As you may have heard the other day, the Senate was set to vote next Tuesday on the controversial anti-online-piracy Protect IP Act, but after the entire Internet seemed to raise its voice in opposition to the bill -- and a number of Senators quickly changed their opinions -- that vote has been put aside for the time being.

"In light of recent events, I have decided to postpone Tuesday's vote," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in a statement issued this morning. No new date has been given for a vote.

In spite of the vote being tabled, Reid insists, "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."

Meanwhile, the House Judiciary Committee has decided it's probably time to give more than cursory thought to the Stop Online Piracy Act and has postponed the piece of legislation for the time being.

Committee Chairman and SOPA co-sponsor Lamar Smith, who recently accused sites like Wikipedia of spreading misinformation about the bill, has cried "Uncle," probably after all the teens in his neighborhood threatened to egg his house the next time Wikipedia shut down.

Writes Smith:

I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy. It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products.

The problem of online piracy is too big to ignore. American intellectual property industries provide 19 million high-paying jobs and account for more than 60 percent of U.S. exports. The theft of America's intellectual property costs the U.S. economy more than $100 billion annually and results in the loss of thousands of American jobs. Congress cannot stand by and do nothing while American innovators and job creators are under attack.

The online theft of American intellectual property is no different than the theft of products from a store. It is illegal and the law should be enforced both in the store and online.

The Committee will continue work with copyright owners, Internet companies, financial institutions to develop proposals that combat online piracy and protect America's intellectual property. We welcome input from all organizations and individuals who have an honest difference of opinion about how best to address this widespread problem. The Committee remains committed to finding a solution to the problem of online piracy that protects American intellectual property and innovation.

This of course, does not mean the end for SOPA or PIPA, both of which will surely rear their ugly heads either in revised forms or with different names.

Reid postpones Senate vote on PIPA anti-piracy bill [Chicago Tribune]