Executive Summary of The “Innovator’s Guide to the DMCA”
This paper is written to provide technology innovators with an understanding of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and the opportunities it provides for research and development of new products and services. The DMCA, as required by international treaties, makes it illegal to gain unauthorized access to copyrighted works online or make the tools necessary to do so. Copyright owners argue this is necessary to incentivize online distribution of their works but critics argue that the law stifles innovation. This [...]
Only IBM Would Try Openness and Transparency to Standards Bodies By Holding a Closed Meeting
On Monday, IBM announced a “new” standards policy and an accompanying threat to pull out of standards bodies that do not adjust their policies to IBM's liking. The coverage of the announcement has been particularly interesting because of the complete lack of serious analysis. It's early, of course, but you would hope that reporters/bloggers would do more than just rehash the IBM press release…especially when the whole thing is dripping with enough irony to fill Lake Michigan. The New York [...]
Oracle to enter hardware market
According to SFGate.com, “Oracle, the second-largest software maker, is entering the hardware market for the first time, teaming with Hewlett-Packard on a pair of new storage server products. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison took the stage at Oracle's OpenWorld conference in San Francisco Wednesday to unveil the HP Oracle Exadata Storage Server, which will help the Redwood City company expand into the growing market of data warehousing. The server, which HP will produce, also will work with another joint hardware product [...]
Singapore still best for starting a business
Inc.com writes that “Azerbaijan and Albania lead the world in pro-business reforms, while Singapore remains the best place to start a business, according to the World Bank. In an annual global report, Central Asia and Eastern Europe ranked highest in terms of business-friendly regulatory reforms. Last year, a total of 113 countries implemented 239 pro-business reforms, the most recorded in a single year since the report was launched in 2004. Two-thirds of East Asia's economies instituted reforms, up from less [...]
Congress debates tax on wireless services and providers
CNetNews.com reports that “[i]n an economy gone sour, local governments seeking new sources of tax revenue have begun hungrily eyeing their residents' monthly cell phone bills. But some members of Congress would like to block that, which has sparked a debate in Washington about federalism, tax policy, and fairness. Introduced in April by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., the Cell Tax Fairness Act would impose a five-year moratorium on what the bill describes as any ‘new discriminatory tax’ on wireless services [...]
East Coast startups try to attract unemployed Wall Street bankers
The New York Times has an article pointing out that if you were laid off from your Wall Street job, “East Coast venture capitalists and start-ups want you to know they are hiring. Josh Kopelman at First Round Capital, a Philadelphia-area venture firm, started LeaveWallStreetJoinAStartup.com on Monday, after waking to hear the news that Lehman Brothers was filing for bankruptcy protection and that Bank of America would buy Merrill Lynch. Like any good investor, he saw opportunity in pain. His [...]