Technology and trade have increased the potential for global brands.
Two years ago, Congress increased the potential maximum penalty for each infraction by tenfold, to $325,000.
In the 1970's and 1980's, Congress increased the potential penalties for executives convicted of antitrust violations.
The deal increased the potential of Healtheon, a start-up that has yet to make a profit.
But the Internet has increased the potential hazards of such encounters.
While prisoners have always sent letters seeking supporters, the Internet has vastly increased the potential to reach large audiences far from their cells.
That would have reduced the company's money available to pay debt and increased the potential for fees for plaintiffs' lawyers, a legal expert said.
On May 10, the bank substantially increased the potential loss estimate, saying the prior figure was inaccurate.
As the second day of arguments began, the defendants faced less than a year in jail, but prosecutors won arguments over aggravating factors that increased the potential sentences to between 33 and 41 months.
Taylor Fravel, an expert on regional security at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said establishment of the zone increased the potential for an incident in the air that could spark a larger crisis.
But Amazon significantly increased the potential visibility of library e-books when it opened up its popular Kindle device to these books for the first time.
