News

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  H-1B reform debate pits tech firms against veteran IT workers

  Many U.S. tech companies are pushing hard this year for an increase in the number of high-skill immigrants allowed into the country, but many veteran IT workers question their motives for wanting to increase the number of visas under the controversial H-1B program.

  By Grant Gross | 03 May, 2013 13:02

  Tags: Computer Sciences, IBM, Melisa Bockrath, legislation, John Donaldson, Modus Operandi, Facebook, Dice, personnel, Kelly Services, at&t, Microsoft, DataStax, Billy Bosworth, Bill Peppler, mark zuckerberg, government, Patrick Leahy, CareerBuilder, business issues, Kavaliro, Rick McNeight

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  Senate committee limits government electronic surveillance

  A U.S. Senate committee has approved legislation that would give more privacy protection from government surveillance for data stored in the cloud.

  By Grant Gross | 25 April, 2013 16:34

  Tags: Peter Modafferi, Chuck Grassley, U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, legislation, Patrick Leahy, privacy, Catherine Crump, Rockland County District Attorneys Office, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Mary Jo White, American Civil Liberties Union, security, U.S. Internal Revenue Service, government

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  Lawmakers call for greater protections from e-surveillance

  If U.S. law enforcement agencies agree to changes in electronic surveillance law to better protect the privacy of stored email and documents, they want several changes in return, including a requirement that email and cloud service providers hold onto records longer.

  By Grant Gross | 19 March, 2013 19:00

  Tags: U.S. Department of Justice, Jim Sensenbrenner, U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, legislation, Patrick Leahy, privacy, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Richard Salgado, Mike Lee, Louie Gohmert, Google, security, Richard Littlehale, Elana Tyrangiel, government

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  Third mobile-phone-unlocking bill introduced

  Momentum is growing in the U.S. Congress to overturn a U.S. Library of Congress ruling that took mobile phone unlocking out of the legal exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

  By Grant Gross | 12 March, 2013 19:30

  Tags: legislation, Bob Goodlatte, Public Knowledge, Sina Khanifar, consumer electronics, intellectual property, Chris Lewis, U.S. House of Representatives, copyright, Ron Wyden, U.S. Library of Congress, smartphones, legal, government, Patrick Leahy, Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Senate

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  US Congress may not have stomach for another SOPA

  As a new session of the U.S. Congress convenes in early 2013, don't expect lawmakers to rush out a new version of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) or the Protect IP Act (PIPA).

  By Grant Gross | 24 December, 2012 16:18

  Tags: e-commerce, U.S. Congress, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Recording Industry Association of America, legislation, internet, Lamar Smith, Ed Black, copyright, Tiffiniy Cheng, intellectual property, Music and audio, legal, government, Patrick Leahy, video, Computer and Communications Industry Association, U.S. Department of Justice, Internet-based applications and services, YEAR END, Fight for the Future, OpenCongress.org, Jonathan Lamy, Bob Goodlatte

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  Senate committee approves privacy protections for cloud, email

  A U.S. Senate committee has voted to approve legislation that would give the public new privacy protections from government searches of email and documents stored in the cloud.

  By Grant Gross | 29 November, 2012 19:57

  Tags: instant messaging, Internet-based applications and services, Chuck Grassley, U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, legislation, government, internet, Patrick Leahy, privacy, American Civil Liberties Union, BSA, security, Mail, Center for Democracy and Technology

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  US senator has not caved on e-privacy, aide says

  The chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has not reversed course on email privacy and has not proposed to give U.S. agencies access to email and other electronic communications without search warrants, despite a news report to the contrary, an aide to Senator Patrick Leahy said Tuesday.

  By Grant Gross | 20 November, 2012 21:16

  Tags: U.S. Department of Justice, Internet-based applications and services, instant messaging, Chuck Grassley, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Jim Dempsey, U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, legislation, internet, privacy, James Baker, security, Mail, Center for Democracy and Technology, government, Patrick Leahy

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  Senator threatens filibuster of Protect IP Act as vote nears

  The Protect IP Act, which would allow the U.S. Department of Justice to seek court orders focused on shutting down websites accused of copyright infringement, could come up for a vote in the U.S. Senate by early December, and one senator is threatening to filibuster the bill.

  By Grant Gross | 23 November, 2011 07:33

  Tags: e-commerce, Demand Progress, legislation, internet, Internet service providers, Ron Wyden, intellectual property, copyright, legal, Music and audio, government, search engines, Patrick Leahy, video, advertising, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Senate, Internet-based applications and services

• Obama signs patent overhaul legislation

  U.S. President Barack Obama has signed the America Invents Act, the first major overhaul of the U.S. patent system in about 50 years.

  By Grant Gross | 17 September, 2011 01:27

  Tags: Aneesh Chopra, Mark Elliot, U.S. White House, Maria Cantell, legislation, Barack Obama, Lamar Smith, Apple, Microsoft, intellectual property, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, patent, legal, government, intel, Patrick Leahy, U.S. Senate

• US Senate approves major patent system overhaul

  The U.S. Senate has voted to approve a major overhaul of the nation's patent system, with the legislation allowing a new kind of challenge to patents granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

  By Grant Gross | 09 September, 2011 09:27

  Tags: Ken Wasch, legislation, Barack Obama, Patrick Leahy, Software and Information Industry Association, business software alliance, Apple, Innovation Alliance, Microsoft, intellectual property, patent, legal, government, intel, Maria Cantwell

• Senators push for changes in cybercrime law

  The main U.S. law targeting cybercrime may need to be changed because it has allowed law enforcement agencies to target people who simply violate websites' terms of service or their employers' computer use policies, two senators said Wednesday.

  By Grant Gross | 08 September, 2011 04:05

  Tags: Americans for Tax Reform, Al Franken, U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, legislation, Barack Obama, Electronic Frontier Foundation, harvard university, James Baker, Lori Drew, American Civil Liberties Union, security, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, legal, Center for Democracy and Technology, Aaron Swartz, government, Patrick Leahy, cybercrime, U.S. Department of Justice, regulation, MySpace.com

• Study: Fair use drives large part of US economy

  Industries that rely on fair use exceptions to U.S. copyright law have weathered the recent slow economy better than other businesses, according to a new study released by a tech trade group.

  By Grant Gross | 12 July, 2011 05:57

  Tags: U.S. Department of Justice, Jared Polis, intellectual property, copyright, legal, legislation, government, Capital Trade, Patrick Leahy, Computer and Communications Industry Association, Ed Black

• US House approves patent reform bill

  The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to approve a bill that would overhaul the U.S. patent system and allow for a new review of patents after they are approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

  By Grant Gross | 24 June, 2011 08:57

  Tags: Information Technology Industry Council, intellectual property, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, patent, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, legal, legislation, government, Patrick Leahy, John Conyers Jr.

• Senator blocks controversial copyright bill

  A U.S. senator has blocked a controversial bill that would enlist ISPs, search engines and other businesses in blocking access to alleged websites infringing copyright.

  By Grant Gross | 28 May, 2011 01:16

  Tags: advertising, U.S. Department of Justice, e-commerce, legal, U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, legislation, government, internet, Patrick Leahy, Ron Wyden, intellectual property, copyright

• Internet trade group wants changes in copyright bill

  New U.S. legislation intended to shut down foreign websites that infringe copyrights would cause major headaches because it would allow copyright holders to target legitimate Web services with "thousands" of court orders, an e-commerce trade group said.

  By Grant Gross | 19 May, 2011 05:50

  Tags: U.S. Department of Justice, Thomas Donohue, e-commerce, NetCoalition, Markham Erickson, Demand Progress, legislation, internet, Patrick Leahy, IAC/InterActive, Yahoo, Google, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Aaron Swartz, government