This week in Washington IP news, a House subcommittee holds a hearing on advances in deepfake technology. Elsewhere, the Peterson Institute hosts the launch of an OECD report that looks at how governments can spur growth in the green economy, and the USPTO holds a three-day event for newcomers to the patent application process.
Innovation has been the driving force behind our country since its inception. So much of our nation’s success has flowed from U.S. ingenuity and innovation. Yet much remains to be done on this front. Indeed, in a few short years, we will be celebrating the Semiquincentennial (also called the Sestercentennial)—250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. We need the same approach moving forward, and we have the opportunity to do so with pending legislation, which brings me to a chance to reflect on some important questions of intellectual property and innovation policy.
This week in Washington IP news, Congress returns from its district work period with the House holding several meetings related to IP and innovation. The House Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet holds a hearing on IP competition with China and another subcommittee discusses safeguarding data in the growing AI industry. Elsewhere, IPWatchdog is hosting its Life Sciences Masters™ program in Ashburn, VA, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office hosts a panel discussion for its ongoing Women’s Entrepreneurship (WE) program
Last month, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) announced that it had joined with 30 other signatories to publish a framework of intellectual property principles designed to reshape the narrative around intellectual property (IP) rights and maintain America’s global lead in innovation. Broadly speaking, the principles focus on five primary goals to be achieved by American lawmakers and policymakers: 1) national security, 2) technological leadership, 3) fostering creative expression, 4) enforcing the rule of law, and 5) ensuring full access to the innovation ecosystem for all.
California is poised to become the third state to enact a right to repair law aimed at making it easier for independent repair shops and consumers to repair electronic devices. This might sound well and good—until you think about what it actually means for IP owners. While repair advocates may not care about, or even acknowledge, the IP side of the equation, the not-so-hidden truth of the right to repair movement is that it expands repair opportunities for consumers by taking away the rights of copyright and patent owners. Indeed, the foundational premise of the repair movement is that there is something inherently wrong when an IP owner exercises its right to exclude and imposes a repair restriction. Of course, this lopsided view elevates access over incentives, and it ignores how IP law itself promotes the public good by rewarding creators and innovators for their individual efforts. But, more importantly, it’s not up to the states to second-guess Congress’s judgment.