This Week On Capitol Hill: Copyright Office Oversight, More Debate on Cryptocurrencies, and 5G Innovation and Security

This week on Capitol Hill, the House of Representatives is in recess but in the Senate, committee hearings will focus on the rescheduled oversight hearing for the U.S. Copyright Office, regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrencies and blockchain, and implementation of positive train control technologies. Elsewhere in Washington, D.C., the Brookings Institution will look at international threats to American space security while the Center for Strategic and International Studies will host an event with multiple panels exploring innovation and security issues in 5G networks. Today, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office also hosted an event in Alexandria, VA, discussing the agency’s trademark auditing program.

Monday, July 29 

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Seminar: What Happens If My Trademark Registration Is Audited?

At 3:00 PM on Monday at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 600 Dulany St., Alexandria, VA, 22314.

This seminar will provide information on the USPTO’s Post Registration Proof of Use Audit Program, which exists to remove trademark registrations that aren’t in active commercial use. The event will cover examples of good proof of use as well as what happens during the auditing process. Speakers at this event will include Meryl Hershkowitz, Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Operations; Montia Pressey, Acting Chief of Staff; Dan Brody, Managing Attorney; and Jordan Baker, Examining Attorney.

Tuesday, July 30

Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

Examining Regulatory Frameworks for Digital Currencies and Blockchain

At 10:00 AM on Tuesday in 538 Dirksen Senate Office Building.

While the Senate Banking Committee’s mid-July hearing on Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency focused on various risks to users posed by Facebook’s platform, there’s some belief that this particular hearing will be a bit more positive due to general support of fintech innovation in Congress. The witness panel for this hearing will include Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO, Circle, testifying on behalf of The Blockchain Alliance; Rebecca Nelson, Specialist in International Trade and Finance, Congressional Research Service; and Mehrsa Baradaran, Professor of Law, University of California, Irvine School of Law.

Internet Innovation Alliance 

Do Millenials Want Their Privacy Online?

At 10:00 AM on Tuesday.

On Tuesday morning, the Internet Innovation Alliance will host a teleconference that will explore the results of a poll of 8,000 U.S. adults examining concerns related to online privacy, data collection by social media companies and hacking risks faced by those companies. The teleconference will include a 30-minute discussion including a presentation by former Congressman Rick Boucher, IIA Honorary Chairman. Analysis of the poll findings will also be presented by John Dick, Founder and CEO, CivicScience. The findings of the poll will be made public following the teleconference.

Senate Subcommittee on Intellectual Property 

Oversight of the United States Copyright Office

At 2:30 PM on Tuesday in 226 Dirksen.

This U.S. Copyright Office oversight hearing was originally scheduled for July 17. Last week, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) wrote an op-ed for this website in which he discussed the need to produce legislation that would give the Copyright Office both the authority and the resources necessary to modernize its information technology infrastructure. The sole witness for this hearing will be Karyn Temple, Register of Copyrights and Director, U.S. Copyright Office.

Wednesday, July 31 

Urban Institute 

Giving Innovation Summit 2019

At 9:30 AM on Wednesday at Urban Institute, 500 L’Enfant Plaza S.W., Washington, D.C., 20024.

Charitable giving practices have greatly changed in recent years and new technological platforms for giving have grown in popularity as the nature of both work and charitable institutions have been altered thus far in the 21st century. This event will focus on technological adaptations, as well as cultural and political ones, to charitable giving and how those changes have helped or constrained giving. This event features a list of speakers including Shena Ashley, Vice President, Nonprofits and Philanthropy, Urban Institute; Elizabeth Boris, Institute Fellow, Urban Institute; William Browning, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, United Way Worldwide; Shannon Bullock, Marketing Director, Fidelity Giving Marketplace, Bryan de Lottinville, Founder and CEO, Benevity Inc.; Chris Jarvis, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Realized Worth; Benjamin Soskis, Research Associate, Urban Institute; and Jennifer Zisser, Director, The Greater Give.

Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

Next Steps for Positive Train Control Implementation

At 2:00 PM on Wednesday in 216 Hart Senate Office Building.

The Positive Train Control Enforcement and Implementation Act of 2015 requires railroads regulated by the Federal Railroad Administration to fully implement positive train control technologies, which automates certain functions of train control in order to prevent accidents, by December 31, 2020. This hearing will explore anticipated compliance with the 2020 deadline and any challenges in meeting that deadline currently being faced by railroads. The witness panel for this hearing will include the Honorable Ronald Batory, Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration; Robert Bourg, Vice President of Strategic Development, Wabtec Corporation; Jim Derwinski, CEO and Executive Director, Metra; Susan Fleming, Director of Physical Infrastructure, Government Accountability Office; and Chris Matthews, Assistant Vice President, Network Control Systems, BNSF Railway.

Brookings Institution

Assessing Space Security: Threat and Response

At 2:00 PM on Wednesday in Falk Auditorium, Brookings Institution, 1775 Massachusetts Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036.

The Trump Administration moved forward with the creation of the U.S. Space Force in 2018 as a measure against various anti-satellite programs being advanced by world rivals including India, Russia and China. This event will explore international threats to space security and ways that the global community can respond to those challenges. The event features a discussion with a panel including Madelyn Creedon, Former Principal Deputy Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration and Nonresident Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; Frank Rose, Senior Fellow, Security and Strategy, Foreign Policy; Todd Harrison, Director, Defense Budget Analysis, Director, Aerospace Security Project and Senior Fellow, International Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies; and Mallory Stewart, Principal Technical Staff, Sandia National Laboratory and Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance, U.S. Department of State. The panel will be moderated by Michael O’Hanlon, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Director of Research, Foreign Policy and the Sydney Stein, Jr. Chair.

Center for Strategic and International Studies

5G Innovation and Security: Perspectives from Industry and Government Leadership

At 2:30 PM on Wednesday at CSIS Headquarters, 1616 Rhode Island Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C., 20036.

Fifth generation, or 5G, networks promise incredible data connectivity and download speeds and innovation in this sector has been a major focus in our nation’s capital. This event features a series of speakers and panel discussions on 5G topics including continuing developments as well as challenges in creating secure networks. Opening remarks will be given by Christopher Krebs, Director, Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The first industry panel on security in 5G will include Jason Boswell, Head of Security, Network Product Solutions, North America, Ericsson; John Godfrey, Senior Vice President, Public Policy, Samsung; and the moderator will be Kim Hart, Managing Director, Axios. Following that panel is a conversation on the international landscape of 5G security with Ambassador Robert Strayer, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cyber and International Communications and Information Policy, U.S. Department of State. The second industry panel on innovation in 5G will include Eric Wenger, Director, Cybersecurity and Privacy Policy, Cisco; Kevin Linehan, Vice President, Office of Chief Technology Officer, CommScope; Chris Boyer, Assistant Vice President, Global Public Policy, AT&T; Valerie Parker, Director, PE Network and Edge Computer Business and Technical Strategy, Intel; and the moderator will be Denise Zheng, Vice President, Business Roundtable. The final panel on U.S. government approach to 5G innovation and security will include Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, Federal Communications Commission; Christopher Krebs; and the moderator will be Clete Johnson, Senior Fellow, CSIS and Partner, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP.

Thursday, August 1 

Center for Strategic and International Studies 

Main Street Defense Series: A Conversation With Bell’s CEO Mitch Snyder

At 10:00 AM on Thursday at CSIS Headquarters, 2nd Floor.

The U.S. military is pursuing advances in next-generation technologies in various areas, such as its Future Vertical Lift program for military helicopters. This event, part of CSIS’ Main Street Defense Series looking at technological advances in American defense beyond the top five defense contractors, will feature a discussion with Mitch Snyder, President and CEO of Bell, on innovative flight technologies being developed at that company. The discussion with Snyder will be moderated by Andrew Hunter, Director, Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group and Senior Fellow, International Security Program.

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