Intellectual Property
Techies Discouraged By Congress' Plan For PTO Budget
by Drew Clark
At a time when many technology companies are encouraging a movement to modernize the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), the reality of the fiscal 2004 budget could force significant agency cutbacks.
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Information Summit Coverage
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The omnibus appropriations bill that the House passed on Monday would allocate $1.22 billion to the agency, which would not even cover increases for inflation over the $1.17 billion for fiscal year 2003. It also would be $180 million less than necessary to cover the agency's modernization plan, PTO Director James Rogan said in an Oct. 31 letter to Virginia Republican Frank Wolf, chairman of House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees funding for the agency.
The agency also paid $44 million to move its headquarters from Arlington, Va., to a five-building complex in nearby Alexandria. Patent examiners began moving into the first building Dec. 2.
Rogan's announcement on Monday that he will resign on Jan. 9 to finish his autobiography only adds to sense of budgetary panic expressed by some people in the patent community. PTO Deputy Director Jonathan Dudas is expected to become acting director when Rogan leaves.
"I look forward to Jon [Dudas] taking the reins, but he is going to find himself in exactly the same crisis situation" that faced Rogan, said Mike Kirk, executive director of the American Intellectual Property Law Association. Kirk said the message from Congress was: "We want you to fix it, but we are not going to give you the money to do it."
Many technology and business groups are disappointed that Congress has spurned their willingness to pay higher patent fees in exchange for letting PTO keep all such revenue. The additional fees would fund more examiners hired under Rogan's 21st-century strategic plan.
Nearly 100 companies and 28 associations recently urged House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., to schedule a floor vote on a bill, H.R. 1561, that would take the PTO "off budget," meaning that it would be funded outside the normal appropriations process. Appropriators oppose the idea.
"The reality is that the appropriators are cutting back further on the funding than where the PTO has been," Kirk said, "which means that implementation of the plan is just a dream. It isn't going to happen."
Other businesses that back the measure are speaking out more aggressively about how "the PTO is buckling from insufficient funding," said Senior Vice President of Technology and Manufacturing at IBM Nicholas Donofrio. He called the long-term practice of diverting patent fees a form of taxation on innovation.
In a recent article, Donofrio said IBM, the country's leading patent holder, is willing to pay an extra $15 million-plus "if it leads to higher quality patents and a better system of patent review."
In a Tuesday interview about his resignation, Rogan said PTO has done as much reform as it can under its current budget. Regarding fee proposals, he said: "That ball is in Congress' court. We were hoping that it would have gotten included in the omnibus. I am pretty optimistic that when they come back they will accept a compromise."
E-Government
Panelists Debate Merits Of Driver's Licenses As IDs
by Chloe Albanesius
The lack of state identification systems that can share data with each other makes managing identities an increasingly difficult task in the information age, panelists at an identity security briefing concluded on Friday.
"We have the least secure identification system in the world," Richard Varn, president of the consulting firm RJV Consulting, said at the fall forum of the National Conference of State Legislatures. "Our system is so fundamentally broken" that stealing someone's identity is as easy "as committing a simple misdemeanor."
The lack of an "interoperability" among state systems allows for the exploitation of motor-vehicle agencies, Varn said. U.S. driver's licenses are the closest thing to a national ID system for now, he said, but "scattered enrollment" prevents the licenses from being completely effective as IDs, he said. He downplayed concern about a national ID card, pointing to countries like Norway and France that have implemented such system without major infringements on privacy.
"Do we think we're going to get surveillance because we have a better ID?" Varn asked. "I don't think these cards are going to cause us to become communists. ... People do that." Before the nation even consider a better ID, however, officials need to revamp the entire system, he said.
Legislators and government officials are too busy with other tasks to monitor the everyday activities of Americans, Varn said.
But state Sen. Michael Balboni, R-N.Y., disagreed, saying that "pervasive" systems like national ID cards are "the tools to tyranny." "Your system is only as good and only as secure as the next state's system, [but] the national ID card is a touch point for national controversy," he said. "We have to make sure that the template of civil rights is always an overlay on these issues."
A main problem in the development of a national ID system is that "people have such resistance against any form of security that might be used against them," said Michael Vatis, executive director of a Markle Foundation task force on security in the information age.
Personal information, however, "won't be used ... without legal consequences," he said. "Making the layout and biometrics of a license more uniform from state to state would help greatly."
Vatis' task force recently issued a report on how to create a trusted information network for homeland security. It found that "beyond just securing space, [there needs to be] more effective analysis and predictions of terrorist threats," he said. A major roadblock is the fact that terrorists find it so easy to manipulate state systems and change their IDs, making the government's ability to track them "completely undermined," he said.
Vatis advocated a system available via the Social Security Administration that allows state motor-vehicle associations to verify Social Security numbers. Fewer than half the states use the system, however, because of cost, he said.
E-Vital, normally used to validate death records, also can tie the expiration dates of driver's licenses issued to visitors with the expiration dates of their visa information, he said.
International
Organizers Claim Success At Information Summit
by William New
GENEVA -- Organizers of an historic summit aimed at finding agreement among nations on ways to close the gap between digital haves and have-nots hailed the success of the meeting but acknowledged that they had dodged the thorniest issues.
"We have found a good lasting compromise," said Pascal Couchepin, president of the summit's host country, Switzerland.
The three-day summit, which drew high-level officials from 176 countries, was more than two years in the making and resulted in a declaration and action plan. The plan calls for connecting all schools, villages, governments and hospitals, and bringing half the world's population within reach of information and communications technology, by 2015. The declaration covers a wide range of issues such as intellectual property, "open source" software whose code can be viewed and altered, spectrum, security and freedom of expression.
Couchepin said the summit emphasized "multi-lateralism," and the successful outcome of the summit "restores confidence in international collaboration in Geneva." Nitin Desai, special adviser to the U.N. secretary-general for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), said that is important because in recent months the spirit of compromise "has taken some hard knocks."
Couchepin and Desai praised the "successful inclusion of the private sector and civil society," and expressed disbelief at the declaration by civil-society groups that they were systematically excluded from the process. "These people must have attended a different summit," Desai said.
In closing the plenary, Yoshio Utsumi, secretary-general of the U.N. International Telecommunication Union, which organized the summit, called the summit "an agenda-shaping event," called it a "process, not a product," and said it is "a first step on a path" toward development through information and communications technology.
Officials also acknowledged that the tough issues of financing and Internet governance had to be postponed. "We couldn't set up consensus but will continue to work to the Tunisia" follow-up summit in 2005, Utsumi said.
He noted that a mechanism was created to ensure that countries meet commitments in the action plan. He also said the second phase will be different, with more organized and efficient preparations.
In his plenary speech on behalf of business groups at WSIS, Richard McCormick of the International Chamber of Commerce did not directly refer to the summit texts, but highlighted what he called the importance of private investment.
The WSIS gender caucus told the plenary that constructive proposals were incorporated into the declaration.
Human rights groups declared "relief" that U.N. principles of basic human rights are in the summit texts despite opposition from some countries. But they expressed concern that the language is not accompanied by language on enforcement and the implementation of human rights. They also did not like that human rights references remain subject to national laws.
"We find ourselves in a position of defending the status quo," rather than advancing human rights issues, Diana Bronson of Rights and Democracy said at a briefing. A U.S.-based Chinese human rights activist called for the release of 69 jailed Chinese journalists and Internet "activists."
International
With Round One Done, Officials Eye 2005 Data Summit
by William New
GENEVA -- As leaders finished work at the U.N. World Summit on the Information Society here on Friday, they looked forward to the second phase in Tunis, Tunisia, in November 2005.
"There's been a lot of discussion about the process going forward," David Gross of the State Department, the lead U.S. negotiator on the summit, said in an interview. "We've already begun discussions with other countries about ... procedures and opportunities for the preparatory process for the 2005 phase of the summit, as well as very limited discussions with stakeholders about the working group being formed to study Internet governance."
The governments agreed in the summit's declaration and action plan to form a group to report on Internet governance by December 2004. Paul Twomey, president and CEO of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), has been at the center of that debate. In his address to the plenary session on Thursday, Twomey said, "We do not stand in the way" of a proposal for governments and others to establish a mechanism to discuss governance.
Twomey said ICANN is committed to evolving with the Internet and becoming more global. He also noted that the current Internet protocol version 4 (IPv.4) is predicted to use its space in 20 years and that the new protocol, IPv.6, will have equivalent space to one IP address for every atom in the known universe.
Arun Shourie, India's minister for information technology, communications and privatization, on Thursday proposed that the governance group look beyond technical issues to ways to prevent terrorists from disrupting the Internet. He also suggested that the group study actual misuse of Web servers and other problems so leaders can address more than hypothetical situations.
Shourie also proposed that the next summit address the use of technology to eliminate illiteracy, develop a universal networking language to eliminate language barriers on the Internet, bring text-to-voice and voice-to-text technologies to perfection to open the Internet to people who cannot read print, and find ways to make the Internet more affordable and accessible through wireless signals.
Officials from 176 countries, including 40 heads of state, signed the agreement. Nearly 11,000 people attended the three-day summit, organizers said.
During the week, the United States also held more formal bilateral meetings with New Zealand, Russia and the United Kingdom, as well as numerous informal bilateral exchanges, sources said.
Tunisia continued to answer questions about its political fitness to host a summit with strong democracy themes two years from now. Tunisian Foreign Affairs Minister Habib Ben Yahia told a press briefing, "Many arguments have been made to give Tunisia a bad name here."
He invited anyone to visit Tunisia and said the country is a model of successful development. He also said it is democratizing and is about to organize a pluralistic government.
"It is not possible with a magic wand to transfer all this," Yahia said. Tunisia is "moving gradually" toward developing a democratic society. "We're going to apply [democratic values] at our speed, our pace."
International
Development Agreements Emerge From Information Summit
by William New
GENEVA -- Various public-private partnerships were unveiled at the U.N. World Summit on the Information Society here this week.
Microsoft announced the extension of its partnership with the United Nations to provide refugees with technology and training, as well as electronic identity cards. The program began with Kosovo in 1999, and Microsoft now will offer adult education in St. Petersburg, Russia, and found children's technology centers in refugee camps in Kenya. Microsoft Vice President Jean-Philippe Courtois said officials signed an understanding on Friday.
The "profile" project will provide technology and the intellectual property to the U.N. High Commission for Refugees to register refugees in databases and issue ID cards on the spot, Courtois said.
Microsoft has encountered resistance in some countries to offering evening adult education in its tech centers, as some governments want greater control over their citizens' access to information, an industry source said.
Microsoft has two global tech-assistance initiatives, one aimed at children and the other designed for the continuing education of adults.
Another press briefing with Microsoft also involved the U.N. Fund for International Partnerships, the operational arm between the U.N. system and the U.N. Foundation set up by Ted Turner's $1 billion donation to the United Nations. Hewlett-Packard was at the briefing, as was Equal Access, a nonprofit organization, started with a U.N. Foundation grant, that works to deliver information and community outreach to remote, impoverished areas, especially in South Asia.
The World Health Organization, in conjunction with Cisco Systems, on Thursday launched an online "health academy" offering free information on health promotion and disease prevention. Cisco has invested more than $500,000 in the project.
Pascal Detemmerman, senior manager for public sector at Cisco's Europe, Middle East and Africa office, said the e-health project "is about sharing basic health information understood by everyone, delivered in a very interactive format and accessible anytime, anywhere." He said the project "brings another dimension to public-private partnerships and is "the beginning of an exciting journey which will change the face of healthcare in the 21st century."
During the week, the U.N. International Telecommunication Union announced 15 new partnerships among various developing countries, such as India and Turkey, and international and nonprofit organizations, such as Worldspace.
The cities of Geneva and Lyon, France, and the government of Senegal announced contributions of nearly $1 million toward the "digital solidarity" initiative announced earlier in the week.
The government of Mozambique signed an agreement on Thursday to build a government electronic network that in the first stage will include a secure intranet for internal communications and Web portals to improve the delivery of public services. The agreement, also signed by the Italian government and the nonprofit Development Gateway Foundation, initially will involve 21 government departments, with plans to expand to municipalities.
Mark Malloch Brown, head of the U.N. Development Program, said in a briefing that information technology must be a part of broader efforts to combat poverty. "Otherwise IT will be the next 'white elephant' of development," he said.
Campaigns
Meetup.com Pushes Internet Into 2004 Election Spotlight
by Ted Leventhal
Meetup.com, a politically neutral year-old Internet startup that arranges face-to-face meetings for devotees of everything from politics to poodles, has reinvented the political campaign and put the Internet squarely in the center of the 2004 election, industry observers said on Friday at a George Washington University conference.
Political analysts and Internet advisers to Democrats and Republicans speculated on the broader impact of Meetup, its role in the rise of Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean and the future implications for American politics.
"Meetup is part of the body politic," said Don Means, senior political adviser to the firm. "It holds a special position to be evenhanded towards all comers," he added, noting that 250,000 people have registered to support candidates. "It's an opportunity for the curious to get involved, and that is a good thing."
Meetup CEO Scott Heiferman announced that the company is partnering with publisher Capitol Advantage to schedule Meetup dates for every congressional and gubernatorial candidate.
"You just gave a tremendous new homework assignment to incumbents," said Larry Purpuro, founder of RightClick Strategies. Purpuro said that in the past, grassroots activists depended on campaign staff to furnish them with information and materials. "Now, any 15-year-old can be the Norma Rae or Julian Bond of a campaign," he said, referring to the influential activists.
Heiferman added that people, not technology, are driving the Meetup phenomenon. According to a recent study by Bentley College, 62 percent of attendees of meetings organized by Meetup for Dean said they personally asked others to attend, rather than call or e-mail with news of the Meetup-organized gatherings.
"Flesh and blood needs flesh and blood," Heiferman said.
Mike McCurry, chairman of Grassroots Enterprise and former White House spokesman, said Dean has been particularly effective in using the Internet to let his supporters help drive campaign decisions, such as using Meetup to write letters to former Vice President Al Gore seeking an endorsement.
Jonah Seiger, a visiting fellow with GWU's Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet, said the Bentley study yielded important demographic data on the new wave of Dean voters flocking to Meetup. Most are white, middle-income professionals who are frequent Internet users, registered to vote and have a history of political activity, he said.
However, 42 percent of Dean Meetup attendees already were involved in the campaign. Meetup members "add the weight and heft to a campaign," he said.
Politics Online founder Phil Noble said campaigns and lobbyists soon will take advantage of the "Internet loophole" allowing issue ads on the Internet but not on television in weeks preceding an election.
"All associations need to figure out how to funnel soft money onto the Internet," Noble said. But with Dean's increasing success at employing the Internet, Noble predicted that in January 2005, "we'll have a new president, a new Congress, and D.C. will be like a nuclear winter with everyone saying, 'What the hell was that?'"
Today's Feature:
Executive Summary
Countries participating in the U.N. World Summit on the Information Society decided that the organization that manages Internet addresses such as .com or .org may continue but left open the possibility of pursuing broader issues of Internet governance at the United Nations. Meanwhile, Congressional Democrats are furious that the Manufacturing Extension Partnership would lose two-thirds of its funding under the omnibus spending bill now before Congress.
Every Friday, read the Executive Summary by Managing Editor K. Daniel Glover
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E-briefs
Business: A Commerce Department report on the economic contribution of information technology, its impact on productivity and the affect of the recession on the IT industry will be released at a year-end media roundtable on technology and economic issues on Tuesday. Phil Bond, Commerce's undersecretary for technology, and Kathleen Cooper, the undersecretary for economic affairs, will release the report at the department's technology demonstration center and summarize this year's technology milestones and discuss priorities for 2004.
Security: Jack Johnson, a 20-year veteran and former deputy assistant director of the U.S. Secret Service, was appointed chief security officer for the Homeland Security Department on Friday. He will advise the chief information officer on security policies and procedures relating to classified information technology. Johnson also will direct all security-related activities -- including physical and technical security, counter intelligence and operational security, investigations, inspections, and special security-related programs -- for the department's 22 agencies and its employees.
Budget: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Friday dismissed suggestions that the $87 billion in emergency spending that Congress recently provided is taking money that otherwise would go to the states. Rumsfeld told people at the fall meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures that the money provided for reconstruction efforts in Iraq and other projects is a matter of national security and therefore essential. "The idea that the Department of Defense is draining away massive sums [from the states] is factually just not true," he said, and if people are not happy with how their resources are being allocated, they should voice their displeasure at the polls. "Today we are spending [approximately] 3.2 percent of our gross domestic product (GDP) on national defense. Can we afford that? Look at the alternatives," Rumsfeld said. "We can't afford not to ... provide for our national security."
Antitrust: The German media firm Bertelsmann and Sony of Japan on Friday completed the merger of their music businesses, creating the world's second-largest recording label. The recording units of Bertelsmann's BMG and Sony Music will merge, but each will retain separate departments for publishing music and producing songs on compact disc. Regulators in the United States and Europe now must approve the deal. The board of directors for Sony BMG will consist of equal members from the two companies. BMG Chief Executive Rolf Schmidt-Holtz will be chairman, while Sony Music chief Andrew Lack will be chief executive. The new company reportedly will assume $110 million in debt from Sony in a deal that involved no cash payment.
Intellectual Property: The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) on Thursday sued Adelphia Communications, claiming that the company failed to pay royalty fees on entertainment content belonging to MPAA member companies by the Aug. 29, 2002, deadline. The suit, filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, is directed at Adelphia officers and directors because, the MPAA claims, those individuals can control Adelphia's decision to infringe and stand the greatest chance of benefiting financially from the arrangement. When cable operators retransmit certain over-the-air broadcasts, they must pay royalties to the Copyright Office, said Greg Olaniran, an MPAA attorney with Stinson, Morrison and Hecker. "If you don't' comply with the statute you become a copyright infringer. That is the black letter of the law."
Taxes: The Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that seeks to strengthen the collection of cigarette taxes, including for purchases over the Internet. Reporting requirements for interstate cigarette sellers would be tightened under the measure, S. 1177, and the penalty for violating those requirements would be elevated to a felony and subject to substantial civil penalties. In addition, state attorneys general could prosecute violators, and the threshold for shipments that would be considered contraband would be lowered from 60,000 to 10,000. The bill would "prevent the funding of global terrorist organizations and ensure the collection of all excise taxes from the sale of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, including those sales which take place on the Internet, so states can utilize their rightful revenue," Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said in a statement.
Security: U.S. law enforcement agencies should collect and analyze how terrorists earn, transfer and hide their financial assets, according to a new report issued by the General Accounting Office (GAO) on Friday. "Owing to the criminal nature of terrorists' use of alternative financing mechanisms and the lack of systematic data collection and analysis, the extent of terrorists' use of alternative financing mechanisms is not known," the report said. GAO said terrorists use various financing mechanisms to earn money in relative obscurity, preferring channels involving close-knit networks and industries lacking transparency, such as contraband cigarettes, counterfeit goods and illicit drugs. Terrorists also seek systems such as charities, informal banking systems, bulk cash, and precious stones or medals that can serve as forms of currency. GAO said the FBI, which leads terrorist-financing investigations, and other agencies face significant hurdles in monitoring terrorist financing because of accessibility, the adaptability of terrorists and competing priorities.
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