Sequestration’s Impact on Federal IT: With sequestration now just hours away, Jason Miller from Federal News Radio interviewed Federal CIO Steven VanRoekel on the potential impact of sequestration on federal IT. The long and short of it is that we know federal IT will be impacted, but unlike the programs themselves where they are expected to take an across the board cut, IT by its nature is woven into the fabric of these programs, not a program itself, so its impact is uncertain. This according to the interview is creating a confidence problem for IT. New investments will also be put on hold. Read the article and listen to the interview from Federal News Radio here.

Sequestration’s Impact Going Forward: In addition to the automatic cuts associated with the sequester that occur March 1st at 11:59pm, there is another looming funding crisis in the federal government – the expiring Continuing Resolution for FY 2013. The CR officially expires on March 27th so Congressional leaders will have to find a way to address this situation as well. Word from Capitol Hill this week is that the House Appropriations Committee is preparing a rest of the year Continuing Resolution at post-sequester levels, meaning much of the spending included in this bill would be rolled back to pre-2008 levels, the last year of the George W. Bush Administration. GovExec has more.

Michael Hettinger is VP for the Public Sector Innovation Group (PSIG) at SIIA. Follow his PSIG tweets at @SIIAPSIG. Sign up for the Public Sector Innovation Roundup email newsletter  for weekly updates.

SIIA filed comments today with the United States Trade Representative (USTR) urging the agency to use the negotiations for a new International Services Agreement (ISA) to lower barriers to trade in digital services and to maintain a high degree of intellectual property protection and enforcement. In our comments, SIIA pointed out that sustainable growth in the 21st century economy relies upon the unrestricted flow of information and data, as our domestic IT businesses reach across the globe. Therefore, removing barriers to the establishment and delivery of digital IT services will enhance economic performance.

Specifically, SIIA’s comments urged USTR to maintain the following two objectives in the services agreement: (1) governments should not prevent businesses that supply services in other countries, or customers of those suppliers, from electronically transferring information domestically or across borders, accessing publicly available information, or accessing their own information stored in other countries, and (2) Strong IP protections for software and digital content have been an essential element in fostering explosive technology growth and a wider variety of educational materials and information products that increase productivity, effectiveness and knowledge. Read more on SIIA’s Digital Discourse blog.

Legislation Introduced to Prevent Abusive Patent Suits

Today, bipartisan legislation was introduced in the U.S. House to take on the persistent issue of patent trolls, one of the major challenges to the U.S. patent system that was not addressed in the recently enacted America Invents Act. The Saving High-Tech Innovators from Egregious Legal Disputes Act (SHIELD Act), sponsored by Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) seeks to limit cases brought by trolls by shifting the legal fees to the losing party when patent trolls lose their patent infringement cases. SIIA welcomed the legislation with a strong statement of support. Read more on SIIA’s Digital Discourse Blog.

House Panel Considers Federal IT Reform

As promised by chairman Darrel Issa (R-CA), the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is moving forward on this issue, holding a hearing today. The legislation, the Federal IT Acquisition Reform act (known as FITARA), still in draft format, seeks to reform the Federal IT acquisition process and would be the first major Federal IT update since the E-Government Act was enacted more than ten years ago. SIIA supports reforms that would enable the government to more efficiently acquire innovative IT products and services, and we are working closely with Chairman Issa as he seeks to introduce this legislation in the next couple of weeks. 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.

Software Firms Go to Washington to Defend Patents (CIO)
Representatives from various software companies said in a Capitol Hill briefing that lawmakers and judges shouldn’t solve current controversies by eliminating software patents altogether, but instead look at ways to improve patent quality, make it tougher for patent licensing firms to file infringement lawsuits and require companies to be transparent about the patents they hold.

New Internet Domains to Start Rolling Out in Mid-2013 (PCMagazine)
ICANN, the Web’s governing body, will open a trademark clearinghouse starting March 26 in an effort to resolve any trademark disputes when new generic top-level domains (gTLD) are rolled out mid-2013.

Indie Bookstores Sue Amazon, Big-6 Publishers for Using DRM on Ebooks (paidContent)
Three independent bookstores have filed a class-action lawsuit against Amazon and the big-six publishers, alleging that the proprietary DRM Amazon uses on ebooks creates a monopoly.

RIAA Not Impressed With Google’s Anti-Piracy Efforts (PCMagazine)
The RIIA says it has found no evidence that Google has followed through with a plan to demote sites with pirated content, despite millions of copyright removal requests over the last six months.

Keith Kupferschmid is General Counsel and SVP, Intellectual Property Policy & Enforcement at SIIA.

As today’s hearing clearly showed, there is a great deal at stake in this debate, and a thoughtful and methodical approach is needed. An estimated $20 billion of the federal government’s $80 billion IT budget could be spent on cloud computing and related innovative IT services. With that, it is essential that the government develop new and innovative ways to acquire these services, reducing time to market and maximizing value.

While SIIA is strongly supportive of the objective of legislation to reform federal IT acquisition, we have concerns with several provisions as proposed in the discussion draft. We have shared our concerns with Chairman Issa and his staff and hope that these concerns will be addressed in the revised bill that the Chairman announced today will be “published” prior to the Congressional Spring Recess. We look forward to continuing to work with Chairman Issa and members of the Committee to address these issues and help advance effective, bipartisan legislation to help the Federal government continue to keep pace with IT innovation.

Michael Hettinger is VP for the Public Sector Innovation Group (PSIG) at SIIA. Follow his PSIG tweets at @SIIAPSIG.

The SHIELD Act sends a strong signal that Congress is serious about dealing with the patent troll problem this session of Congress, and that members of Congress fully understand the damage that patent trolls do to the economy, innovation and job creation.

SIIA is committed to working with Congress and the Administration to find effective solutions to this problem.  Last year, we looked favorably on proposed legislation that would reduce the leverage of patent trolls by shifting the burden of discovery costs beyond the minimum necessary to litigate the case to the party seeking additional discovery.  This idea and the fee shifting proposal contained in the SHIELD Act are thoughtful and effective ways to deal with patent troll litigation.

Ken Wasch is President of SIIA. Follow the SIIA Policy team on Twitter at @SIIAPolicy.

Sustainable growth in the 21st century economy relies upon the unrestricted flow of information and data. Our domestic online information businesses reach across the globe, so removing barriers to the establishment and delivery of digital information services will enhance economic performance.  Digital information products and services can reach far broader audiences to spur further innovation, prepare workers for 21st century jobs, and bring greater understanding that fosters better decision-making.

In our comments submitted today, SIIA urged USTR to establish two principles in the services agreement:

• Cross-Border Information Flows: Governments should not prevent businesses that supply services in other countries, or customers of those suppliers, from electronically transferring information domestically or across borders, accessing publicly available information, or accessing their own information stored in other countries.
• Local Infrastructure: Governments should not require ICT service suppliers to use local infrastructure, or establish a local presence, as a condition of supplying services.

Strong IP protections for software and digital content have been an essential element in fostering explosive technology growth and a wider variety of educational materials and information products that increase productivity, effectiveness and knowledge.  Trade agreements must not take steps backward from high standards for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.

Mark MacCarthy, Vice President, Public Policy at SIIA, directs SIIA’s public policy initiatives in the areas of intellectual property enforcement, information privacy, cybersecurity, cloud computing and the promotion of educational technology. Follow the SIIA Public Policy team on Twitter at @SIIAPolicy

SIIA looks forward to working with administration and congressional leaders to fight intellectual property theft and protect American businesses, exports, and jobs.

Laura Greenback is Communications Director at SIIA. Follow the SIIA Public Policy team at @SIIAPolicy.

Anti-Piracy Group Welcomes Pirate Bay Lawsuit (Wired)
The Copyright Information and Anti-Piracy Centre (CIAPC), an anti-piracy group accused of infringing The Pirate Bay’s copyright, has said that a lawsuit from The Pirate Bay could benefit anti-piracy campaigners by forcing the site’s anonymous operators to identify themselves by name.

In Lawsuit With Publishers, Open Textbook Startup Boundless Hits Back (paidContent)
Facing a lawsuit alleging such violations as copyright infringement, unfair competition and false advertising from publishers Pearson, Cengage and Macmillan, open textbook startup Boundless has requested a trial by jury after a judge denied its motion to dismiss.

EA and Zynga Quietly Resolve Copyright Dispute Out of Court (All Things D)
In federal court, all lawsuits related to Electronic Arts’ claim that Zynga copied one of its Facebook games were dismissed. EA filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Zynga in August, charging that Zynga’s social game called The Ville was an “unmistakable copy” of EA’s The Sims Social.

As 3-D Printing Becomes More Accessible, Copyright Questions Arise (NPR)
As 3-D printers and 3-D scanners get cheaper and become more available, this nascent industry could be roiled by battles over intellectual property.

USC Report Finds a Shift in Advertiser-Supported Piracy (Los Angeles Times)
In the latest reports on advertising-supported online piracy, USC says two major distributors of ads online – Google and OpenX – have “significantly reduced the number of infringing sites they are placing ads on,” but that smaller ad networks have rushed in to fill the gap.

Keith Kupferschmid is General Counsel and SVP, Intellectual Property Policy & Enforcement at SIIA.

Cybersecurity has generated a lot of attention for several years, but an Executive Order (EO) by President Obama and proposals on the Hill and in Europe have officially set heavy policy discussion in motion for 2013 and beyond.

Last week, President Obama called-out cybersecurity as a priority in his State of the Union Address on Tuesday, announcing the release of the much anticipated Executive Order (EO) on cybersecurity.  The EO is focused specifically on critical infrastructure protection, calling for a NIST-led multistakeholder process to identify existing consensus standards, practices and procedures that can become the basis of a voluntary “Cybersecurity Framework.”  In announcing the EO and corresponding guidance and initiatives, the President has labeled the EO as a “down payment” for legislation, which in his view is still very necessary to address many of the key cybersecurity priorities, most notably improving information sharing from companies to the government, and for creating incentives for broad adoption of the voluntary cybersecurity framework. SIIA issued a statement in response commending the President for prioritizing cybersecurity, seeking to preserve innovation and reiterating the need to avoid applying regulations around what will be developed as a voluntary framework.

Also last week, Reps. Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Dutch Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) reintroduced the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), bipartisan cybersecurity legislation to enhance sharing of cyber threat information between the public and private sectors. Last year CISPA received more than 100 bipartisan cosponsors and was passed by the House with strong support.  In response, SIIA joined with other leading trade associations in support this legislation.  The House Intelligence Committee followed-up with a hearing on the legislation Thursday.

These developments in DC last week came on the heels of the European Commission (EC) publishing a cybersecurity strategy and a draft directive on network and information security (NIS).  In response, SIIA issued a statement expressing concern that the proposal is too prescriptive and overly broad.

New Legislation Supports Technology Readiness for Digital Learning and Online Assessment

U.S. Representative George Miller (CA) recentlyintroduced“The Transforming Education Through Technology Act” (H.R. 521), legislation to help ensure the nation’s elementary and secondary schools have access to the technology infrastructure, applications and professional support needed for digital learning and online assessment. Congressman Miller is Ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Education & the Workforce Committee, coauthor of the No Child Left Behind Act, and was recently recognized for his leadership in education technology. In response to the bill’s introduction, SIIA issued a statement of support of the legislation as an important step forward in providing our students and educators with the technology supports they need for success in school and in the workplace.  SIIA also joined with a coalition of organizations endorsing the bill, representing K-12 teachers, technology officers, administrators and high-tech companies. Read more on SIIA’s Digital Discourse Blog.

Obama on Patent Reform:  We’re Not Done Yet, Patent Trolls Need to be Reined In

Last week, President Obama took the opportunity in a public video chat to urge for more work to be done to stop abusive patent lawsuits.  Noting that recent patent reform efforts were “only a partial fix to the patent troll problem,” President Obama went on to say that “there’s a delicate balance between protecting intellectual property and making sure people aren’t ruined financially by patent trolls. What we need to do is pull together additional stakeholders and see if we can build some additional consensus on smarter patent laws.” Read more on SIIA’s Digital Discourse blog.

SIIA’s CloudGov Conference Features Lively Discussion on Emerging Federal IT Issues

SIIA’s Cloud/GOV 2013 conference held last week played to a packed house of federal IT employees, contractors, IT companies and policymakers. Event attendees were treated to keynote addresses from Federal CIO Steve VanRoekel, DOD DCIO Dave DeVries, and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA). They also heard a variety of perspectives on topics ranging from how the convergence of cloud and data analytics can make government more effective, to the latest on FedRAMP, and how to choose the right cloud solution. Making news was the announcement by GSAs Kathy Conrad that there is an RFI in the works to look at privatizing the management of the FedRAMP 3PAOs. GCN has a good roundup on the FedRAMP discussion, and video of the event is available online for those that missed it.

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.

“[Patent trolls] don’t actually produce anything themselves. They’re just trying to essentially leverage and hijack somebody else’s idea and see if they can extort some money out of them.”

Though the passage of the America Invents Act in 2011 was an effective first step in addressing the problem of abusive patent litigation by trolls, we agree with Obama that more must be done. Patent trolls continue to damage the economy, hurt America’s tech industry, and threaten innovation. Obama continued:

“There’s a delicate balance between protecting intellectual property and making sure people aren’t ruined financially by patent trolls. What we need to do is pull together additional stakeholders and see if we can build some additional consensus on smarter patent laws.”

In December, SIIA joined with several other trade associations in issuing a call for action against abusive patent lawsuits, in a letter to the Congressional leaders who led the passage of patent reform in 2011. We welcome any opportunity to build consensus on this vital issue.

Watch the full Hangout:

Laura Greenback is Communications Director at SIIA. Follow the SIIA Public Policy team at @SIIAPolicy.