Innovation

This month, situated among foldable tablet computers and flying taxis, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Elaine Chao, unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (“CES”) the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (“DOT”) long-anticipated fourth round of automated vehicles guidance, “AV 4.0.”  Formally entitled, “Ensuring American Leadership in Automated Vehicle Technologies,” AV 4.0 is less regulatory guidance and more regulatory aggregator.  The document lists in great detail the various Administration efforts—across 38 federal departments and agencies—geared toward promoting, supporting, and providing accountability for users and communities with respect to autonomous mobility.
Continue Reading IoT Update: DOT Introduces Fourth Round of Automated Vehicles Guidance (AV 4.0)

On January 7, 2020, pursuant to President Donald Trump’s Executive Order on Maintaining American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence, the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a draft Guidance for Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Applications, including ten principles for agencies to consider when deciding whether and how to regulate AI. The White House announced a 60 day public comment period following the release of the Guidance, after which the White House will issue a final memorandum and instruct agencies to submit implementation plans. Comments should be submitted to the White House via Regulations.gov Docket ID OMB_FRDOC_0001-0261.
Continue Reading AI Update: White House Issues 10 Principles for Artificial Intelligence Regulation

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) held its Artificial Intelligence: Intellectual Property Policy Considerations conference on January 31, 2019. The conference featured six panels of speakers, including policy makers, academics, and practitioners from Canada, China, Europe, Japan, and the United States. As stated by USPTO Director Iancu during his introductory remarks, the purpose of the conference is to begin discussions about the implications that artificial intelligence (“AI”) may have on intellectual property law and policy. In this post, we provide an overview of Director Iancu’s Introductory Remarks and of three of the conference panels that addressed several current and forward-looking issues that will impact patent law and society at large.

Opening Remarks by Director Iancu

The Director noted that governments around the world are adopting long-term comprehensive strategies to promote and provide leadership for technological advances of the future, and that America’s national security and economic prosperity depend on the United States’ ability to maintain a leadership role in AI and other emerging technologies.

The USPTO is using AI technology to increase the efficiency of patent examination. For example, the USPTO has developed and is exploring a new cognitive assistant called Unity which is intended to allow patent examiners to search across patents, publications, non-patent literature, and images with a single click. The Director concluded by stating that one of his top priorities is ensuring that the U.S. continues its leadership when it comes to innovation, particularly in the emerging technologies such as AI and machine learning.
Continue Reading Artificial Intelligence and the Patent Landscape – Views from the USPTO AI Intellectual Property Policy Considerations Conference

From the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) to Congress to the White House, the federal government has continued to push the importance of investment and innovation in fifth-generation (“5G”) wireless technology. This push bodes well for the many industries that rely on the Internet of Things (“IoT”), such as transportation, healthcare, and manufacturing—to name a few. As we have previously discussed, 5G deployment is critical for IoT because the IoT ecosystem will rely heavily on the increased speeds and capacity, as well as the reduced latency, that 5G technology will enable. Below we discuss the most recent pushes for 5G developments from federal leadership before surveying key industries in the IoT ecosystem that we expect to benefit from these efforts.
Continue Reading IoT Update: Flurry of Federal 5G Activity Indicates Important Growth Opportunities for the IoT Ecosystem

Innovative leaders worldwide are investing in technologies to transform their cities into smart cities—environments in which data collection and analysis is utilized to manage assets and resources efficiently.  Smart city technologies can improve safety, manage traffic and transportation systems, and save energy, as we discussed in a previous post.  One important aspect of a successful smart city will be ensuring infrastructure is in place to support new technologies.  Federal investment in infrastructure may accordingly benefit both smart cities and smart transportation, as explained in another post on connected and autonomous vehicles (“CAVs”).

Given the growing presence of CAVs in the U.S., and the legislative efforts surrounding them, CAVs are likely to play an important role in the future of smart cities.  This post explores how cities are already using smart transportation technologies and how CAV technologies fit into this landscape.  It also addresses the legal issues and practical challenges involved in developing smart transportation systems.  As CAVs and smart cities continue to develop, each technology can leverage the other’s advances and encourage the other’s deployment.Continue Reading IoT Update: How Smart Cities and Connected Cars May Benefit from Each Other

On February 27, 2019, Covington hosted its first webinar in a series on connected and automated vehicles (“CAVs”).  During the webinar, which is available here, Covington’s regulatory and public policy experts covered the current state of play in U.S. law and regulations relating to CAVs.  In particular, Covington’s experts focused on relevant developments in: (1) federal public policy; (2) federal regulatory agencies; (3) state public policy; (4) autonomous aviation; and (5) national security.

Highlights from each of these areas are presented below.Continue Reading IoT Update: Covington Hosts First Webinar on Connected and Automated Vehicles

One week from today, Covington will host its first webinar in a series on connected and automated vehicles (“CAVs”).  The webinar will take place on February 27 from 12 to 1 p.m. Eastern Time. During the webinar, Covington’s regulatory and legislative experts will cover developments in U.S. law and regulations relating to CAVs. Those topics include:

  • Federal regulation affecting CAVs, with a focus on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”), the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”), the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”), and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) review.
  • Where Congress stands on CAV legislation, including the AV START Act, the SELF DRIVE Act, and infrastructure legislation.
  • State-level legislative, regulatory, and policy developments, including a closer look at California’s regulations.
  • Updates and trends specific to the autonomous aviation industry.
  • Foreign investment and export controls impacting CAVs.

Continue Reading IoT Update: Covington to Host Webinar on Connected and Automated Vehicles

Wearable watches that help consumers obtain a better understanding of their eating patterns; wearable clothes that send signals to treating physicians; smart watches: they are but a few examples of the increasingly available and increasingly sophisticated “wearables” on the EU market. These technologies are an integrated part of many people’s lives, and in some cases allow healthcare professionals to follow-up on the condition or habits of their patients, often in real-time. How do manufacturers determine what wearables qualify as medical devices? How do they assess whether their devices need a CE-mark? Must they differentiate between the actual “wearable” and the hardware or software that accompanies them? In this short contribution, we briefly analyze some of these questions. The article first examines what “wearables” are, and when they qualify as a medical device under current and future EU rules. It then addresses the relevance of the applicability of EU medical devices rules to these products. The application of these rules is often complex and highly fact-specific.
Continue Reading IoT Update: Are Wearables Medical Devices Requiring a CE-Mark in the EU?

On 20 November 2018, the UK government published its response (the “Response”) to the June 2018 consultation (the “Consultation”) regarding the proposed new Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (“DEI”). First announced in the UK Chancellor’s Autumn 2017 Budget, the DEI will identify measures needed to strengthen the way data and AI are used and regulated, advising on addressing potential gaps in regulation and outlining best practices in the area. The DEI is described as being the first of its kind globally, and represents an opportunity for the UK to take the lead the debate on how data is regulated.
Continue Reading IoT Update: The UK Government’s Response to Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation Consultation