This Week in Washington IP: The Patchwork of State Data Privacy Laws, The Future of Digital Currencies and the TPAC’s Quarterly Meeting

This week in Washington IP news, both houses of Congress remain very quiet, as both the Senate and the House of Representatives enter scheduled work periods. Elsewhere, the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation explores the growing patchwork of state-level data privacy regulations and the drag it produces on the Internet economy. Also, the Bipartisan Policy Center hosts a chat with the Honorable Keith J. Krach and Gen. H.R. McMaster on the importance of building trust in networking technologies, the Center for Strategic & International Studies focuses on efforts to coordinate satellite operations to prevent collisions in space, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office closes the week by hosting the most recently quarterly meeting of the Trademark Public Advisory Committee for public review of the agency’s trademark operations.

Tuesday, January 25 

Peterson Institute for International Economics 

Transforming Energy Systems: Economics, Policies and Change

At 10:00 AM on Tuesday, online video webinar.

This event will feature a discussion with Steven Fries, Senior Associate Fellow at Oxford University’s New Economic Thinking and author of the recently published book Transforming Energy Systems: Economics, Policies and Change. This book explores data on energy systems over the past two decades to develop recommendations on policies that can address market issues holding back the development and incorporation of low-carbon alternative energy sources. Moderating the discussion with Fries will be Adam S. Posen, President, PIIE.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Trademark Basics Boot Camp, Module 3: Searching

At 2:00 PM on Tuesday, online video webinar.

This workshop, the third in the USPTO’s eight-part Trademark Basics Boot Camp series, is designed to teach entrepreneurs and small business owners about effective trademark searches prior to filing applications to register marks, including use of the agency’s Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) portal. Other topics covered during this workshop include trademark basics, likelihood of confusion and summary of search principles.

Wednesday, January 26

Center for Strategic & International Studies 

Dancing Lights in Space: How to Manage the Risks of Satellite Close Approaches in Geostationary Orbit

At 10:00 AM on Wednesday, online video webinar.

As national governments and private commercial enterprises continue to add to the growing number of satellites orbiting the Earth, concerns have been raised over the possibility that an uncoordinated close approach of two orbiting bodies could cause an incredibly destructive and expensive collision. This event, hosted by CSIS’ Aerospace Security Project in partnership with the Secure World Foundation (SWF), will feature the introduction of the public Satellite Dashboard website operated by CSIS, SWF and the University of Texas at Austin to monitor the geostationary orbit and possible close approaches by satellites. This event will feature a discussion with a panel including Audrey Schaffer, Director for Space Policy, National Security Council; Brian Flewelling, Innovation Boffin, ExoAnalytics; Dan Oltrogge, Director, Integrated Operations and Research, COMSPOC; Marc Becker, Policy Officer, Space Situational Awareness, DLR; and Doug Loverro, Non-Resident Senior Associate, CSIS.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office 

USPTO’s Liquid Capital: Data Resources for Inventors

At 1:00 PM on Wednesday, online video webinar.

This workshop is designed to introduce entrepreneurs and business owners to data tools made publicly available by the USPTO to aid innovators, including Developer Hub, PatentsView, Global Dossier and Patent Examination Data System.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office 

Together in Innovation: Inner Space and Outer Space

At 2:00 PM on Wednesday, online video webinar.

This innovation outreach event offered by the USPTO gives prospective innovators the opportunity to hear career success stories of innovators from underrepresented communities as well as entrepreneurial resources available across the nation. The first discussion panel at this event will feature the innovative team behind the eyedrop bottle adapter Nanodropper: Mackenzie Andrews, Elias Baker and Jennifer Steger, Ph.D. After a break, this event will feature a second presentation by members of the crew of the first all-civilian space mission Inspiration4: Sian Procter, Ph.D., and Chris Sembroski.

Bipartisan Policy Center 

Tech Security is National Security: A Rare Briefing With the Hon. Keith J. Krach and Gen. H.R. McMaster

At 5:30 PM on Wednesday, online video webinar.

As so much of the business world and critical national infrastructure continues to migrate to data networks that leverage distributed nodes, trust technology has become increasingly important as a means to secure the exchange of data assets among network participants. This event, which will discuss ways that building trust in networking technologies can advance freedom, will feature a fireside chat between the Honorable Keith J. Krach, Chairman of the Center for Tech Diplomacy, Purdue University, and Former Undersecretary, U.S. State Department; and Gen. H.R. McMaster, Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and Former U.S. National Security Advisor. 

Thursday, January 27 

Information Technology & Innovation Foundation 

Patchwork Penalty: The Hidden Toll of State Privacy Laws

At 12:00 PM on Thursday, online video webinar.

Without federal legislation providing a consistent nationwide regime for consumer data protection, a few states have taken the opportunity to enact data privacy laws that are meant to protect consumers but are also creating a patchwork of state laws affecting any company engaging in data collection practices. State-by-state data privacy regulations threaten to dramatically increase compliance costs for private businesses and produce a drag on innovation for the Internet economy. This event will feature a discussion with a panel including Carl Holshouser, Senior Vice President for Operations and Strategic Initiatives, Corporate Secretary, TechNet; Jennifer Huddleston, Policy Counsel, NetChoice; Caleb Williamson, State Public Policy Associate, ACT | The App Association; and moderated by Daniel Castro, Vice President, ITIF, and Director, Center for Data Innovation.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office 

PTAB Inventor Hour Webinar – Episode 4

At 12:00 PM on Thursday, online video webinar.

This event, the fourth episode in the USPTO’s PTAB Inventor Hour series, explains aspects of ex parte appeals, America Invents Act (AIA) validity trials and other proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). This event focuses on institution phase proceedings in AIA trials, where the PTAB fits into the patent litigation landscape and tips on preparing for ex parte appeal hearings. USPTO presenters will also feature a case study of an independent inventor defending a patent challenged through an inter partes review (IPR) proceeding.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

The Path to a Patent, Part III: Patent Searching

At 2:00 PM on Thursday, online video webinar.

This workshop, the third module of the USPTO’s Path to a Patent series, is designed to teach prospective patent applicants on how to conduct preliminary searches, including recommendations from the Seven-Step Strategy.

Center for Strategic & International Studies

Data for Development and Diplomacy: the New Age

At 2:30 PM on Thursday, online video webinar.

Massive productivity gains being experienced during the Fourth Industrial Revolution are being driven by technologies that leverage deep analysis of large stores of data. Advanced data analytics can help develop solutions to complex situations like climate change or financial crises, but regulatory barriers and risks of cyber attacks have proven to be strong impediments to producing more robust and effective data modeling. This event, hosted by CSIS’ Project on Prosperity and Development, will feature a discussion with a panel including Claire Melamed, CEO, Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data; Christ Watson, Director of International Development; Romina Bandura, Senior Fellow, Project on Prosperity and Development, Project on U.S. Leadership in Development; Joseph F. Bermudez Jr., Senior Fellow for Imagery Analysis, iDeas Lab and Korea Chair; and Richard Crespin, Senior Associate (Non-resident), Project on Prosperity and Development.

Friday, January 28

American Enterprise Institute 

Will Digital Currencies and Fintech Shape the Financial System of Tomorrow?

At 10:00 AM on Friday, online video webinar.

The advent of fintech innovation has greatly increased the number of non-traditional investment vehicles for consumers including cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and other currency alternatives. While mutual funds and other more traditional investments will continue to receive the most attention from institutional investors over the near future, some policymakers are taking steps to regulate and incorporate new fintech investment opportunities into the national financial system. This event will feature a discussion with a panel including Charles Calomiris, Henry Kaufman Professor of Financial Institutions, Columbia University; Oonagh McDonald, Senior Advisor, Crito Capital; Alex J. Pollock, Senior Fellow, Mises Institute; and moderated by Paul H. Kupiec, Senior Fellow, AEI.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office 

Attend the Trademark Public Advisory Committee Quarterly Meeting

At 10:00 AM on Friday, online video webinar.

On Friday morning, the Trademark Public Advisory Committee will convene its regularly scheduled quarterly meeting for public oversight of the USPTO’s trademark-related policies, goals and budget.

Center for a New American Security

The Future of the Digital Order

At 1:00 PM on Friday, online video webinar.

While the development of the Internet over the first few decades of its existence has been driven by democratic ideals and the principle that information should be freely available, strict regulatory regimes in countries like China and Russia have tried to impose their own standards on controlling and surveilling Internet activity. This event, which will discuss findings of a recent CNAS report on recommended U.S. responses to adversarial Internet policies, will feature a discussion with a panel including Lisa Curtis, Senior Fellow and Director, Indo-Pacific Security Program, CNAS; Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Senior Fellow and Director, Transatlantic Security Program, CNAS; Kara Frederick, Research Fellow in Technology Policy, The Heritage Foundation; and moderated by Ainikki Riikonen, Research Associate, Technology and National Security Program, CNAS.

Image rights acquired through AdobeStock.