Since its commercial debut in early 2012, New York City startup Aereo has been drawing the ire of big name broadcasters by enabling subscribers to watch and record live television programming via internet-enabled devices. The young company scored an important legal victory this week as the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the assertion that Aereo's services infringe upon broadcaster copyrights.

Open source software has been at the heart of several of the most significant innovations related to cloud computing, smart devices and data analytics. Google recently recognized this fact by pledging its commitment not to file suit over its open source technology patents unless first provoked by a separate entity.

Life science research has advanced to such a state that biological patents can now cover the sequencing, chemical composition and process of manipulating human genes. However, the rapid growth of genetic patent portfolios among for-profit biomedical organizations could pose a considerable threat to an individual's "genomic liberty" in certain scenarios.

United States Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante spoke before the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet last week, urging lawmakers to undertake the arduous task of promoting comprehensive reforms for the nation's copyright statutes. The process should be framed in years, not months, according to Pallante, and everything from fair use and copyright length to piracy prevention and performance royalty management should be up for discussion.

With one of the highest concentrations of federal research laboratories of any state, Colorado's scientific and business communities have taken a unique interest in technology transfer strategies in recent years. In an effort to streamline communications between public and private sector stakeholders, Senator Michael Bennet recently submitted a letter of inquiry to the U.S. Government Accountability Office requesting a comprehensive investigation into the efficacy of these unique patent licensing arrangements.

Texas-based gunsmith and law student Cody Wilson was thrust into the spotlight earlier this year after he released video footage detailing his production of military-grade, 3D-printed firearm component parts. Wilson and his collaborators have now elaborated on their business plans, suggesting that they intend to develop a comprehensive, open source library of 3D printable models for all manner of physical goods.

Interactive textbook publisher Boundless has been causing quite a stir in the higher education community recently as its products continue to challenge traditional market leaders and intrigue students and investors. However, pending interpretation of copyright law could soon make or break the business venture's future prospects.

The macroeconomic significance of a revitalized American manufacturing sector has been one of the few concepts capable of generating bipartisan accord from legislators. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office took a decisive step in the right direction this week by unveiling a new business community outreach initiative centered in Detroit.

Digital rights activists have already enjoyed a strong start to 2013 and are only looking to build on that momentum in the coming months. After engineering a grassroots lobbying effort, which ultimately convinced White House and Federal Communications Commission officials to reconsider the ban on cell phone unlocking, open source software entrepreneur Sina Khanifar is seeking broader changes to Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) provisions.

The Center for Copyright Information (CCI) announced the official beginning of its Copyright Alert System (CAS) implementation phase this week, marking a potentially historic shift in the way royalty management rules are drafted and enforced in the digital age.