In the past couple of months, two Congressional bills have been the subject of a heated debate between media industry giants and some of the world’s largest technology companies: the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House and its Senate counterpart the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). This legislation is meant to provide the Department of Justice and copyright holders with the ability to curb access to “rogue” foreign websites dedicated to infringing or counterfeit goods. Since the U.S. government does not have the power to take down foreign websites, this bill would grant it the ability to forbid Internet providers from allowing users to connect to those sites. While many entertainment and pharmaceutical companies are in support of these bipartisan bills, digitally oriented companies such as Google, Facebook, and Mozilla have publicly voiced their opposition. Although the problems the bill attempts to address – online piracy, copyright, and trademark infringement – are serious and present a number of enforcement challenges, this vaguely written, catch-all legislation is alarming in its reach. [More]

On July 1, the National Basketball Association (NBA) instituted a lockout when its collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expired and negotiations, which began in January 2010, stalled. Over the past four months, owners and players have made multiple attempts to reach an agreement with no success. On October 10, NBA Commissioner David Stern canceled the first two weeks of the season and stated that both sides are still, “very far apart on virtually all issues… we just have a gulf that separates us.” A number of issues have been discussed including: revenue sharing, salary caps, luxury penalties, guaranteed contract lengths, and player exceptions. The owners and players have three ways to resolve these issues: bargaining, mediation, and/or legal action. [More]