Roy Mark

Not a single primary has been held—much less a vote cast—but the 2008 race for the White House is shaping up as the countrys first national election in which technology will capture a significant share of the public discourse. More interestingly, the industrys emerging national voice and clout could tip the outcome. That outcome will […]

The technology sector won one and lost one Nov. 9 as the U.S. House voted to strip away venture capitalists capital gains tax status, but extended the research and development tax credit for one year. Approved on a 216-193 vote, the Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007 (H.R. 3996) would more than double the tax […]

The network neutrality issue is heating up again. Lauren Weinstein, the founder of the new Network Neutrality Squad, wants to personally thank Comcast for providing the fuel. Philadelphia-based Comcast has nearly 13 million Internet customers and is the countrys second-largest broadband provider. It is under fire for actively interfering with its users ability to access […]

With an increase of H-1B visas stalled in Congress, 19 U.S. senators Nov. 8 called for Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to expand the Optional Practical Training program for foreign students from the current 12 months to 29 months. The OPT is a temporary employment authorization that gives foreign students an opportunity to apply knowledge […]

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee delayed Nov. 8 a scheduled vote on whether telecommunications carriers should be granted immunity for cooperating with the White Houses domestic spying program of telephone wiretapping and e-mail surveillance. The panel hopes to vote on the provision as soon as next week. As part of the renewal of FISA (Foreign […]

Vonage Holdings said Nov. 8 it has reached an agreement in principle to settle a patent infringement lawsuit brought against the VOIP provider by AT&T. The general terms would require Vonage to pay AT&T $39 million over five years. If the deal is finalized, Vonage will have settled all its infringement legal woes brought by […]

Republican members of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection are seeking a further look at the privacy implications of Google’s proposed $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick. The deal is currently under regulatory scrutiny at the Federal Trade Commission. In a Nov. 6 letter to Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Rush, D.-Ill., Republican members of […]

WASHINGTON—Yahoo officials took a verbal beating Nov. 6 as a House of Representatives panel probed the company’s role in the jailing of a Chinese dissident and the subsequent “false testimony” Yahoo provided Congress about the incident. CEO Jerry Yang and Michael Callahan, Yahoo’s general counsel, were the only witnesses at the testy three-plus hour hearing […]

Wi-LAN, a Canadian patent licensing firm, filed patent infringement lawsuits Nov. 1 against 22 technology companies, including Apple, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Intel. The lawsuits target chip suppliers, equipment vendors and electronic retailers. Wi-LAN contends the companies are violating its patents involving Wi-Fi and power consumption in DSL products. Wi-LAN claims a patent portfolio of more […]

Michael Callahan, Yahoo’s chief legal counsel, on Nov. 1 said he did not deliberately mislead a U.S. House committee last year about the company’s role in providing the Chinese government with information that sent journalist Shi Tao to jail for a decade. Callahan’s statement comes just days before the Nov. 6 House Committee on Foreign […]