Statements & Releases

What They Are Saying About The Importance of Protecting Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act

What They Are Saying About The Importance of Protecting Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act

As Congress continues to debate Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and if it needs updating, we put together a guide of "What They Are Saying" about Section 230 and it's importance to the Internet ecosystem. 

Engine Statement on President Trump’s Pick for United States Patent and Trademark Office Director

Engine Statement on President Trump’s Pick for United States Patent and Trademark Office Director

Engine looks forward to working with President Trump’s for nominee Andrei Iancu for the position of the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). As a non-profit advocacy and research organization that supports startups, we understand what an important position the Director of the USPTO is to protecting the innovation ecosystem.

Standing Together to Protect CDA 230

Standing Together to Protect CDA 230

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is a critical protection that helped the Internet become what it is today. Efforts to narrow the law’s protections for Internet platforms, even with the best intentions, are incredibly concerning to the tech and startup communities.

Engine Applauds Senators Lee and Leahy for Introduction of ECPA Modernization Act of 2017

Engine Applauds Senators Lee and Leahy for Introduction of ECPA Modernization Act of 2017

Engine applauds Senators Lee and Leahy for their continued work on updating the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). The Lee-Leahy bill will modernize the nation’s electronic privacy laws and bring protections against warrantless searches into harmony with the technological realities of today.  

Engine to Testify before House Judiciary Committee on Bad Patents

Engine to Testify before House Judiciary Committee on Bad Patents

Julie will testify to the Committee on the weaknesses in the patent system and the progress that has been made to weed out low-quality patents by Congress, the courts and the United States Patent and Trademark Office. 

Engine Welcomes Supreme Court Ruling in TC Heartland Case

Engine Welcomes Supreme Court Ruling in TC Heartland Case

Today, the Supreme Court delivered a blow to patent trolls by unanimously reversing the Federal Circuit’s decision in TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC. The high court ruled that defendants in patent cases can only be sued where they are incorporated or have a regular and established place of business. The decision will make it significantly harder for patent trolls to file lawsuits in jurisdictions that patent-friendly but otherwise unrelated to the claims at issue—most notably the Eastern District of Texas, where almost forty percent of patent cases were filed last year.

Engine Responds to FCC's Efforts to Undermine Net Neutrality

Engine Responds to FCC's Efforts to Undermine Net Neutrality

Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to adopt a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to roll back the 2015 Open Internet Order and reverse the agency’s Title II classification of Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Today’s vote initiates a public comment period of 90 days. The following statement can be attributed to Engine Executive Director Evan Engstrom.

New Documentary “The Patent Scam” Explores How Patent Trolls Inflict Harm on Small Businesses and Their Struggle to Fight Back

New Documentary “The Patent Scam” Explores How Patent Trolls Inflict Harm on Small Businesses and Their Struggle to Fight Back

Today, Engine hosted Austin Meyer, the director of the new documentary “The Patent Scam,” at the Capitol Hill Visitor Center. The screening and subsequent discussion with real victims of patent litigation abuse demonstrated the extent that the U.S. patent system is failing to protect small businesses and startups from patent trolls.  

Engine Statement on President Trump’s ‘Buy American, Hire American’ Executive Order

Engine Statement on President Trump’s ‘Buy American, Hire American’ Executive Order

Yesterday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order reiterating the Administration’s policy to buy American and hire American. The ‘Hire American’ side of the Executive Order directs federal agencies to evaluate the various programs that allow foreign workers to enter the United States, with a particular focus on the H-1B visa program. 

Engine Statement on Ninth Circuit Ruling on Immigration Ban

Engine Statement on Ninth Circuit Ruling on Immigration Ban

Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled against President Trump’s executive order banning the citizens of seven countries and refugees from entering the U.S., maintaining a lower court’s freeze on the order. As a result, immigrants and refugees who were previously barred from the country under Trump’s EO can continue to enter the U.S.

Engine Statement on House Passage of Email Privacy Act

Engine Statement on House Passage of Email Privacy Act

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the widely supported, broadly bipartisan Email Privacy Act, making this the second consecutive year that this common-sense update to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) has passed the House. The bill makes a critical update to existing digital privacy laws that clarifies that law enforcement must obtain a warrant—except in certain clearly defined emergencies—before accessing an individual's electronic communications.