By , September 01, 2017.

Google Critic Ousted From Think Tank Funded by the Tech Giant — On Wednesday, the New York Times dropped a bombshell with this story, detailing how a group whose work on platform monopolies, including Google, was removed from a think tank with strong ties to the internet giant. The story raises legitimate questions about Google’s influence on the many other non-profit and academic organizations it funds. Zephyr Teachout, who chairs the ousted group, penned an op-ed in response, Google is coming after critics in academia and journalism. It’s time to stop them. Also in the wake of the story, others have chimed in to share incidents where the company flexed its muscle, such as Kashmir Hill with Yes, Google Uses Its Power to Quash Ideas It Doesn’t Like—I Know Because It Happened to Me. For a copyright connection, check out Jonathan Taplin’s recent book, Move Fast and Break Things.

Here’s How Google’s Money Really Influences Research — Rob Levine’s take on the above story deserves special mention since he has been writing about Google’s soft diplomacy of non-profits and academics for years, long before the issue made it into the mainstream.

Trump nominates Andrei Iancu to be director of patent office — The managing partner of Los Angeles law firm Irell & Manella is slated to take over the role previously held by Michelle Lee, who was appointed by the previous administration and stepped down in July. And here’s a periodic reminder that, while it’s not apparent in its name, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is the Executive Branch’s advisor on copyright policy.

Scholar Takes on Empiricist View of IP — “Empiricism can tell us which notes, instruments, chords, time signature, and lyrics describe Chuck Berry’s recording of ‘Johnny B. Goode’ are on board Voyagers 1 and 2; but these data can hardly explain what it is about Berry’s playing that moves us more than others—or for that matter, why anyone would invent a guitar or learn to play it in a certain way, or why humans would bother building a pair of spacecraft to explore the solar system and then choose Chuck Berry as one of a very few representatives to say, This is who we were.”

2017 Fall Conference — Finally, if you are in the DC area October 12-13, I recommend checking out the Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property’s fifth annual fall conference, this one focused on “Real Intellectual Property Reform.” The organization this week released its slate of panels and speakers, promising an interesting and informative event.