Privacy, patents on agenda for new Congress

With our political process morphing into something resembling a perpetual campaign season, the Democratic leaders who captured both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate in November will have to move darned quick if they want to make good on their campaign promises.

Already, Democrats are sending signals that they’re ready to start moving on pressing issues for the tech sector that were put off by the outgoing Republican majority. Those issues include:

Privacy and Data-Breach Notification: Advocacy groups such as the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) have long called for comprehensive legislation to protect personal privacy, including rules for organizations handling personal data and limits on government surveillance.

On the political front, Democrats are sure to investigate the Bush administration’s surveillance programs, such as monitoring phone calls and Internet conversations. But Jack Krumholtz, managing director of federal government affairs and associate general counsel at Microsoft, and Leslie Harris, CDT’s executive director, said they hope the Democratic Congress will take a new look at privacy legislation, also.

Patent Reform: Many large tech companies, including Microsoft, Dell, and eBay, have aksed Congress to make it more difficult for so-called patent “trolls” (think RIM gadfly NTP) to sit on undeveloped patents in the hopes of winning huge patent awards.

But with Congress ready to act, the U.S. Supreme Court may have pre-empted any legislation. In May, the court set aside a lower court decision to stop eBay from using the “buy it now” feature because of a patent dispute, directing lower courts to abandon the habit of issuing automatic injunctions, and to instead weigh several factors before granting a patent junction.

Following the ruling, Congress’ attention may focus on improving the quality of patents granted by directing more money to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and establishing a post-patent review process.

Broadband Reform: Two committees spent many hours in 2006 working on broadband bills that would encourage broadband adoption and improve service. But, as with so many things, Congress failed to agree on a final bill before adjourning this month.

Then, in mid-December, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) preempted Congress by voting to streamline the franchising process that broadband providers must go through to offer television over IP (Internet Protocol), a major driver of the 2006 bills. Now companies such as Verizon Communications, one of the major backers of franchise reform, say they will back away from the issue in Congress in 2007.

Of course, pieces of the broadband bills may still move forward, including rules that make it easier for municipal governments to offer wireless broadband and attempts to revamp the Universal Service Fund (USF), a $7 billion federal program that subsidizes telecom and Internet services in rural and poor areas.

H-1B Visas and the Innovation Agenda: Despite bipartisan support for an increase in the cap on H-1B visas for highly skilled immigrant workers, a divisive immigration debate on Capitol Hill last year torpedoed any efforts on visa reform.

Tech firms will continue to push for an increase in the cap this year as part of a larger push often called the “innovation agenda” that also includes efforts to boost math and science education and fund IT training programs and broadband availability for all U.S. residents.

On the surface of things, chances for passage look good. Presumed Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from San Francisco, repeatedly called on Republicans to pass innovation items during the last two years. But H-1B is hardly a black-and-white issue. Tech worker groups complain that tech companies break the rules by hiring H-1B workers for less than the prevailing U.S. wage, said Russell Harrison of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-USA, which represents IT workers.

Budget woes may do more to shape the debate on innovation than anything else.

“Some of the Democrats seem to be sincerely interested in controlling spending. I suspect new programs … will be hard to pass next year for lack of money,” Harrison said.