Ownership disclosure law creates burdens for startups
José Padilla has an established track record of providing efficient, low-cost legal services. With LegalMente AI, he’s able to provide that same quality of work to those in need, including early-stage startups. We sat down with him to talk about what policymakers need to know about the uses of AI, how to keep the U.S. innovation ecosystem the most competitive globally, and his motivation to provide the most efficient work possible.
After overcoming childhood shyness in the warmth of his local Caribbean-owned barbershop, Royon Jeffrey knows the power of the beauty industry firsthand. He set out to create ListedB, an online marketplace for beauty industry professionals. We spoke to him about the financial opportunity within the industry, navigating capital access and investors, and his desire to empower small businesses owners.
Foreign nations are saddling U.S. companies — including startups — with discriminatory burdens.
MegaMinds was created out of a need to make learning more creative, fun, and hands-on for students. In our conversation with Co-Founder and CEO Eric Tao, we learned about the growing popularity of immersive learning, the tricky regulatory landscape for a product like MegaMinds, and what it’s like for many first-time entrepreneurs to build businesses.
Data privacy has been top of mind for consumers, policymakers, regulators, companies, and entrepreneurs for the past several years, in the wake of broad privacy rules in the EU, and action in several U.S. states. The U.S., which has long had a sectoral approach to privacy, remains without a comprehensive privacy framework, and many states have reacted by proposing, passing, and implementing their own varying—and potentially conflicting—comprehensive privacy laws.
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.
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.
Engine's Startup Policy Agenda for 2023 highlights the voices of those startup companies, investors, and support organizations as they discuss in their own words the obstacles they face and the ways policies have helped and hurt them. We hope it serves as a high-level overview of the issues we hear about from startups every day and a jumping off point for policymakers looking to support the technology industry's small businesses.
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.
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.
Today, Engine issued a paper focused on the policy insights needed—and the legislative actions required—to adequately support the expanse of the startup ecosystem, and to grow the innovation economy. We hope this paper can serve as a resource for policymakers considering a wide range of policy issues that impact early-stage companies across the country.
The Big Story: Hope fades for pro-startup provisions in U.S. competitiveness package. After months of negotiations, Congress has hit another roadblock to advancing a compromise version of two bills aimed at boosting U.S. competitiveness: the Senate’s United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) and the House’s America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology, and Economic Strength (COMPETES) Act.
SPACs, or Special Purpose Acquisition Companies, are publicly traded vehicles other companies use as an alternative way to go public. These companies, also known as “blank check” companies, are essentially shell companies that do not have commercial operations. They are formed with the sole purpose of raising capital and merging with or acquiring private companies, so that these acquisitions can go public faster and with fewer costs than a traditional Initial Public Offering (IPO).
The Big Story: Copyright Office concludes ancillary copyright protections are not warranted. In a recent report, the U.S. Copyright Office explained why it does not recommend expanding or adopting new copyright-like protections for press publishers. The Copyright Office’s study was rooted in concerns about supporting vitally important local news media, but it focused specifically on whether policymakers should extend copyright-like protections (also known as “ancillary copyright”) to sharing hyperlinks and quoting news headlines or snippets of articles. Last week’s report concluded that it is not clear any new copyright-like protections would solve problems facing press publishers, while those sorts of copyright expansions would have “critical policy and Constitutional dimensions.”
The Big Story: Patent policy discussions resurface in D.C. this week. This was an active week for patent policy conversations in D.C., with the Senate, House, and Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) all weighing in. Procedures for reviewing low-quality patents took center stage, with many focused on the role the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) plays in the startup and small business ecosystems. It is imperative that policymakers who want to understand the full impact of the PTAB—particularly in regards to U.S. startups—ensure startup voices have an equal seat at the table when the topics are discussed.
The Big Story: Possible federal privacy framework on the horizon. After years of discussions and negotiations, lawmakers are taking serious steps towards creating a much-needed federal privacy framework that would create consistency for startups and protections for consumers. Earlier this week, the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce held a hearing discussing the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA)—a draft bipartisan, bicameral bill that is the first meaningful step towards a federal privacy law following years of negotiations. Subcommittee Chair Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) reportedly said this week that the subcommittee will consider and vote on the bill during a markup next week.
The Big Story: Patent Quality Week examines impact, reach, importance of balanced patent system. Today we close out our second annual Patent Quality Week where we—alongside startup leaders, experts, and industries across the country—set out to demystify the complex patent system and highlight the important ways in which it impacts every person and business in the U.S. With a better understanding of how the system operates, and all the ways we encounter it, we can chart a path to ensure patent policy works for every entrepreneur, innovator, and individual. And we can make sure everyone has a voice in the system.
The Big Story: JOBS Act 4.0 could create more opportunities for startups. Policymakers are considering a sweeping package of proposals that could increase opportunities for startups to access capital and reduce regulatory barriers that make existing opportunities difficult. In comments to the Republican leadership of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Engine explained how the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act 4.0—as well as potential modifications and additions to the bill—could incentivize investment, open up more avenues for would-be investors, and advance equitable access the startup ecosystem.
The Big Story: Indo-Pacific framework could advance digital trade priorities for startups. Early this week during his visit to Japan, President Biden announced the launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) with 12 countries in the region. The framework—first outlined last year and including Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam—is the administration’s primary trade engagement in the region and promises to touch on digital trade issues important to startups, like data flows and regulation of emerging technologies.
The Big Story: Tech waits to see if SCOTUS will let Texas social media law stand. The Internet ecosystem is waiting to see whether the Supreme Court will issue an emergency stay of a lower court ruling from last week that would limit Internet companies’ ability to remove harmful content. The emergency stay could come as early as today. This week, Engine joined the Chamber of Progress and over 20 Internet advocacy groups and civil society organizations in a brief to the court urging them to reverse the Fifth Circuit decision, which overruled a lower court ruling that kept a 2021 Texas social media law from going into effect.
The Big Story: Big week for Biden’s broadband efforts. The Biden administration is honing in on broadband expansion this week with new partnerships with Internet providers to ensure low-cost broadband for low-income Americans and the kickoff of a program to make available $45 billion for state broadband initiatives. Reliable, accessible, affordable broadband is crucial to the startup ecosystem and innovators across the country.
The Big Story: Administration action easing student loan debt could spur entrepreneurship. With student debt forgiveness back in the news, policymakers have an opportunity to ease the tough road to entrepreneurship, especially for underrepresented founders. Last week, the Biden administration indicated an intent to enact student loan forgiveness in the coming weeks, as millions of borrowers continue to struggle with high federal student debt balances. While the details are still unclear on what exactly forgiveness would look like and who would be eligible, one thing is clear: excessive student loan debt serves as a barrier to entrepreneurship for many.
When policymakers think about changing the rules for how companies host and moderate user content, they focus on three or four large Internet companies. But we know from talking to startups across the country every day that all kinds of companies host user content online. They may not be the companies that are top of mind when policymakers write rules, but they’re the companies least equipped to deal with compliance and litigation costs designed with the large industry players in mind.
The startup ecosystem is incredibly broad and diverse, with startup founders launching small businesses with different business models, in different industries, and in cities and towns across the country. But one thing that startup founders from across the spectrum share the knowledge of how difficult it is to run a startup. Founders are often faced with hard choices about how to invest their already limited time and resources against a policy backdrop—which impacts business decisions, investment opportunities, compliance requirements, and more—that can change on a dime and is often written without startups in mind.
Your privacy is important to us. To better protect your privacy we provide this notice explaining our online information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used.
