Two Technology Daily staffers have supremely interesting stories in the latest issue of National Journal magazine (12-01-2007).
GPO Goes Digital
By Aliya Sternstein
The government's 140-year-old printing operation, located just a few blocks from the Capitol, is something of an anachronism. Nowadays, the Government Printing Office's staff relies more on BlackBerrys than black ink. Former U.S. Public Printer Bruce James handed out the GPO's first BlackBerrys during his 2002-07 tenure as part of an effort to transform the agency into a 21st-century electronic enterprise. [Read the full story]
Fancy Footwork at the FCC
By David Hatch
With his Republican Party holding three of the five seats on the Federal Communications Commission, Chairman Kevin Martin has the raw power to impose major changes in telecommunications policy when his GOP colleagues ally with him. But he would rather be known as a consensus builder. [Read the full story]
Those who encouraged reluctant Republicans to actually show up at the CNN/YouTube debate in Florida Wednesday are now encouraging YouTube to avoid partnering with CNN. Conservative bloggers and online strategists with the Save the Debates Coalition issued a statement criticizing the process of choosing questions.
http://techrepublican.com/blog/save-the-debate-coalition-statement-on-cnns-flawed-editorial-process
Bloggers have been critical especially of one on gays in the military from retired Brig. Gen. Keith Kerr who turned out to have advised the Hillary Clinton campaign on gay and lesbian issues.
“I’m terribly sorry those who helped push for the debate now think it’s tainted,” said CNN senior vice president David Bohrman, who produced the debates, in an interview in today's Technology Daily.
Bohrman said he was on the lookout for Democratic plants and did a Google search on Kerr before the question qas chosen. He said the search at that time revealed Kerr was indeed a retired general and active on gay and lesbian issues. Next he said CNN did a Federal Elections Commission search and found Kerr had not given any money to any of the candidates.
Bohrman said the research stopped there, but the important part is it was still the best gays in the military question among several they received. Had the connection been discovered, he said the CNN was "smart enough to know there would be blow back."
He said the process of vetting questions shouldn't be changed and the questions selected were the most appropriate for the Republican candidates. Bohrman said Democrats and Republicans would like to have them select zingers for the other side, but the real need with the debate was for questions that allowed the candidates to differentiate themselves on the issues that matter to Republican voters.
"The questions were very good. The questions were very interesting," Bohrman said. "People are just building up this incredibly bizarre strawman because of one mistake that wasn't a major mistake, but one we didn't discover."
As readers of this blog and of Technology Daily, you're keenly aware that our business is reporting the ins and outs and ups and downs of the high-tech policy world. Unsurprisingly, part of that job is keeping tabs on the latest techno-toys that hit the market and make life easier (or in some instances harder) for consumers.
So, here's my admission. Brace yourself. Before this week, I had never owned a "smart phone." Sure, my Motorola Razr was kind of smart -- like a toddler who knows his ABCs and basic math before entering preschool -- but not as smart as the iPhones, BlackBerrys and such that everyone but me seemed to be toting around.
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I took the leap. I bought a Palm. It's new, it's hip, it's slim and it's relatively affordable compared to the rest of the options offered by my wireless provider, which will remain nameless due to our protracted, tumultuous relationship (that I hope is on the mend).
E-mail, Web surfing, scheduling -- all at my fingertips. In the elevator; on the sidewalk; in a meeting; during a cross-town commute; on the elliptical machine at the gym. I have realized in the past couple of days what many have known for some time -- the euphoria of being "connected" wherever and whenever you want.
I consider myself an insanely productive person and this can only add to my efficiency. That said, the obligation of always being reachable might interfere with the non-work components of my life. I guess that's why the device has this novel "off" button. Plus, the tiny cramped keyboard might be murder on my fingers.
But, we'll see how it plays out … and if you e-mail me, you might just get a brief, sloppily typed response as I'm climbing the 200th floor on the stair-stepper at Washington Sports Club.
A Justice Department symposium on telecommunications policy that I was covering on Thursday turned tragic when one of the speakers, a Maryland state delegate, collapsed and later died. Jane Lawton had just finished her remarks at the podium when the incident occurred.
The 63-year-old Lawton, who also serves as the administrator of cable and communications services for Montgomery County, Md., died of an apparent heart attack after giving a rousing sermon on preserving local franchise authority for cable television [Read more in Technology Daily's PM Edition].
Lawton formerly served as a systems engineer for IBM and was a past president of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors. She was also involved in the Federal Communications Bar Association and Women in Wireless Leadership Forum.
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley said in a statement that he was "shocked and saddened" by her death. Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett also issued a quote saying Lawton's death was "a significant and tragic loss" and that her "expertise in cable matters was unprecedented."
The Washington Post also has coverage of the community leader's passing.
Update: Assistant Attorney General Thomas Barnett, who spoke prior to Lawton, released a statement late in the day, saying her "vibrant spirit, dedication to public service, and expertise in the telecommunications industry is well known to those she served."
Remember this summer when the Entertainment Consumers Association offered to throw a free t-shirt [link to story] to anyone willing to submit a question about videogames for the CNN/YouTube debate? Well, it turns out that didn't work. The candidates weren't asked a single question about games. (See Heather Greenfield's previous post about the overall lack of tech questions).
The folks over at GamePolitics aren't happy that videogames were shut out of the debate. But it seems that Mitt Romney, whose stance against violent media has angered a lot of gamers, still found a way to make them angry with his answer to a torture-related question in Wednesday night's forum.
So says GamePolitics: "For Romney, the take-away is that virtual violence is a horror, but real-life torture is okay. Governor, your hypocrisy is showing." Sounds like fighting words to me. -- Michael Martinez
Despite dozens of questions about wiretapping, net neutrality, math and science education, H-1B visas and the innovation economy, none of those were picked to go to the candidates tonight.
Several candidates including Duncan Hunter and Ron Paul advocated getting rid of the IRS and all offered plans to cut spending. Rudy Giuliani suggested across the board 10-15 percent cuts for each federal agency. John McCain promised to veto every pork barrel spending project that came across his desk. Mitt Romney said in addition to vetoing pork, the president will have to reform entitlements and set a cap on non-military spending.
The closest the debate came to a tech question was one about reinvigorating the space program much like the United States did when planning to go to the moon, Mike Huckabee joked about putting Hillary Clinton on a mission to Mars and Tom Tancredo said the nation can't afford to go to Mars.
The middle of the CNN/You Tube turned to questions focused on religion and morality when a video asked the Republican candidates what would Jesus do with the death penalty.
Mike Huckabee said as governor he reached a realization that "there is a place for a death penalty." But to what Jesus would, Huckabee, who is also a minister, said, "Jesus was too smart to run for public office."
The next questioner held up the Bible asking the candidates if they believed it. "I do, but not literally," said Rudy Giuliani. "I believe the Bible is the word of God," said Mitt Romney. But when asked if he believed every word, Romney stammered a repeat and then added an explanation that he might have a different interpretationopinion of what that word means.
"As the only person here on the stage with a theology degree, there are parts of it I don't fully comprehend and understand, because the Bible is a revelation of an infinite god, and no finite person is
ever going to fully unerstand it. If they do, their god is too small," said Huckabee.
John McCain and Romney then had a tense exchange over torture and whether waterboarding was torture. Romney said he would not support torture, but would not say whether he considered waterboarding torture. McCain, who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, said this was a morale issue that's symbolic of what America is all about. "This is a defining issue," McCain said.
John Hawkins, who is live-blogging the CNN/You Tube debate for Right Wing News, says CNN is allowing the crowd to be too loud. "All this booing and cheering really shouldn't be going on," Hawkins said. http://www.rightwingnews.com
The candidates each have the opportunity to show a 30-second ad during the debate. So far there aren't funny ones like the Democrats had. Instead they're much more cutting . Tom Tancredo bashed Hillary Clinton on immigration and John McCain attacked Clinton too. Fred Thompson used his to attack as many fellow candidates as he could in the time allotted -- Romney on abortion and Mike Huckabee on taxes.
The CNN/You Tube debate got off to a heated start with candidates sparring over a question on immigration. "New York City was not a sanctuary city," said Rudy Giuliani. Mitt Romney said it "absolutely was" which led to accusations from Giuliani that illegal aliens worked at Romney's governor's mansion.
Romney asked Giuliani whether a homeowner should second guess contractors and ask to see the paperwork of anyone with an accent. Giuliani didn't respond. But Fred Thompson jumped in later saying, "I think we've all had people we've hired that in retrospect was a bad decision."
John McCain also answered the immigration question, defending his support for President Bush's immigration proposal and going past his alotted time He advocated enforcing the nation's borders, but also said people need to remember immigrants are "Gods' children as well."
Eight presidential contenders have taken the stage in St. Petersburg, Fla., and soon will be taking up to 40 video questions submitted on YouTube. CNN whittled down the list from nearly 5,000 entries and stressed no question was off the table.
But CNN did say the questions were different than the ones submitted for the Democratic CNN/You Tube debate in July. CNN anchor Anderson Cooper said the questions for the GOP debate were more likely to focus on immigration, taxes and economic issues.
Florida Governor Charlie Crist introduced the candidates, welcoming them to the stage.
Back in the summer, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney ridiculed and resisted the CNN/YouTube debate format because CNN let a snowman ask Democrats a question. Romney and the rest of the GOP field will try answering video questions themselves tonight, but now Fred Thompson -- or at least one of his staffers -- appears to be skeptical of the format.
Adam Aigner-Treworgy, a National Journal/NBC reporter embedded with the Thompson campaign and in Florida for the debate, said Thompson Communications Director Karen Hanretty scoffed at the format when asked if video questions from voters could change the playing field of the race.
"Do you mean real questions from bobble-head dolls?," Hanretty said. "We'll see how [big] the viewing audience is."
Lawrence Wasden, the president of the National Association of Attorneys General, has a message for you, Mr. and Ms. Holiday Shopper. "Informed online shopping ensures a secure holiday season," reads his welcome message on the main page of the group's Web site.
In his open letter, Wasden (who is also Idaho's attorney general) outlines nine tips for consumers to ensure a successful buying experience and avoid becoming victims of online scams and identity thieves.
Briefly, they include: (1) Know who you’re dealing with (2) Know what you are buying (3) Don’t e-mail your financial information (4) Pay by credit or charge card (5) Check out the terms of the deal, such as refund policies and delivery dates (6) Keep a paper trail (7) Use anti-virus software and a firewall and update them regularly (8) Check a company’s privacy policy (9) Get satisfaction.
Read his full list of recommendations here.
Erin McPike, one of the National Journal/NBC reporters embedded with presidential campaigns this year, is in St. Petersburg, Fla., for tonight's CNN/YouTube debate. Here is a report from her:
Debate line-up, left to right: Tom Tancredo, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, John McCain, Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter.
The first row of the auditorium is reserved for the Romney family, followed in the second by the Giuliani family. The third row of seats is split by the Huckabee family and the McCain family. The Thompson family, however, will be back in the fifth row -- behind the Paul family in the fourth row.
CNN Washington Bureau Chief David Bohrman said that about 5,000 questions were submitted, and that they have "a different feel" than those submitted for the Democratic debate in July. He also said that despite the big production made about Florida Gov. Charlie Crist submitting a question, high-profile figures get plenty of access as it is, and his question will not be included.
A committee including Anderson Cooper finalized the question line-up Monday night. Cooper intends to ask about 40 questions, and the network will have 70 ready to go.
Although Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was a big focus of the Fox News debate among Republicans last month, Bohrman said: "I would expect that she'll come up far less than the last one. This debate is for the Republicans. They have to debate each other first before they can get to her."
That's what techPresident wants to know about tonight's Republican presidential debate, which will feature video questions submitted via YouTube.
Rather than letting YouTube users pick the question, a very World Wide Webby thing to do, CNN is still insisting that it needs to filter the questions to avoid controversy. But techPresident disagrees and is citing a spreadsheet of the YouTube community's response to all 4,927 submissions to make its case.
The spreadsheet lists the videos by views, favorites, ratings, comments, honors and links. TechPresident focused on the 40 that were viewed the most.
"And guess what we discovered?" Josh Levy wrote. "No cyborgs! No snowmen! Only two of the top 40 videos stick out as possibly too weird to show the candidates. ... In fact, that vast majority of these top videos ask important, cross-partisan questions.'
We'll know tonight how that filter compares with the one chosen by CNN -- namely, debate moderator Anderson Cooper, CNN Washington bureau chief David Bohrman and two or three other network staffers.
James Kotecki, now a video commentator at The Politico, rose to new media fame this year by offering unsolicited advice to presidential candidates from his dorm room and posting videos of the sessions to YouTube. It seems only fitting, then, for YouTube to give the keys to its home page on the day of the CNN/YouTube debate featuring the Republican candidates.
Kotecki explains in a video and offers a peek inside the political world as seen through the eyes of YouTube users:
Rob Faris of Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet & Society is circulating some interesting thoughts about the second Internet Governance Forum, which took place in Rio de Janeiro this month.
This was not a forum for making major decisions or generating new strategies for tackling profound questions, he wrote in a lengthy commentary. It was also not a venue for finding the best way to reward innovative thinkers while continuing to promote innovation.
Yet, there is "inestimable value in the conversations and connections made off the official record and unknown benefits to be reaped by the potential future collaborations," he noted.
"If the diversity of attendees or the number and range of opinions expressed is the gauge of success, then the 2007 IGF was a huge success," he wrote. There were nearly 1,400 attendees from all walks of Web life.
But many sessions involved "people talking past one another" and the question Faris is left to ponder is "how the exchanges of opinions can be aggregated and channeled into something genuinely useful."
On a lighter note, he added: "I find fresh coconut milk the perfect fuel for digesting the enormity of Internet governance, particularly in combination with the sonorous lapping of waves. When that isn’t enough, a caipirinha can help with one’s courage of conviction."
Read Faris's detailed reflections on IGF in the next issue of the Filter, Berkman's monthly e-newsletter.
Cyber Monday statistics are coming in and experts agree that it was a darned good day for e-commerce. According to Nielsen Online, traffic to its Holiday eShopping Index showed a 13 percent increase (32.5 million unique visitors) from Black Friday's totals and a 10 percent increase over Cyber Monday 2006.
The top three fastest growing product categories ranked by week-over-week growth were: consumer electronics (72.5 percent); toys and videogames (72 percent); and books/music/video (63.1 percent), Nielsen said. Top retail sites for Cyber Monday were eBay.com, Amazon.com and Wal-Mart.
Online analytics firm comScore said Cyber Monday saw $733 million in online spending, representing a 21 percent increase over last year and an 84 percent jump from the average daily Web spending totals during the preceding four weeks.
The Supreme Court this week declined to hear an appeal of a trademark case brought against the media company Viacom by a small California software firm called M2. Read the full story in Technology Daily's PM Edition.
M2's owner Dave Escamilla sent us a statement after deadline emphasizing that his is a "federally-registered trademark, brand, and core corporate identity." "For a major conglomerate like Viacom to come along and steal our identity is not right," he charged.
Escamilla also took a swing at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which previously refused to give M2 a cut of Viacom's revenues. A small shop battling a behemoth "is faced with a Hobson's choice" of either spending serious money on a suit or giving up its trademark, he said.
M2 Software is reviewing its options for rehearing. "We hope that, at minimum, we are raising recognition of the value of the trademark intellectual property rights of smaller companies," Escamilla added.
Georgetown University on Tuesday launched the Journal of Globalization, Competitiveness and Governability -- a collaborative project with Universia.net, an online portal for universities in Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula.
The Web journal will be published three times a year and will be stocked with "rigorous thinking, creative ideas and innovative proposals to improve the competitiveness and governability of companies and governments in an increasingly globalized world."
"Georgetown University is the best partner we could possibly have for this project, since we share the same goal which is to improve cooperation and dialogue among cultures and countries," said Universia President Emilio Botín said in a press release.
The journal will be available in English, Spanish and Portuguese. It's inaugural issue features articles on topics including tax reform; budget surpluses and deficits; and multinationals in Latin America.
Jose Maria Azner, former prime minister of Spain; Roberto Danino, former prime minister of Peru; Vicente Fox, former president of Mexico; and others were scheduled to attend the journal's unveiling.
The always outspoken Gigi Sohn, who heads watchdog group Public Knowledge, is taking on Internet billionaire Mark Cuban for not being "a friend on net neutrality." This is largely because "he believes that because bandwidth is so constrained in this country, tiers of Internet traffic are desirable," Sohn blogged on Monday.
While her organization agrees that the U.S. is far behind in broadband speed and value, "we think the answer to the problem lies in promoting competition, not in partitioning the scarce bandwidth already available."
Cuban has been an ally of PK's in the past but his net neutrality analysis, according to Sohn, "leaves out its most critical protection -- ensuring that Internet service providers (ISPs) do not use their market power to favor certain content, applications and services because of a financial or other interest they may have in them."
Sohn said she hopes to have a "robust debate" with the former "Dancing with the Stars" contestant when they both attend the Consumer Electronics Show in January. Read her full post here.
The Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union and Free Press on Monday urged the FCC to reject the proposed merger between Sirius Satellite Radio and XM. The groups argued in a report that the pairing would eliminate competition and negatively impact American consumers.
"Leaving one company to monopolize the satellite radio industry would result in higher prices and fewer choices," CFA Research Director Mark Cooper said. CU Vice President Gene Kimmelman added that the companies have failed to make the case for ending the explicit prohibition on mergers between satellite licensees.
Using the FCC's own data on radio stations, the organizations attempted to show that satellite radio and terrestrial radio are not close substitutes and argued that Sirius and XM's offerings do not compete with iTunes or Internet radio.
Sirius and XM responded with this joint statement: "Examining this merger on its merits shows that the lower prices and greater choices that will result, including for the first time two a la carte programming options, are clearly in the public interest and will help strengthen competition in the vast audio entertainment market."
The companies pointed out that other public interest and consumer-oriented outfits have expressed support for the merger, including the Competitive Enterprise Institute, League of Rural Voters, League of United Latin American Citizens and the NAACP.
Online retailers must be happy on the heels of Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, which is among the busiest of the year for U.S. shoppers. Nielsen Online reports that traffic to sites on its Holiday eShopping Index grew 10 percent this year.
About 21.2 million visitors accessed the sampling of more than 120 e-commerce sites on Friday compared with 19.2 million in 2007. The consumer electronics category was the fastest growing contingent, increasing 235 percent from Nov. 16 to Nov. 23. Computer hardware/software took second place with 121 percent growth.
Web analytics firm comScore said online retail spending was strong on both Thanksgiving Day (up 29 percent to $272 million) and the day after (up 22 percent to $531 million), outpacing the season-to-date growth rate.
Cyber Monday could provide an indication of what lies ahead. Based on seasonal growth rates and historical consumer behavior patterns, comScore said sales could exceed $700 million. That would make it the heaviest online shopping day on record.
The Washington Times on Monday published a column by Rep. Rick Boucher, a Virginia Democrat and co-chair of the Congressional Internet Caucus, backing the pending merger of satellite radio giants Sirius and XM.
By year-end, the Justice Department and the FCC should have completed their review of the proposed pairing, and "because the merger will promote competition and benefit consumers, it should be approved," he wrote.
"At first blush, one might conclude that a combination of the only two providers of this satellite-based service would be an obvious antitrust abridgement," but "the reality of the relevant market, however, is both more subtle and more compelling," he stated. Read the full column here.
The estimated $14 billion deal also has its critics on Capitol Hill. The National Association of Broadcasters is keeping count, with a list of more than 80 lawmakers who reportedly have expressed opposition. Among them is Sen. Herb Kohl, a Democrat from Wisconsin and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee.
I was cleaning out my cluttered inbox, which went astonishingly unchecked for the past five days, and I came across a fun little press release. I thought it might be a good way to ease back into the work week and prepare for the holiday shopping season. Here's an excerpt:
BERKELEY, Calif. -- What holiday gift do you get for the political junkie who has everything and just can't wait for the first Presidential primary ballots to be cast next year? How about an internationally renowned think tank that among other things broke new ground by ranking America's most liberal and conservative cities.
The non-partisan Bay Area Center of Voting Research (BACVR) is doing what no other think tank has ever done before: putting itself up for sale on eBay.
"The Bay Area Center for Voting Research has always been on the cutting-edge of the think tank community," said Phil Reiff, BACVR co-founder. "We democratized the staid world of political research by creating the first Internet-based think tank. Using the eBay auction process to select the next leadership for BACVR is a perfect extension of our innovative approach."
"The winning bidder of the auction will take over ownership of the BACVR think tank and will become an instant political pundit with a prestigious platform," said Jason Alderman BACVR's other co-founder.
Visit the auction page here and read more about the think tank here. Bidding started Nov. 23 and the auction ends Dec. 3. The price tag on Monday morning was $5,000.
At the Personal Democracy Forum's annual conference in New York this year, the founders of techPresident announced their standard for what it will take to become the first "tech president" and challenged the crop of 2008 candidates to join that race within the race. This week, techPresident issued a report card on the candidates.
Here are the grades for the Democrats (Republican scores to be announced later):
-- Joseph Biden: B
-- Hillary Clinton: B-minus
-- Christopher Dodd: C
-- John Edwards: A-minus
-- Mike Gravel: D-minus
-- Dennis Kucinich: D
-- Barack Obama: A-minus
-- Bill Richardson: C-minus
Get the details on the grades at techPresident.
Technology Daily and Tech Daily Dose will not publish Wednesday, Nov. 21, through Friday, Nov. 23, due to the Thanksgiving holiday. We will resume publication on Monday, Nov. 26. Enjoy your turkey (or Tofurky) feasts and we'll see you next week.
The Internet Education Foundation, which runs the GetNetWise Internet safety program, rolled out some exciting new enhancements to the initiative's online toolkit for parents, children and educators on Tuesday morning.
The GetNetWise crew briefed reporters and child safety advocates on its deployment of state-of-the-art distance education training technology aimed at helping families understand their empowerment options to aid in online safety.
Attendees were treated to a demonstration of new "Tools for Families" multimedia training sessions, which feature tutorials on popular Web safety products such as Net Nanny, Safe Eyes, Cyber Patrol and several more.
GetNetWise recognized the "distinct gap between the powerful resources we have in the child safety community and parents who may have a difficult time understanding how they work," Program Director Ali Rodway said.
Foundation Executive Director Tim Lordan, who attended via videoconference, said his group has "grand visions for this technology." Spokeswoman Danielle Yates added that the effort goes "hand-in-hand with the holistic approach" the organization takes when it comes to promoting safe surfing habits.
For a list of GetNetWise's latest webinar offerings, click here. There are five sessions so far but additional briefings featuring Microsoft, America Online and others will be posted in the future.
The Copyright Alliance made a big announcement on Tuesday afternoon with respect to its outreach to presidential candidates. Read all about it in Technology Daily's PM Edition.
In related intellectual property news, none of the White House hopefuls -- with the exception of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Mitt Romney, the former Republican governor of Massachusetts -- have shown interest in patent reform, Foley & Lardner attorney Harold Wegner said in an e-mail.
An undated Obama statement on the issue notes that providing the Patent and Trademark Office with greater resources and opening up the patent process to citizen review "will reduce the uncertainty and wasteful litigation that is currently a significant drag on innovation."
A Nov. 15 memo from Romney said his initial goals include ensuring that the PTO's director is "a distinguished U.S. patent lawyer with many years of experience" and carefully considering appointees to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears patent cases from around the country.
"If there is to be a meaningful step forward for the patent system, it is imperative that the United States elect a president who will do more than pay lip service" to critical patent policy topics, Wegner said.
Well, here's a no-brainer. Internet shopping's primary appeal is the convenience it offers, according to a new study by Nielsen Online. The Web-based survey of nearly 1,000 respondents showed that 81 percent said the ability to shop anytime was why they chose e-commerce during the holiday season.
Saving time was the next most popular reason to shop online, with 77 percent of respondents, followed by the ability to comparison shop and find things easily, with 61 percent and 56 percent, respectively.
Fewer respondents, 46 percent, listed low prices as a reason to shop online rather than in-store, officials said. Even fewer respondents, 24 percent, cited low shipping costs.
Respondents also told Nielsen that their 2007 online holiday spending would compose about the same share of their total holiday budgets as in 2006. Thirty-five percent of respondents, the largest group, reported they will spend 25-50 percent of their holiday budget online.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has set the briefing dates on a case filed by the Digital Media Association, National Public Radio and small commercial webcasters. The parties are seeking a review of the Copyright Royalty Board's controversial Internet radio rate-setting.
According to the Broadcast Law Blog, briefs from the webcasting groups who appealed are due Feb. 25 and the brief by the CRB (represented by the Justice Department) is due April 25. Digital royalty collector SoundExchange has to submit its filing on May 15. Replies are due June 12 and oral arguments have not been scheduled.
Blog author David Oxenford, who represents small commercial webcasters in the proceeding, said the court takes a summer break in July and August, the argument is likely to be held next fall. A decision could come very late in 2008 or early in 2009.
Technology Daily's original coverage of the groups' request for court intervention can be found here.
Popular patent law pundit Peter Zura pointed out on his blog this week that it appears that a massive overhaul of U.S. patent laws will not occur this calendar year. He cites a staffer for Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, as saying the bill will probably go to the floor after Congress returns from holiday break in early 2008.
That jives with what Technology Daily reported last Friday. We cited an aide to Majority Leader Harry Reid. "Senator Reid expects to take up the patent reform legislation as early as possible in January," Jim Manley told us.
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the measure, S. 1145, in July; the full House passed a companion measure, H.R. 1908, in September. Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Reid, D-Nev., met late last week to discuss the legislation's fate.
Bookworms rejoice! Amazon.com unveiled its portable reading device on Monday (just in time for the holiday shopping season), which wirelessly downloads books, magazines and newspapers. Now, instead of curling up in front a roaring fire with your favorite hardback, you can cozy up with a $400 "Kindle."
The Kindle's wireless delivery system uses the same nationwide high-speed data network (EVDO) as advanced cell phones. More than 90,000 books are available for the cutely named gadget. Titles are $9.99, unless marked otherwise, Amazon said in a press release.
The Kindle Store also offers over 300 blogs -- including Slashdot, TechCrunch, BoingBoing, The Onion and The Huffington Post. Blogs are downloaded automatically for as little as $0.99 each. Yeah, they're free the old-fashioned way, but c'mon, every innovation has its price, right?
CEO Jeff Bezos said the top design objective behind the slim thingamajig was "to get out of the way -- so you can enjoy your reading." Kindle is wireless, he pointed out, "so whether you're lying in bed or riding a train, you can think of a book, and have it in less than 60 seconds."
Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be an add-on that allows the Kindle to play digital books on tape, which is precisely what I'd need on Wednesday when I fight hours of Thanksgiving holiday traffic from Washington to West Virginia as I head home to see the relatives.
On Tuesday morning, President Bush is scheduled to take part in the White House's annual Thanksgiving turkey pardon. The current ceremony dates to 1947, when the first bird was presented to President Harry Truman.
The 2007 turkey and its alternate are from Dubois, Indiana, according to the White House Web site. This year, citizens can vote online to name the prized poultry. I cast my ballot for "Wing & Prayer" and you can cast yours here.
After the official presentation, the celebrity gobbler will be flown first class to Disney World in Orlando, Fla. where he will be the grand marshal of amusement park's Thanksgiving Day parade.
Reprinted from the Nov. 16, 2007 edition of National Journal's Technology Daily
Proposed Aid To Child-Safety Group Riles Colleagues
By Andrew Noyes
Controversy is brewing over a House-passed Internet bill that would direct $25 million to a nonprofit provider of online child safety curricula over a five-year period. Child-safety advocates complain that it is unfair to funnel that much money to a single organization.
The legislation, H.R. 4134, would authorize $5 million annually through 2012 for Carlsbad, Calif.-based i-Safe. The House passed it by voice vote Tuesday, less than a week after California Democrat Linda Sanchez introduced it.
In an attempt to pacify critics, the legislation also would direct $5 million annually to the Justice Department for a competitive grant program whereby other Web safety groups could vie for funding, said Michael Torra, Sanchez's chief of staff. A Senate companion bill has not been introduced, he said.
"Authorizing i-Safe ensures that this program, which has already helped over 3 million children in all 50 states, will be able to continue its work," Sanchez said Wednesday. The group has a "proven track record for teaching kids how to be safe on the Internet."
Torra said i-Safe has received $11 million in appropriations since 2002, but the measure is the first stand-alone bill introduced to authorize an amount. The group did not receive an earmark in fiscal 2007 and, if the Senate does not pass the bill, it will be without federal money in fiscal 2008, an i-Safe spokesman said.
Continue reading Bill's Passage Divides Child-Safety Groups.
The Federal Communications Bar Association hosted a briefing on Monday about copyright issues at the FCC and the FTC. Panelists covered a number of interesting intellectual property matters brought before the federal agencies -- but concluding remarks at the event turned into a self-promotion-palooza (with a pinch of humor).
Consumer Electronics Association lobbyist Michael Petricone made a push for his organization's annual trade show in Las Vegas in early January where he said high-tech copyright issues will be discussed in detail.
Then, Public Knowledge President Gigi Sohn piped up, urging attendees to take a look at her group's six-point plan for copyright reform. The proposal would fix current laws that the group believes are "out of touch with our technological reality."
Fritz Attaway, who is executive vice president of the Motion Picture Association of America, said he did not have anything to endorse. He paused briefly then exclaimed: "Go see a movie -- and pay for it." One small step to combat film piracy, one giant leap for mankind.
Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee has turned to obscure humor to win support. The former Arkansas governor, whose popularity is waning in recent polls, posted a political ad on his campaign Web site and on YouTube this week announcing that he is backed by martial artist and actor Chuck Norris.
A running gag involving satirical "facts" about Norris has become an Internet phenomenon and has even engaged the "Walker, Texas Ranger" star himself. The facts typically involve claims of Norris's masculinity and "alpha-male" status.
In the Huckabee video, the candidate appears on screen with Norris and says the TV tough guy is the focus of his plan to secure the U.S. border from illegal immigrants, which is a regular topic of debate among presidential contenders.
Huckabee says: "There is no chin behind Chuck Norris's beard -- only another fist," and then adds: "When Chuck Norris does a push-up, he isn’t lifting himself up; he's pushing the Earth down." Norris, in turn, calls Huckabee "a principled, authentic conservative."
"Chuck Norris doesn’t endorse," Huckabee quips. "He tells America how it's gonna be." Watch the full video here.
Google employees in Silicon Valley received a political treat last week when Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama unveiled his innovation agenda in a speech at the Internet firm's headquarters. But you don't have to be a Google employee to watch the speech; the company has posted it online at YouTube, the company's video-sharing unit.
The session with Obama is the latest in a series of appearances by presidential candidates at Google. Others who have spoken to company employees this year include: Democrats Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Mike Gravel and Bill Richardson; and Republicans John McCain and Ron Paul.
Global spam levels reached an all-time high of 95 percent of all e-mails at its peak during the third quarter of 2007, according to a new report by Commtouch®. The study, based on the automated analysis of billions of e-mail messages, noted the emergence of new kinds of attachment spam such as PDF spam and Excel spam.
There's a growing threat of innocent appearing spam containing links to malicious Web sites, the report indicated. The common thread to all of the nasty activities is the utilization of zombie botnets -- networks of compromised computers that are used to launch the blended spam/malware attacks, officials said. A bit of good news: image spam is on the decline.
Happy Monday! Lest you thought I was telling a tall tale about tech/telecom hacks and flacks who make beautiful music together as WMD and the Bad Ass Brass Band, here's proof. Enjoy a rousing performance of "Superstition" from last week's show at DC9.
[Cross-posted from National Journal's Beltway Blogroll by Danny Glover]
Many political bloggers like to think of themselves as modern-day pamphleteers, after the tradition of Thomas Paine and others who rallied British colonists for the revolution that made America. A Web site called The New Pamphleteer even caters to them.
Others liken the emergence of the political blogosphere to the early American press, where partisan passion in print was a virtue and objectivity most assuredly would have been a vice.
Today's new media, in other words, is a return to a much older media time in America. The journalism of the blogosphere is more about advocating a world view than it is about informing the world.
Based on what I heard yesterday from the people planning the Democratic and Republican presidential conventions in 2008, I'd say America's dominant political parties have gotten the message -- and share that vision of blogs. They see the blogosphere as a great tool to be exploited for partisan ends and bloggers as footsoldiers in an online militia.
That's why you're probably not going to see either party treating bloggers like traditional journalists when it comes to granting credentials for the conventions.
The Patent and Trademark Office has released its annual 2007 report. The agency achieved "record breaking year-end numbers that reveal historic improvement in the quality of patent and trademark reviews and subsequently the quality of issued patents and registered trademarks," officials said.
According to the report, PTO's patent examiners:
• Examined 362,227 applications - the highest number in history.
• Quality compliance was 96.5 percent - equaling last year's results, "the best in a quarter century."
• Patent examiner decisions were upheld by the PTO's patent appeals board 69 percent of the time, up from 51 percent in 2005.
The writers' strike against Hollywood producers over new media royalties has prompted a stunning, brilliant occurrence. Striking cast members and writers of NBC's "30 Rock" and "Saturday Night Live" will perform one-night-only live shows at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City in the coming days.
The entire cast of SNL has been confirmed for the 11:30 p.m. performance this Saturday, according to the New York Observer's Culture Czar blog. The cast of "30 Rock" will take to the stage on Monday at 8 p.m. The sold-out shows will benefit the Writers Guild strike fund.
Update: Gasp! Fans are trolling Craigslist for tickets to the shows...
"Governments who want to stomp-out dissidents or just stick a finger in the American eye" attempted to "hijack" some of the conversations held by participants at the Internet Governance Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this week, according to one industry source.
For them, the term "protecting critical Internet resources" has become a euphemism for "killing ICANN," the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which administers the Web addressing system, wrote Steve DelBianco, executive director of the e-commerce trade group NetChoice.
"The motivations of repressive regimes are obvious, but as I've stated before, those who see ICANN as a mechanism for American imperialism over the Internet are grossly overestimating the power of ICANN," he wrote on his blog. Read more here.
Technology Daily has been following the IGF too:
• Participants At Brazil Forum Hail Its Open Process
• The Net As 'A Tool Of Repression'
• Cuban Official's Calls For Net Change
• Call For 'Net Bill Of Rights' Opposed
• U.S. Likes Structure For Net Policy
Telecom hacks and flacks can make beautiful music together -- or at least that's what I'm told about WMD and the Bad Ass Brass Band, a budding Washington-based funk/soul ensemble. The group performed Thursday night at DC9 to rave reviews, but unfortunately a prior engagement kept me from attending.
WMD's core members -- Josh Wein ("W"), a reporter for Communications Daily; Ian Martinez ("M"), a PR whiz for the Telecommunications Industry Association; and Mike Dolan ("D"), also of Communications Daily -- jammed for the charity One Brick, which connects young professionals with volunteer opportunities.
"Come dance the night away to the stirring sounds of a band whose name is so long it wouldn't fit in this box ... but whose groove is so tight it can't be contained," the event invitation read. Full disclosure: W, M and D are all former coworkers of mine.
The band "blew the house away on a stage about the size of an ice shack fishing hole," one audience-member told Tech Daily Dose. "Everyone was dancing and beads were getting thrown out." The fan also noted that Wein "made David Byrne fun again" with his frontman performance of "Psychokiller."
Sounds like a good time. I'm sorry I missed it.
The chairman of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which administers the Web addressing system, made a plea to participants at a Web policy summit in Brazil to get involved with his group.
"Whoever you are, wherever you are, if you are interested in finding out more about ICANN, or its work, the door is open. Please walk in," Peter Dengate Thrush told attendees of the Internet Governance Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Thursday.
ICANN's organizational model allows all to contribute, from business to governments to the technical community to everyday Internet users, he said. The group's transparency has been routinely criticized but it is trying to improve its image in international circles.
Thrush said a new e-mail address -- get-involved@icann.org -- has been set up for those who wish to learn more about ICANN's structure and to get involved. "We will be glad to hear from you," he said. Read more about the forum in Technology Daily's PM Edition.
Jay Rosen, a journalism professor at New York University, has brainstormed a trio of journalistic innovations into the existence the past year. The new project, Beatblogging.org, went online yesterday, and elements of it will appeal to the technology crowd.
The concept behind Beatblogging is to connect beat reporters with social networks of experts in specific topics who can help them do their jobs better. To test the theory, Rosen recruited about a dozen beat reporters from newsrooms across the country whose editors are on board with the idea.
As it turns out, six of the participating beat reporters will be focused on science and technology topics. The reporters and their topics are:
-- Eric Berger of the Houston Chronicle, science
-- Eliot Van Buskirk of Wired.com, digital music
-- Michelle Davis of Education Week’s Digital Directions, technology in the K-12 classroom
-- Brier Dudley of The Seattle Times, Northwest technology companies, like Microsoft and RealNetworks.
-- Matt Nauman of The Mercury News, energy and "green" technology
-- And Stephen Totilo of MTV News, videogames and their makers
You can get more details on each of those projects at Rosen's PressThink blog and follow their coverage over the next year at the Beatblogging site.
Confusing concepts like "Internet governance" and "critical Internet resources" could divert attention from key barriers to Web development and could fuel calls for government intervention that would undermine the Internet's openness, the Center for Democracy and Technology said in paper released Wednesday.
The document was unveiled at the Internet Governance Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. "Critical Internet resources," or CIR, is one of several general themes of the conference.
While CIR has become a code word in some circles for the domain name system, the CDT paper identifies a broad range of concerns and warns against wholesale change in the structure of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.
CDT's paper can be found here and you can read more about the forum in Technology Daily's PM Edition.
The holiday season creeps up on us earlier and earlier each year, doesn’t it? It seems like department stores start decking their halls the day after Halloween, so here are some shopping tips from the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. This is just a quick rundown. Read the detailed list here.
▪ When shopping online, make sure that the Web site uses encryption technology before you provide your personal information. Encryption scrambles the information you send, such as your credit card number, in order to prevent computer hackers from obtaining it en route.
▪ The safest way to shop on the Internet is with a credit card. In the event something goes wrong, you are protected under the federal Fair Credit Billing Act. You have the right to dispute charges on your credit card, and you can withhold payments during a creditor investigation.
▪ Be sure to check out a Web site’s privacy policy before providing any personal information online. You can also learn what type of information is gathered by the Web site, and how it is — or is not — shared with others by reading its privacy policy. A link to the privacy policy is often found at the bottom of the site’s home page.
Former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt voiced support for the merger of satellite radio giants Sirius and XM in a Tuesday filing with the agency. During his four year tenure as chief, which ended in 1997, the commission formulated rules for the industry and granted the companies their licenses.
"I think that if XM and Sirius combined, it will be pro-competitive in all likelihood," Hundt said in transcripts from an interview. "It seems to me that what has happened over time is that these two firms have proved when kept apart to be incapable of mounting the really serious competition against … terrestrial radio that I had always hoped for."
He also clarified for the record the intention behind the FCC’s 1997 order creating satellite radio: "My thought was this: Let's start out with these two licenses, since it is not clear exactly what is the optimal business model, and then let's let the two firms go at it for a while and see what happens."
Read more of Hundt's thoughts on the merger here.
If the National Association of Broadcasters' well-known mouthpiece Dennis Wharton ever tires of his day job, he could always pursue a career on Broadway. The former journalist and fixture on Capitol Hill got his first taste of the stage during a trip to the Big Apple last weekend.
Wharton, who serves as the powerful lobbying group's executive vice president of media relations, told Tech Daily Dose that he and his wife got cheap seats for the acclaimed "25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," only to be chosen as an on-stage extra.
The affable flack sat in the risers with the ensemble cast of the musical comedy and played along when background characters were needed. Wharton even got a turn at the microphone and successfully spelled "Mexicans." He was eliminated after being presented with a longer, weirder word that he could not recall.
The Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing room filled with music -- albeit briefly -- during a Tuesday morning hearing on the debate over public performance rights. Folk singer Alice Peacock strummed the guitar and belted out a few lyrics from her song, "Bliss."
Peacock testified alongside country crooner and Grammy-winner Lyle Lovett on behalf of the musicFirst coalition, which is backed by the Recording Industry Association of America, Recording Artists' Coalition and other industry groups. Lovett did not perform.
After Peacock's mini-concert, Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., wondered aloud how the committee's reporter would include her ditty in the panel's official record. He also said the last witness he heard break into song mid-hearing was Harry Chapin, who is best known for the classic tune "Cat's in the Cradle." "It brings back memories," he said.
Read more about the hearing in Technology Daily's PM Edition.
Internet giant Google unveiled its Android Developer Challenge on Monday -- a contest that will give $10 million to developers who build mobile applications for Android™, the first complete, open, and free mobile platform.
The competition is designed to support the developer community and spark innovation on the Android platform by awarding cash prizes for as much as $275,000, Google said in a press release.
"We've built some interesting applications for Android but the best applications are not here yet and that's because they're going to be written by developers," Google co-founder Sergey Brin said.
Andy Rubin, Google's director of mobile platforms, said the race will "stretch [developers'] imaginations and skills to leverage the full capabilities of this new platform and to create something amazing."
Android was announced earlier this month by the Open Handset Alliance, a group of more technology and mobile industry leaders committed to fostering innovation on mobile phones.
The curiously named Republican politician Bob Diebold defeated incumbent Bruce Bain last week to become the first GOP mayor of Newark, N.J. in almost two decades. The city councilman won with 52 percent of the vote, according to the Newark Advocate.
"We are going to be good, thoughtful leaders, and we are going to do what's best for the city," Diebold said. He projected a three- or four-point margin of victory, despite being outspent by a significant margin. Diebold said he won with "a good pair of shoes."
The Garden Stater, whose name is on touch-screen voting machines around the country, got our attention in May when he won the Republican primary. Diebold has no connection to Ohio-based Diebold Election Systems.
Elections officials in Newark's jurisdiction sought advice from Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner on whether it would be prudent to allow the machines to display Diebold's name because candidates in Ohio are not allow to display their names within 100 feet of polling places.
The first day of the Internet Governance Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was not without controversy. Read Technology Daily's PM Edition for details. We can't give away the best stuff on the blog, which is free to read, but here are a few odds and ends…
▪ Paul Twomey, who heads the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, said during the opening session that the Internet community as a whole should be proud of its accomplishments. There are more than a billion people online around the globe and trillions of dollars are being made via Web-oriented businesses.
"With this extraordinary change also comes challenges," he said. "That is what this forum is about -- bringing together people to talk, review, discuss and hopefully solve some of the issues that are before us."
▪ Anriette Estherhuysen, executive director of the Association for Progressive Communications, said the Internet is "a public good and should be governed as public good [and] that governance should take place in the public domain."
Removing barriers for some potential Internet users is important, she said. "Why should blind people pay more for interfaces to read text because they're blind and because someone owns a royalty on making two applications talk to each other?" she asked.
Reprinted from the Nov. 9, 2007 edition of National Journal's Technology Daily
Net Governance: U.S. Wants To Maintain The Nature Of Internet Policy
By Andrew Noyes
A pair of high-ranking telecommunications officials from the U.S. government this week emphasized the importance of maintaining the true multi-stakeholder nature of Internet policy talks in anticipation of a global conference that begins Monday in Brazil.
The second installment of the Internet Governance Forum will be a significant place to "share experiences and visions that support the continued evolution and expansion of the Internet," John Kneuer and David Gross said in a joint statement.
Kneuer, who just announced that he is leaving as head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and Gross, the State Department's international communications and information policy chief, hope the event will foster "constructive discussions" about economic and social development.
Internet industry representatives from the United States and other nations, as well as some Western government officials, worry that a handful of delegations like China and Russia are trying to turn the U.N.-sponsored forum into a policymaking body.
Preserving the current framework makes the organization a "unique environment for an honest and frank exchange of ideas without the pressure of negotiating output discussions or conclusions," Kneuer and Gross said.
Markus Kummer, the U.N. official who heads the forum's secretariat, told Technology Daily on Friday that "more traditional" governments are not used to attending an event like the forum without it ending in a treaty or concluding document.
I don’t know what "The IT Room" is but it might just become the source of some seriously amusing viral videos. A number of features on the Web site still read "coming soon" and a Whois look-up doesn’t provide much intel.
But the site does offer several teasers that give viewers a peek inside the hilarity unfolding inside a generic office space in Anywhere, USA. My favorite clip is when a staffer takes out some aggression on his PC. The site's characters include a blonde, a geek, two other guys, and a capuchin monkey. Completely random.
This might just beat the heck out of New York City's famed Fashion Week. BoingBoingTV has posted a segment on "Space Style 2007: A Giant Leap for Couture," a space-aged event that took place in Los Angeles recently.
The fashion show, which featured a half-dozen designers, was part of a conference hosted by the California Space Authority and the California Space Education and Workforce Institute. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency also presented items from its own couture competition.
One attendee told BBtv's Xeni Jardin that "flexibility is a must when you're in zero gravity." Another said the core elements of space style are latex, Lycra® and Velcro®. At one point during the show, Jardin asks a fashion critic: "Would scotch help you interpret this?" The answer was yes.
Up-and-coming musician Wynter Gordon, whose debut album will be released by Atlantic Records this spring, appeared on Capitol Hill on Thursday to speak to local middle school students about the importance of legal downloading. She has quite a following on MySpace and has posted some videos on YouTube.
Songwriter Bill Danoff, whose toe-tappers "Afternoon Delight" and "Take Me Home Country Roads" became hits in the 1970s, was also on hand. The former was reintroduced to a new generation in the recent Will Ferrell movie "Anchorman" and the latter is a sentimental John Denver ditty for a couple of us Mountaineers on staff at Technology Daily.
Read more about their visit to the Hill in our PM Edition.
The 463 Blog has an interesting post called "Free Trade, Protectionism, and Why I'm Not the Only One Who Doesn't Get Lou Dobbs." In it, Rob Haralson discusses a Capitol Hill briefing hosted by the progressive strategy group Third-Way.
The event marked the launch of the think tank's trade initiative and the release of a report titled "Why Lou Dobbs is Winning," which takes a look at why trade advocates are losing the communications battle when it comes to demonstrating benefits of trade and open markets.
Meanwhile, I still have not heard whether Dobbs has responded to Consumer Electronics Association President Gary Shapiro's debate challenge. Read more about that here.
The TorrentFreak blog has posted an interview with a 9-year-old girl who uses the popular file-sharing program LimeWire. Here's an excerpt:
TF. Do you think it's legal or illegal to copy a CD or DVD?
- Some men right, they sell you a DVD at the market but when you get home it doesn't play, that's illegal.
TF. Why is it illegal?
- Duh!! Because they tell you it works and when you get it home it's rubbish and jumps in the middle and its a waste of money!
TF. Do you think you should be paying for stuff off LimeWire? You have to buy CD’s from the shop…
- You have to pay for CD’s because they’re actually on a disc not on the computer. My cousin, right, she uses LimeWire when she doesn’t have any money for CDs.
(Thanks, Consumerist)
Music industry insider Radio Ink has obtained a document being circulated on Capitol Hill by the musicFirst coalition proposing flat performance-royalty rates for "small commercial radio stations," noncommercial stations, and college stations.
The group, whose members include the Recording Industry Association of America, SoundExchange and others, was formed this summer to lobby for a performance royalty from AM and FM radio. [Read more here]
The proposal would change would do away with broadcasters' royalties exemption and have small commercial stations pay $5,000 per year while noncommercial and college stations would dole out $1,000 a year.
Stations that "make only incidental uses of music," such as talk radio, would not pay at all for music, the publication said. Stations that use music but are not chiefly music formats would receive a "per program license option."
The Free Radio Alliance spoke out in an e-mail to reporters on Wednesday that said: "Don’t be fooled by the record labels’ proposal for a lower performance tax on small and noncommercial broadcasters. Just ask Internet radio how well that deal has worked out for them."
The venture capital community lauded Senate Judiciary Committee Patrick Leahy this week for his commitment to patent reform but said the current bill under consideration, S.1145, needs to be changed.
The measure, which passed the Vermont Democrat's panel in July, awaits action by the full chamber. The VCs proposed several modifications "in an effort to enact patent reform that is balanced and protects innovators."
On the issue of damages, the group suggested an approach that would maintain the current multi-factored analysis and define limited circumstances in which apportionment may apply.
They also voiced concern that the creation of a new proceeding within the Patent and Trademark Office "to permit extended administrative challenges of validly-issued patents could improperly question the reliability of an emerging company’s intellectual property."
Additionally, the legislation does not curtail the "inequitable conduct" defense, the group said. S. 1145 codifies the current intent standard but lowers the standard of materiality to a prima facie case of unpatentability. Read more about patent reform in Technology Daily's PM Edition.
As we reported in September, pop singer Prince asked video-sharing site YouTube to remove clips of his recent concerts in London in an attempt to "reclaim his art on the Internet."
Now, BBC reports that the "Little Red Corvette" crooner is threatening legal action against fan-run sites unless they remove photographs of him. Prince Fans United claims the star is trying to "stifle all critical commentary" and he is in "violation of the freedom of speech."
Web Sheriff, the U.K. firm Prince has hired to enforce the ban, told the BBC it was "not an attack on fans." "The dispute, in so far as there is one, is related to the use of photographs and images of Prince, many of which are Prince's copyright," officials said.
The owners of three key fan sites joined forces to fight "what amounts to an injustice to the fan sites and the very fans who have supported Prince's career," they said in a press release. The sites are "fully prepared to defend their position in the proper court of law, as well as fully prosecute any claims to which they are justly entitled."
My favorite coverage of the story on Wednesday came from MSNBC, which ran a banner that read: "Purple Reign of Terror: Prince Suing Fans."
Tuesday's House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Yahoo's dealings in China was "a great opportunity" for the company to set the record straight on its practices in that country, Reporters Without Borders spokeswoman Lucie Morillon told Tech Daily Dose when the event ended.
"Although Yahoo executives apologized to the relatives of the cyber-dissidents they helped send to jail, the company didn't display any transparency on its actions and kept using the same arguments over again, that they have to obey the local laws and don't have control of their operations in China," she said.
The hearing highlighted the need for H.R. 275, a bill known as the Global Online Freedom Act, "to be passed as soon as possible to protect American IT companies from collaborating with repressive regimes," Morillon said. She testified in February 2006 about the controversial topic.
Read more about the hearing in Technology Daily's PM Edition.
During the House Foreign Affairs Committee's hearing on Yahoo's business stake in China on Tuesday, Rep. Lynn Woolsey said she had to put her "HR hat on." Before coming to Washington, the California Democrat was the human resources manager for a telecommunications firm.
"It is hard to hold onto your culture as an organization when you grow as fast as you're growing," she told Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang and General Counsel Michael Callahan. "As part of that culture, are you paying attention to the difference between making money and doing the right thing? That can go out the window so quickly," she warned.
The executives were grilled during a morning hearing that focused on the firm's connection to the Chinese government's imprisonment of a journalist who spoke out against it on his Yahoo e-mail account. Read more in Technology Daily's PM Edition.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos indicated that two special guests were present at Tuesday's hearing on Yahoo's involvement in the Chinese government's suppression of Internet freedom.
Sitting in the front row was Gao Qinsheng, the mother of journalist Shi Tao, who is serving a 10-year jail sentence -- in part because of information provided about him by Yahoo to Chinese law enforcement.
Yu Lin, the wife of Internet writer Wang Xiaoning, was also present. Wang was arrested in 2002 for using a Yahoo Groups account to advocate for open elections, a multi-party system and separation of powers in the Chinese government.
Both women have worked to bring to light Yahoo's activities in China and are plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit against Yahoo in San Francisco, according to a Lantos spokeswoman. Read more in Technology Daily's PM Edition.
Tuesday's House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Yahoo's involvement in the imprisonment of a Chinese journalist got off to a late start because Chairman Tom Lantos had to take an important call.
When the California Democrat, who prides himself on his timeliness, settled into his high-backed chair, he explained that the delay was due to a "lengthy conversation" with Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf.
Lantos apologized to his witnesses, Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang and General Counsel Michael Callahan, noting: "I thought it was important to continue that conversation." Read about the hearing in Technology Daily's PM Edition.
Looking for something to do with your Monday evening in the nation's capital? George Washington University law professor and privacy expert Daniel Solove is hosting a book chat at Borders (18th & L St., NW @ 6:30).
Solove's recent tome, "The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor and Privacy on the Internet" (Yale University Press), tackles privacy issues in the Internet age as well as solutions for balancing new technology, freedom of speech and privacy.
"The Internet is not necessarily a threat to privacy, nor is it a friend to privacy," Solove said. "I think that a new technology exacerbates existing problems and ultimately what matters is what we do, what policies we set and what rules we establish that will govern privacy." (Thanks, Express)
On the heels of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers' fall meeting in Los Angeles last week, Technology Daily's "Issue Of The Week" feature appropriately focuses on Vint Cerf, who left his post as ICANN chairman on Friday.
In an interview conducted shortly before the meeting began, Cerf reminisced with me about his lengthy tenure as the face of ICANN and the organization's biggest challenges and successes over the years. He also spoke candidly about his plans for the future (hint: Oprah's Book Club better be on the lookout). Read the article here.
The musicFIRST coalition, which is lobbying for copyright holders to get paid when their music is played on AM and FM radio, sent the National Association of Broadcasters and early holiday gift on Monday.
The alliance, backed by the Recording Industry Association of America and others, mailed NAB President David Rehr an American Heritage College Dictionary "to help the NAB more accurately understand the meaning of a 'tax.'"
NAB officials have repeatedly referred to musicFirst's campaign as a "tax" on local radio. The dictionary sent to Rehr defines tax as "a contribution for the support of a government required of persons, groups, or businesses with the domain of that government."
The controversy over NAB's lingo most recently came to light at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the future of radio last month when New Hampshire Republican John Sununu grilled an NAB member about the terminology.
"A performance right is not a tax. It is fair compensation for artists and musicians who, through their voices, their inspiration, and their hearts and souls, bring music to life on the radio. It is compensation earned by artists and musicians that is long overdue," Motown singer Martha Reeves said in a coalition press release.
Update: NAB spokesman Dennis Wharton said the recording industry is trying to "bail out a failing business model." "It is undeniable that free airplay of music on America's hometown radio stations generates millions of dollars in annual revenue for both artists and the foreign-owned record labels," he said.
The organizers of last spring's Tech Policy Summit in Silicon Valley have launched a new Web destination called Tech Policy Central. The site, according to its creators, is a portal for "collaboration and learning so anyone who has a stake in tech policy … can be informed and get involved in the dialogue."
The site features a town hall section for online discussion as well as technology related research, videos and audio, a job bank and more. It's definitely worth checking out. Meanwhile, the next Tech Policy Summit will take place March 26-28 in Hollywood.
The confrontation over intellectual property between Fox News and presidential candidates who want to use footage from the debates where they are the star attractions just got another player.
The Caucus reports that Republican candidate Mitt Romney has a new advertisement that uses Fox footage from last week's GOP debate. Fox cried foul when fellow Republican John McCain made a similar move last week.
Add to the mix the bloggers and online activists across the political spectrum who yesterday entered the fray by telling Fox to back off, and you have an intriguing "fair use" fight over copyright law developing on the fringe of a heated presidential race. Fun, fun, fun!
Here's the Romney ad:
This summer, Technology Daily produced a detailed look at the tech policy records and views of all of the 2008 presidential candidates. You won't find a more exhaustive package anywhere online.
But you can find a good supplement to our coverage over at TechCrunch, where Michael Arrington this week snagged an interview with Republican candidate Mitt Romney. They discussed topics like tech growth policies, Internet taxes, H-1B visas for high-skilled workers, venture-capital tax issues and renewable energy.
Unfortunately, Arrington said he didn't have time to cover more controversial issues like how, if at all, the government should react to U.S. tech companies helping the Chinese government filter online activities, or whether the U.S. government should mandate equal treatment of broadband content, a concept known as network neutrality.
You can read the transcript or listen to the interview.
Technology Daily's best article lede of the week award goes to my colleague David Hatch for his coverage of Wednesday's FCC meeting. Here's how he started off his story:
Media consolidation opponents turned out in force at a high-profile Halloween Day FCC meeting featuring a protest outside the agency, activists in cheerleader uniforms, and a self-described "corporate media whore" in a French maid outfit who briefly upstaged the agency's chairman while being momentarily detained in the hearing room.
Read the entire article here.
Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, urged the FTC to address invasive online advertising practices. His statement came on the first of a two-day agency conference on behavioral targeting.
"When consumers search for information online, they may be unaware of marketers in their wake, who are scooping up the digital traces of consumers’ online activities and compiling profiles that could undermine privacy," he said.
The FTC should "promptly investigate the privacy impacts of Internet tracking and targeting techniques to ensure that loss of privacy is not the price consumers must pay to realize the benefits of online commerce."
FTC Commissioner Jon Leibowitz said on Thursday that he could not give any details on his agency's review of Google's pending buyout of online advertising firm DoubleClick, but noted the staff "is working through this matter as expeditiously as possible given the complexity of the deal."
He spoke at an FTC conference on Internet advertising and behavioral targeting, saying "our analysis of the merger has got to be about competition and potential competition." "It can't be about privacy per se," under the antitrust law known as the Clayton Act.
Regardless of whether the deal goes through, "we have to talk about privacy" in the Internet advertising space, Leibowitz added. He conducted a "focus group" with his 12-year-old daughter and her friends over the weekend to gauge their experiences with targeted marketing.
They told him that some ads that appeared when they were surfing the Web were not appropriate for their age. One ad asked "how long was your last kiss?" and another stated "touch me harder," he said. His 10-year-old, however, was served an ad for Clorox.
Read more about the FTC conference in Technology Daily's PM Edition.
The Direct Marketing Association unveiled findings of a national survey on Thursday that the group said shows providing relevant marketing materials to consumers online is fueling unprecedented Internet growth.
According to DMA President John Greco, "The verdict is in -- consumers have overwhelmingly responded to an open Internet supported by relevant advertising." The results were released in conjunction with an FTC summit on the topic.
The poll found that when given a choice about how Web content should be paid for, 72 percent of Internet users preferred that sites not charge, and instead be funded by ads.
More than 85 percent said they usually visit free sites where the content they use is paid for by advertisers while 10 percent said that the sites they access either charge them a subscription or pay for each download or use.
When respondents were asked whether they were aware that Internet companies were collecting information regarding their Web browsing, 30 percent said they did not know.
Read more about the FTC conference in Technology Daily's PM Edition.
I hadn’t intended to run into any Web celebrities during my time at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers fall meeting in Los Angeles (with the exception of ICANN Chairman Vint Cerf, of course).
So imagine my surprise when I encountered a stick-thin, mascara-wearing, bleached blonde at a trendy restaurant on Sunset Boulevard. That's right, I'm about 99 percent sure that a friend and I had a run-in with YouTube sensation Chris Crocker. Then again, it could have been Courtney Love.
Crocker, if you'll recall, made headlines earlier this year with his dramatic defense of beleaguered pop singer Britney Spears. Shortly after the Tennessee native's foray into the public eye, there were rumors of him getting his own reality television show. Perhaps that's what brought him to La-La Land?
Although I wasn’t able to stay for the entire week, I wanted to post a few thoughts about my first experience covering a global gathering of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers in person.
Since meetings are typically held in far-flung locales like Portugal, Morocco and New Zealand, I usually follow key sessions via webcast. When I heard that the fall meeting would be held in Los Angeles, I knew I had to attend.
My first observation is that members of the ICANN community are extremely committed. They wake up early for pre-meeting meetings; engage in heated discussions all day long; and continue those debates over cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. Some even engage in late-night strategy sessions to prep for the next day.
Secondly, ICANN meeting participants are scarily smart. They eat, sleep and breathe the World Wide Web -- and it shows. Their knowledge of all things Internet-related was demonstrated at each session I attended and in every conversation I had with them -- both on and off-the-record.
It's worth noting that the group is truly a multi-stakeholder entity with participants from nearly every corner of the world. That was illustrated by the row of translation booths in the back of the main conference hall that made large sessions immediately available in a variety of languages.
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