From ALA Washington Office:

“Three copyright-related bills are currently in play at the start of 2012 – all of which take aim at any website beyond U.S. borders that distribute counterfeit or copyright infringing products. All three bills operate under the assumption that there is a problem that needs to be solved – and the best, or only, way to combatonline infringement overseas is with more law targeted at foreign websites. These bills have the potential to negatively impact fundamental library principles. The following  chart is for quick reference (not meant to be comprehensive), and outlines the primary issues and concerns of interest to the library community and those who use the Internet.”

SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) is due for markup on January 17, and a Senate vote on PIPA (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act) is slated for January 24. Meanwhile, the OPEN (Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade) Act, which would cut payment to foreign websites dedicated to piracy and is proposed as an alternative to PIPA, is currently in committee.