ID Theft Legislation Should Protect Consumers, Not Create Another Victim

ACT Testifies Before Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform and Oversight House Committee on Small Business

Today, the European Commission approved the proposed acquisition of DoubleClick by Google. Jonathan Zuck, President of the Association for Competitive Technology, said:  “Today the European Commission approved a groundbreaking merger between Google and DoubleClick.  The merger will undoubtedly change the competitive landscape of our industry and fuel the evolution of internet advertising.  It demonstrates both the dynamism of our industry and the need to give companies the flexibility necessary to adapt, compete, and meet the needs of consumers.”

The Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) is an international education and advocacy group for the technology industry. Focusing on the interests of small and mid-size entrepreneurial technology companies, ACT advocates for a “Healthy Tech Environment” that promotes innovation, competition and investment. ACT has been active on issues such as intellectual property, international trade, e-commerce, privacy, internet policy and antitrust. ACT represents more than 3000 software developers, systems integrators, IT consulting and training firms, and e-businesses from around the world.

ACT Announces it Will Not Appeal European Court Ruling in Microsoft Case

Organization will Look Toward a Constructive Dialogue Rather than Further Litigation to Answer Open Questions

Brussels – Today the Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) announced it will not appeal the ruling by the Court of First Instance (CFI) to uphold the majority of the European Commission’s 2004 antitrust decision against Microsoft.  After a long review of the CFI ruling, ACT decided that a litigation strategy would not be the best means for answering the industry’s outstanding questions about the decision and the long term implications for the technology industry.

“ACT has decided not to appeal the CFI’s ruling on the European Commission’s 2004 antitrust case against Microsoft.  We believe that a constructive dialogue with the Commission rather than new litigation will be the best option for addressing the industry’s outstanding questions,” said Jonathan Zuck, president of the Association for Competitive Technology (ACT).

ACT intervened in Microsoft’s appeal of the 2004 antitrust decision on behalf of its 3000 members worldwide.  ACT was very concerned about the long term implications of the decision on small and mid-size software developers, incentives for innovation, and the protection of intellectual property.

The Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) is an international education and advocacy group for the technology industry. Focusing on the interests of small and mid-size entrepreneurial technology companies, ACT advocates for a “Healthy Tech Environment” that promotes innovation, competition and investment. ACT has been active on issues such as intellectual property, international trade, e-commerce, privacy, internet policy and antitrust. ACT represents more than 3000 software developers, systems integrators, IT consulting and training firms, and e-businesses from around the world.

COMMISSION SAYS TECH INDUSTRY NEEDS TO BEWARE

Then Says “Maybe Not.” Question From Industry is, “Which is it?”

STATEMENT BY JONATHAN ZUCK, PRESIDENT OF ACT

Today the Court of First Instance confirmed two decisions by the European Commission on the antitrust case against Microsoft. The first decision orders the availability of a version of Windows without Media Player from Windows operating systems. The second regarded the disclosure of interoperability information for work group server systems. Jonathan Zuck, President of the Association for Competitive Technology, said in a first reaction to the judgment:

“The Commission just got a treat from the Court, but SMEs and consumers will actually foot the bill.  Microsoft clearly lost today, but it is unclear just how bad it is for the rest of the industry and consumers.”

On Precedents for Broader Industry Zuck said: “During the course of her press conference, Commissioner Kroes argued that this is ‘an important precedent, not just for this particular product or this particular market,’ but then said other companies do not have anything to worry about.  The question from industry is, “Which is it?”

“Lawyers will be debating whether this is a precedent for years, so the only real issue are the actions of the Commission.  Will the Commission engage industry in a constructive way, or install itself as its regulator?”

Will Neelie Kroes be leading a prison march of the world’s successful firms through her Brussels doors?  Perhaps the only real question is whether it is Apple, Google, Intel or Adobe that will be next dragged before the Commission.  Or does she more appropriately view this as a decision based on a 10 year old set of facts that does not broadly expand her powers to manage the development of software and the market share of companies in every market.”

On the Media Player Zuck said: “Following today’s judgment, consumers and developers are unlikely to see the technologies they are demanding – like voice recognition and multi-touch interfaces – integrated into Windows.  The result will be higher costs and more complexity for software developers and consumers alike. The decision on the Media Player opens a dangerous precedent for other companies and sectors. Airbus should start worrying about adding new features to their planes.”

Commenting on the interoperability issue Zuck added: “This decision marks the start of a dark period for ICT companies – large or small – with a high degree of uncertainty around the protection of their intellectual property. The precedent will threaten the ability of any successful company to protect its innovations. The conditions under which Microsoft will be obliged to give away its IP-protected information will be the key to gauging just how bad this is for the technology start-ups who depend on the value of their IP.”

ACT will be analysing the judgement in the coming hours; further reactions can be expected in the course of the day. ACT will also be blogging about the judgement throughout the day at http://blog.actonline.org.

The Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) is an international education and advocacy group for the technology industry. Focusing on the interests of small and mid-size entrepreneurial technology companies, ACT advocates for a “Healthy Tech Environment” that promotes innovation, competition and investment. ACT has been active on issues such as intellectual property, international trade, e-commerce, privacy, internet policy and antitrust. ACT represents more than 3000 software developers, systems integrators, IT consulting and training firms, and e-businesses from around the world.

New Guidelines Shift Policy from Technology Mandates Toward a More Effective Goals-Based Policy

Washington – Today, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Information Technology Division finalized its open format proposal as part of a periodic revision to its Enterprise Technical Reference Model (ETRM). The ETRM version 4.0 is now ready to be implented by the Commonwealth’s government agencies. In response to the new policy, Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) president Jonathan Zuck made the following statement:

“The Massachusetts open format policy has evolved into a much more effective solution to the challenges of interoperability, competition, and long-term document access, but it can still be improved. The Commonwealth has moved beyond strict technology mandates and has developed a more flexible framework for achieving its goals. It allows for agencies to choose from multiple ‘open standards’ to meet individual goals, and even seems to allow agencies to select non-open standards under certain circumstances.”

“The one real limitation to the policy is the rigid definition of ‘open standard’ used in the ETRM. The policy limits the Commonwealth’s choices to ’open standards,’ when the goals could be achieved with merely ‘open formats.’ While small firms are often willing to open up their formats and technologies, they often do not have the political clout to move their formats through an open standards body the way IBM, Sun, and Microsoft have done. In fact, even open source formats like Ogg Vorbis would be locked out. Yet, these small firm technologies may better meet the needs of the Commonwealth and individual agencies.”

“In addition, by committing only to broad open standards approved by international committees, the needs of smaller user groups can be overlooked. As the ETRM acknowledges, there are currently no office applications with native ODF support that provide accessibility for persons who use assistive technology devices.”

“It is obvious from the changes that the new administration realizes the problems inherent in this kind of policy. We can only hope that the policy continues to evolve in the coming months toward a truly goals-based policy that gives the Commonwealth’s CIOs the flexibility they need.

“The evolution of the Massachusetts policy should provide valuable insights for governments around the world that are trying to solve the same problems. One-size fits all solutions that lock the government into one format are wrong-headed. Instead, governments should focus on goals-based policies that give them the flexibility to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.”

The Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) is an international education and advocacy group for the technology industry. Focusing on the interests of small and mid-size entrepreneurial technology companies, ACT advocates for a “Healthy Tech Environment” that promotes innovation, competition and investment. ACT has been active on issues such as intellectual property, international trade, e-commerce, privacy, internet policy and antitrust. ACT represents more than 3000 software developers, systems integrators, IT consulting and training firms, and e-businesses from around the world.

Washington – Today, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Information Technology Division posted a new draft of its open format proposal as part of a periodic revision to its Enterprise Technical Reference Model (ETRM). In response to the new draft, Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) president Jonathan Zuck made the following statement:

“The new ETRM is an important step in the right direction, and recognizes there are many formats deserving of consideration, including Rich Text Format, OpenXML, and the newest versions of the Open Document Format (ODF) and Portable Document Format (PDF). Unfortunately, it still falls short of achieving the kind of goals-based policy that would give Massachusetts the flexibility it needs serve all its citizens.  While the administration has done much to improve the inherited policy, it still may harm small businesses and under-represented groups of citizens.”

“The Commonwealth has moved beyond strict technology mandates and has developed a more flexible framework for achieving its goals.  It allows for agencies to choose from multiple ‘open standards’ to meet individual goals, and even seems to allow agencies to select non-open standards under certain circumstances.”

“The one real limitation to the policy is the rigid definition of ‘open standard’ used in the ETRM.   The policy limits the Commonwealth’s choices to ’open standards,’ when the goals could be achieved with merely ‘open formats.’  While small firms are often willing to open up their formats and technologies, they often do not have the political clout to move their formats through an open standards body the way IBM, Sun, and Microsoft have done. Yet, these small firm technologies may better meet the needs of the Commonwealth and individual agencies.”

“In addition, by committing only to broad open standards approved by international committees, the needs of smaller user groups can be overlooked.  As the ETRM acknowledges, there are currently no office applications with native ODF support that provide accessibility for persons who use assistive technology devices.”

“It is obvious from the changes that the new administration realizes the problems inherent in this kind of policy. We can only hope that the policy continues to evolve in the coming months toward a truly goals-based policy that gives the Commonwealth’s CIOs the flexibility they need.”

For more information:

Mark Blafkin

Association for Competitive Technology

Phone: 202.420.7483

The Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) is an international education and advocacy group for the technology industry. Focusing on the interests of small and mid-size entrepreneurial technology companies, ACT advocates for a “Healthy Tech Environment” that promotes innovation, competition and investment. ACT has been active on issues such as intellectual property, international trade, e-commerce, privacy, internet policy and antitrust. ACT represents more than 3000 software developers, systems integrators, IT consulting and training firms, and e-businesses from around the world.

BY JONATHAN ZUCK, PRESIDENT OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR COMPETITIVE TECHNOLOGY

Today, Google launched a last minute application to intervene in tomorrow’s status hearing regarding the consent decree Microsoft entered into with the Department of Justice and State Attorneys General following the antitrust investigation into the firm. In response to the application, Association for Competitive Technology president, Jonathan Zuck made the following statement:

“The founders of Google built the company into the indomitable global powerhouse it is now through hard work, innovation, and shrewd business practices. Hopefully they will get back to that winning formula, because the company’s complaint against Microsoft is looking more and more like a disingenuous PR stunt.”

“If Google thought its case had any legal merit, its lawyers would have taken it more seriously. Despite Microsoft’s public intentions to integrate enhanced, indexed, desktop search functionality into Vista as early as 2003, Google waited to file their complaint until three days before Vista was scheduled to ship. Now, just one day before the June status conference on Microsoft’s consent decree, Google filed an amusing application to intervene that looks more like a press release than a legal document.”

“Google is trying to shroud its $164 billion market cap in the clothes of a poor defenseless startup. If one were really cynical, one might suggest this was an attempt to divert attention from Google’s growing problems around the world. ‘Please pay no attention the European Commission’s privacy investigation, the Department of Justice’s investigation of our merger with DoubleClick, or our ongoing disputes with publishers, sporting leagues, and Viacom. Microsoft is still the technology industry’s black hat!’”

For more information:

Mark Blafkin

Association for Competitive Technology

Phone: 202.420.7483

The Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) is an international education and advocacy group for the technology industry. Focusing on the interests of small and mid-size entrepreneurial technology companies, ACT advocates for a “Healthy Tech Environment” that promotes innovation, competition and investment. ACT has been active on issues such as intellectual property, international trade, e-commerce, privacy, internet policy and antitrust. ACT represents more than 3000 software developers, systems integrators, IT consulting and training firms, and e-businesses from around the world.

Schmidt Should Google “Stones and Glass Houses”

Washington – The New York Times story published on Saturday about an antitrust complaint filed against Microsoft by Google reflects the arguments of a few disgruntled state officials, rather than the kind of unbiased reporting for which the New York Times is traditionally known, according the Association for Competitive Technology (ACT). When looked at from a wider view, the complaint and the article seem seriously misguided.

“Filing antitrust complaints against Microsoft seems to be Eric Schmidt’s favorite corporate play, so we shouldn’t be too surprised. Whether he is at Novell, Sun, or Google, Schmidt has used antitrust as a competitive weapon. I suppose that we shouldn’t be surprised that a few rogue attorneys general would once again try to scuttle a constructive solution in favor of a few political points,” said Jonathan Zuck, president of ACT.

“Based on the published reports, however, this claim should strain even the most ardent Microsoft-hater’s credulity,” Zuck continued.

Microsoft has been discussing the integration of enhanced, indexed, Desktop Search in Vista since 2003, but Google apparently waited to file their complaint until three days before Vista was scheduled to ship. This would suggest that— at best—Schmidt doesn’t have confidence in his own complaint and—at worst—has ulterior motives. While Desktop Search is not middleware as defined by Microsoft’s Consent Decree, Microsoft has nonetheless made sure consumers have choice and competitors have access. In Vista, users are able to set their preferences for search providers and those choices are honored throughout the operating system (including after upgrading from Windows XP). Microsoft even provides competitors with the ability to use Microsoft’s indexing functionality within their own search technology. Veteran Microsoft critic Joe Wilcox wrote, “I see a whole lot of competition by litigation going on here. …I’ve seen plenty of Microsoft shenanigans. This isn’t one of them.”

“Integration innovation is a strategy that all leading technology firms pursue. It is disingenuous, and perhaps a little dangerous, for Google to be making these types of claims at the same time that it is tying an increasing number of new services to its dominant online search functionality. Technology firms, even extremely successful ones, need the ability to improve their products by adding the new functionality that consumers demand,” said Zuck.

“Google is a great company with a great line of products. Let’s hope they continue down a path of competition through innovation, and avoid this detour into using antitrust law to trip up their competitors. Given Google’s current position in the marketplace, it would seem the most prudent course,” said Zuck.

For more information:

Mark Blafkin

Association for Competitive Technology

Phone: 202.420.7483

The Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) is an international education and advocacy group for the technology industry. Focusing on the interests of small and mid-size entrepreneurial technology companies, ACT advocates for a “Healthy Tech Environment” that promotes innovation, competition and investment. ACT has been active on issues such as intellectual property, international trade, e-commerce, privacy, internet policy and antitrust. ACT represents more than 3000 software developers, systems integrators, IT consulting and training firms, and e-businesses from around the world.

ACT OPPOSES SENATOR SANDERS’ PROPOSED H-1B AMENDMENT TO IMMIGRATION BILL

BY JONATHAN ZUCK, PRESIDENT OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR COMPETITIVE TECHNOLOGY

Today, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont began courting fellow senators to support an amendment to the current immigration bill that would raise the fee for H-1B visas in order to fund a scholarship program for American students pursuing math and science degrees. The Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) believes it is important to address the dwindling pool of American-born graduates in math and science, but this is clearly not the solution to that problem.

Jonathan Zuck, president of ACT: “This amendment will cripple the culture of innovative entrepreneurship that has made America the world’s technology leader. High tech startups like Telligent, Sax Software, and Magenic Technologies are already struggling to find the talent they need to compete in the global marketplace. By making H-1B talent financially infeasible, particularly for truly small firms, Sanders may kill off the next Google before it even has a chance to raise venture capital and create new jobs.”

Senator Sanders suggests that H-1Bs serve to lower high tech wages. The reality is that startups aren’t looking for H-1B talent because it is cheaper. They are trying to bring in foreign talent because it is the ONLY talent available. They are competing with the world’s largest companies for the best talent available and often must rely on H-1B professionals to grow their companies and bring new innovations to market. This enormous new tax will take yet another option away from startups.

According to Zuck, “American entrepreneurs are a nearly inexhaustible source of innovative ideas. It would be devastating if they didn’t have the resources necessary to bring those ideas to market. The fact remains that growth in the small business IT sector is the most important engine for job growth in America today. A single H-1B employee with specific talents is often the catalyst to hiring many more new employees. The best chance at creating new American jobs is though small business growth, not by 500% tax increases on start-ups.”

For more information:

Mark Blafkin

Association for Competitive Technology

Phone: 202.420.7483 eMail: mblafkin@actonline.org

The Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) is an international education and advocacy group for the technology industry. Focusing on the interests of small and mid-size entrepreneurial technology companies, ACT advocates for a “Healthy Tech Environment” that promotes innovation, competition and investment. ACT has been active on issues such as intellectual property, international trade, e-commerce, privacy, internet policy and antitrust. ACT represents more than 3000 software developers, systems integrators, IT consulting and training firms, and e-businesses from around the world.