SIIA Comments to FTC: COPPA Rulemaking Goes Far Beyond Congressional Intent; Will Harm American Innovation
SIIA filed with the FTC on Monday in response to the Revised Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the COPPA rule issued in early August. While many SIIA members operate outside the scope of COPPA because of its narrow application of sites and services “directed to children,” the new proposed rule presents a significant expansion of COPPA, resulting in a broad regulatory framework that could stifle innovative Internet-based offerings, not just for sites and services directed at children under 13, but much more broadly to affect all SIIA members.
Our comments convey these concerns and make recommendations regarding the proposal’s inappropriately broad expansion of the statute’s definition of “personal information,” combined with the increasingly broad definitions of “operator” and “web site or online service directed to children,” along with the new “reason to know standard” and requirement for “child-friendly mixed audience” sites and services to age screen. Read more.
SIIA Weighs in on China’s Trade Practices at Issue at USTR
Also Monday, SIIA filed the comments with the United States Information Technology Office (USITO) in China, in the annual review of China’s compliance with its accession commitments to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The review is held by the United States Trade Representative (USTR), providing USITO and its members an effective means to recognize areas where progress has been made, to raise issues of concern and suggest approaches to resolve areas of disagreement with China’s government over implementation of its WTO agreements.
The comments cover a broad range of concerns on the part of the US tech industry aimed at improving trade and investment in China, including China’s indigenous innovation policies, intellectual property rights, market access and technical barriers to trade, national treatment, communications services and commercial Internet regulations. In conjunction with the comments, SIIA Public Policy VP Mark MacCarthy will be testifying on behalf of SIIA and USITO at the USTR’s hearing on these issues on October 3rd. Read more.
China’s Utility Model Patent System: A Perfect Storm for Patent Trolls
In testimony before the House Subcommittee on IP last week, Victoria Espinel, the US Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator highlighted “unexamined utility model patents” as a problem in the Chinese patent system.
Chairman Bob Goodlatte also raised the issue in his opening statement, noting that it is “problematic” when “a country grants many low-quality or “junk” patents to local companies, so that they can sue American companies and get rich quick. Many of these are utility model patents that go through minimal review and lack real inventiveness.”
It is good news that the Administration and the Congress are focusing on this. A recent Washington Post story highlights the problem. It looks as if China is about to recreate the patent troll problem we are struggling with here in the United States. The Post story puts the problem this way: “Small companies that take on bigger firms in questionable patent cases have become known here as “patent cockroaches,” a play off the U.S. term “patent trolls,” used to describe companies that make money primarily by hoarding flimsy patents and suing others.” Read more.
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David LeDuc is Senior Director, Public Policy at SIIA. He focuses on e-commerce, privacy, cyber security, cloud computing, open standards, e-government and information policy.