Intellectual Property
High-Tech Groups Pleased With Panel's Patent Bill
     The House Judiciary Committee's approval this week of a bill to overhaul the U.S. patent system was hailed as a victory for some in the high-tech sector and seen as a setback for those in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and patent-licensing arenas. The bill's sponsor, California Democrat Howard Berman, called the measure "the most significant patent reform legislation in 50 years." The vote "builds important legislative momentum to restore balance and fairness to the United States' patent system," Information Technology Industry Council lobbyist Josh Ackil said. He pressed for House passage before the August congressional recess and enactment of a final bill this year. But the Innovation Alliance, which represents small tech firms, was concerned by the panel's "lack of real progress" to improve the measure. A day later, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a patent bill it has been debating since June. The vote was 13-5.

Broadband
Senators Move Bill To Improve Broadband Data
     The Senate Commerce Committee approved a bill attempting to improve federal and state collection of data about high-speed Internet availability, with such aims as expanding broadband to underserved areas and improving technology standards. CongressDaily reports that the bill was approved unanimously along with five other measures on the committee's agenda. To improve broadband data collection, the bill would require the Census Bureau to include questions about computer use in its American Community Survey, for example. It also would authorize grants to help states develop affordable broadband access plans. One of the other bills the panel is aimed at punishing television "indecency," but broadcasters are vowing to derail the measure. CongressDaily also reports that a House panel approved a bill to establish a registry for people suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Campaigns
Obama Easily Leads Fundraising Pack In Silicon Valley
     Sen. Barack Obama raised more than twice as much money from California's technology corridor as his nearest rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, according to second-quarter filings of the presidential candidates. The Illinois Democrat raised $1.75 million in the San Francisco Bay area during the April-June quarter. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., finished second in the region with $873,355. Most candidates saw steep drops in their donations from top tech executives this quarter. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani raised about half as much in the Bay area ($152,325). Giuliani ranked behind New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat who more than doubled fundraising in the Bay area by bringing in $170,885. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., also raised slightly more this quarter. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, another Republican, raised $252,983 -- about a third less than last quarter.

Campaigns
Loser Of Contested Fla. Race To Run Again In 2008
     A Democrat who challenged the results of a House race she lost last fall and who blamed her defeat on e-voting machines announced plans to run for the seat again in 2008. Christine Jennings also said she will not retreat from her challenge of last year's race in Florida's 13th District, which she lost to Republican Vern Buchanan by just a few hundred votes. A House task force is still examining her appeal. The basis of her challenge is the 18,000-vote discrepancy between the ballots tallied for her race on touch-screen machines and those counted in other contests. She sued to access the source code of the machines, which left no paper trail to follow, but was blocked from doing so in state court. Jennings said she is focused on winning the seat in next year's election, regardless of what a House task force decides about her current appeal.

Security
Chertoff Defends Timing Of Communications Grants
     Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff defended the government's timeframe for issuing nearly $1 billion in grants to bolster emergency communications. "We've been funding these kinds of things for years," Chertoff said, noting that federal money has been flowing to build a system that can communicate across jurisdictions since 2002. "I think it would be wrong to suggest that somehow we've been sitting on our hands for five years when we've built an awful lot of this system already." Under the federal program, grants worth $968 million would be available to all states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and four U.S. territories. "The 10 major cities do have basic interoperability," Chertoff said, noting that the national capital region already has upgraded its capabilities. Charlottesville, Va., fire chief Charles said the grants should have been available earlier.

Telecom
FCC Regulators Urge Tax Credits For Minority Firms
     Two FCC regulators endorsed tax breaks as the best way to encourage large firms to sell communications outlets to minority- and women-owned businesses in order to improve paltry ownership levels. Robert McDowell, a Republican, said Supreme Court decisions have made it difficult to adopt race-based preferences, but Jonathan Adelstein, a Democrat, urged the FCC to pursue "narrowly tailored race-conscious" initiatives anyway. To sidestep judicial complications, McDowell recommended incentives targeted at "economically disadvantaged businesses." But Adelstein said he is not sure his approach can win agency approval. The commissioners made their remarks at a policy conference sponsored by the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council. Adelstein blamed himself and other regulators for neglecting the matters. "The FCC needs to do its part, and I don't think we've done a very good job up to now," he said.

Privacy
Privacy Framework Urged For National ID Standard
     Before secure, standard identification documents are implemented as part of the so-called REAL ID Act, which mandates national standards for driver's licenses, security and privacy experts said lawmakers must create a framework to address privacy concerns. "The REAL ID program was passed without any mandate for privacy," Leslie Harris, executive director of the Center for Democracy and Technology, told industry members and congressional staffers. "It had suggestions for best practices for privacy, but there is no privacy context." Janice Kephart, former counsel for the commission that investigated the 2001 terrorist attacks, said "misinformation" about the REAL ID law has led people to mistakenly believe it would create a national database. She said it actually "keeps data flows to a defined field of information regarding Social Security numbers, death and birth records, and other types of checks with the originator of the data holding it and keeping it."

States
Studies Rank States By Their Exports, Mobile Use
     The states with the nation's busiest high-tech hubs have exported the most high-tech goods during the past two years, according to a report released Tuesday. A separate study, meanwhile, indicates that Utah's government has been the nation's leading investor in mobile technologies. A report compiled by the industry group AeA found that California exported $51.8 million worth of tech goods in 2006, more than four times every other state besides Texas. The Lone Star State exported $38.6 million and had the largest dollar increase in tech imports from 2005 to 2006. Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Arizona, Illinois, Oregon, Minnesota and Tennessee rounded out AeA's list of top exporting states. Montana, Alaska, Hawaii and Wyoming were at the bottom. A CDW-G report, meanwhile, found that Utah and Wisconsin are the nation's leading investors in mobile technologies at the state and local government levels.