Law and Innovation

Fresh and interesting  article from Mashable  about 2014's tech trends:  "Major innovations and tech sea-changes were few and far between in 2013. Unfortunately, what usually follows major advancements are refinements. These days, innovation tends to happen on a nano-scale, which means most people cannot see or experience that evolution.   LCD display technology, for instance, has been around for decades; the changes we’ve lately seen in screen size, width and resolution have, mostly, refined that original idea. Same with Flash-based and solid state storage. We make the technology smaller and more stable but rarely change the fundamentals.   Like 2013, 2014's tech trends may not fundamentally change our lives, but they will improve, alter and, on occasion, impede and frustrate our day-to-day activities. Bear with me a moment as I gaze into our hazy digital future. Here are a few predictions to emerge from the gloom.   1. Smart Home Tech Explosion...

Fresh and interesting article from Reuters about  U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) collecting hundreds of millions of contact lists from personal email and instant messaging (IM) accounts around the world: 'The collection program intercepts email address books and "buddy lists" from instant messaging services as they move across global data links, the newspaper said in an article posted on its website, citing senior intelligence officials and documents provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The Post said analyzing that data lets the NSA search for connections and map relationships among foreign intelligence targets. The data collection takes place outside the United States, but sweeps in the contacts of many Americans, the report said, citing two senior U.S. intelligence officials. A spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees the NSA, said the agency is focused on discovering and developing intelligence about foreig...

Google Invokes First Amendment In The NSA PRISM Scandal  I t will not surprised me that Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo's Offices are under monitoring surveillance right now. Revelations about the PRISM program are not only revealing crispy details on National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance methods, opening new debates about national security vs. personal privacy, but are also provoking fissures between U.S. Officials and all the technology companies involved in it; mostly Google. Yesterday, Google filed a " motion for declaratory judgement [1] of Google Inc.'s first amendment right to publish aggregate information about FISA Orders " (click here ). As you all know, the First Amendment states that: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press (underlined added) ; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition...

J oaquin Almunia's circular picture is probably hanging in Google's EU Headquarter with a dart in the center of his nose... with the eyes the next potential target... More than two years ago, in November 2010, the European Commission  decided to open an antitrust investigation into allegations that the Internet giant has abused a dominant position in online search (in violation of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). Its core role is the regulation of monopolies. Although dominance alone is not an abuse, a company in a dominant position has a special responsibility to ensure that its conduct does not impair the competition. As of March 2013, in Europe , Google controlled 93% of the search engine market, over 97% of mobile search and 87% of search advertising revenue [1] . Even though I am a lawyer and I am not supposed to understand numbers (that's for engineers), it looks like Google nailed all the competit...