i3 - July/August 2016 - 8

Tech
I N N OVATO R

Tech Leader Senator
Ronald Wyden

enator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) is passionate about
technology. As the senior senator from Oregon since
1996, and before that serving in the U.S. House of
Representatives from 1981 to 1996, he also is known as
a champion for the open internet. For more than 20 years, he has
fought to protect the internet, expand America's digital economy

Why have you been such a strong
advocate for technology?
When you really boil down the great
challenges of our time, innovation and
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JULY/AUGUST 2016

productivity are at the center. That means
that if you give technology short shrift, you
are limiting the possibilities for the kind of
innovation and productivity agenda that
is so important. So to me, it comes back to
how we are going to have quality of life and
how we are going to have good paying jobs
for our people today and in the future.
CTA members - particularly small
businesses and startups - are being hit
with a record number of bogus lawsuits
and threats from so-called "patent
trolls". What changes need to be made
to reduce these frivolous lawsuits?
This is an enormously important issue for
two reasons. First, small businesses are
the centerpiece, not just for the Oregon
economy but for the national economy.
When you are a small business, you want
to grow in order to become a big business.
To do that you need sensible policies as
it relates to taxes and regulatory kinds of
questions and you need a patent system
that works for innovators and small businesses. People all over the country are saying, "I just hope the government does not
create any more barriers to my chance to be
innovative and successful."
Patent reform in my view has to make
sure that small businesses are not sunk by
abusive patent litigation. But it can't make
the legitimate defense of a patent overly
burdensome. They are trying to strike a
balance. The Congress obviously has been
wrestling with this for several sessions
now. We have had several bills and there
is going to be more to do. I want to make
sure that the small business voice does not
get lost. What we have consistently tried

Requiring American
companies to
deliberately build
back doors into
their products would
not stop terrorists
from using strong
encryption.
- Statement, June 16, 2016 - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden

to do is to be there for small businesses
particularly as it relates to striking a balance in terms of making sure that they
don't get flattened by abuses in the patent
system. And then we want to make sure
that when you need to make a legitimate
defense, you can do it without bureaucratic
water torture.
I T I S I N N O VAT I O N

From left: Jay Westcott/Politico; courtesy of CTA

and urged the FCC to create strong rules
to preserve net neutrality. But he is best
known as the lone voice protesting the
Protect IP Act (PIPA) and Stop Online
Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. Senate. By
putting a hold on the legislation in 2011,
he led the effort to create a groundswell of
support for a free internet with millions of
calls, tweets and emails that changed the
course of Congress, energized consumers
across the nation and ultimately, defeated
the bill and saved the internet.
With Representative Darrell Issa
(R-CA), Wyden introduced the Online
Protection and Enforcement of Digital
Trade Act as an alternative to SOPA and
PIPA. When Senate leadership announced
it was indefinitely postponing the bill following "massive protests" in January 2012,
Wyden called it a "grassroots victory for
the history books."
For his efforts he also became an internet policy star at CES and was honored
in 2012 with CTA's Digital Patriot Award
for his leadership in Congress advancing
technology entrepreneurship and securing an open, accessible internet. When he
accepted his award, he said that innovation
is a crucial component of America and the
message to Congress was "don't mess with
the internet."
Today he is leading on technology issues
dealing with encryption, security and
privacy among others. i3 recently spoke
to Senator Wyden.

i3 - July/August 2016

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