CCIA Says Hollywood Suit Seeks To Stifle Innovation
File Under: News, 2008, Copyright
Oct 1, 2008
Washington, DC – The Motion Picture Association, which represents six Hollywood movie studios, announced those studios are suing RealNetworks Inc. for releasing software Tuesday that allows consumers to copy DVDs onto their computer’s hard drive.
The studios are asking for a temporary restraining order saying the downloadable software Real DVD violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by bypassing the copyright protection that’s built into DVDs.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association disagrees with that interpretation.
“Contrary to what the studios are saying, the DMCA was not intended to allow the movie industry to block a competitive business model. This is the same crowd that said the videocassette recorder would be the death of them,” said Ed Black, President & CEO of CCIA. “Real's innovative product isn't what the DMCA is supposed to prevent, and if it does, it will be another piece of evidence that the DMCA's anti-circumvention provisions are fundamentally anti-consumer.”
CCIA Files Amicus Brief In Limewire Copyright Case
File Under: News, 2008, Copyright
Sep 26, 2008
Washington, DC – A coalition of trade associations representing small
to large companies and public interest groups have filed a friend of
the court brief today in the case of Arista Records v. Limewire.
Click here for brief
CCIA Applauds Administration Warning On IP Bill
File Under: News, 2008, Copyright
Sep 24, 2008
Washington, DC – In a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the
Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, the Department of Justice and
Department of Commerce express concerns with a provision in S. 3325,
the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act.
They say that despite the bill’s good intentions, the way it is
written, it would turn DOJ attorneys into pro bono copyright lawyers
for big content providers.
Op-ed: Fighting Internet suppression, gov’t spying, ISP content-bias (in The Hill)
File Under: News, 2008
Sep 19, 2008
http://thehill.com/letters/fighting-internet-suppression-govt-spying-isp-content-bias-2008-09-18.html
China and the United States approach politics differently, but their teenagers share a favorite means of communication – text messaging. What these teens are saying to each other may matter only to them. But that they are able to communicate this easily, openly and even cheaply matters to us all.
Without the freedom to have these little conversations, a nation is not equipped to have the bigger ones. *It is with the vigilance of a teen facing time without texting that we should take a day to focus not on the small screen of the phone or bigger the laptop screen, but the broader picture -- the tremendous value of an open Internet.
CCIA releases paper on trade barriers Internet and e-Commerce companies face
File Under: News, 2008, International Trade
Sep 19, 2008
CCIA is releasing this paper today on the trade barriers Internet and e-Commerce companies face as we approach OneWeb Day Monday, Sept. 22, which is a sort of “Earth Day” to look at the Internet, it’s health and future challenges to its openness.
The subject of Internet and e-commerce laws as a trade issue has been a growing topic of discussion. The USTR plans a hearing Monday, Sept. 22 on this and a coalition of tech and telecom companies, including CCIA, have sent comments on this issue to the USTR last week.
Click Here for Link to CCIA's Comments to the USTR
Click Here for CCIA's Paper on Internet Protectionism
DOJ Antitrust Report Creates Uncertainty
File Under: News, 2008, AntiTrust
Sep 9, 2008
Washington, DC -- The Department of Justice released a report on
Antitrust Monopoly Law yesterday. The report, "Competition and
Monopoly: Single-Firm Conduct Under Section 2 of the Sherman Act,"
sought to examine whether specific types of conduct run foul of Section
2 of the Sherman Act. In response to the report, Ed Black, President
& CEO of the Computer & Communications Industry Association
released this statement:
News Outlets, CCIA Ask For Information in Intel Antitrust Case
File Under: News, 2008, AntiTrust
Aug 21, 2008
Washington, DC -- A long-standing gag order on a major antitrust case needs to be lifted, according to a motion filed today by news organizations and the Computer & Communications Industry Association.
CCIA along with the New York Times, The Register, Dow Jones, the Washington Post and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press asked a federal court in Delaware to unseal records in the AMD Intel lawsuit.
IBM To Be Hit With Another Antitrust Complaint
File Under: News, 2008, AntiTrust
Aug 11, 2008
Washington, D.C. – T3 Technologies formally announced today it had retained counsel to file an antitrust complaint against IBM in Europe. T3 is a small mainframe supplier, which bills itself on its website as an alternative to being bound by IBM.
FCC To Vote Tomorrow On Network Management Violation
File Under: News, 2008, Telecommunications
Jul 31, 2008
Washington, DC – The FCC is scheduled to vote Friday on whether Comcast
violated federal rules when it slowed down the transmission of files
for those using the video sharing application BitTorrent.
CCIA Files Amicus Brief In Patent Office Case
File Under: News, 2008, Patent
Jul 29, 2008
Washington, DC – The Computer & Communications Industry Association has joined a coalition of ten other non-profit and public interest groups including The Public Patent Foundation, AARP and the Software Freedom Law Center today to file an amicus brief in a pending patent office rules case.
Click here for Amicus Brief
CCIA To Monitor Results, Actions From Expanded Intel Antitrust Investigation
File Under: News, 2008, AntiTrust
Jul 17, 2008
Washington, DC – European regulators have filed new antitrust charges against Intel today. The European Commission's Directorate-General for Competition confirmed today that it had sent Intel a supplementary Statement of Objections (SSO) outlining its preliminary conclusion that Intel has engaged in three additional elements of abusive conduct. These new charges accuse Intel of providing rebates to a prominent European computer retailer conditional on them only carrying Intel products, providing rebates to a leading computer manufacturer to delay the launch of an AMD-based product line, and providing rebates to the same computer manufacturer for stocking their laptops exclusively with Intel-based products.
Tech, Education Advocates Ask Congress To Pass Visa Adjustments
File Under: News, 2008, Immigration
Jul 17, 2008
Washington, DC – The Computer & Communications Association joined Compete America and a broad coalition of those in education and the tech industry to ask Congress to pass changes this year to help ease the backlog in visas for highly skilled workers.
The letter asks members of Congress to pass incremental adjustments to the employment-based green card system, noting that H.R, 6039, H.R. 5921 and H.R. 5882 have broad bipartisan support.
IBM Tightens Stranglehold Over Mainframe Market; Gets Hit with Antitrust Complaint in Europe
File Under: News, 2008, AntiTrust
Jul 2, 2008
Washington, D.C. –IBM has just announced it is buying up Platform Solutions, Inc. (PSI), its small but most significant competitor. PSI is/was a small mainframe manufacturer that had sued IBM over the same anticompetitive practices in Europe and New York.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association sees this as a clear attempt by IBM to purchase a company solely to foreclose competition in the mainframe marketplace, protecting IBM’s cash cow at the expense of consumers. This acquisition should be a cause of concern for competition authorities throughout the world.
CCIA Asks Court For New Trial In Copyright Distribution Case
File Under: News, 2008, Copyright
Jun 20, 2008
Washington, DC – The Computer & Communications Industry Association joined with several organizations today in urging a federal court to grant a new trial to Jammie Thomas, who was fined $222,000 in October 2007 for allegedly violating copyrights.
Thomas was found liable for unlawfully distributing music on a file sharing network, notwithstanding the lack of evidence that she had in fact done so. Her liability was based upon a startling jury instruction that the plaintiff record labels need not have proved that she actually distributed any music on the Internet to hold her liable for distributing music on the Internet.
CCIA Applauds FCC Steps to Improve Broadband Data Collection
File Under: News, 2008, Telecommunications
Jun 13, 2008
CCIA commends the FCC for releasing the final report on its March decision on Broadband Data collection that makes significant changes that will allow the agency to
collect more accurate data on broadband penetration and speed.
In response to the report, CCIA's Vice President of Government Relations Cathy Sloan released this statement:
“The FCC’s effort to collect more granular data is an important initial
step towards improving U.S. broadband deployment. By collecting better
data on broadband availability and corresponding speeds, it becomes
easier to target areas that are not adequately covered with efforts
designed to stimulate broadband investment in those regions. Since
broadband is an important driver of economic development, it is
essential that our nation improve broadband access and speed to all
Americans. We applaud the expert agency's taking its cue from bipartisan
consensus legislation on broadband mapping that passed both the House
of Represenatives and the Senate Commerce Committee earlier this year."
Tech Association Welcomes FTC Decision To Investigate Intel On Antitrust Matters
File Under: News, 2008, AntiTrust
Jun 6, 2008
Washington, DC – The Computer & Communications Industry Association commends the Federal Trade Commission for opening up a formal antitrust investigation into Intel’s alleged anticompetitive practices.
This news comes days after Korean antitrust regulators fined Intel $25 million for abusing its dominant position in the microprocessor market and the European Commission announced plans to rule in their case against Intel by September. Besides the recent events in Europe and Korea, Japanese regulators ruled against Intel’s practices in 2005 and the New York State Attorney General’s Office announced their own investigation in January of this year. CCIA said word of the FTC’s investigation sends a clear signal that the agency, which has been less aggressive in its enforcement in recent years, may now be taking competition in the high-tech markets—markets that are crucial to our future economic success—more seriously.
South Korea Says “A-ni-yo” To Intel Practices
File Under: News, 2008, AntiTrust
Jun 5, 2008
Washington, DC – The South Korean antitrust ruling against Intel is
seen as a portent of other pending lawsuits against the world’s largest
chipmaker. Intel is facing antitrust challenges in jurisdictions around
the world.
After a three-year investigation, The Korean Fair Trade Commission has
fined Intel $25 million for abusing its dominant position in the
microprocessor market and ordered the company to cease its illegal
rebates to PC makers. This ruling comes on the heels of news that the
European Commission (EC) plans to rule on the case by September.
CCIA Pleased At News EC Expects Intel Ruling By September
File Under: News, 2008, AntiTrust
May 30, 2008
Washington, DC – The European Commission said it will rule by August or September in its antitrust investigation into Intel, the world’s largest semiconductor maker, according to news reports this week.
The timeline came after a spokesman for the EC denied a Financial Times Deutschland report that the Commission had reached a provisional decision against Intel. If the EC deems that Intel's anticompetitive actions were illegal, then they could fine the company up to ten percent of their annual revenue or $2.6 billion Euros and demand they alter their sales practices.
US Challenges EU Tariffs On Tech Products
File Under: News, 2008, International Trade
May 28, 2008
Washington, DC -- The Computer & Communications Industry Association welcomed the United States Trade Representative’s announcement Tuesday that it had requested WTO dispute settlement action on duties imposed by the European Union on high-tech products covered by the WTO Information Technology Agreement (ITA).
CCIA Asks State Department To Investigate Internet Censorship After Iran Incident
File Under: News, 2008
May 23, 2008
Washington, D.C. – Just a day after Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., held a hearing this week to examine global Internet freedom, the Washington Post reported on the Iranian government’s crackdown on Internet sites related to women’s issues and human rights.
Some of the sites, including http://wwwchange4equality.net, were among those involved in an online petition seeking 1 million signatures in hopes of encouraging the government to change what activists say are laws that discriminate against women.
Today, the Computer & Communications Industry Association has sent a letter to the State Department, asking the administration to oppose constricting information in all forms. Restricting information in the media and elsewhere is a long used tool by undemocratic regimes. The letter asks the State Department to raise Internet censorship as a human rights issue on its diplomatic agenda.
CCIA's Statement on Global Internet Freedom
File Under: News, 2008
May 20, 2008
The Computer & Communications Industry Association is a longtime advocate of policies that provide open markets, open systems and open networks and is concerned when governments limit access to means of communications like the Internet. CCIA released this statement at this morning's hearing on Global Internet Freedom: Corporate Responsibility and the Rule of Law before the Senate Judiciary's Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law.
Click Here for CCIA's Statement
CCIA also sent a copy of this statement to the United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Susan C. Schwab.
Click Here for CCIA's Cover Letter to USTR
Wrap Up Of CCIA Washington Caucus
File Under: News, 2008
May 14, 2008
At the Washington Caucus May 6, tech executives had the chance to engage in a dialogue and to get an update on tech measures, including several which have been stalled in Congress this session. Sixteen officials and members of Congress shared their insights on issues from patent reform to trade, FISA legislation, net neutrality, and broadband deployment, among others. While this report focuses on what CCIA members and guests heard from our distinguished presenters, the format offered frequent opportunities for CCIA’s views to be presented, and for comments, questions, and feedback from all those attending.
Click here for full Caucus report