Issue Position: Technology

Issue Position

America is built on freedom and innovation. Today, technology and the Internet have impacted the American economy by transforming ideas into jobs and opportunities into success. As a Congressman, one of my top priorities is to promote greater growth and innovation across America to secure and strengthen our technology sector.

Keeping the Internet Open

I believe that individuals possess certain Constitutional rights and that government exists to protect those rights. As lawmakers, we must codify that the rights you possess in the physical world must also apply in the digital world as well. By making Internet freedom part of the national dialogue, we can ensure that the government protects the rights of digital citizens and works to bring justice to those who violate them. In the 112th Congress, I launched a website to open up the legislative process to taxpayers, please click here. This website incorporated the crowdsourcing platform Madison, which allows the public to edit and comment on Legislation. To date, nearly 550,000 viewers have viewed and contributed to the site.

Protecting Digital Content

Online piracy, specifically the illegal copying and infringement of music and movies created by American artists remains a very serious problem. However, movie and music industry lobbyists went too far when they offered the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) which would have hampered legitimate online commerce and interactions in its efforts to target a few bad actors. That's why I led the efforts to stop SOPA.

It is possible to go after the foreign rogue websites that are infringing on American intellectual property without sacrificing the Internet we all enjoy. That is why I introduced the Online Protection & Enforcement of Digital Trade (OPEN) Act in January of 2012. This bipartisan, bicameral bill protects American innovators through the International Trade Commission (ITC), which applies due process to investigate intellectual property infringement claims against foreign "rogue" websites and cuts off funding to sites found willfully and primarily trafficking infringed materials. The OPEN Act is a targeted, effective solution in protecting taxpayers' rights while protecting the Internet.

Creating Competition for Auto-collision Repair Parts

As a Member of the House Judiciary Intellectual Property Subcommittee, I am dedicated to expanding consumer choices, cutting costs and ensuring competition across all American industries. In these uncertain economic times, one thing that most people continue to rely upon is their automobile. When their car gets into an accident, Americans want to have access to the most affordable and highest-quality automotive repair parts. This is why I introduced the Promoting Automotive Repair Trade and Sales Act.

Under current law, a design patent lasts for 14 years from the date it is first issued. Relatively recently, auto manufacturers have begun to obtain design patents on exterior collision parts -- such as hoods, fenders, and quarter panels -- and have attempted to use these design patents to effectively eliminate any aftermarket or third-party ability to sell these parts for car repairs. The PARTS Act will effectively eliminate the monopoly auto manufacturers' have on design patents for auto-collision repair parts to 30 months -- increasing market competition and ensuring that Americans will continue to have both access to, and choice of, a wide variety of competitively-priced exterior collision repair parts.

Source