Tech Law Journal Daily E-Mail Alert
Nov. 8, 2000, 8:00 AM ET, Alert No. 59.
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New TLJ Stories

Sen. Abraham Defeated. Sen. Spencer Abraham, one of the most pro tech members of the Senate, lost his bid for re-election from the state of Michigan. Other Senators involved in technology issues who also lost include Sen. John Ashcroft (R-MO), and Sen. William Roth (R-DE). Meanwhile, votes are still being counted in Sen. Slade Gorton's (R-WA) race.
More Key Senate Race Results. Other Senators who have been active on tech related issues won re-election to the Senate, including: Senators Hatch, Burns, Kohl, DeWine, Kyl, Snowe, Feinstein, and Lott.
Rogan and Bilbray Defeated in House Races. Rep. James Rogan and Rep. Brian Bilbray were both defeated in close elections. Both have seats on the House Commerce Committee. Both had solid pro tech voting records. In addition, Rep. Rogan sat on the Courts and Intellectual Property Subcommittee, where he was a leading advocate of protecting copyrights and trademarks in cyberspace.
House Members Who Won In Close Races. Several House members who have been active on technology issues were returned to the House in close elections. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA), Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA), Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM), Rep. Steve Horn (R-CA), and Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) all faced serious opposition, and won with 55% or less of the vote.
More House Elections Results. Most members of the House who have been active on technology related issues who sought re-election won their races easily.
Retirements from the House. Several members of the House who have been active on technology related issues chose not to run for re-election. Several ran for other offices. Among these were Representatives Tom Bliley (R-VA), Tom Campbell (R-CA), Charles Canady (R-FL), Ted Pease (R-IN), and Bob Franks (R-NJ).
New and Updated Sections

Calendar (updated daily).
News from Around the Web (updated daily).
Quote of the Day

"We are going to do a lot of heavy analytical thinking."

Dorothy Attwood, Bureau Chief of the Common Carrier Bureau, on the FCC's proceeding on cable access.
News Briefs

11/7. U.S. District Court Judge Janet Hall (DConn) ordered Microsoft to pay $3.7 Million in attorneys fees to Bristol. Bristol filed its 14 count Complaint against Microsoft on Aug. 18, 1998. 12 of the 14 counts alleged violations of federal or state antitrust law. The jury ruled for Microsoft on all of these counts. A very small part of the case was a claim that Microsoft violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA). Last July, the jury found that Microsoft had violated CUTPA, but awarded Bristol only $1 in compensatory damages. On Aug. 31 Judge Hall issued a 103 page opinion and order in which she awarded Bristol $1 Million in punitive damages, based on this $1 in compensatory damages. On Nov. 7, she awarded Bristol $ 3.7 Million in attorneys fees. See also, TLJ Summary of Bristol v. Microsoft.
11/7. Dorothy Attwood, Bureau Chief of the FCC's Common Carrier Bureau, and the top staff of the Bureau, spoke and answered questions at a luncheon meeting in Washington DC with telecommunications lawyers. She was asked if the CCB or the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) are thinking about IP telephony. "Yeah, of course, we are looking at that," said Attwood. "OET is working with us on that." However, most of the luncheon was devoted to other issues. She stated that she sees "continually vexing problems" in local telephone competition. Section 271 proceedings, long distance competition, and the FCC audit process were also discussed in detail.
11/7. The Global Internet Project (GIP) asked the Council of Europe to extend its December 2000 deadline for completion of its Convention on cyber crime. See, Draft No. 22 of Convention on Cyber-crime, and GIP release.
11/7. SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt named Estee Levine Director of the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs. She was previously Counsel to Chairman Levitt. She replaces Tracey Aronson, who was recently named Chief of Staff to the Chairman. See, release.
11/7. The BSA gave its often awarded Cyber Champion Award to four world leaders: King Abdullah II of Jordan, Prime Minister Bertie Ahern of Ireland; Julio Semeghini, Representative, Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, and Dato' Pahamin Rajab, Secretary General, Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs of Malaysia. See, release.
11/7. The TIA published a new Telecommunications Systems Bulletin (TSB) regarding Internet protocol telephony. It is numbered TSB 122, and titled "Telecommunications - IP Telephony Equipment - Voice Router/Gateway Loss and Level Plan Guidelines." See, release.
Editor's Note: This column includes all News Briefs added to Tech Law Journal since the last Daily E-Mail Alert. The dates indicate when the event occurred, not the date of posting to Tech Law Journal.
The FCC will hold a Commission meeting on Thursday, Nov. 9. The agenda [PDF | MSWord] includes two items pertaining to secondary markets for wireless spectrum. The FCC will consider a Notice Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) concerning the promotion of secondary market mechanisms to facilitate efficient use of wireless spectrum, and a Policy Statement setting forth guiding principles for the promotion of secondary market mechanisms to facilitate efficient use of wireless spectrum.
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