psychological Associates Beachbody, LLC Beam Global Spirits & Wine Blue Sky Studios, Inc. BMG Chrysalis Bose Corporation Braasch Biotech LLC Brian Stevenson Photography Brigid Collins Family Support Center Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) Bulding and Construction Trades Department Burberry C. F. Martin & Co., Inc. Callaway Golf Company Cascade Designs Incorporated Caterpillar Inc. Caveon, LLC CBS Corporation Cengage Learning Center for Credentialing & Education Center Stage Photography CFA Institute Chanel USA Christian Music Trade Association Christopher Semmes Photography Church Music Publishers Association CMH Images Coach Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy (CACP) Coalition Against Online Video Piracy (CAOVP) Columbia Sportswear Company Comcast Corporation Commercial Photo Design Commercial Photographers International Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System Concerned Women for America (CWA) Consumer Healthcare Products Association Copyhype Copyright Alliance Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) Coty Inc. Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) Council of Fashion Designers of America Country Music Association Country Music Television Creative America CropLife America Cross-Entertainment LLC CSA Group CVS Caremark D’Addario & Company, Inc. Dan Sherwood Photography Danita Delimont Stock Photography Dayco Products, LLC Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Dennyfoto Derek DiLuzio Photography DeVaul Photography Directors Guild of America (DGA) Direct Selling Association (DSA) Directional Insight Disney Publishing Worldwide, Inc. Distefano Enterprises Inc. Doriguzzi Photographic Artistry Dolby Laboratories, Inc. Dolce & Gabbana USA, INC. Dollar General Corporation Don Grall Photography Dunford Architectural Photography Eagle Rock Entertainment Ed McDonald Photography Educational & Industrial Testing Service Electronic Arts, Inc. Electronic Components Industry Association (ECIA) Eli Lilly and Company Elsevier EMI Christian Music Group EMI Music Publishing ESPN Englebert Photography Entertainment Software Association (ESA) ERAI, Inc. Eric Meola Studio Inc Estée Lauder Companies Evidence Photographers International Council Ex Officio Exxel Outdoors FAME Publishing Co., LLC. FAME Recording Studios Far Bank Enterprises Fashion Business Incorporated Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy Fender Musical Instrument Company Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America (FDRA) Ford Motor Company Fortune Brands, Inc. Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Fred J. Lord Photography GAR Associates Gelderland Productions, L.L.C. Gemvision Corporation GlaxoSmithKline Go Daddy Gospel Music Association Governors America Corp. Graduate Management Admission Council Graphic Artists Guild Greeting Card Association (GCA) Greg Nikas Photography Guru Denim H.S. Marketing & Design, Inc. Hachett Book Group Harley-Davidson Motor Company HarperCollins Publishers Harry Fox Agency Hastings Entertainment, Inc. Hyperion ICM Distributing Company, Inc. IDS Publishing IEC Electronics corp. Images Plus Imaging Supplies Coalition (ISC) Independent Distributors of Electronics Association (IDEA) Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) INgrooves Innate-gear International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE) International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition (IACC) International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) International Trademark Association (INTA) International Union of Police Associations IPC-Association Connecting Electronics Industries Ira Montgomery Photography J.S. Grove Photography James Drug Inc. Jaynes Gallery JCPage Photography Jean Poland Photography Jeff Stevensen Photography John Fulton Photography John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Johnson & Johnson Juicy Couture, Inc Julien McRoberts Photography K&R Photographics Kate spade Kekepana International Services Kenneth Garrett, photographer for National Geographic |
Killing Jar Productions LLC |
[Image via Elnur/Shutterstock]
More About: House Judiciary Committee, PIPA, PROTECT IP Act, SOPA, Stop Online Piracy Act
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