The ACM U.S. Public Policy Council submitted its public comment to the U.S. Trade Representative outlining three important intellectual property principles for the U.S. government to consider in the upcoming Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) trade negotiations with the European Union. The United States and the EU share the largest economic relationship in the [...]
Topics to be addressed in Congressional hearings this week include: internet video, accessibility for people with disabilities, federal computing research, big data, patent reform, copyright reform, automated vehicle technologies, cybersecurity, e-verify, and drones. On Wednesday, FTC Commissioner Maureen K. Ohlhausen will speak on “FTC’s Google Investigation: Implications for the States and Other Countries.” On Thursday, [...]
The Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee brings you the 5th Annual State of the Mobile Net Conference on Thursday, May 9, 2013. Key members of Congress and their staff, Administration officials, tech executives, and mobile-savvy technologists will discuss location-based services, privacy, the mobile broadband spectrum squeeze, and other emergent legal and legislative issues facing lawmakers [...]
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission will hold a roundtable on “Transforming Election Administration, Voting System Accessibility, and the Certification Process” on Thursday, May 9 from noon to 5:30 pm EDT to explore current and future research in accessible voting technology. The roundtable will be available by live webcast. ACM U.S. Public Policy Council member Dr. [...]
The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) will hold its first “a11y@HHS: Technology Accessibility and Inclusion Conference,” on Tuesday, May 7, 2013 at the FDA White Oak Campus. The conference is open to the public. A live webcast will be available. Advance registration is required. The all-day conference will feature sessions on web and [...]
The USPTO Patent Public Advisory Committee will hold its quarterly meeting on Thursday, May 16, 2013 from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm at the USPTO campus in Alexandria, Virginia. The meeting is open to the public. The meeting will also be available by WebEx. Below are a few of the agenda topics in bold, with [...]
Almost all polling places had an accessible voting system during the 2008 elections, according to a new report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). That’s the good news. The bad news: At nearly half of the polling places with an accessible voting system, voters with disabilities still faced barriers to voting independently and privately. [...]
National Council on Disability’s Congressional Policy Forum on Voting Access “The Help America Vote Act Ten Years Later: Has the Law Accomplished Its Aim?” Tuesday, April 23, 2 – 4:30 p.m. Dirksen Senate Office Building – Room 608 (Senate Budget Committee Hearing Room) This Congressional Policy Forum will help inform the National Council on Disability [...]
The Trans-Pacific Partnership: Opportunities and Challenges Senate Finance Committee Full Committee Hearing April 24, 10 a.m. Dirksen Senate Office Building – Room 215 Live webcast will be available. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a proposed multilateral regional trade agreement currently being negotiated by 11 countries: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, [...]
Public Forum on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Tuesday, April 23, 9:30 – 10 a.m. Access Board Conference Room 1331 F Street, NW, Suite 800 78 Federal Register 20957 Tomorrow, the National Council on Disability will accept public comments in person on how the Council should engage on the UN [...]
Plenty of techies, carrying an array of digital devices and looking for power outlets, swarmed Capitol Hill last week for the so-called “cyber week” in the U.S. House of Representatives. To give you some idea of the number of tech lobbyists on scene, Wednesday’s huddle began with the announcement that one major tech company alone [...]
The ACM U.S. Public Policy Council submitted comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office yesterday in response to its request for recommendations on how the USPTO and the software community might “enhance the quality of software-related patents.” “This is a wonderful opportunity for the computing community to help the USPTO further understand topics that [...]
The White House is accepting applications from software developers and hands-on technology experts to participate in a day of national service at the White House on June 1 in support of enhancing the “We the People” petition system. The goal of the day will be to create production ready applications for integration with other systems [...]
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission and the National Institute of Standards and Technology will be holding a two-day workshop on April 1-2 to explore current and future research in accessible voting technology. The two-day workshop will be available by live webcast. The Workshop comes just days after President Obama’s Executive Order creating a new Election [...]
Nominations for the National Medal of Technology and Innovation are due Monday, April 1, 2013. The award is the nation’s highest honor for technological achievement for American scientists, engineers, and innovators. It is bestowed by the U.S President. Nominations may be submitted to honor an individual, a group of up to four individuals, a company, [...]
During last Wednesday’s hearing on “Investigating and Prosecuting 21st Century Cyber Threats,” the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations explored whether Congress should change what constitutes a cybercrime under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). Overall, lawmakers expressed concern about potentially weakening the CFAA’s criminal provisions but recognized that the [...]
ACM Turing Award Recipient Dr. Vint Cerf on “Reinventing the Internet” Monday, May 13, 2013, 6:30 pm Google DC 1101 New York Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20005 Sponsored by: ACM Washington D.C. Chapter Registration is free and open to the public. Early registration is highly encouraged. Seating is limited. To register: http://meetup.dcacm.org/events/106916812/ The Washington, D.C. [...]
Two Congressional hearings relevant to patent reforms, which were canceled last week due to “snowquester,” are scheduled for this week. House Hearing on “Examination of Litigation Abuses” Wednesday March 13, 2013, 10 am ET Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice House Judiciary Committee Webcast: http://judiciary.house.gov Witnesses: Elizabeth Milito, National Federation of Independent Business Theodore [...]
Two events on Capitol Hill this week will focus on potential patent litigation reforms. Both will be available by live webcast. Congressional Briefing on “Patent Trolls and Their Impact on the Economy” Tuesday, March 5, 2013, 11:10 am – 12:10 pm ET Sponsored by: The Internet Association Webcast: http://ustream.tv/channel/internetassociation Moderator: Ryan Grim, The Huffington Post [...]
The U.S. House of Representatives created a national academic competition this week for students to showcase their talents in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Consistent with the importance of computer science within STEM, the first annual Congressional Academic Competition will be the Congressional App Challenge. It will challenge students nationwide to develop innovative software programs [...]
Leading high-tech executives spoke this week on the best ways to promote innovation and improve the quality of software patents at an industry-sponsored Congressional briefing. The briefing was organized by the Business Software Alliance and hosted by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. Former USPTO Commissioner of Patents Bob Stoll moderated the discussion with panelists from [...]
A new White House strategy paper released on Wednesday outlines a five-pronged approach for protecting trade secrets of U.S. companies against a growing threat of theft and misappropriation. The strategy calls for (1) increased diplomatic measures to support sustained and coordinated international efforts, (2) the adoption and sharing of best practices by private industry, (3) [...]
ACM released this statement today on changes to its publishing policy. Considering discussions around copyright policy and open access, we thought our readers would be interested in the publishing models ACM is adopting. ACM’s resolve to offer more free access pathways to its respected publications archive will enter a new realm in the coming months [...]
USACM submitted its public comment on the proposed new and revised certification standards and implementation specifications that define the technological capabilities, functionality, and security of health information technology and electronic health records used in the Medicare and Medicaid Incentive Programs. The proposed new and revised certification standards are part of the national effort to modernize [...]
USACM and SIGCHI submitted comments this week to the Access Board on the Draft ICT Standards and Guidelines on accessibility of federal government information and communication technologies.
