The Computer & Communications Industry Association is releasing a list of questions that should be asked as the Office of Intellectual Property Enforcement releases its strategy to coordinate IP enforcement across the federal government. If properly pursued, such a plan could be valuable, but if not implemented properly it could be a drag on innovation.…
One of CCIA’s smaller members, TurboHercules SAS, has received a lot of attention recently surrounding its antitrust dispute with IBM, especially because IBM has chosen to rattle its many patent sabers at this much smaller competitor by providing a list of 173 potentially infringed patents. What makes this story a little different from a classic patent shakedown is that TurboHercules…
A new copyright enforcement venture started making headlines earlier this year: the U.S. Copyright Group (USCG). Although the USCG name just recently started getting attention, it appears connected to the Leesburg, VA law firm Dunlap, Grubb & Weaver (DGW), which was established in 1999. The logos for USCG and DGW are the same and Thomas Dunlap, a named partner of DGW, filed several mass–defendant (PDF) complaints (PDF) on behalf…
Today, CCIA joins with a broad coalition of groups representing consumers, creators, libraries, civil society, and the technology industry in endorsing the Copyright for Creativity Declaration, a statement of principles calling for European copyright law to adapted for the digital era. The Copyright for Creativity Declaration proposes consensus principles that its signatories believe should animate efforts…
Commerce Sec. Gary Locke wrote an editorial for Politico yesterday explaining how reforming our outdated patent system would spur innovation and boost the economy. His sentiment that the U.S. needs to refocus on nurturing innovation is one we couldn’t agree with more. We also agree in principle with his focus on the need for alternatives to litigation (“post-grant…
“Fair Use in the U.S. Economy” For the latest data on the economic value of balanced copyright Tuesday, April 27, 2010 Washington, DC Event Materials Now Available Featuring remarks from Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D – Calif.) House Judiciary Committee Speakers Include: Ed Black President & CEO, CCIA Thomas Rogers Principal, Capital Trade, Inc. Andrew Szamosszegi Principal,…
After two and a half years of calls for more public scrutiny, the current draft of the once-secret Anti-counterfeiting trade agreement (ACTA) agreement has been released to the public, as the tech press has reported. The name notwithstanding, ACTA has little to do with counterfeiting and everything to do with copyright in the digital age. In a misguided…
Co-writing today’s post is Jonathan Band of policybandwidth, with CCIA’s Matthew Schruers, on the recently-announced retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens: JUSTICE STEVENS INVENTED THE INTERNET Justice John Paul Stevens’s announcement that he will resign from the Supreme Court at the end of this term has caused a flood of newspaper articles and blogs about the…
Last week, Microsoft got taken to the cleaners in an East Texas patent infringement case to the tune of over $100 million. With the patent system in shambles, these days even six figure damages don’t come as much of a surprise. It’s when you dig deeper that the case becomes interesting. The plaintiff in the case…
