Obama Chooses SOPA Lobbyist To Negotiate Trans-Pacific Partnership Treaty

Many of the corporations and groups poised to benefit most from TPP are traditional Democratic supporters or major donors to the president’s election campaigns.

Frederick Reese
By Frederick Reese
Robert Holleyman

President Barack Obama nominated Robert Holleyman as deputy U.S. trade representative on Thursday. Holleyman is the former president of the Business Software Alliance, a trade organization that counts Apple, IBM, Microsoft and other top software firms among its members. During his two decades at the helm of the alliance, he was influential in

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Wikileaks: US Pushes To Strengthen Sweeping Copyright, Intellectual Property Rights’ Treaty

Wikileaks released documents of U.S. secret negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.

Frederick Reese
By Frederick Reese

As the saying goes, “if you don’t succeed the first time, try, try again.” Despite the defeats of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), the Protect IP Act (PIPA), the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and a host of other intellectual property rights laws, the Obama administration is stubbornly pushing forward in strengthening media copyright

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Halloween Horror: Lawmakers Stir Up Scary Legislation In 2012

(MintPress) – Ask Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson what the scariest bill signed into law over the past year was and he often cites the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). During interviews and the third party presidential debate, Johnson has berated Congress and the president for their handling of the country since the calendar turned […]

Joey LeMay
By Joey LeMay
A woman dressed as a zombie marches in Greenwich Village's Halloween parade, Friday, Oct. 31, 2008 in New York. (AP Photo/Dima Gavrysh)

(MintPress) – Ask Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson what the scariest bill signed into law over the past year was and he often cites the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). During interviews and the third party presidential debate, Johnson has berated Congress and the president for their handling of the country since the

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Cybersecurity Bill Defeat Adds To Long List Of Failed Internet Legislation

(MintPress) – Nearly a week ago, a GOP filibuster blocked a cybersecurity bill that would have created security standards for the computer systems that oversee the country’s most important infrastructure, such as mass transit systems and power grids. The bill has since been shelved by Congress, but President Barack Obama has insisted that America has not […]

Joey LeMay
By Joey LeMay
Physical Infrastructure Issues Government Accountability Office Director Mark Goldstein, right, with Federal Protective Service Director L. Eric Patterson, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington Tuesday, July 24, 2012, before the House subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies hearing on securing federal facilities. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

(MintPress) – Nearly a week ago, a GOP filibuster blocked a cybersecurity bill that would have created security standards for the computer systems that oversee the country’s most important infrastructure, such as mass transit systems and power grids. The bill has since been shelved by Congress, but President Barack Obama has insisted that America

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Inside The European Parliament’s Rejection Of ACTA

(BRUSSELS) – On July 4, the European Parliament (EP) rejected the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) 478-39 with 165 abstentions, dealing a blow, probably fatal, to the treaty whose stated aim is to enhance international cooperation in the fight against Intellectual Property Rights infringements, namely counterfeit goods and online trafficking in copyrighted intellectual material. In other […]

Magda Fahsi
By Magda Fahsi
Green Party members of the European parliament demonstrate against the ACTA project (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) during the vote Wednesday, July 4, 2012 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France. (AP Photo/Christian Lutz)

(BRUSSELS) - On July 4, the European Parliament (EP) rejected the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) 478-39 with 165 abstentions, dealing a blow, probably fatal, to the treaty whose stated aim is to enhance international cooperation in the fight against Intellectual Property Rights infringements, namely counterfeit goods and online

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CISPA Legislation Takes Anti-piracy Bills And Guises Them As Cyber-security Tactics

(MintPress) – After thousands of websites went dark in January in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) bill and its counterpart, Protect IP Act (PIPA) – both restrictive Internet legislations – the bills were shelved and not revisited. After what was widely deemed a victory for the Internet community, new legislation takes aim at censoring […]

Joey LeMay
By Joey LeMay
Rep. Michael Rogers

(MintPress) – After thousands of websites went dark in January in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) bill and its counterpart, Protect IP Act (PIPA) – both restrictive Internet legislations – the bills were shelved and not revisited. After what was widely deemed a victory for the Internet community, new legislation takes aim at censoring

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