Commerce Dept. Publishes Long-Awaited Copyright Paper:

On July 31st, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s (DOC) Internet Policy Task Force (IPTF) published a green paper, titled “Copyright Policy, Creativity, and Innovation in the Digital Economy,” that discusses the availability, protection, and enforcement of copyrighted works in the online environment. The purpose of the green paper is to review the development of copyright policy in the face of new technologies, assess the current challenges facing copyright law, and provide a set of recommendations to address some of those challenges. With a few minor exceptions, the green paper does not propose any specific legislative changes or any other specific actions.

However, the Paper does set forth a comprehensive plan for conducting future studies in several areas, including studies relating to: (1) accessing the applicability of the first sale doctrine in the digital environment. (numerous licensing issues are identified in the paper, including the increasing tendency of content owners to “structure the transaction as a license rather than a sale, avoiding application of the first sale doctrine.”); (2) improving the operation of the notice-and-takedown system under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act; (3) applying statutory damages to individual file sharers as opposed to large-scale infringers; and (4) determining the appropriate role for the government, if any, to help improve the online licensing environment, including access to comprehensive public and private databases of rights information.

House Commerce Committee Establishes Privacy Working Group

Just prior to adjourning for August recess, House Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Lee Terry (R-NE) and Ranking Member Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) launched a bipartisan Privacy Working Group to examine online privacy concerns and issues. The established goal of the Group is to “examine the complex issues with a balanced approach that recognizes the need to protect personal information online in a manner that preserves growth and innovation.” While it is unlikely that this Group will push legislation in the limited time remaining this session, it remains to be seen whether any bipartisan consensus emerges following months of information gathering.

Patent Litigation Reform Efforts will Resume After Recess

At the outset of the summer, we anticipated that House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) would release a revised version of his patent litigation abuse discussion draft prior to the August recess and that the draft might possibly be introduced as a bill just prior to the recess. But like many summer blockbusters, this release date too has been pushed back. While this delay should not be considered a step back in the effort to get legislation passed, it is an indication that Chairman Goodlatte plans to proceed more methodically in an effort to ensure that any legislation in this area strikes the right balance and addresses the patent troll problem in an effective and meaningful way without the need to seek additional legislation in the future.

For the latest key policy developments affecting the software and digital content industries, subscribe to the Digital Policy Roundup Newsletter.

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. Follow the SIIA public policy team on Twitter at @SIIAPubPolicy.

Mobile App Privacy Code of Conduct Approved, Testing is Next Step

At the last scheduled meeting of the Department of Commerce-led multistakeholder initiative on mobile app transparency, SIIA joined a wide range of groups voting in support of the voluntary Code of Conduct, citing it as a useful model for app providers to develop short privacy statements about an apps data collection and sharing practices. After the meeting, DOC Assistant Secretary Larry Strickling lauded the effort, stating “today a diverse group of stakeholders reached a seminal milestone in the efforts to enhance consumer privacy on mobile devices,” and encouraging all the companies that participated in the discussion to move forward to test the code with their consumers. SIIA will be providing additional information in the coming weeks to educate SIIA members about the Code and how they might want to use this as a model for providing enhanced mobile app transparency.

Cybersecurity Gets a Boost from Bipartisan Senate Legislation

Bipartisan cybersecurity legislation, the Cybersecurity Act of 2013 (S. 1353), introduced recently by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Ranking Republican John Thune (R-SD), moved quickly through the Cmte. hearing and markup process, being approved today by a voice vote. SIIA supports the legislation because it would accomplish several objectives for protecting the Nation from cyber threats. Although Congress is heading into August recess next week, this legislation revitalizes hope that Congress could enact consensus cybersecurity legislation this year. Meanwhile, discussions are still ongoing among Congressional leaders regarding legislation to enhance cyber information sharing, another critical objective of SIIA that has yet to see significant bipartisan consensus. Expect cybersecurity to be a major issue through the end of the Congressional session.

SIIA Supports E-Rate Expansion as Proposal Moves Forward

Earlier this month, SIIA praised the Federal Communications Commission for approving a new rulemaking aimed at updating and enhancing the E-Rate. The vote follows President Obama’s “ConnectEd” proposal last month to enhance high-speed broadband connectivity for the nation’s schools and libraries, which calls for leveraging the Program within five years connect 99 percent of America’s students through next-generation broadband (at speeds no less than 100Mbps and with a target of 1Gbps), and high-speed wireless within, their schools and libraries. This is still the early stages of E-Rate expansion, but a critical step. Read more on SIIA’s Digital Discourse Blog.

Postal Reform Moves Forward in House, Preserves Periodical Rate

Last week, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform voted to approve the The Postal Reform Act of 2013. Importantly for SIIA members, the Postal Reform Act of 2013 maintains the Consumer Price Index-based rate structure and also establishes a common sense timetable to evaluate rates and cost coverage for classes of periodicals and other classes of mail. SIIA hailed the Cmte. vote and legislation as the right approach to get the USPS back on the path to financial stability and to provide a reliable and sustainable delivery service for mailers. Read more on SIIA’s Digital Discourse Blog.

For the latest key policy developments affecting the software and digital content industries, subscribe to the Digital Policy Roundup Newsletter.

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. Follow the SIIA public policy team on Twitter at @SIIAPubPolicy.

SIIA Legal Brief Defends Digital Information Services from Sales Tax

Last week, SIIA filed an Amicus Curiae Brief in support of Thompson Reuters in its appeal to the Treasury Department of the state of Michigan. At issue in the case is whether an information service, accessed online via the Internet, is subject to Michigan use tax. In the brief, SIIA concurs with Thomson Reuters’ assertion that providing an information service online does not constitute delivery of tangible personal property, different from providing a service either via CD-Rom or some other tangible form, and is thus immune to Michigan’s use tax. Read more on SIIA’s Digital Discourse Blog.

White House Supports Industry Effort to Combat Online Piracy

On Monday, U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator Victoria Espinel offered praise for the recently unveiled industry-developed best practices to keep online ads off websites that illegally offer pirated content and counterfeit products. Espinel lauded the effort as a good example of how the public and private sector can work to combat piracy and counterfeiting and highlighted that this effort is an important component of a comprehensive approach to the problems associated with online infringement, including increased law enforcement, educational awareness, and increased cooperation with our trading partners in order to promote innovation, support jobs, increase exports, and maintain our global competitiveness.

New Cybersecurity Legislation Introduced in Senate

Last week, Senate Commerce The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) announced cybersecurity legislation to improve cybersecurity research, education and public awareness, while also tasking the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop voluntary cyber standards and best practices for critical infrastructure, as they have been doing at the direction of the President’s Executive Order earlier this year. In addition to circulating the discussion draft, Chairman Rockefeller reiterated that the Committee will consider the legislation prior to the August recess.

Mobile Privacy Code on Hold for Another Week

For those of you sitting on the edge of your seats waiting to learn about the outcome of the last scheduled meeting for the multistakeholder draft code of conduct on mobile privacy, the meeting was postponed until July 25 because of a scheduling conflict for the Administration. This meeting will be a very important one where the code may see a vote for final approval. We’ll keep you posted!

For the latest key policy developments affecting the software and digital content industries, subscribe to the Digital Policy Roundup Newsletter.

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. Follow the SIIA public policy team on Twitter at @SIIAPubPolicy.

NIST Releases Draft Cyber Framework, Holds Workshop this Week

As part of its efforts to develop a voluntary framework to improve cybersecurity for the Nation’s critical infrastructure, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on July 2nd released a draft outline of the document to invite public review and gather comments. The draft results from the President’s Executive Order issued earlier this year, and is intended to reflect responses to a February 2013 Request for Information, discussions at two workshops and other forms of stakeholder engagement. According to NIST, the framework is designed to help business leaders evaluate how prepared their organizations are to deal with cyber threats and their impacts. The draft proposes a core structure for the framework and includes a user’s guide and an executive overview that describes the purpose, need and application of the framework in business. NIST is currently welcoming comments and holding a Workshop to gather input this week.

U.S.-EU Trade Talks Begin on Heels of EU Resolution on Data Transfer

The first round of negotiations of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) began in Washington this week, presenting the opportunity for increased economic and job growth for both economies. The discussions are the beginning of what will be a long process, with a target deadline of November 2014. On Wednesday, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) will hold a stakeholder event bringing together 50 presenters from a wide range of interests, including environmentalists and business and agriculture groups, as well as non-governmental organizations. SIIA previously submitted comments in support of TTIP and pledged to help advance the agreement. Last week, the European Parliament passed by a strong majority a resolution calling on the European Commission to conduct a “full review” of an agreement that allows a number of U.S. companies — including those allegedly complicit in the National Security Agency’s PRISM program — to transfer data about EU citizens to the jurisdiction of the United States. While the resolution does not formally affect the TTIP discussions, there is broad speculation about the potential for additional challenges in the wake of new privacy concerns.

Bill Introduced to Exempt USPTO from Sequestration

On June 28th, Rep Honda (D-CA), introduced the “Patents and Trademarks Encourage New Technology (PATENT) Jobs Act” (H.R. 2582). The bill, which is co-sponsored by two other fellow Californians — Reps. Lofgren and Eshoo (D-Calif.) — would exempt the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) from about $150 million in budget cuts from sequestration. Because the USPTO is funded entirely by user fees its spending is different from spending by other government agencies. SIIA voiced its concerns about the effect of sequestration on the USPTO. The bill provides that states that “the budgetary resources sequestered under [the President's March sequester] order with respect to the United States Patent and Trademark Office shall be available for obligation for the same purpose and in the same manner as if such order had not been issued.” The bill would also add the USPTO to the list of government programs exempt from sequestration from 2014 to 2021.

For the latest key policy developments affecting the software and digital content industries, subscribe to the Digital Policy Roundup Newsletter.

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. Follow the SIIA public policy team on Twitter at @SIIAPubPolicy.

Momentum Growing for Federal Investment in Digital Learning

Efforts to expand use of technology in education received several boosts this month, including when President Obama announced the ConnectED initiative. With this initiative, the President called on the FCC to modernize and leverage the existing E-Rate program to connect 99 percent of America’s students through next-generation broadband within the next five years, and add high-speed wireless within, their schools and libraries. The President’s proposal recognizes the need to build on private sector innovation to allow teachers and students to take full advantage of feature-rich educational devices, and high-quality educational software (including applications). Support is also growing in Congress, where Rep. George Miller, Ranking Democrat on the House Education & the Workforce Committee, introduced legislation to support school technology readiness and teacher professional development to ensure all students can access and benefit from technology. And Senate H.E.L.P. Committee Chairman Tom Harkin includes a number of related programs and provisions in his recently marked up legislation to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act. SIIA has long championed such federal investments and calls on the FCC and Congress to advance these and related initiatives needed to ensure all students and educators can realize the educational benefits made possible by technology. Read more on SIIA’s Digital Discourse Blog.

House passes Federal IT Reform

On Friday, the US House of Representatives passed an amendment to the FY 2014 Defense Authorization bill, adding Rep. Issa’s (R-CA) federal IT reform legislation to the bill. The revised version of the bill increases the authority of agency CIOs, promotes increased training of the IT acquisition workforce and expands efforts to optimize the data center infrastructure. The bill now moves to the Senate, where the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) has jurisdiction over federal IT but the issue will have to be addressed jointly by HSGAC and the Senate Armed Services Committee since the language is now part of the must-pass Defense bill. Read more on SIIA’s Digital Discourse Blog.

Rep. Goodlatte, Sen. Leahy Staff Discuss Growing Need for Patent Troll Legislation

In case you missed it, on June 4 SIIA hosted House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) for an important and timely discussion about the growing need for legislative action to curtail abusive patent litigation. The Capitol Hill event was the first in SIIA’s new Tech Policy Speaker Series, and it provided Chairman Goodlatte the opportunity to publicly announce his new discussion draft patent reform legislation to reshape the current environment surrounding patent troll-type behavior and abusive patent litigation, along with his perspective on the problem of patent trolls and their impact on the U.S. economy. The event also included a panel discussion with Aaron Cooper, the chief intellectual property counsel for Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and other experts. Read more on SIIA’s Digital Discourse Blog.

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. Follow the SIIA public policy team on Twitter at @SIIAPubPolicy.