7.2.2014

FOR FUNSIES:  Pretty soon, we’ll be able to run full-blown scientific experiments in the cloud. D.J. Kleinbaum, co-founder and co-CEO of Emerald, said, “”Anyone with a credit card and an Internet connection will be able to go and run experiments.” 

PRVIACY & GOVERNMENT SURVEILLANCE

Let the Disclosures Roll.  This past Monday, we learned that the FBI has conducted a significant amount of warrantless searches for Americans’ emails and phone calls stored in a special database.  U.S.officals don’t see why requiring a search warrant is necessary for information collected lawfully.  Major issue is there’s no word or track record on how often these queries occur.

Not It.  The Washington Post reports that Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK are immune from the National Security’s Agencies authorization to intercept information. These four nations and the U.S. make up the “Five Eyes” and have established a no-spying arrangement. This continues to raise questions about the extent of the NSA’s authority as privacy domestically and internationally remains a sensitive issue.

Chips or Cookies?  Following the European Court of Justice’s ruling, Google has launched a new website, CookieChoices.org, to educate users who visit European sites on how cookies work. The ruling raised questions about implementation, and this site aims to provides tools for publishers to notify their users about their browsing history or profile information.

COPYRIGHT

Keeping the Fight Alive.  Still adjusting to the Supreme Court’s decision last week, Aereo is calling on its subscribers to “raise [their] hands and make [their] voices heard.” The company launched a new website to urge subscribers to contact Congress.  This call from the startups CEO, Chet Kanojia, comes in the middle of the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Intellectual Property Subcommittee’s comprehensive review of the U.S. copyright system.  Aereo points out that the spectrum broadcasters use to transmit their programs over the air belongs to the American people who have a right to access these programs in whichever way they like — via a physical antenna or the cloud.

Trademark 

Pro tip – Don’t mess with people’s dogs or their dogecoins!  Ultra Pro International, LLC, a sports and gaming memorabilia company, submitted a trademark application for the word “doge” with the intention of using it to sell clothing.  Ultra Pro obtained a license for the original picture of a recently popularized online meme.  The company says want to use a trademark to “better commercialize the concept” and the meme.  This application has upset the Doge Community.

What is the Doge Community? It’s a community of people who use Dogecoin, a new form of Internet currency, to easily transfer money online.  The group’s mascot is the Shiba Inu, a Japanese dog breed, that’s recently been a popular online meme.

What Next?  On July 8, The United States Patent and Trademark Office publishes the registration for review and allows a month-long period for the public an opportunity to oppose.

INDUSTRY RUNDOWN

Twitter’s a changing.  The social platform just named Anthony Noto, a former Goldman Sachs technology banker, as its new Chief Financial Officer.  Twitter also recently bought TapCommerce, a mobile advertising startup that engages in “retargeted” advertising for mobile devices.

Need a quick helicopter ride?  This may soon be easier than you think if you are venturing from New York to the Hamptons or Montauk.  Uber is partnering with helicopter booking app Blade, to make your dreams a reality for a price tag of $2,500.  And for those on the West coast, this service could soon be coming to a place near you.

As the Bitcoin craze continues, Newegg is the latest retailer to announce that it will be accepting this online currency.  The company is teaming up with Bitpay, a payment process to allow its customers to use Bitcoin to make purchases. 

According to the Boston Consulting Group, Facebook contributes $519 million dollars to Sweden’s economy and creates 900 news jobs.

Chinese businesses are starting to feel the impact of China’s restriction of Google’s services. For the wide range of businesses that rely on Google’s services such as search and Gmail, disruptions of these services are costing their bottom line.

7.1.2014

FOR FUNSIES:  Expending too much energy to take selfies? No worries. Swedish startup Crunchfish’s GoCam apps for Apple devices will take the stress off by allowing you to take a selfies without touching your phone screen.

IMMIGRATION

There’s No “I” in Team, But There’s a “Me” …

President Obama is prepared to take executive action on immigration reform as it is clear that a bill is going nowhere – at least this year.  Speaker John Boehner confirmed recently that he would not take up an immigration bill because people simply don’t trust the President to enforce current law.  In a speech from the Rose Garden, Obama called out House Republicans for failing to pass a “darn bill” and did not mince words by stating “I take executive action only when we have a serious problem … and Congress chooses to do nothing.”

I Thought We Were Making Progress…

For years, Republicans and Democrats have been sparring over comprehensive immigration reform — though everyone agrees that the system needs a major overhaul (particularly with regards to allowing more high-skilled immigrants).  Last year, Democrats led a movement and passed a comprehensive bill out of the Senate, but things stalled in the House.

Wait… Did Something Happen?  

In the past few weeks, Dave Brat beat out House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va) in a primary race. And, there has been an unexplained spike in the number of children trying to cross over the Texas border solo.

Taking Steps Forward …

In addition to requiring Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and Attorney General Eric Holder to transfer immigration enforcement resources to the United States border, President Obama is seeking input from administration officials on other actions he can implement on his own.  Open dialogue with immigration advocates is also welcome.

PRIVACY & GOVERNMENT SURVEILLANCE

Because I Said So …

Yesterday, the Supreme Court issued an order to decline hearing Google’s appeal of an appellate decision ruling that determined that Google crossed the line with its Wi-Fi system when collecting data for its Street View mapping service.  But why? No reason … the Court did not deem an explanation necessary.  Google argues that the data sent over its Wi-Fi is a radio communication that is publicly available.  The refusal to hear the case maintains the appellate court’s findings that Google’s actions violates federal wiretap laws because information collected include documents, emails, usernames, passwords, etc.

Leaks? What Leaks?

The National Security Agency’s new leader Michael Rogers is striking a different, more moderate tone than his predecessor Michael Hayden.  Post-Snowden leaks, Hayden described the situation as “unquestionable, irreparable, irreversible harm.”  Rogers, on the other hand, is fully embracing internal changes to prevent future leaks and is supportive of President Obama’s goal to end bulk collection of Americans’ telephone data. He anticipates that the fallout from the leaks will be manageable in the long term.

But, This Isn’t Helping …

Vice President of the European Commission Viviane Reding believes that the United States’ ordering of Microsoft to hand over emails housed in servers based in Ireland is a breach of international law and is concerned about privacy violations against individuals in the European Union.  Microsoft argues that this move will continue to hurt the ability for U.S. cloud companies to compete abroad as companies and the U.S. government work to rebuild trust with foreign counterparts when it comes to users’ data.  Reding suggests that the U.S. work through the mutual legal assistance treaties (MLATs) — basically agreements between countries to cooperate in sharing with information regarding criminal investigations.

What to Say to the Office Gossip …

Happiness is contagious, and that’s not just because of Pharrell’s hit song.  News broke over the weekend about a study Facebook ran back in March 2012. For a one-week period, FB adjusted the newsfeed of almost 700,000 users and randomly showed them either positive or negative posts.  The results confirm that positivity breeds positivity and well … negativity does in fact bring others down.  Users who saw positive posts on their newsfeed also posted positive responses while those who saw negative posts tended to be more negative.  Privacy advocates are not pleased because FB relied on its Data Use Policy to conduct the study rather than seeking explicit permission.  Though the lead FB researcher defended the reasons behind the study (determine the emotional impact of FB), he apologized for the anxiety caused by the study and suggested that the study’s findings may not have been worth the strong reactions after all.

COPYRIGHT

You Win Some, You Lose Some …

Following last week’s Supreme Court decision ruling Aereo’s technology illegal, the company announced that it would suspend its services for now and issue refunds to its subscribers.  As Aereo puts on the brakes, competitors are ramping up their services to fill the new void.  Mark Ely, founder of Simple.TV, is recruiting Aereo subscribers via Twitter. Simple.TV provides a ‘private TV server’ to record programs on a hard drive connected to users’ device.  Another potential competitor, Mohu, provides streaming services via over the air antennas.

Reinventing Yourself, Not Just for Madonna …

No stranger to litigation brought on by broadcasters, FilmOn is now billing itself as a cable company post-Aereo. What’s the difference between the old and 2.0 version of the service?  FilmOn says simply implementing a paywall and requiring subscribers to pay for its service. Now, the company wants broadcaster to negotiate royalties in exchange for signals.  But, that’s not all.  FilmOn recently just announced its Teleporter technology.

GOOD TO KNOW

Stacks On Stacks on Stacks …

Rakuten, a Japanese e-commerce company, is establishing  a $100 million startup fund to support tech firms in Asia-Pacific, Israel, and the U.S.  This move is likely to ensure new revenue streams to facilitate competition against other e-commerce giants like Amazon.  So, what type of start-ups is Rakuten looking to fund?  Word to the wise — think ‘big’ as in companies that support big data back-end systems.

How Would the Urban Dictionary Refer to Bitcoin …

Last weekend, California Governor Jerry Brown enacted a bill into law that confirms the use of Bitcoin and other alternatives as legitimate forms of payment.

It’s Not JUST a Game, It’s Our Lives …

World Cup fever is still alive and is breaking records — on Twitter.  During a critical moment during the Brazil v. Chile game that kept Brazil in the tournament, almost 389,000 tweets were generated.  The game broke this year’s Super Bowl record of about 382,000 tweets that ensued following an impressive, Seattle Seahawks’ 87-yard punt return for a touchdown.  Today at 4 PM ET, the U.S. takes on Belgium following the Argentina-Switzerland match.

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a major copyright decision and ruled that Aereo’s technology is illegal.  Not familiar with the case?  Here’s what you need to know:

What is Aereo?

According to Aereo’s website, the company provides cloud DVR services for a simple, straightforward way to watch live cable television online via tiny remote antennas.  If you are based in one of 11 U.S. cities (including New York, Boston, and Miami just to name a few), for a fee, you can subscribe to Aereo’s service.

How Does It Work Exactly?

Once subscribed to Aereo’s service, users can access a dime-sized TV antenna attached to a remote DVR, both of which are housed in a local data center.  When users access Aereo’s service to watch a particular channel or television program, they can instruct the antenna to record a program on that channel.  After the program has aired for a few seconds, users can stream to their device the slightly delayed over-the-air broadcast.

What the Broadcasters Said …

Broadcasters, television producers, marketers, and distributors brought suit against Aereo because of their copyright ownership in many of the programs available via Aereo’s system.  More specifically, they claimed that Aereo infringed against their right to perform these works publicly and sought a preliminary injunction to prevent Aereo from continuing to offer its services.  Following the New York District Court’s denial of the broadcasters’ request, the Second Circuit found that Aereo did not infringe on the broadcasters’ right to perform publicly because the company streamed content to users via a private transmission.  Therefore, the Second Circuit denied the broadcasters appeal to rehear the case.  This outcome prompted the Supreme Court’s consideration of the case.

Why Your Aereo Subscription Doesn’t Quite Work Like It Used to …

In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that Aereo’s service is illegal because it infringes on broadcasters’ exclusive right to publicly perform their works.  In reaching this conclusion, the Court considered two legal questions: (1) does Aereo “perform” and (2) “if Aereo does perform, is this performance “public?”

Given that Aereo’s users must proactively use the company’s equipment to engage the service to transmit programs, Aereo argued that the service does not “perform” and should not be held directly liable.   The dissenting justices characterized this as a critical difference from other cable systems that transmit constantly.  To address these types of cable systems, Congress previously amended the Copyright Act and the Transmit Clause to clarify that both the broadcaster and viewer of a television program “perform” as they both show the program’s images and transmit audible sounds.  The majority of the court Court did not find Aereo’s argument persuasive and dismissed it.  Ultimately, the Court found that Aereo does “perform” because there is essentially no difference between Aereo and cable systems.

Though the Court found that Aereo “performs,” the case then hinged on whether it performs publicly.  Under the Transmit Clause, “an entity performs a work publicly when it transmits … a performance … of the work … to the public.”    As previously mentioned, Aereo argued that the performance is not public because programs are transmitted privately to one subscriber.  However, the Court determined that what constitutes ‘public’ depends on the relationship of the viewers to the underlying work.  Relying on a valet parking and car dealership analogies, the Court reasoned that if an entity transmitted works to people in their capacity as owners or possessors, this did not amount to a public performance.  However, if that entity transmitted works to users or subscribers that have no prior relationship in the work, then that transmission is deemed public.  Therefore, Aereo’s streaming services to its subscribers who had no relationship to the programs constitutes a public performance.  To support this determination, the Court further reasoned that the Transmit Clause provides that a performance is public regardless of members of the public are viewing the program at the same time or are viewing it in the same place.

What Will This Mean in the Future?

Well, in typical lawyer fashion, it depends …

The Supreme Court notes that its decision is limited and anticipates that it will not hinder the emergence and development or use of different types of technologies.

Aereo begs to differ as its CEO and founder Chet Kanojia expressed disappointment in the outcome and stated that “this sends a chilling message to the technology industry.”

The broadcasters on the other hand reveled in their victory with CBS CEO Les Moonves championing the Court’s decision and condemning Aereo’s technology as “theft.” For the time being, Moonves is pleased that people will be required to pay for their content.

This decision raises more questions than provides answers for copyright wonks.  Rather than creating specific, bright-line rules, the decision leaves much to be desired in terms of establishing precedent.  It is unclear whether this decision will apply only to platforms similar to cable systems or if it will be applied more broadly.  Because this decision raises questions about when the “volition” test (in other words, who chooses and initiates the copying of a protected work) is triggered,  platforms that facilitate the distribution of copyrighted works may be subject to increased litigation risk.   Though the opinion provides some direction in terms of determining that a system is indistinguishable from a cable system when a user can watch a copy of a broadcast “contemporaneously” with a live television program, even this determination raises more questions, even this finding raises additional questions (e.g., When is it acceptable for an entity to distribute copies of a broadcast?).

In its summation, the Court noted that to the extent that interested parties are concerned with “the relationship between the development and use of …technologies and the Copyright Act, they are … free to seek action from Congress.”  House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte interpreted this decision as further justification of his committee’s ongoing copyright review.

As more analysis and predictions occur around this case, users should continue to enjoy the benefits of technologies and services that exist and continue to innovate because of the appropriate balance in the U.S. Copyright system.