Chris Nolan

Two events of the past week, both starring Silicon Valley heavyweights, provide useful lessons on making the transition from business to politics. Its like mixing oil and water. Sometimes, you gotta shake hard before you can get them together. Late last week came the announcement that former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina would not be President […]

In about a week and a half, a group of lawyers will stand in front of the U.S. Supreme Court and argue about the legal responsibilities of peer-to-peer networks in a case that may well outlive the company that inspired it, “Grokster.” To the technically minded, the whole debate sounds silly and beside the point. […]

The hue and cry over whether the Federal Election Commission can—or should—”regulate” Webloggers is a much more complicated and politically partisan argument than it looks at first glance. Thats not to say the threat isnt real. A close reading of the commissions regulation shows that yes, indeed, the exemption held by traditional media outlets needs […]

Is former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina going to run the World Bank? Could be. To tech insiders, steeped in gossipy stories about Fiorinas star-driven management style—and its harsh and sudden contrast to HPs previous CEOs—this may seem like a goofy idea. But it makes a lot of sense. A word of caution: The stories touting […]

Youre not Paris Hilton. But you could easily have her problems. Youre not ChoicePoint. But your company could easily have its problems. As technology becomes more seamless and more ubiquitous, more and more people are exposed to its virtues as well as its problems. And that means that political intervention—or interference—might not be far behind. […]

It isnt hard to dislike the business method patent. Unless, of course, you own one. Fights between tech companies, between patent holders and suddenly successful startups, and between competitors or former partners are nothing new. And the protection of intellectual property is the bread and butter of any tech law practice. But business method patents […]

Can the fight to change copyright law become a full-blown consumer cause? Thats the question that arises when experienced political insiders contemplate the current rush of activity around the issue. Its not a slam-dunk “yes” or “no.” There are plenty of reasons—most recently a nice big story in The New York Times outlining grassroots efforts […]

With the debate over renewal of the Patriot Act and talk of turning drivers licenses into national ID cards, the privacy issues long familiar to the tech community are headed for political center stage. “There is a lot of movement on privacy, says Ari Schwartz, associate director of the Center for Democracy and Technology in […]

Theres a funny thing going on in Democratic Party politics. Tech is getting important. The industry and its innovations are breaking out of their roles as campaign cash ATMs. Donating money is, of course, good for business. But having people who share your view of the world is even better. So this new familiarity means […]

The $3 billion that California will spend over the next 10 years on stem cell research has been repeatedly described as a 21st-century gold rush. Its a tremendous amount of money, and its an incentive for scientists and researchers to come to the state. Given the talk about recruitment and relocation, comparisons to the gold […]

IBMs announcement that it will release some 500 patents for work on open-source software projects may look like a straightforward business announcement. But in an atmosphere where more IT professionals are paying attention to copyright and patents, its also a political statement. The announcement made Tuesday is the sort of do-good stuff that shows up […]

Until a few weeks ago, the attention paid to Weblogs, or blogs, focused on politics and the media business. Bloggers were most famously credited with unmasking a fake memo that CBS used for a story about President Bushs Army Reserve records. But thats going to change, and fast. A study released this week by the […]