UF Law experts available to comment on SOPA and PIPA

January 18, 2012

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Popular websites such as Wikipedia, Reddit, MoveOn.org and Mozilla have caught the media’s attention today after temporarily shutting down in protest of the House’s Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Senate’s Protect IP Act (PIPA).

The supporters of SOPA and PIPA claim the acts will help to greatly reduce the amount of piracy on the Internet by essentially blocking access in the U.S. to foreign sites that are deemed to be infringing on the intellectual property of a copyright holder.

However, those in opposition of the acts believe SOPA and PIPA would lead to Internet censorship and could dramatically change the Internet as we know it.

Contact: Paul Gugliuzza
Office: 352-273-0913
Email: prgugliuzza@law.ufl.edu

Gugliuzza is a visiting assistant professor who specializes in intellectual property issues. He comes to UF Law from Jones Day in Washington, D.C., where he was a member of the firms Issues and Appeals practice group.

Contact: Lyrissa Lidsky
Office: 352-273-0941
Email: lidsky@law.ufl.edu

Stephen C. O’Connell Chair Lyrissa Lidsky joined the UF Law faculty in 1994. Her areas of expertise include constitutional law, Internet speech and media law. She is the author of three casebooks on the topics of torts, mass media law and First Amendment law.

Contact: William Hamilton
Cell: 813-476-9557
Email: william.hamilton@quarles.com

Hamilton is a UF Law alum and adjunct professor at UF Law who specializes in electronic discovery and is board-certified in intellectual property and business litigation by The Florida Bar. He is a partner at Quarles & Brady LLP.