Senate Democratic leader Reid delays vote on PIPA
"There is no reason that the legitimate issues raised by many about this bill cannot be resolved"
The US Senate has delayed the vote to decide on the future of the PIPA, which had originally been scheduled for Tuesday.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid has not set a new date for the vote, but issued a brief statement which made clear that the bill has not been abandoned completely.
"In light of recent events, I have decided to postpone Tuesday's vote," said Reid. "There is no reason that the legitimate issues raised by many about this bill cannot be resolved.
"Counterfeiting and piracy cost the American economy billions of dollars and thousands of jobs each year, with the movie industry alone supporting over 2.2 million jobs," Reid added. "We must take action to stop these illegal practices."
The Protect Intellectual Property Act is the companion bill to SOPA, the better publicised measure which attracted criticism for over-reaching the means necessary to perform its initial aim of combating piracy and IP theft.
Support for the bills has crumbled quickly over the last fortnight, with protests, information blackouts and boycotts of companies which backed the bills resulting in even many of the original proposers withdrawing support.