UPDATE: To avoid any further confusion, we have removed all names that appear exclusively on the Global Intellectual Property Center letter, which was sent to Congress a month before a draft of SOPA was submitted to the House of Representatives, and includes no mention of any specific legislation. Our list now only includes the names of companies that are on the official House Judiciary Committee list of SOPA supporters.

ORIGINAL TEXT

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!”

Update 6: Nintendo and Sony Electronics have both been removed from the Judiciary Committee’s official list of SOPA supporters. Correction: It is currently unclear whether Nintendo, Sony Electronics and EA support or oppose SOPA.

Sony Music Entertainment, Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Sony Music Nashville all remain on the list. GoDaddy, after failing to convince users of its anti-SOPA stance the first time around, has also come out explicitly against SOPA. GoDaddy has been removed from the list.

Update 7: Leatherman Tool Group has emailed us to clarify that they do not support, and have never supported, SOPA. “We did not sign ANYTHING to support or endorse SOPA,” writes Leatherman’s PR department. “Leatherman has never been contacted or consulted about/during the creation of SOPA. Leatherman’s name has been erroneously added to a ‘list’ of SOPA supporters.” Leatherman’s name was added to this list below due to its signage of the GIPC letter. Its name does not appear on the official list of SOPA supporters from the House of Representatives. We have removed Leatherman from the list below.

Update 8: Taylor Guitars — which signed the GIPC letter but does not appear on the official House list — has emailed us to clarify that it does not support SOPA. Taylor Guitars has been removed from our list below. Here is the company’s full statement on SOPA:

In August 2011, Taylor Guitars, its trade organization, NAMM, and other music industry manufacturers offered a signature of support on a U.S. Chamber of Commerce letter sent to Congressional members to encourage the introduction of anti-piracy and counterfeiting legislation. As the letter was not bill-specific, we felt the spirit of its intent was in accordance with our efforts to confront ongoing piracy and copyright infringement issues that we, like many others in the industry, continue to battle. However, our desire to stop piracy and counterfeiting has been misrepresented as support for the Stop Online Piracy Act (H.R. 3261). Clearly stated, we do not support SOPA and its intent to restrict the Internet. The values of freedom, creativity and innovation are at the core of our business, and SOPA is not in accordance with those values.

List update: To avoid any further confusion, we’ve updated the format of this list to make these companies’ SOPA stances more clear. All companies whose names appear in bold are on the Judiciary Committee’s official list of SOPA supporters; non-bolded companies appear only on the GIPC letter, which does not name any specific legislation.

60 Plus Association

ABC

Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP)

American Bankers Association (ABA)

American Federation of Musicians

American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA)

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)

Americans for Tax Reform

Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States

Association of American Publishers (AAP)

Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies

Association of Talent Agents (ATA)

BMG Chrysalis

Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI)

Bulding and Construction Trades Department

Capitol Records Nashville

CBS Corporation

Cengage Learning

Christian Music Trade Association

Church Music Publishers’ Association

Coalition Against Online Video Piracy (CAOVP)

Comcast Corporation

Concerned Women for America (CWA)

Congressional Fire Services Institute

Copyhype

Copyright Alliance

Coty Inc.

Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB)

Council of State Governments

Country Music Association

Country Music Television

Creative America

Deluxe Entertainment Services Group

Directors Guild of America (DGA)

Disney Publishing Worldwide, Inc.

Elsevier

EMI Christian Music Group

EMI Music Publishing

Entertainment Software Association (ESA)

ESPN

Estée Lauder Companies

Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)

Gospel Music Association

Graphic Artists Guild

Hachett Book Group

HarperCollins Publishers

Hyperion

Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA)

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 L’Oréal

Lost Highway Records

Macmillan

Major County Sheriffs

Major League Baseball

Majority City Chiefs

Marvel Entertainment, LLC

MasterCard Worldwide

MCA Records

McGraw-Hill Education

Mercury Nashville

Minor League Baseball (MiLB)

Minority Media & Telecom Council (MMTC)

Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA)

Moving Picture Technicians

MPA – The Association of Magazine Media

National Association of Manufacturers

National Association of Prosecutor Coordinators

National Association of State Chief Information Officers

National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA)

National Center for Victims of Crime

National Crime Justice Association

National District Attorneys Association

National Domestic Preparedness Coalition

National Football League (NFL)

National Governors Association, Economic Development and Commerce Committee

National League of Cities

National Narcotics Offers’ Associations’ Coalition

National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA)

National Songwriters Association

National Troopers Coalition

NBCUniversal

News Corporation

Pearson Education

Penguine Group (USA) Inc.

Pfizer Inc.

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)

Provident Music Group

Random House

Raulet Property Partners

Republic Nashville

Revlon

Scholastic, Inc.

Screen Actors Guild (SAG)

Showdog Universal Music

Sony/ATV Music Publishing

Sony Music Entertainment

Sony Music Nashville

State International Development Organization (SIDO)

The National Association of Theater Owners (NATO)

The Perseus Books Groups

The United States Conference of Mayors

Tiffany & Co.

Time Warner Inc.

True Religion Brand Jeans

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

UMG Publishing Group Nashville

United States Chamber of Commerce

United States Olympic Committee

United States Tennis Association

Universal Music

Universal Music Publishing Group

Viacom

Visa, Inc.

W.W. Norton & Company

Wallace Bajjali Development Partners, LP

Warner Music Group

Warner Music Nashville

Wolters Kluewer Health

Word Entertainment

[Image via Elnur/Shutterstock]

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