shouting loudly

Earlier this week, the Senate Judiciary Committee plowed forward on patent reform, passing the Patent Reform Act of 2007 by a whopping 13-5 vote. This bill is exciting for three reasons. First, it might cut down on the number of junk patents that are filed. (See Section 6.) Right now, challenging a patent requires a [...]

The FCC’s network neutrality rulemaking has become a forum for every group with any interest in the matter. As CNet reported last month, NBC even used the proceedings to call for the FCC to impose requirements that broadband providers police their networks for copyright violations. Today, they report, nonprofits including EFF, Public Knowledge, and EPIC [...]

As Verizon moves forward with installing FiOS fiber optic phone/internet/TV service in (mostly wealthy, white) neighborhoods throughout the country, it is taking the time and expense to pull out copper wires. Why spend the money? As explained on the Consumers Union blog, Hear Us Now, there are two obvious incentives. First, consumers can’t go back. [...]

As if Sicko needed more publicity, Moore’s movie has sparked a debate about whether peer-to-peer trading has helped or hurt the film’s take. CNet’s Greg Sandoval points out that the film was downloaded by tens of thousands of fans before its premiere but still pulled in an average of $10,204 per theater–second only to the [...]

In a move the Times describes “as a boiling over of the long-simmering tensions between Mr. Jobs and the major record labels,” Universal Music Group (UMG) has declined to renew its annual iTunes contract. The reasons are simple enough: the music industry wants some tracks to cost more than $.99, while Apple likes the one-price-fits-all [...]