WASHINGTON, D.C. - As web sites go dark today in protest over a percieved overreach of power in two proposed bills, Anime Defense's news committee would like to weigh in on our view.

The Project supports initiatives to strengthen copyright law in the United States. Piracy is a dangerous activity to our economy. It causes Americans to lose money - and jobs - every year. Two bills, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act have been put forward as a way to combat piracy.

We support the measures that allow the U.S. Government to interceede and shut down access to foreign websites that violate U.S. laws. We also endorse measures that allow American businesses to take action against websites, foreign and domestic, that violate copyright law.

Like many others, however, Anime Defense believes that provisions of the Stop Online Piracy Act violate the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Act allows for the seizure of private property without a clear process to redress grievances, and without the right to speedy trial, which we believe the Constitution guarantees to all persons and corporations.

A third proposal, known as OPEN - the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act, is more preferrable. This law would allow content operators to file suit with the International Trade Commission. The ITC is a much more expedient body than most courts, and would be able to hear cases quickly and produce a verdict and take action.

However, the ITC would be limited to taking action in instances where U.S. Copyright law was being violated by a site operating outside the United States and that site was accepting payments for goods or services, such as advertising, by businesses in the United States. Additionally, the law would require content owners to file in Washington, D.C., and to plead their case there, a burden that small businesses and individuals might have difficulty undertaking.

The fight against piracy is long from over. Three incomplete proposals sit before Congress. That body will likely act this month. We urge them to remember that businesses and individuals deserve protection, both from infringements on their intellectual property as well as infringements on their personal liberty.

This editorial represents the opinion of the Anime Industry News Service, a committee of the Anime Defense Project Inc., and may not represent the opinion of Anime Defense Project Inc. or its sponsors.