In this week’s Washington Intellectual Property News, the Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee deliberates on the potential impact of AI on copyright law. In addition, the House Judiciary Committee will pursue FTC Chairman Linda Kahn, and the House Space Committee will discuss how the United States can maintain its leadership position in the commercial space industry.
Tuesday, July 11th
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Trademark Fundamentals Bootcamp, Module 1: Fundamentals
Online livestream at 2pm Tuesday
The USPTO launches an eight-part virtual trademark basics bootcamp that includes a module on trademark protection in the United States. This event is aimed at small business owners and entrepreneurs who want to learn about federal trademark registration. This module is 90 minutes long and ends with a Q&A session.
Wednesday, July 12th
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Race for the future of cloud computing
Wednesday at 1:30 pm, livestream online
CSIS will hear from industry experts and share examples of how cloud computing is key to economic development and foreign policy. The event is hosted by CSIS’ Strategic Technology Program. Panelists included Antonio García Zavalos, Inter-American Development Bank, and Stephen Lang, Assistant Secretary for International Information and Communications Policy.
Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee
Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property – Part II: Copyright
Wednesday at 3:00 pm, Dirksen Senate Building Room 226 and online livestream
The Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee is meeting to discuss the impact of AI on the future of copyright, a month after holding hearings to discuss its impact on patents and innovation. AI-generated services such as ChatGPT have caused a lot of confusion over copyright law. In a recent legal supplement prepared by the Congressional Research Service, one legislative attorney said, “Congress has decided that copyright law questions raised by generative AI programs require amendments to copyright law or other laws. You may wish to consider whether to do so.”
Thursday, July 13th
House Judiciary Committee
Federal Trade Commission Oversight
Thursday 10am 2141 Rayburn House Office Building and Online Livestream
The hearing announcement promises the commission will critically examine the current state of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The commission will “investigate the FTC’s fraud management and ethics and disregard for congressional oversight under Chairman Lina Khan,” according to the statement. [and] Commission records on enforcement activities and politicized rulemaking. FTC Chairman Linda Kahn is set to testify at the hearing.
House Committee on Science, Space and Technology
Continued U.S. Leadership in Domestic and International Commercial Sectors
Thursday 10am 2318 Rayburn House Office Building and Online Livestream
The House Science Committee will hear from at least three expert witnesses about the state of the U.S. commercial space industry. The U.S. commercial space industry could grow to be a trillion-dollar industry by 2030, according to consulting firm McKinsey.
