Continued DHS work to build its relationships with private sector stakeholders is “crucial” to its continued mission to address cybersecurity in the private sector and on government networks, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson told the House Homeland Security Committee Wednesday. Johnson, who took office in December, outlined his vision for DHS and addressed concerns about the department’s programs. DHS’s private sector outreach on cybersecurity has been most public on the department’s role in implementing President Barack Obama’s cybersecurity executive order, Johnson said.
Patent assertion entity Intellectual Ventures (IV) filed with the Federal Elections Commission last week to organize its own political action committee, Intellectual Ventures PAC, according to documents the FEC released Friday (http://1.usa.gov/Nj8CiR). IV has not commented on what Intellectual Ventures PAC’s political agenda will be, but the company has been highly critical of many provisions in legislation under consideration on Capitol Hill that would curb abusive patent litigation. The House passed the Innovation Act (HR-3309) in December, and the Senate is considering the Patent Transparency and Improvements Act (S-1720) and several other bills. Advocates of that legislation told us it isn’t surprising that IV has formed its own PAC, citing IV’s history of lobbying on patent legislation.
Patent assertion entity Intellectual Ventures (IV) filed with the Federal Elections Commission last week to organize its own political action committee, Intellectual Ventures PAC, according to documents the FEC released Friday (http://1.usa.gov/Nj8CiR). IV has not commented on what Intellectual Ventures PAC’s political agenda will be, but the company has been highly critical of many provisions in legislation under consideration on Capitol Hill that would curb abusive patent litigation. The House passed the Innovation Act (HR-3309) in December, and the Senate is considering the Patent Transparency and Improvements Act (S-1720) and several other bills. Advocates of that legislation told us it isn’t surprising that IV has formed its own PAC, citing IV’s history of lobbying on patent legislation.
Patent assertion entity Intellectual Ventures (IV) filed with the Federal Elections Commission last week to organize its own political action committee, Intellectual Ventures PAC, according to documents the FEC released Friday (http://1.usa.gov/Nj8CiR). IV has not commented on what Intellectual Ventures PAC’s political agenda will be, but the company has been highly critical of many provisions in legislation under consideration on Capitol Hill that would curb abusive patent litigation. The House passed the Innovation Act (HR-3309) in December, and the Senate is considering the Patent Transparency and Improvements Act (S-1720) and several other bills. Advocates of that legislation told us it isn’t surprising that IV has formed its own PAC, citing IV’s history of lobbying on patent legislation.
The White House announced a set of new executive actions Thursday that aim to curb abusive patent litigation to be accomplished through U.S. Patent and Trademark Office programs, along with an update to the executive actions President Barack Obama took in June (WID June 5 p1). The White House actions are collectively important because “our patent system simply must keep up with the ever-evolving needs of industry,” said Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker during a White House event Thursday that announced the new actions. Advocates of efforts to rein in what they see as abuses by patent assertion entities praised the White House announcement, though they noted the most effective actions still require further legislative action from Congress. The Thursday announcement followed up on the White House’s promise in conjunction with Obama’s State of the Union speech in late January to announce progress on the June initiatives. Obama had urged Congress during the State of the Union to “pass a patent reform bill that allows our businesses to stay focused on innovation, not costly, needless litigation” (WID Jan 30 p2).
The White House announced a set of new executive actions Thursday that aim to curb abusive patent litigation to be accomplished through U.S. Patent and Trademark Office programs, along with an update to the executive actions President Barack Obama took in June (CD June 5 p12). The White House actions are collectively important because “our patent system simply must keep up with the ever-evolving needs of industry,” said Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker during a White House event Thursday that announced the new actions. Advocates of efforts to rein in what they see as abuses by patent assertion entities praised the White House announcement, though they noted the most effective actions still require further legislative action from Congress. The Thursday announcement followed up on the White House’s promise in conjunction with Obama’s State of the Union speech in late January to announce progress on the June initiatives. Obama had urged Congress during the State of the Union to “pass a patent reform bill that allows our businesses to stay focused on innovation, not costly, needless litigation” (CD Bulletin Jan 29 p1).
The White House announced a set of new executive actions Thursday that aim to curb abusive patent litigation to be accomplished through U.S. Patent and Trademark Office programs, along with an update to the executive actions President Barack Obama took in June (CED June 5 p3).
The legacy of President Barack Obama’s cybersecurity executive order (EO) remains a work in progress even after the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s release last week of the finalized “Version 1.0” Cybersecurity Framework, said cybersecurity experts in interviews. The framework has been the most high-profile element of the executive order, but the experts said the order’s legacy will ultimately depend on whether federal agencies are able to encourage voluntary industry adoption of the framework’s standards and best practices.
The legacy of President Barack Obama’s cybersecurity executive order (EO) remains a work in progress even after the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s release last week of the finalized “Version 1.0” Cybersecurity Framework, said cybersecurity experts in interviews. The framework has been the most high-profile element of the executive order, but the experts said the order’s legacy will ultimately depend on whether federal agencies are able to encourage voluntary industry adoption of the framework’s standards and best practices.
The Department of Defense plans to roll out its revised spectrum strategy Thursday, which will articulate a more “proactive” approach to DOD’s future handling of spectrum issues, said Maj. Gen. Robert Wheeler, deputy chief information officer-command, control, communications and computers. DOD reached an agreement with NAB in November that allowed the department to move ahead with plans to partially vacate the 1755-1780 MHz band and move those operations to the 2025-2110 MHz band, where it will share spectrum with broadcasters (CD Nov 26 p1). That deal is a “very good marriage of industry needs and DOD and federal users’ needs,” which is “the right plan at this particular time,” Wheeler said Tuesday at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event. DOD has been too reactive in its past spectrum strategic efforts and must “think about how to do this better next time,” he said.