The new HIPAA-HITECH regulation is here. Officially titled “Modifications to the HIPAA Privacy, Security, Enforcement, and Breach Notification Rules,” this new regulation modifies HIPAA in accordance with the changes mandated by the HITECH Act of 2009. According to Office for Civil Rights (OCR) director Leon Rodriguez, the rule “marks the most sweeping changes to the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules since they were first implemented.”
Columbia Law School professor Anu Bradford argues that while the European continent may be perceived to be weak militarily and declining in economic power, it is a giant in the field of world commerce. She explains in an article she wrote for The Globalist.
Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee explain the value of digital data, also referred to as Big Data. In their Harvard Business Review article, “Big Data: The Management Revolution,” the authors discuss how big data can aid businesses in making informed and effective decisions.
The major antitrust news from earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) announcement that it has ended a nearly two-year investigation into Google's search and mobile business practices and declined to press antitrust charges continues to garner debate in technology sectors. TAP scholars share their expertise and thoughts on this intensely debated decision.
In November, at Santa Clara University, we held a conference entitled ”Solutions to the Software Patent Problem” that assumed, without debating, that software patents were a problem. With that premise, conference participants could focus their attention on thoughtful and creative ways to redress the problems created by software patents. At the conference, we heard a lot of different proposals (nearly two dozen) from experts in the field. Here’s a recap of some of my personal favorites.
Software patents play a huge–and controversial–role in our economy. In a recent post, I explained some of the problems that software innovations pose to the patent system. This post extends that discussion by exploring two structural hurdles to addressing those problems: (1) the challenge of defining “software,” and (2) which regulatory institution(s) can implement any fixes. In the near future, I will conclude this three-part series of posts by exploring specific ideas to fix software patents.
The U.S. patent system largely treats all innovations equally, but innovation often works quite differently in different industries. In particular, the software industry differs from other major innovative industries in several key ways, and those differences can create significant friction for the patent system. This post is the first of a three-part series recapping a conversation we had in November at Santa Clara University entitled “Solutions to the Software Patent Problem.”
Friday (January 11th) Silicon Flatirons Center is hosting a conference on the Technology of Privacy. Ryan Calo, Deirdre Mulligan, Helen Nissenbaum, and Peter Swire will be participating in the panels that will look at the threats and benefits of new technology, privacy by design, Big Data, and Do Not Track.
After a year’s hiatus, our annual predictions post is back! These predictions reflect the results of brainstorming among many affiliates and friends of the blog. Enjoy the tech policy predictions for 2013.
TAP scholars James Grimmelmann, Frank Pasquale, Eric Goldman, and Geoffrey Manne share their thoughts on the Federal Trade Commission’s announcement that it has completed a nearly two-year investigation into Google's business practices.
