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NEWS FEED
Invest in women to ignite innovation
Every March, we celebrate International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month as a global celebration of women’s achievements. And in the startup ecosystem, there’s a lot to celebrate—women are trailblazing and innovating at unprecedented rates.
What the ecosystem needs to ensure Innovation for All
The U.S. startup ecosystem is built on the foundation that entrepreneurship is for anybody with an idea — but in practice, systemic inequities and socio-economic factors hold back many founders and would-be founders.
The Corporate Transparency Act: What it is, where we are now, and what startups should know
A law went into effect this year impacting tens of millions of startups and small businesses, and it should have the attention of founders across the country—but few know about it.
What’s in the AI executive order, and what does it mean for Startups?
On Monday, President Biden signed a sweeping executive order addressing artificial intelligence, touching on many issues that will impact the startup and AI ecosystem.
It’s the spying, stupid—How U.S. Internet spying endangers digital trade and impacts startups
Startups just regained a reliable method for transatlantic data transfer, but it’s already under threat from European policymakers and privacy activists. Congress has a chance to fix that as it weighs whether to renew a controversial Internet spying authority this year.
Supporting mothers is supporting entrepreneurship
Historically, it’s been difficult to be a woman startup founder without the access to the capital and networks typically enjoyed by male founders, and the path to entrepreneurship is even harder for mothers who have to also balance a disproportionate share of family care responsibilities. The problem of inaccessible and unaffordable child care only increases that disparate access to the startup ecosystem for women, and it’s about to get a lot worse.
As startups struggle with talent, Canada is trying to attract U.S. bound high skilled immigrants
Hiring early employees is one of the first obstacles startup founders face, made more complicated by talent shortages in STEM fields and an immigration system that often makes it time consuming and expensive to hire high-skilled talent from abroad. Other countries—most recently Canada—are taking advantage of that reality to attract tech talent away from the U.S. Without urgent action from policymakers, the U.S. innovation ecosystem will soon lag behind, as talent will continue to seek out nations where they receive a warmer welcome and better support.
Paying twice? The persistent proposal that could upend the Internet and increase startup costs
Last month, a majority of the European Parliament voted in favor of a resolution contemplating a policy framework that could diminish startup competitiveness and endanger the open Internet. The vote is the latest in a long-running effort by telecom companies to force websites and apps to pay them based on the traffic they generate. That model, sometimes called “sender pays,” is gaining popularity with policymakers throughout the world—including in the U.S.—threatening net neutrality principles and the competitiveness of U.S. startups.
State Policy Update: Legislatures around the country are wrapping up. What have they been up to and how will it impact startups?
As summer kicks into gear, state legislatures are closing up shop, but not before introducing and passing legislation impacting startups. In the absence of federal action on many technology policy issues occupying the public imagination, state legislatures have acted to create their own rules, which can vary slightly, significantly—or outright conflict with—each other.
Creating a Workforce for Startups
The U.S. has become the world’s most competitive and dynamic economy through cutting-edge technological advancement and promotion of STEM education will ensure our future success.
Startup founders travel to Capitol Hill with Engine to talk data privacy
Data privacy has long been top of mind for policymakers, but in the absence of a comprehensive federal privacy framework, states have been passing their own unique privacy laws. That’s created pressure on policymakers in Washington to create national rules. When policymakers think about writing new rules for how companies can interact with consumer data, they often have only the practices of bad actors or the largest Internet companies in mind.
Engine submits comments to FTC on proposed non-compete ban
Engine is a non-profit technology policy, research, and advocacy organization that bridges the gap between policymakers and startups. Engine works with government and a community of thousands of high-technology, growth-oriented startups across the nation to support the development of technology entrepreneurship through economic research, policy analysis, and advocacy on local and national issues. Engine appreciates the opportunity to submit this response to the Federal Trade Commission’s request for comment on the Commission’s notice of proposed rulemaking banning most non-compete clauses in employment contracts.
Change to R&D treatment could shoulder startups with hefty tax bill
For many startups, this year’s taxes will reflect a detrimental change to the research and development (R&D) tax credit thanks to a bill Congress passed in 2017. Without a Congressional fix, small businesses and startups without deep pockets will be less able to weather the cash flow burdens resulting from the change, and some companies may be facing hefty tax bills and will table plans for future R&D.
SVB: what happened, how the fallout impacts startups, what policymakers can do next
The fall of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) dealt an immediate shock to the global startup ecosystem and will have lasting ramifications for banks and founders. Many startups lack access to large banks, and instead rely on community and regional banks to meet their needs. SVB in particular was uniquely situated to support the startup ecosystem, offering more favorable terms for loans and connections for founders. But the fall of SVB has led to concerns that other banks may suffer similar fates, and at the same time has brought to the forefront the risk inherent to the startup ecosystem.
Intellectual property scams target startups, and how policymakers can help
Bad actors are constantly looking to trick unsuspecting startups into unnecessarily giving up their already-limited resources. One scam gaining in popularity is to impersonate government officials and ask startups for payment to “renew” their existing trademarks, and it demonstrates how intellectual property systems can be weaponized against startups.
The Patent and Trademark Office should work for everyone
You might not realize it, but whether you’re a startup founder, a digital entrepreneur, or a casual technology and Internet user—what the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) does impacts you and the agency needs to be listening to you. That’s why Engine filed comments this week on USPTO’s draft strategic plan, suggesting ways the agency could improve its plans to support all U.S. innovators, creators, and entrepreneurs.
USPTO Public Advisory Board Must Represent The Public
The USPTO does not get all of its advice from the PPAC — and it shouldn't. But especially for an agency with limited avenues for public engagement, it's essential that when conversations are happening — including at the PPAC — policymakers make sure everyone gets a voice in how the patent system works.
Proposal to Redefine Patent Eligibility and What it Means for Startups
Last month, Senator Tillis (R-N.C.) introduced a bill to change the rules that govern what can be patented. Briefly, current patent eligibility law prevents companies from trying to own basic ideas and from trying to preclude others from building new businesses or innovations that rely on those underlying ideas.
How the Wayfair decision changed online sales tax for startups
The Internet allows startups to reach customers throughout the country and around the world. Until recently, businesses only paid sales tax on products sold online in jurisdictions where they had physical presence.