1. Copyright enforcement against websites, foreign & domestic
The bulk of SOPA is a set of public and private mechanisms intended to give US copyright holders tools to combat offshore infringers. The attorney general's office, when armed with a court order (the granting of which doesn't appear to have a standard beyond the act's definitions - the court "may" grant an order when requested (Id., at § 102(c)), and will be able to demand the elimination of access and funding to infringing sites on behalf of copyright holders. When acting alone, copyright holders can use these mechanisms to cut off funding.
2. "Notorious foreign infringers" and US investors ((HR 3261, 112th Cong. § 107 (2011))
The US IP Enforcement Coordinator, along with various agency heads, will identify "notorious foreign infringers" who are causing "significant harm to holders of IP rights in the US", soliciting suggestions from the public and rights holders (Id. at § 107(a)(1)).
3. Amendments to existing criminal copyright laws
Criminal penalties for streaming (HR 3261, 112th Cong. § 201 (2011))
While most of SOPA's IP treatment revolves around the third-party-based enforcement mechanisms outlined above, the act also does refine a number of existing IP laws. Most notable among the many changes, SOPA calls for the criminalisation of public performance copyright infringement (HR 3261 at § 201).
4. Protecting IP rights abroad
In what would potentially be a significant increase in the United States diplomatic corps and its activities, SOPA requires the secretaries of state and of commerce to ensure diplomatic missions or embassies have "adequate resources" to pursue "aggressive support of enforcement action against violations of intellectual property" (HR 3261 at § 205). It would further require the diplomatic corps to make best efforts to see that foreign countries honour existing intellectual property treaties (Id. at § 205(a)(2)).
