Policy Blog
The New SOPA Will Be the Old SOPA (or some variant thereof)
There's been a sort of giddy euphoria among the netroots recently, with a major win against harmful copyright legislation in the forms of PIPA and SOPA. And there's a lot of discussion about what to do with this newly-emergent energy and focus. Some are turning to the IP provisions of the Trans Pacific Partnership, or the role of the US is pushing stringent copyright protection through the Special 301 process. Others are focusing on the Research Works Act, which threatens to overturn research funding policies that ensure that the results of taxpayer-funded research stay accessible to taxpayers.
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Tell The USTR Not to Do Big Content’s Bidding
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) is asking for public comment in its Special 301 inquiry for 2012. Special 301 is an annual report that the USTR compiles listing countries that allegedly fail to provide adequate and effective protection for intellectual property rights of US persons. As we have said before, this report has turned into an exercise that arm-twists countries into instituting laws and policies that serve the interests of big content even where these policies hurt the free expression and due process rights of citizens.
It's Never Over For AT&T: Sting Of ATTMobile Defeat Lingers On and On
This is a great week for taking a step back for a good look at how Washington works. It’s also a great demonstration of that wonderful saying, “It’s never over until it’s over. And it’s never over.”
On the menu are AT&T’s failed takeover of T-Mobile, a bill to set rules for spectrum auctions, a payroll tax bill pending in Congress, a bill to change FCC procedures, and Verizon’s planned collaboration with Comcast and other cable companies. They all have something in common: big companies trying to obtain their fair advantage over consumers and competitors. In these cases, it’s generally in the wireless market.
Sneaking 3 Horrible Wireless Ideas into One Bill
Here in Washington, a classic way to get a bad policy passed is to attach it to the back of some unrelated “must pass” piece of legislation. Attaching one bad idea to a bill is sneaky. Attaching two bad ideas is bold. Attaching three? Well, that’s what we have with a trio of horrible wireless ideas that some people in Congress are trying to attach to the upcoming Payroll Tax bill.
It is almost as if the proponents of these additions took a few years’ worth of ideas that will make wireless worse, wrapped them up in a bundle, and glued them to the underside of a bill that – if it does not pass – will raise taxes for millions of Americans. In this case, these conditions would apply to spectrum freed up by the transition to digital TV broadcasting, and would impact some of the most useful spectrum to become available for years. What are these conditions?
Florida Considers Overreaching Bootlegging Policy
Given the uproar surrounding the PROTECT IP Act and SOPA, it would be easy to think that all meaningful copyright and intellectual property policy is made here in Washington, D.C. Certainly, as PK’s Art Brodsky has pointed out, it is important to stay focused on Congress, because they have shown with the PIRATE Act, the Pro-IP Act, and COICA, the content industry will be back on Capitol Hill to ask for more protection.
The TPP: Closed-Door Negotiations, Worse than ACTA, Lessons from SOPA/PIPA
This week trade negotiators from 8 countries (including the United States) are meeting in LA behind closed doors to discuss the intellectual property chapter of a new international trade agreement.
The recent outpouring of opposition to SOPA/PIPA was an indication of citizens' outrage, not only at the actual bills, but also at the fact that Congress could be so blind to the public interest in order to please the content industry. While SOPA/PIPA are unprecedented incursions into the Internet architecture, the mindset that caused these bills to go as far as they did, has been at play for a very long time: ratcheting up protections for IP rights holders with little regard for preserving balance in IP laws or due process rights of citizens.
preservesthe openness of the Internet and the public's access to knowledge, promotes creativity through balanced copyright, and upholds and protects the rights of consumers to use innovative technology lawfully.