Earlier this year the USPTO proposed a rule to change the standard, known as BRI, by which patents are evaluated during PTAB reviews. On Wednesday, USPTO announced a final rule that does away with the BRI standard in favor of a more restrictive alternative.
Engine Files Amicus Brief in La Park La Brea v. Airbnb
Letter from Online Creator Platforms on Article 13
Current legal frameworks have allowed us to build creative online communities that have enabled musicians, writers, artists, developers, designers, and filmmakers throughout Europe to access a global online market. We are concerned that proposed changes to the European Copyright Directive, specifically Article 13, will threaten the existence of these vibrant online communities.
Startup Week Across America
In partnership with Reps. Suzan K. DelBene, Susan Brooks, Yvette Clarke, Randy Hultgren, Jerry McNerney and Mimi Walters, Engine, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Economic Innovation Group, and the Center for American Entrepreneurship, we are excited to celebrate Startup Week Across America from August 20th through August 24th. We invite Representatives to meet with startups back home in their district to raise awareness for entrepreneurial activity and job creation. It is also an opportunity to discuss the importance of ingenuity and innovation to the American economy.
Fast-growing startup companies are not unique to places like Silicon Valley, Seattle or Boulder. Startups are rapidly developing right in your backyard. Across the nation, industries ranging from retail and health care to entertainment and education are being disrupted and reshaped by entrepreneurs in every community. They are reimagining the future by using technology to solve problems and to create innovative products and services.
In every district, there are dozens of entrepreneurs who have established job-creating startups. These dynamic companies act as entrepreneurial leaders, innovators, and job creators within our communities.
According to the Kauffman Foundation, startups are the driving force behind 2 million new jobs created annually in the United States. Such statistics are notable when you consider that a majority of our nation’s startup companies are younger than three years of age, and nearly 550,000 new entrepreneurs enter the American workforce each month.
Interested in learning more? Contact Engine's Jennifer Fox at jen@engine.is
Engine SXSW 2019 Voting Guide
We're putting together some exciting panels on startup advocacy and policy issues for SXSW 2019, and we need your votes to get them included in the conference. Please vote by August 30th 2018!
Engine's panels:
Disrupting Policy in the District and Beyond. Vote.
Can a Computer Invent? Vote.
Other panels we're excited about:
How to Survive a Trade War. Vote.
A Day Without GPS: What Would You Do? Vote.
Politics in Tech: When the Bubble Bursts. Vote.
Old Men Yell at (the) Cloud: Congress and Tech. Vote.
Creative Ways to Solve the Bias Problem in AI. Vote.
How EU Startups Can Become Successful in the US. Vote.
Startups vs Local Government Regulations. Vote.
Build a Sustainable & Inclusive Startup Community. Vote.
All Ears: Engaging Users Through Smart Speakers. Vote.
Augmented Reality/Mixed Reality Will Change Everything. Vote.
Digital Security in the 21st Century. Vote.
One Year After TC Heartland, Texas NPEs Migrate to Greener Pastures
A year after the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Food Group Brands LLC, however, Marshall may be returning to the normalcy of tumbleweeds and prairie, as NPEs who once filed there flock instead to other jurisdictions.
GDPR and the U.S. Startup Ecosystem
Meet Jen Fox, Engine's Manager of External Affairs
I’m Jen Fox, Engine’s Manager of External Affairs. I am excited to work with America’s startups across the country, and I want to get to know what issues matter most to you and your startup. Can you fill out this survey?
Leaving Startups in the Slow Lane
Internet service providers would like you to think there’s broad agreement on net neutrality because everyone agrees cable companies shouldn’t block or slow access to websites and online services. But mention the words “paid prioritization” and you’ll get a much different reaction. The issue is sure to divide the House Energy and Commerce Committee during its hearing on the topic next week.
A Call for Cross-Border Cooperation
Guest Post: Loss of Net Neutrality Puts Innovation at Risk in Hawaii
The world of innovation is at an exciting point in time, unrivaled by anything we’ve ever seen before. The cost of launching a startup has never been cheaper and the process has never been more efficient. This is largely due to reduced business costs (e.g. server fees) resulting from advancements in technology services and internet access. What once cost a startup hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars in capital expenditures just to get to the starting line is now accessible to almost anyone for much, much less. With the Internet, the distance between business and consumer has also shortened drastically; marketing directly to your customer demographic across the world is now possible. Additionally, information in the form of advice, mentoring, and best practices is now abundant and accessible. What was once restricted to Ivy League schools or knowledge bases such as New York and San Francisco is now available for free online.
Panel Round-Up: Design Patents and Defining the Article of Manufacture
The panel discussion, “Design Patents and Defining the Article of Manufacture – One Year Later,” was moderated by Julie Samuels, President of the Board at Engine Advocacy and Executive Director at Tech:NYC. The expert panel also featured Charles Duan, Senior Fellow and Associate Director of Tech and Innovation Policy at R Street Institute; G. Nagesh Rao, a 2016 USA Eisenhower Fellow and former Patent Examiner and Senior Policy Advisor at the USPTO; and Matthew Levy, former Patent Counsel at the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA).
Reflecting on Diversity in Tech on MLK Day
Today, as we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most ardent advocates for the advancement and equality of African Americans in history, we should reflect on the continuing injustice in our socioeconomic system and contemplate how we can more effectively work to close the racial entrepreneurship gap.
The FCC’s “Facts” vs. Reality on Net Neutrality
Ahead of the Federal Communications Commission’s vote late last week to dismantle 2015 net neutrality rules — which prevented ISPs from blocking or slowing access to certain websites — FCC Chairman Ajit Pai continued to misrepresent his plan as a boon to innovators and Internet users across the country instead of the ISP industry sell out it really is.