Trade uncertainty stalls American innovation
With a looming reauthorization deadline later this year, Congress has a chance to renew and improve a government funding program that can be critical to startups engaging in costly R&D.
Lawmakers in Congress and in state legislatures are under pressure from parents and advocacy groups to change Internet law to “keep kids safe online”.
The fate of some of the largest broadband subsidy programs, key to bridging the digital divide for all consumers, including startups and their users, depends on the outcome of the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) v. Consumers’ Research case before the Supreme Court.
This blog continues our series called “AI Essentials,” which aims to bridge the knowledge gap surrounding AI-related topics. It discusses what a foundation model is, how startups are leveraging them to drive greater innovation in the AI ecosystem, and what policymakers need to keep in mind.
On Friday afternoon, the Federal Trade Commission announced its intention to launch a study of Patent Assertion Entities, commonly referred to as “patent trolls.” While a host of interesting research on the patent system has surfaced over the summer, the FTC’s involvement could lead to the evaluation of brand new information that will aid legislative efforts.
A new study from the Progressive Policy Institute puts the economic cost of patent trolls at $83 billion. Patent trolls are capitalizing on a system which, as currently constituted, does not adequately service our growing economy. It is a system within our power to reconstruct, and while that work is underway, we need this community to continue to support those efforts to bring them to fruition.
This week, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that aims to protect the online privacy of minors in California by fashioning a right to erase content posted on the internet. The new law is specifically designed to protect "the teenager who says something on the Internet that they regret five minutes later," but it also leads to questions about broader online privacy issues.
The lofty aim of the Common Core is to raise achievement levels in public schools across the country. As a nation, we must ensure minimum attainment in preparation for college, a new economy, and for life. We must build this solid base before we can hope to sustainably foster spectacular achievement.
Effective solutions to low educational attainment, specifically in STEM subjects, remain hard to find. Since the United States education system has so far failed to produce enough high-tech talent -- in the right places -- many U.S. firms are sourcing STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) talent from around the globe. But immigration reform is only a short-term solution to the talent shortage. To truly solve the problem, we must consider large-scale education reform. Holistic reform of education is a sustainable mechanism for economic growth, and the most direct solution for building a society of skilled individuals prepared to participate in the economy -- and specifically to replenish the high-tech labor market.
In banning software patents, New Zealand has done the equivalent of amending section 101 of the Patent Act that helps define what is, and is not, patentable. As a refresher, this oft-cited section is intended to preclude patent protection for laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas. Can the U.S. do the same?
Today, we’re excited to partner with the Electronic Frontier Foundation and a coalition of organizations and law schools to launch Trolling Effects, a resource to empower entrepreneurs targeted by patent trolls. Patent troll lawsuits represented 62 percent of all patent litigation in 2012, and the costs associated with these suits amount to billion of dollars, stalling business growth, delaying products, and robbing startups of precious resources.
Pedro Sorrentino hails from Sao Paolo, Brazil, and is currently living in San Francisco working for SendGrid. While attending graduate school in Boulder, Colorado, Pedro started and sold his first business. Once he graduated, however, Pedro had a hard decision to make. Based on his visa class, and the fact that he came from Brazil, the rules stated that it was mandatory for him to return home upon graduation. Would he go back to Brazil to work for his company? Or could he find an employer who would sponsor his H-1B application to stay in the United States?
The best trade agreements strengthen relationships with nations and regions vital to United States foreign and economic policy. When it comes to the secretive discussions around the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), however, any benefits might also come with now-unseen costs to startups and the tech industry as a whole if negotiators do not consider unintended consequences.
Debate around the patent system, and how we can fix it, is beginning to take shape in Washington, after many years of discussion in entrepreneurial communities around the country. Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn recently joined the debate with well received draft legislation that would help on a number of fronts; Senator Cornyn released his plan after actively seeking the input of the entrepreneurial community in Texas.
By a vote of 68-32, the United States Senate completed a landmark bipartisan effort by passing S. 744 on comprehensive immigration reform. We applaud the efforts of the Senators who voted in favor of the bill, and all their staff, as well as recognising the historic impact of the technology community. Today we stand closer to the promise of an immigration system that works for all Americans than we have for decades. Now we must ensure this promise is realized.
This week, we signed and sent a letter to the U.S. Senate alongside other leading tech groups. The movement led by TechNet gathered over 100 signatories, including the Consumer Electronics Association, Cisco Systems, Facebook, and Partnership for a New American Economy. The technology community understands the importance of the high-tech industry to the American economy, and agrees unanimously that comprehensive immigration reform is the solution we need.
Last week, Engine joined software innovators, startups, and investors as a signatory on an amicus brief in Oracle v. Google -- a case centered on how far copyright should be extended with regards to Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). We are in favor of limiting copyright on APIs in order to protect innovation and investment.
In 2012, district courts ruled in favor of Google, concluding that Java APIs used by Android are not subject to copyright. The Federal Circuit is now reviewing the case on appeal.
We are proud to put our name on the brief because we recognize the need for software startups to innovate and the drive economy forward. Startup innovation requires interoperability (ie. open exchange of information) between systems and programs, and this is fostered by APIs.
Our interest is in “preserving the deliberate balance Congress and the courts have established for software copyright.” This balance is integral to maintaining a competitive marketplace and investment landscape. Should copyright restrictions on API’s be tightened, the real-world implications could be significant -- could decrease competition in software innovation and chill investment.
We’d like to recognize Engine member startups who also signed this brief, including: Bright Funds, Hattery, Hipiti, and Vessel. We are also thankful that prominent investors and technology industry veterans lent their voices, including Engine Advisory Board Member Brad Feld, and his partner at Foundry Group, Jason Mendelson. You can find a full list of signatories here.
We encourage you to check out the abstract and full brief.
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Today the White House Task Force on High-Tech Patent Issues issued a statement with a clear message: it’s time to tackle patent reform. While Washington as a whole has been slow to embrace new proposals after the passage of The America Invents Act in 2011, a steady drumbeat from advocates, startups, and tech companies alike has pushed policy makers to do more to end the economic drag caused by frivolous patent litigation. The Obama administration announced seven legislative recommendations and five executive actions that are a material step toward fixing the broken patent regime.
The executive actions make clarity a top priority. The requirements include ordering the patent office to work on rules that will make the real owner of a patent more apparent, requiring the office to tighten patent examiners’ scrutiny around what a given patent claims to do, and compelling the office to provide clear, plain-English answers for consumers and businesses about demand letters from patent trolls.
The administration's legislative recommendations also meet key startup needs. The White House is calling on Congress to empower and protect individuals and businesses facing legal demands from patent trolls. This includes proposals to further increase patent owner transparency, shift incentives to discourage predatory litigation, expand the patent reviews from the America Invents Act, end-user protections from patent troll suits, and increase incentives to encourage public disclosure of demand letters from trolls.
We are excited that the White House is taking action in the patent debate. While Washington has been divided along partisan lines of late, members of both parties are unifying to right some of the apparent wrongs in the system. Today’s announcement should encourage further dialogue about what the right fixes are, and how Congress can most effectively protect startups and ultimately all businesses from unwarranted lawsuits.
You can read White House fact sheet here. We will continue to post updates on patent reform proposals from Washington.
Related articles:
Picture courtesy of Alan Kotok.
Engine supports comprehensive immigration reform, and specifically the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” bill that passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee with amendments that further encourage innovation and boost economic growth.
To the aim of bringing this bill to a vote, and getting it passed into law, we’ve launched Keep Us Here
-- a campaign centered around online tools to call, write to, and tweet at, Congress.
This is a unique moment in American politics, and you can be a part of it.
For this to work, we need to mobilize startups, entrepreneurs, investors, innovators, and everyone who wants an immigration system that works for America in a global economy. We also hope to build a broader coalition, including a wider range of interest groups also pushing for comprehensive immigration reform.
Why does it matter?
1. Startups are responsible for all net job growth over the last twenty years
2. Engine Advocacy research tells us that for every new high-tech job, 4.3 other jobs are created in a local economy
3. With forty percent of Fortune 500 companies founded by immigrants, or the children of immigrants, it’s critically important that we safeguard the ability of the next generation of founders to start business here.
4. Under the current system we are losing knowledge, and losing out to other countries who are welcoming American-taught talent with open arms
Startups promise the rebirth -- and rejuvenation -- of the American economy. Startups can power the next generation of growth in the American economy if we let them.
Engine is working towards an immigration system that works for the United States in a global economy, and we need your help.
You can tell policymakers that you care about knowledge, talent, jobs, growth, and keeping the U.S. competitive in the global economy. Let’s raise our voices to encourage the Senate to pass comprehensive immigration reform now.
Go to Keep Us Here
. Write a letter to your Senator, tweet at Congress, and pledge to call your Senator directly on June 18th, to show your support for comprehensive immigration reform.
Use the image above as your Facebook cover picture, and the badge below for your website. If you want any further messaging, or other images, don't hesitate to reach out to us at comms@engine.is.
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