Baltimore Sun technology guru Gus Sentementes reports that the NFL Ravens are pushing to shut down websites in China selling knock-off Ravens gear as the team prepares to face and hopefully shut down Houston in the play-offs this weekend. Sentementes’ article mentions that the NFL supports SOPA (the House bill to stop online piracy). This time it’s not a foreign website illegally streaming NFL games…, but authentic looking Ravens websites selling shoddy (misspelled player names and wrong colors!!) knock-offs of genuine Ravens jerseys and more.
In this situation it seems very handy to have a tool to swiftly block sites that continue to pop-up even as others are blocked without a subpoena. So tech guys– tell me if you would support SOPA if it helped the Ravens?
Cynthia Sanders
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Yes, I would of course SOPA would have to be adjusted in terms of its power and absolute authority but in this case this is the perfect reason for why SOPA would exist. Counterfeit material being sold on the internet with none of the revenue going to the owners is a violation and should be addressed. The violators should be sued to the fullest extent of the law.