Bridge Pier 15 – 5: Texas Patent Law as If Roy Bean Were Still On the Bench: “Hang ‘Em First, Try ‘Em Later”

East Texas is really a very nice place. The people are friendly. Living is relatively easy amongst the “Piney Woods.” The region is more like the Old South, or the southeastern U.S., than the scrub brush and high plains that many usually think of when they think of Texas. Riddled with rivers, creeks and bayous the climate lends itself to the growth of Spanish moss and bald cypress. But recently it is another climate in East Texas that has attracted the most attention – its lawsuit climate.
Read more at:  http://townhall.com/columnists/bartlettcleland/2015/11/23/texas-patent-law-as-if-roy-bean-were-still-on-the-bench-hang-em-first-try-em-later-n2084431/page/full

November 30th, 2015 | Category: Uncategorized | Comments are closed

Bridge Span 15-10: Removing Barriers to Broadband Deployment

One of the more important hearings for the future of broadband took place last week in the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee. The Committee gathered to discuss “Breaking Down Barriers to Broadband Infrastructure Deployment.”

With what has seemed like the overnight deployment of broadband Internet access to seemingly every corner of the U.S. one could be excused for wondering what possible barriers could be standing in the way. In fact, according to Pew Internet and American Life Project Surveys broadband adoption has quadrupled in ten years, and investment has been on a tear.

Adoption has been high because of the supply of an increasingly fast broadband has been available both for fixed and for mobile. The U.S. already leads the world in 4G (the fourth generation of wireless telecommunications technology) and we should be determined to do so for 5G so that the U.S. can hold onto its competitive edge. Whether in fixed or mobile, broadband providers continue to be the largest investors in this country in terms of capital expenditure.

According to USTelecom, “U.S. broadband providers invested $78 billion in network infrastructure in 2014.” The report continues, “Last year alone annual investment grew by $3 billion, or 4 percent, after surging to $75 billion in 2013. Furthermore, broadband providers have made $1.4 trillion in capital investments from 1996 through 2014.

So where is the problem? As it turns out, that continuing rapid deployment, the massive investment in our future, deployment faster than any technological advance we have seen, is something of a miracle given the many challenges. Even today, with the value of mobile and fixed broadband being virtually universally known, old barriers remain and new barriers are being put in place.

While government has a critical role to play in the continued success of broadband, as was highlighted at the hearing, there exists a real need for a systematic analysis and removal of barriers to infrastructure deployment. At a time of a continuing stumbling economy removing barriers is critical, because as barriers to infrastructure are removed investment in the network increases. Those investments produce jobs and often those jobs become careers.

What then should government do? Legislators and regulators, federal and state, all must focus on establishing policies that lead to more broadband infrastructure investment, not that create or maintain impediments.

An easy improvement would involve requiring conduits (plastic pipes thorough which wires can be pulled) be included in all appropriate infrastructure projects. This so called “dig once” approach saves money and allows for more rapid deployment of new technologies. Even improving access to rights of way would be a step in the right direction. Whether federal or state, access to rights of way should be sped up. Applications for approval to build out broadband infrastructure should be given a priority, and even placed on a “shot-clock” so that if action is not taken on an application then it is automatically approved.

Additionally, fees and lease payments for right of way rental should be eliminated or at least minimized for access for broadband facilities. Similarly, rents set for attachment of broadband equipment and lines to existing poles must be carefully considered avoiding arbitrary rate increases that slow deployment and increase costs to consumers. Pole owners should not be in a position to arbitrarily raise costs on broadband providers.

And more generally, the wide variation in how broadband providers can access federal property causes dramatic slow-downs and great waste. Government needs to move at the speed of innovation, rather than at the speed of, well, government. The right path towards that goal would be to increase inter-agency cooperation, and developing a stream-lined consistent process for all. Perhaps more than most improvements this would lead to faster, further reaching broadband deployment.

Broadband is a cornerstone of our current economy, but it is also so much more. From education to entertainment, for job seeking or career enhancing, fixed in place or on the move, our increased reliance of ubiquitous broadband is growing. Legislators and regulators need to adjust the role they have played for decades and now seek the means to facilitate broadband roll out rather than hindering its free market progress.

November 5th, 2015 | Category: Cable, Communications policy, Wireless | Comments are closed

Bridge Span 15-9: Eco(system) Friendly Advertising

When the value of the Internet is threatened the entire ecosystem needs to respond. Success in the digital world is achievable when all parties understand that they cannot stand on their own, that in fact an economically thriving digital ecosystem requires good faith cooperation, within the bounds of the law, and with an eye towards what is best for the broader ecosystem. In other words, the distributed nature of the Internet is a fundamental part of its design, and no one entity, whether private sector or government, can control it so stakeholder cooperation is imperative for the success of all. Given the challenges of global brand’s online advertising appearing on sites with pirated content, to have a world leader in advertising such as WPP announce that its media partners must receive anti-piracy certification from the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) is a big deal.

From the press release, “TAG is a voluntary initiative created by the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s), Association of National Advertisers (ANA), and Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) to eliminate fraudulent digital advertising traffic, combat malware, fight ad-supported Internet piracy to promote brand integrity, and promote brand safety through greater transparency. TAG will work with authorized independent third-party validators, including Ernst & Young and Stroz Friedberg, to certify advertising technology companies as Digital Advertising Assurance Providers (DAAPs). To be validated as a DAAP, companies must show they can provide other advertising companies with tools to limit their exposure to undesirable websites or other properties by effectively meeting one or more criteria.”

The move is noteworthy not just because of the impact on pirate sites but also because by disassociating those global brands from illegal behavior the value of the brands will increase. How do legitimate brands end up on pirate Websites in the first place, ultimately providing financial gain to the wrongdoers? Through ad networks.

Generally, a company may purchase ads through an ad network which promises a certain number of impressions across an ad network for a certain amount of money. So, generally, the more people who see the ad, or interact with it, the greater the cost. Pirate Websites generate revenue when the ads running on the sites are viewed and lend credibility to pirate site simply by the brand appearing to be selecting that very site for its ads. The profit generated by these ads is quite substantial. Given the minimal start up and operating costs, and that the content the sites are “selling” being stolen from artists and creators, any income results in abundant profit.

But companies have figured out that they are being damaged by their ads association with wrong-doers.
John Montgomery, Chairman, GroupM Connect, North America and Co-Chair of the TAG Anti-Piracy Working Group noted, “[t]here’s no brand in the world that wants their advertising to appear on a pirate site or wants to be seen as supporting piracy, even inadvertently…. A brand’s entire reputation is at stake – something that they’ve been nurturing for decades or, in some cases, centuries.” Montgomery further observed “[t]he people who create pirate sites are the same ones who perpetrate clickbot fraud – they’re the ones who spread malware and create the armies of bots that generate most of the automated clicks in the business…. Which is why being worried about ad fraud without also being aware of the role piracy plays in its perpetration is like fretting over a flood in your apartment while neglecting to turn off the tap.”

In other words, piracy is a bad deal for everyone in the Internet ecosystem except for the bad guys themselves. They use other’s property, both copyright protected material but also the brands, to line their pockets, contributing nothing in return. Thanks should be given to all actors as they continue to respond to these actions which leach value from the online ecosystem. In fact, take a moment to thank GroupM for their leadership in keeping the Internet a thriving, robust place for innovation, invention and creation. Click here to send a quick email or tweet.

October 6th, 2015 | Category: Intellectual property | Comments are closed
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