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 unfolding.
Press Releases
Delays in Release of FCC Orders Illustrate Transparency Issues
The Federal Communications Commission’s unique custom of voting on orders not yet released to the public, and granting “editorial privileges” after approval, raises obvious transparency concerns, explains Scott Wallsten in “Administrative Procedures, Bureaucracy, and Transparency: Why Does the FCC Vote on Secret Texts?” released today by the Technology Policy Institute. Moreover, an analysis of delays in publication in the federal register after the vote suggests that edits made after the approval of an order go beyond simple copy editing and are probably of a more substantive nature.
The FTC Report on the ‘Internet of Things’
The new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) staff report on the “Internet of Things” resembles previous commission privacy reports in being almost entirely bereft of new data or analysis. Commissioner Joshua Wright’s dissenting statement is the best summary: “the Workshop Report includes a lengthy discussion of industry best practices and recommendations for broad-based privacy legislation without analytical support to establish the likelihood that those practices and recommendations, if adopted, would improve consumer welfare.”
Event – Patents in Theory and Practice: Implications for Reform
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 unfolding.
We Don’t Need to Define Broadband
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decided in its January open meeting that a data connection must offer at least 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream to be considered “broadband.” That was a mistake. It would also have been a mistake to adopt a lower standard preferred by Internet service providers (ISPs). Even the 4 Mbps standard the FCC adopted in 2010 was unnecessary.
New Study of Broadband Stimulus is not so Independent
The National Telecommunications and Information Association (NTIA) recently released a study evaluating its implementation of the $4.7 billion broadband stimulus program (the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, or BTOP). The NTIA paid ASR Analytics $5 million to do the study, which it touts as “independent.”
Event – Patents in Theory and Practice: Implications for Reform
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 unfolding.
Event – Patents in Theory and Practice: Implications for Reform
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 unfolding.
Will Title II reduce investment? Who’s asking?
The debate over whether and how to regulate broadband has been a vicious, no-holds-barred throwdown. It is expected to come to a head with a vote at the Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) next month. Appropriately, much of the debate has focused on how broadband and its uses will develop under different regulatory approaches. One of the biggest disputes is how classifying broadband under Title II of the 1996 Telecommunications Act is likely to affect investment.
Save the Date: Patents in Theory and Practice: Implications for Reform
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.