NEW Policy Blog Templates (6)

SIIA Joins Coalition Urging Senate to Oppose the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA)

by Policy

A coalition of U.S. businesses and organizations, including the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), has sent a letter to Senators Durbin and Graham urging opposition to the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA), S. 2140. The coalition argues that PERA would fundamentally change the U.S. patent system, allowing non-technical ideas and activities to be patented if they involve technology in any capacity. They warn that this shift would result in widespread litigation against U.S. businesses, from tech companies to small retailers, and would likely drive up drug prices by enabling pharmaceutical companies to secure weak patents that hinder competition.

The letter cites several court cases, such as Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank and Apple v. Ameranth, that illustrate the dangers of allowing vague or overly broad patents to be enforced. The coalition also emphasizes that Section 101 of the U.S. Patent Act plays a crucial role in limiting patents to genuine technological advancements and warns that eliminating these safeguards would open the door to abusive patent practices. The group calls on the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject PERA to protect American businesses, consumers, and innovation.

Full Letter Here
NEW Policy Blog Templates (4)

SIIA Joins Coalition Urging Senate to Oppose the PREVAIL Act

by Policy

In a recent letter addressed to Senators Durbin and Graham, a coalition of leading U.S. businesses and organizations, including the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), voiced their opposition to the Promoting and Respecting Economically Vital American Innovation Leadership Act (PREVAIL Act). The letter emphasizes the importance of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in safeguarding against the misuse of invalid patents, which, when unchecked, can negatively impact American companies and consumers. The signatories, representing industries such as technology, manufacturing, and retail, argue that the PREVAIL Act would hinder PTAB’s ability to provide critical patent reviews, giving foreign entities and patent trolls an unfair advantage.

The coalition raises several concerns about the bill, including its potential to block PTAB reviews, limit the evaluation of prior art, and impose arbitrary procedural restrictions that would benefit patent owners at the expense of American innovation. They warn that the bill would harm U.S. businesses, drive up costs for consumers, and weaken the nation’s competitive edge in the global market. The letter calls for Congress to focus on improving patent quality instead of enacting legislation that would protect invalid patents, urging lawmakers to oppose the PREVAIL Act for the good of the U.S. economy and innovation.

Full Letter Here
Q&A - SIIA Media (2) - edisource

Edisource’s New AI-Powered Content Suite Is Ready to Deliver for its B2B Audience

by Media

“B2B is just such a unique animal… So it really merits having something that’s native to it—in brand tone and voice,” says Edisource co-founder and COO Dillon Roulet (pictured).

In my recent conversations with B2B media CEOs, utilizing AI to its fullest stands tall. Tim Andrews, president and CEO of Advertising Specialty Institute, told me how his company is using it both internally on marketing pieces and externally, embedding AI in some of its products, most notably presentations.

But there’s also the time and knowledge to consider. I’ve heard a lot about having editors “play with it some” and volunteer committees being formed to experiment with AI, see how and where it can help. In other words, yes we have to stay on top of this but also do our regular work at the same time.

Enter Edisource and co-founders Dillon Roulet, Derek Reisfield (also a co-founder of MarketWatch) and Scott Roulet (BPA Worldwide, BBN Networks, and Cygnus). They have spent the last couple years building what Dillon Roulet calls the first AI-powered content suite specifically for B2B publishers.

“Scott and Derek had been working with publishers on the M&A side for a good period of time, and saw the trajectory that resources are becoming constrained and limited,” Dillon told me on a Zoom call this morning also with Scott. “And that publishers have to be able to leverage and activate all of the content they’re producing, whether it’s at conferences or in webinars, and access that in a way where it’s platform agnostic.

“At the same time they’re facing these budgetary constraints that are basically going to only continue and inhibit the ability to onboard and expand their newsrooms.”

Roulet saw an opportunity to fill a need, which is that everybody understands what AI is capable of doing—and the potential of ChatGPT—but there are challenges that publishers simply can’t overcome without the proper tools, knowledge, and person power.

“We started coming up with some models and methodologies that worked,” Dillon Roulet said. “We were able to validate them with our pilot publishers and overcome some of the barriers. And we’re now getting to a point where it’s pretty exciting, the difference that we’re able to make for publishers… to have this AI ecosystem able to ultimately spit out generated content that is within the tone, voice, and subject matter expertise of their particular newsroom.

Roulet was referring to a six-month beta session his company recently underwent with Questex, ALM and BNP Media. “We definitely wanted to start with a core group of B2B publishers to really understand what they need and how we could adapt the product to that. I think we learned a lot.”

One need was rewriting press releases. “They just don’t have time,” Roulet said. “And some companies that are pitching them are advertisers or sponsors. So obviously, there is a relationship management element in there. At the same time, it’s still an editorial newsroom that needs to be focused on what the most important news of the day is.

“So if something is not as newsworthy, it’s obviously not going to take priority. They wanted to fill that void and use us to help manage and automate some of that low-hanging fruit.”

Given the potential of AI, that was just the beginning. “It’s drastically evolved since then,” Roulet said. “It’s very clear that there are many more use cases coming out of this. And actually working with ALM, Questex and BNP Media, getting into the flow of onboarding them over the past couple of months, we realized that there are opportunities also on the marketing services and events sides.”

Having Scott Roulet on hand as a board member gives Edisource another well-respected and experienced B2B mind.

“What I learned as the guy who counts the beans is that this is in demand, and publishers have very quickly embraced paying for it,” he said. “Which for any new venture, that’s the ultimate test. Will someone pay for it? And so it’s been a great validation… It’s our customers that have developed these use cases. We’ve just fortunately been able to stay ahead on the development to support those very quickly.”

Dillon Roulet agrees. “The dynamics and technology change on a weekly basis. And it’ll elevate your blood pressure, trying to keep up with everything,” he said. “Our big focus is really trying to stay ahead of the curve. We’re always experimenting. We’re always going back and looking at our content results and analyzing these to find out where we can improve things.”

The other advantage that Edisource has is its commitment to B2B media.

“Initially, we were asked to take a look at a company in B2C that had a similar theory and platform,” Dillon said. There were things about that business that we didn’t particularly like. But it did give us an idea of how to combine the technology innovation of AI with the human element and expertise specifically around B2B media… So we saw a very clear open lane to serve that that community—and its publishing umbrella.”

 

NEW Policy Blog Templates (3)

SIIA Letter to House Science Space and Technology Committee on AI Markup

by Policy

The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) has expressed its support for several AI-related bills under consideration by the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. In a letter to Chair Frank Lucas and Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren, SIIA emphasizes the importance of these bipartisan bills in advancing the United States’ leadership in AI. Key pieces of legislation include the CREATE AI Act, which will enhance AI infrastructure, the NSF AI Education Act, which promotes AI education partnerships, and the Small Business AI Advancement Act, designed to help small businesses integrate AI. The association also highlights bills focused on AI literacy in K-12 education and fostering diverse representation in AI research.

Additionally, SIIA supports bills that emphasize AI development standards and ensuring the reliability, safety, and resilience of AI systems. The association calls for increased funding to match global AI investments, particularly pointing to the UK’s AI Safety Institute as an example. SIIA urges Congress to continue working with industry, academia, and government to strengthen AI policies that encourage innovation, safety, and collaboration, reinforcing the U.S.’s position as a global leader in AI.

Full Letter Here
NEW Policy Blog Templates (2)

SIIA Statement on Mario Draghi Report on Impact of EU Regulatory Environment on Global Competitiveness

by Policy

The following statement from the Software & Information Industry Association regarding yesterday’s report from former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi warning that the EU’s regulatory environment has weakened Europe’s ability to compete globally, can be attributed to Mort Skroejer, Senior Director for Technology Competition Policy.

Yesterday’s long-awaited report confirms what we have long known to be true: as a result of the EU’s heavy-handed regulatory approach, the continent’s technology sector is struggling to keep up with its U.S. competitors, productivity is low, and economic growth is anemic. Mr. Draghi describes this as an “existential challenge” for Europe. This seminal report makes clear that overly aggressive European policies attacking innovative companies have left Europe’s citizens worse off and have hamstrung the very businesses that could have provided future growth and innovation.

While some U.S. lawmakers have toyed with the idea of trying to bring these same European-style regulations to the United States, the report demonstrates that doing so would put America’s ability to continue to be the world’s technological leader at risk. In light of the Draghi report and its dire warnings, American policymakers should be wary of importing provably bad European policies that will harm consumers and weaken our ability to compete on the global stage.