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NEWS FEED
Startups Need Congress to Focus on Balance, Quality, and Inclusion When It Comes to IP
In letters this week to key congressional panels, Engine outlined startup-forward principles and priorities that we hope will guide Congress’s work on patent and copyright law this year. We wrote to the leaders of the Senate’s IP Subcommittee and the House Subcommittee on Courts, IP, and the Internet, encouraging each Subcommittee to promote and preserve balanced IP frameworks, emphasize patent quality, stress modernization, and advance diversity and inclusion.
Workforce Mobility Act Statement
“Engine is proud to support the Workforce Mobility Act, legislation that would give workers the opportunity to launch their own competitive startups without being hindered by non-compete agreements. This legislation would spur startup formation across the country by removing barriers to entry that serve to stifle innovation and entrepreneurship.”
Statement on the Biden Administration’s Immigration Reform Legislation
“Last week’s introduction of comprehensive immigration reform legislation shows that the Biden administration is committed to positively reforming the country’s outdated immigration system. The White House and Congress now have the opportunity to pursue an immigration agenda that boosts immigrant entrepreneurship and provides startups and technology companies with greater access to the talented workers they need to grow and thrive.”
Engine Releases Startup Agenda 2021
It may sound like a cliched talking point, but it’s true—small businesses are the lifeblood of the U.S. economy. And that includes the small businesses of the technology sector, the thousands of innovative, tech-enabled, high-growth companies across the country that make up the U.S. startup ecosystem.
Engine Announces New Executive Director
The Board of Directors of Engine—a nonprofit that works with a community of thousands of high-tech, growth-oriented startups across the nation to support technology entrepreneurship—announced this week that it has appointed Kate Tummarello as the organization’s new Executive Director. Kate has been at Engine since 2017 and has served as Engine’s Policy Director since 2019, working on privacy, intermediary liability, and telecommunications issues.
Engine Asks Biden-Harris Team to Consider Startups When Naming Next USPTO Director
In a letter to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Engine outlines principles we hope will guide the incoming administration’s selection of the next director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”). The full text of our letter is below.
Statement on the Digital Copyright Act
The Digital Copyright Act of 2021 from Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) proposes changes to copyright law that would be bad for startups that host user-generated content and the everyday Internet users and Internet-enabled creators they serve. As currently drafted, the bill would disrupt a statutory framework at the foundation of innovation, creative expression, and economic growth that would not have been possible twenty-five years ago.
Statement on the CASE Act’s inclusion in the omnibus spending bill
We are disappointed by Congress’s decision to include controversial copyright legislation in the must-pass omnibus spending bill. As Engine and several smaller Internet platforms expressed earlier this month, “the CASE Act—as currently drafted—will be fundamentally unfair to and create substantial confusion for” everyday Internet users, small businesses, and Internet-enabled creators across the country. That bill would create an extra-judicial board where certain copyright holders could seek substantial damages—up to $30,000—over alleged copyright infringement.
Engine Asks Supreme Court To Ensure That the Patent Review Process Remains Available To Startups
Engine and the Electronic Frontier Foundation submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court this week in United States v. Arthrex Inc. asking the Court to reconsider a Federal Circuit decision last year that found that administrative patent judges (APJs) of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) were unconstitutionally appointed.
Engine Submits Comments To USPTO on Proposed Changes That Would Weaken Patent Review
Engine submitted comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office this week in response to the agency’s request for comment concerning the exercise of discretion to deny inter partes review (IPR) petitions. IPR makes it easier for startups and other small businesses to push back against frivolous lawsuits brought by patent trolls, but the USPTO’s proposal would codify current policies and practices that weaken the patent review process. This would make it more difficult for startups to challenge low-quality patents and open the door to further abusive litigation.
Engine Asks Supreme Court To Curtail Doctrine That Lets Low-Quality Patents Stand
Engine submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court this week asking the Court to reconsider the broad doctrine of “assignor estoppel,” which limits the ability of companies—especially startups—to challenge the validity of certain low-quality patents asserted against them.
Companies Urge Congress to Investigate Policies Shielding Invalid Patents
Several startups and smaller tech companies have joined over 50 others—from automakers to telecommunications firms—in letters to Congress expressing concern about the increasing use of discretionary denials which leave invalid patents in force.
To Support Tech Companies, U.S. Should Embrace High-Skilled Workers
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought change to every facet of life and government. While Congress’ focus has largely been on providing direct relief for workers and business owners struggling with the financial impact of the outbreak, recent actions taken by the Trump administration on immigration issues stand to impact the talent needs of American businesses.
Engine Submits Comments To USTR on China’s Compliance With WTO Commitments
On both the domestic and global scale, startups need balanced, certain IP frameworks and policies which allow the free flow of data in order to grow and succeed. While efforts currently underway in China signal some potential progress on those fronts, there are indications that China’s evolving policy landscape may continue to present impediments to startups hoping to grow across the world.
Engine Submits Comments to EU on Implementing Copyright Policy Directive
Startup Internet platforms operating in the European Union may soon face complex and expensive rules to avoid liability when their users are accused of copyright infringement.
The Importance of Strong Liability Limitations for Startups
Online companies of all sizes rely on Section 230 to host and moderate user-generated content without the fear of being subjected to crippling lawsuits, and undermining this bedrock Internet law would disproportionately affect early-stage startups.
Engine Submits Letter to Senate on Copyright Fair Use and the DMCA
In recent comments filed with the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Engine emphasized the importance of copyright fair use and urged that it continue to be protected and permitted online. Fair use is an essential component of copyright law that allows creators and users to engage in certain authorized uses of copyright content, which is important because overly-rigid application of copyright law could otherwise stifle innovation and creativity. And as we explain in the letter, startup platforms in particular benefit from balanced copyright law because they are able to serve users and creators who rely on fair use without having to worry about potentially ruinous copyright infringement litigation.
Engine, startups push White House to reconsider suspension of work visas
This afternoon, Engine released a letter signed by 118 startups, entrepreneurial organizations, and other companies—including GitHub, Postmates, Reddit, and Twitter—asking the Trump administration to reconsider its recent suspension of work visas for high-skilled foreign workers, including those issued under the H-1B visa program.
Statement on the Lawful Access to Encrypted Data Act
Simply put, the Lawful Access to Encrypted Data Act—introduced by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.)—is bad for the privacy and security of startups and their users.
Statement on the Trump Administration’s Proclamation to Suspend Visas for Foreign Workers
The administration’s decision to halt the issuance of work visas—including those under the H-1B program—for highly-skilled foreign workers will needlessly harm the tech industry and U.S. startup ecosystem that rely upon talented employees to drive global innovation. Instead of helping startups and small businesses recover from the coronavirus pandemic’s economic downturn, this proclamation hampers the tech sector’s ability to respond to the ongoing outbreak by limiting the effectiveness and reach of its workforce.