Posts Tagged: "This Week in Washington IP"

This week in Washington IP news, in the Senate, the Commerce Committee will hold an executive session to debate the Next Generation Telecommunications Act and a hearing focused on actions Congress can take to secure critical supply chains in semiconductors. The Senate Environment Committee will also host a hearing to explore how investments in climate innovations can help to promote American energy security. Elsewhere, the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation looks at criticisms of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) increased antitrust regulatory authority, while the Center for Strategic & International Studies discusses the prospects of enhanced U.S.-Japan cooperation in key areas of emerging technology.

This week in Washington IP news, the House Science Committee hosts hearings discussing improving R&D activities in the bioenergy sector and increasing U.S. leadership in contributions to technical standards, while the House Communications Subcommittee explores the world of mobile networking innovations beyond 5G. Over in the Senate, the Small Business Committee debates the U.S. Small Business Administration’s role in facilitating franchising opportunities for small business owners. Elsewhere, the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation hosts an event to discuss ways to reconcile the House and Senate versions of major innovation and competition legislation, while the Brookings Institution urges caution on proposals to limit Section 230 protections to liability for user-created content in light of the negative impacts of recent curbs to those limited liability provisions under the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act.

This week in Washington IP news, the House Consumer Protection Subcommittee hosts a hearing to debate several bills aimed at regulating the consumer data privacy practices of Big Tech, while the House Space Subcommittee reviews the current status of NASA’s Artemis program. Over in the Senate, the Judiciary Committee discusses several judicial nominees to sit on the bench of a pair of U.S. district courts very important to the world of intellectual property, while the Senate Commerce Committee will hold a long-awaited vote on the nomination of Gigi Sohn to serve as an FCC Commissioner. Elsewhere, New America brings an expert panel together to debate NIST’s recent IoT cybersecurity labeling guidelines and how those can be translated into physical labels to inform consumers about IoT device security 

This week in Washington IP news, the Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing to discuss last November’s report on stablecoins by the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets. Over in the House of Representatives, the Communications Subcommittee will conduct an oversight hearing of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), while the Energy Subcommittee debates a proposed bill that would create a series of climate research centers across the United States. Elsewhere, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB’s) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee discusses its efforts to increase accessibility at the PTAB, while New America hosts an event to discuss the possibility that nuclear energy could be better adopted into national energy systems in order to meet climate goals.

This week in Washington IP news, committees in the House of Representatives will host a string of hearings focused on improving data innovation and R&D to stop human trafficking, recommendations for regulating stablecoins as they become a larger part of the universe of currencies accepted in the U.S., and efforts to establish an advanced research project for healthcare in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the Senate, the Agriculture Committee will host a hearing on regulating digital assets like NFTs, while the Energy Committee will examine the possibilities for incorporating clean hydrogen technologies into various U.S. industry sectors. Elsewhere, The Hudson Institute debates concerns over Chinese companies heavily subsidized by that foreign government to acquire U.S. firms that are involved in sensitive areas of tech R&D. 

This week in Washington IP news, the House of Representatives hosts several committee hearings to discuss the American Music Fairness Act, which would require terrestrial AM/FM radio stations to pay royalties to musical performers and not only songwriters, and to navigate the safety concerns raised by aviation executives over the expanded rollout of 5G networks operating on frequencies close to those utilized by airplane safety devices. In the Senate, the Antitrust Subcommittee will explore the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, which is designed to provide antitrust safe harbor for collective action by news publishers to negotiate royalties for reuse of news content by online news aggregators. Elsewhere, the Hudson Institute hosts former USPTO Directors Andrei Iancu and David Kappos for an event that critiques the DOJ’s recent draft policy statement on remedies for standard-essential patent owners.

This week in Washington IP news, several committee hearings in the House of Representatives will focus on major tech issues. The House Oversight Committee on Thursday explores the energy impacts of cryptocurrency mining, while on Wednesday afternoon the House Europe Subcommittee will discuss ways to improve resiliency in transatlantic supply chains for critical technologies. Elsewhere, the Center for Strategic & International Studies will welcome former USPTO Director Andrei Iancu for a discussion regarding whether America’s tech policy is forcing the nation into another Sputnik moment in the race against China to build a strong domestic semiconductor industry.

This week in Washington IP news, following a cancellation last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote this week on a series of nominations from the Biden Administrations to fill vacancies at both the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. In the House of Representatives, the Oversight Committee explores possible updates to the Federal Information Security Management Act in light of a spate of cyber attacks on federal agencies, while the Agriculture Committee focuses on the impact of electric vehicle investments in U.S. agriculture and rural communities. Elsewhere, the Federalist Society hosts an event with two former USPTO Directors on the potential impacts of the proposed TRIPS waiver for COVID-19 vaccines, and the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation explores the potential of a national strategic-industry policy in helping the U.S. meet the challenges of its competitive economic rival China.

This week in Washington IP news, both houses of Congress are slowing down prior to the Christmas holiday, but Senate committees will hold hearings on the potential adoption of stablecoins into the U.S. financial system, as well as the impact of consolidation and monopolies on American innovation. In the House, the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis will debate ways to accelerate global vaccination rates. Elsewhere, the Hudson Institute hosts an event exploring new avenues for compensating copyright owners in the new content ecosystem, while the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation will explore evidence of China’s broken promises on economic policy during its two decades as a member of the World Trade Organization.

This week in Washington IP news, the House of Representatives will host committee hearings discussing several draft pieces of legislation that would update the 21st Century Cures Act as well as reduce immunity to liability for major tech firms currently enjoyed under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Over in the Senate, the Fiscal Responsibility Subcommittee will discuss how changes to privacy policies in Big Tech firms have impacted targeted advertising activities for a wide swath of the economy. Elsewhere, the Center for Strategic & International Studies hosts a debate on the topic of China’s tech crackdown and its potential impacts on innovation, and the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation will explore whether increased support for advanced renewables research can help the global community meet certain clean energy goals by the middle of this century.

This week in Washington IP events, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the current Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, announces that he will not seek reelection in 2022; the Joint Congressional Economic Committee gears up for a hearing on demystifying both cryptocurrencies and the federal government’s role in regulating those digital assets. Over in the House of Representatives, the House Energy Committee hosts a mid-week hearing to discuss the potential impacts of supporting research and development in the field of nuclear fusion technology, while the House Oversight Committee explores efforts that U.S. law enforcement officials have been taking to curb the rising threat of ransomware. Elsewhere, The Brookings Institution hosts a conversation with U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh to discuss the impact of 21st century innovations on the American workforce, while the Center for Data Innovation discusses the impact of decisions by major Internet browser providers to end third-party cookies for tracking browser activity.

This week in Washington IP news, the Senate Judiciary Committee hosts a hearing Tuesday morning to discuss various legislative efforts designed to address the rampant issue of counterfeit goods sold online by third-party sellers on major e-commerce platforms. Over in the House of Representatives, the House Select Committee on Economic Disparity takes a closer look at technological automation and its likely impacts on the future of work in America, while the House Financial Technology Task Force examines issues with the growing “buy now, pay later” fintech sector. Elsewhere, the Center for Data Information examines how online advertising has helped grow the European economy, while the Center for Strategic & International Studies provides a critique of the EU’s Digital Markets Act and unintended economic consequences that may come from the EU’s passage of that bill.

This week in Washington IP events, the U.S. House of Representatives hosts a pair of committee hearings on tech subjects, including a joint hearing of the House Biotechnology Subcommittee and the House Livestock Subcommittee to look at how the current market approval process for agricultural biotechnology products could be made less cumbersome to encourage commercialization. Elsewhere, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office hosts an event exploring the intersection of copyright law and artificial intelligence, while the Hudson Institute takes a look at studies by the USPTO and the U.S. Copyright Office on state sovereign immunity from IP infringement suits.

This week in Washington IP events, the Senate IP Subcommittee convenes a hearing on Tuesday afternoon to debate the Pride in Patent Ownership Act, which would increase requirements on patent owners to disclose changes in patent ownership. NASA’s role in space, including the growing commercial space sector in low-Earth orbit, as well as in developing nuclear propulsion systems for deep space exploration, will be the focus of hearings by other Senate subcommittees. Modernization efforts at the Library of Congress and the U.S. Copyright Office will also be explored by the Senate Rules & Administration Committee. Elsewhere, the House Energy Subcommittee discusses opportunities for growing the domestic offshore wind industry, while ITIF closes the week with a look at President Biden’s executive order on promoting competition as part of the institute’s Dynamic Antitrust Discussion Series.

This week in Washington IP news, Congress is largely quiet except for a hearing of the House Artificial Intelligence Task Force regarding ethical frameworks for developing artificial intelligence (AI) applications in various industries. Elsewhere in D.C., the Center for Data Innovation explores data driven approaches in addressing e-commerce counterfeits, The Brookings Institution hosts a conversation with Susteon’s Shantanu Agarwal on the challenges of carbon removal tech, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office kicks off the 2021 Hispanic Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program with multiple fireside chats and a panel on building networks and resources available to the community of Hispanic innovators.