Digital Broadband Migration: First Principles for a Twenty First Century Innovation Policy

Silicon Flatirons Center
University of Colorado Law School
February 8, 2015 - February 9, 2015
http://siliconflatirons.com/events.php?id=1495

The conditions that produced the late twentieth century and early twenty first century boom around the Internet and information technology merit careful examination and analysis. The platform technologies related to computing and networking owe their roots to investments by government supported and private sector-supported research and development from organizations like DARPA, Bell Labs, and Xerox PARC. In a world where "M&A is the new R&D," it remains to be seen how the innovation model of the future will evolve.

The role of established firms vis a vis new upstarts in driving technological progress remains a topic of ongoing conversation, often focusing on Joseph Schumpeter's theory of creative destruction and Clayton Christensen's portrait of disruptive innovation. The implications of such theories for regulatory policy and intellectual property protection in spurring (or hindering) innovation continue to be developed. In practice, for example, policymakers must determine whether law and regulation should provide clearer up-front guidance through rules or more after-the-fact flexibility through standards.

In this 15th anniversary year of Silicon Flatirons, we will address the first principles for innovation policy, evaluating a set of important policy questions. These questions will include: (1) What are the Sources of Innovation? (2) What are the Preconditions for a Vibrant Innovation Ecosystem? (3) What is the Role of Interoperation and Interconnection in Network Industries? (4) What is the Role of Competition Policy With Respect to Innovation? And (5) What Does a Jurisprudence of Innovation Look Like (e.g., what institutional approaches and legal regimes are most effective)? To address these questions, we will bring together an impressive group of policymakers, academics, industry executives, entrepreneurs, and civil society leaders.