Patent reform is high on the agenda for the upcoming Congress. Proponents of reform claim the current system produces excessive litigation, particularly on the part of “patent assertion entities,” imposing costs on entrepreneurs and others and deterring innovation. Those on the other side suggest that the litigation explosion is overstated and that patent reform efforts will weaken intellectual property protections to the detriment of innovation. Complicating this issue is that the effects of the America Invents Act, recent court decisions, as well as changes at USPTO are still unknown.
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Independence, the President and the FCC
Independent regulatory agencies are strange creatures. They are part of the government, yet not immediately accountable to elected officials. Whenever an independent agency makes an unpopular decision, opponents complain about “unelected officials” making important public policy decisions, just as they do when courts reach decisions they don’t like.
Geographic gTLD Proposal Politicizes Domain Name System
A proposal to require applicants to secure approval for new geographic area gTLDs would “insert governments into the operation of ICANN in an unprecedented way”, explains Thomas Lenard in comments filed today with ICANN’s Government Advisory Committee (GAC). Granting governments a veto power over a potentially large class of new gTLDs would politicize the domain name system and is inconsistent with the market-oriented approach that allocates TLDs to their most highly valued uses. The comments were filed in response to the ICANN GAC draft document, “The protection of geographic names in the new gTLDs process”
Event – OTT Video: The End of Bundles?
Recent announcements by HBO and CBS for pure over-the-top video services — no cable subscription required – and a recent proposal to apply multichannel video programming distributor rules to OTT video providers have put the future of video markets back in the news. With these announcements, and other content providers watching carefully to decide whether to offer their own subscription OTT service, have we finally reached a tipping point away from bundles? What are the potential implications of stand-alone OTT services on the economics of video content creation and distribution? Do they have implications for pending mergers? How will the FCC’s recent proposed rule affect OTT and traditional video services? A panel of experts representing all players in the video space will discuss these and other issues at the upcoming event, “OTT Video: The End of Bundles?” hosted by the Technology Policy Institute.
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