Tag Archives: President Obama

Obama administration comes out swinging against patent trolls

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The signs are clear that so-called “patent trolls,” companies that do nothing but threaten and litigate over patents, are doing serious damage to the economy. After more than a decade in which patent abuse has shot up to new heights, the problem has finally reached the attention of President Obama himself.

Today, the White House released a memo detailing seven legislative actions it wants Congress to take; several of them could have a real impact on patent trolls. The administration is also going to take immediate executive actions, including “empowering downstream users” by having the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) create a website to tell patent troll victims about their rights.

The memo outlines changes to bring much more transparency to patent disputes, including new PTO rules that will require patent owners to keep their ownership information updated. It asks Congress to impose similar transparency rules on courts. If that happens in an effective way, it could stop patent trolls from hiding their owners in the shadows behind networks of shell companies.

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Even Obama knows patent trolls are “extorting” money

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President Barack Obama held his second public Google+ hangout today, taking questions from Americans from around the country the day after his State of the Union address.

During the event, an issue came up that’s pretty important in the tech world, but still marginal or even largely unknown to the nation at large: patent trolls, the shell companies that have no business beyond suing over patents.

Mike Masnick at Techdirt captured a transcript of the exchange. Adafruit founder Limor Fried told Obama that when talking to colleagues, “what I hear is that they’re afraid that if they become successful, they’re going to be targeted by patent trolls.” She went on to ask what the president would do “to limit the abuse of software patents?”

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Obama Inauguration Tickets – Which Are Distributed Free – Listed Online for $7,500 Apiece

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No one present at next week’s swearing-in ceremony of Barack Obama as president is supposed to pay a dime to attend the event. But some attendees may be paying thousands of dollars for the privilege. Earlier this week, The Hill reported that scalpers have been trying to sell tickets to the January 21 swearing-in ceremony of President Obama for thousands of dollars each. Multiple ads offering tickets have popped up at Craigslist.org, and the D.C.-area ticket broker GreatSeats.com is listing general admission tickets in the neighborhood of $300 to $400, as well as seats near the stage for as much as $7,500 apiece. That’s quite a profit considering that all tickets are originally handed out for free by congressional offices. And, considering that members of Congress seriously frown upon the reselling of such tickets—some require ticketholders to pledge they won’t scalp seats for a profit—the secondary marketplace raises other concerns as well. For instance, the website of Congressman Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) posts this notice about tickets for the ceremony: All official tickets for the Inaugural Swearing-In Ceremonies will be provided free of charge. Please be aware of potential scams. No website or ticket outlet has official tickets for the Inaugural Swearing-In Ceremonies to sell, regardless of what they may claim. (MORE: Is Most Personal Finance Advice Useless? Author Exposes Industry’s ‘Dark Side’) Major resale sites such as eBay and StubHub (which eBay owns) are refusing to list inauguration tickets. Make an inquiry about such tickets at StubHub are you’ll see the following message in response: “Because the majority of tickets for this event are free we will not be offering tickets to this event.” When asked for further comment on StubHub’s decision to not sell tickets to the swearing-in, a company spokesperson said via e-mail that, “StubHub has a blanket policy of not listing tickets for event that are free.” What’s more, StubHub has concerns about the possibility of tickets to such an event getting into the wrong hands. “With the inherent security risks that go along with political

Payroll Day Blues: Economy Adds Just 96,000 Jobs in August

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The Democratic party spent all week (and millions of dollars) trying to convince voters to return President Obama to office in November. But perhaps the most important set piece — the August employment situation report — was completely out of their hands. Unfortunately for President Obama and his supporters, the U.S. economy did not oblige, [...]

As Economic Concerns Mount, President Obama Says, ‘The Private Sector Is Doing Fine’

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President Obama attempted Friday to improve his chops as an international leader working hard to protect American workers and save Europe from its own political dysfunction. But his morning appearance in the White House briefing room is likely to be remembered, instead, for a single sound bite he surely wishes he could take back: “The private sector [...]

The JOBS Act Signing: A Giant Step for Entrepreneurship in America

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At the White House yesterday, I had the pleasure of watching one of the most forward-thinking pieces of pro-business bipartisan legislation to date signed into law by President Obama: the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act. The JOBS Act reduces many of the regulatory barriers that have, up to this point, made it nearly impossible for young startups to raise [...]

Obama Nominates Dartmouth President Jim Yong Kim to Lead World Bank

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(WASHINGTON) — President Barack Obama will nominate Dartmouth College President Jim Yong Kim to head the World Bank, a surprise pick for the international financial institution’s top job, senior administration officials said. The Korean-born Kim is a physician by training and a prominent figure in global health and development circles. Officials believe his experience will [...]