Today, Public Knowledge submitted testimony into the record of the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet of the House Judiciary Committee, who is holding a hearing on the Internet of Things.
The following may be attributed to Charles Duan, Director of the Patent Reform Project at Public Knowledge:
“The Internet of Things holds great promise for the future of consumer technologies, opening up a world of connectivity to all people. But it also raises new challenges and issues for policymakers to solve. While much of the discussion of the Internet of Things has focused on the privacy and security implications of these new technologies, we believe that there is a far wider range of important considerations.
“Our testimony identifies several areas of interest that will affect the future of the Internet of Things. Patent reform will determine the pace of innovation in the space. Ownership rights over these new devices will be contested and must be protected. The freedom of consumers to tinker with and innovate upon their new products must also be defended. Privacy of broadband Internet communications must be protected strongly by the FCC as these new products start to communicate with the world. And management of wireless spectrum, and particularly expansion of unlicensed spectrum, will be critical to ensuring that the Internet of Things has a platform for communication.
“We applaud the Subcommittee for looking into this important and developing issue. We hope that our recommendations are useful to them as they develop policy in this quickly moving space, and we look forward to working with the Subcommittee and Congress.”
You may view our submitted testimony on the Internet of Things for more information.
Members of the media may contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to join the Public Knowledge press list at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.