| Tauzin Dingell Bill Vote
Delayed |
12/12. On December 12 House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX) announced
that the House would vote on HR 1542,
the Tauzin Dingell bill, on Friday, December 14. Also on
December 12, Rep. David
Dreier (R-CA), the Chairman of the House Rules Committee,
stated in the House that "today a Dear Colleague letter
is going to be sent to all Members informing them that the
Committee on Rules is planning to meet this week to grant a
rule which may limit the amendment process for HR 1542, the
Internet Freedom and Broadband Deployment Act of 2001."
See, Cong. Record, at H9264.
12/13. House Majority Leader Dick
Armey (R-TX) announced that the House vote on the Tauzin
Dingell bill has been postponed until next year -- probably
March.
12/14. The U.S.
Telecommunications Association (USTA), a group which is
lobbying heavily for passage of the Tauzin Dingell bill,
announced that it is "Enlarging the government affairs
operations of USTA, doubling the number of Congressional
lobbyists". It also stated that it is "Establishing
tactical committees, made up of members that work closely with
USTA staff to help execute legislative, regulatory,
communications and PAC strategies." See, USTA
release. |
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| Sklyarov and Prosecutors
Reach Agreement |
12/13. The U.S. Attorney's Office (NDCal)
and Dmitry Sklyarov entered into a Pretrial
Diversion Agreement [PDF] in which Sklyarov admits to
facts relevant to the criminal copyright law charges that are
pending against him, and promises to cooperate in the
prosecution of his former employer, Elcomsoft. The Agreement
further provides for his release and return to Russia. It also
provides that his prosecution will be deferred for one year,
and if he completes his obligations under the Agreement, that
charges against him will be dropped. See also, USAO
release.
On August 28, 2001, a grand jury of the U.S.
District Court (NDCal) returned a five count indictment
[PDF] against Elcom Ltd., aka Elcomsoft Co. Ltd., and Dmitry
Sklyarov for criminal violations of copyright law in
connection with their marketing and sale of a program that
circumvents Adobe's e-book reader. Elcomsoft and Sklyarov were
charged with violation of the anti circumvention section of
the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), 17
U.S.C. § 1201. Sklyarov had also been charged by criminal
complaint [PDF] with a single count of trafficking in a
product designed to circumvent copyright protection measures,
on July 17.
Adobe Systems makes the eBook
Reader, a program which can read books in an electronic
format named eBook. The program is downloadable at Adobe's web
site. Users can then purchase encrypted electronic books in
eBook format from online bookstores, such as Amazon.com, and
read them with the eBook Reader. The books are encrypted to
protect copyright interests. Elcomsoft and Sklyarov produced
software that enables people to copy and read these electronic
books without paying.
The indictment states that Elcomsoft, a software company based
in Moscow, Russia, and Sklyarov, an employee of Elcom,
designed, produced, and marketed a program named the Advanced
eBook Processor (AEBPR). This program circumvents the Adobe
Acrobat eBook Reader by removing all limitations on an ebook
purchaser's ability to copy, distribute, and print ebooks.
Count One alleges conspiracy to traffic in technology
primarily designed to circumvent and marketed for use in
circumventing, technology that protects a right of a copyright
owner in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. Counts Two and Three
both allege trafficking in technology primarily designed to
circumvent technology that protects a right of a copyright
owner in violation of 17 U.S.C. § 1201(b)(1)(A) and 18 U.S.C.
§ 2. Count Four and Five both allege trafficking in
technology marketed for use in circumventing technology that
protects a right of a copyright owner in violation of 17 U.S.C.
§ 1201(b)(1(C) and 18 U.S.C. § 2.
The Pretrial Diversion Agreement contains a recitation of
admissions by Sklyarov. For example, Sklyarov admits that
"as part of my employment with Elcomsoft, I wrote a part
of computer program titled the Advanced eBook Processor
("AEBPR"). ... The only use of the AEBPR is to
create an unprotected copy of an electronic document. Once a
PDF file is decrypted with the AEBPR, a copy is no longer
protected by encryption. This is all the AEBPR program
does."
The Agreement also attaches a copy of Sklyarov's speech at the
DefCon Nine conference in Las Vegas in July that lead to his
arrest. Sklyarov further agrees to be deposed under oath. |
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| Intel and Via Settle Patent
Disputes Re K7 Chipsets |
12/12. Intel announced
that it settled some of its pending patent infringement
disputes with Via. Intel stated in its release
that it "reached a settlement agreement with Via Technologies
Inc. in a pending patent litigation related to chipsets
that support Advanced Micro Devices microprocessors. The
agreement was reached after Via redesigned its products in an
effort to avoid infringing on Intel's patents. Under terms of
the settlement, Intel will drop its patent infringement suit
regarding U.S. Patent Nos. 5,926,651
and 5,051,622,
which was scheduled for trial on Jan. 22."
Via announced in its release
that "The dismissal terminates all litigation between VIA
and Intel relating to VIA's K7 chipsets. While VIA has
dismissed its counterclaims against Intel, no payments of any
kind have been made to Intel in connection with Intel's
dismissal of its remaining claim. VIA will not pay a royalty,
and its K7 chipset products are no longer subject to a
possible injunction arising from this litigation."
Various lawsuits in the Delaware, Texas, Germany, the United
Kingdom, and Hong Kong between Intel and Via regarding Pentium
4 technology are still pending. |
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| Microsoft Appoints
Compliance Officers |
| 12/13. Microsoft announced the appointment of two compliance
officers -- Odell Guyton and David Dadoun -- to facilitate
compliance with federal, state and legal obligations,
including the proposed antitrust consent decree with the Department of Justice and
nine states. David Dadoun is a former antitrust enforcement
lawyer with the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC). He will administer the Microsoft's
antitrust compliance program under the proposed consent
decree. See, proposed
final judgment at Section IV.C. See also, MSFT
release. |
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| Nano Tech Alliance
Advocates Funding for Basic Research |
12/13. The Progressive
Policy Institute (PPI) and the Nano Business Alliance
jointly hosted a panel discussion on Capitol Hill on the
public policy implications of the emerging science and
business of nano technology. The panelists seek to educate
legislators and government agencies on the promises of nano
tech. They also advocate federal funding of basic research
supporting nano tech.
The panelists were be Rob Atkinson (PPI), Mark Modzelewski (NanoBusiness
Alliance), Mike Roco (National Nanotechnology Initiative),
Steve Johns (Ardesta Capital),
Meyya Meyyapan (NASA
Ames Center for Nanotechnology), Steve Wilson (NYU Center
for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology), Stephan
Maebius (Foley &
Lardner), and Josh Wolfe (Lux Capital).
NASA's Meyyapan defined nano technology as "a way to
create functional materials ... or a device, or a structure,
or a system, at the nano scale level. But it is not just the
nano scale level. ... At the nano scale the properties are
going to be completely differently. We are talking about
exploiting physical properties, chemical properties,
mechanical properties, electrical properties, magnetic
properties, biological properties." He stated that some
of its major applications are in "computing, electronics,
and data storage". Other panelists stated that promising
applications include quantum dots, improved plastics,
architecture of molecules by design, drugs that can attack
specific cells, and other biomedical uses.
Meyyapan also addressed government support and funding for
nano tech. He said that one of the best things that has
happened for nano tech has been support from the Clinton and
Bush administrations. He added that "that is very
important because, actually, the companies generally will not
fund something that is risky. ... So, the single most
important thing is to keep the pipeline coming through, OK, on
basic research on nano. That is the role of the
government." He also said that other countries are
spending on nano tech, and "we do not want to fall back.
So, our first priority is to keep the pipeline full."
Tech Law Journal spoke with Robert Atkinson. He stated that we
are "at the beginning stages of exploring nano. I think
that there is no doubt that we need to appropriate more funds
for it, and upgrade the initiative that we do have." He
also suggested that a nano tech bill will soon be introduced
in the Senate.
Patent Issues. TLJ also spoke with Stephan
Maebius after the event regarding patent law issues. He
stated that patent law is flexible and accommodates new
technologies. Hence, changes to the patent statute will not be
necessary. However, he stated that it will be important to
educate patent examiners at the USPTO on these new
technologies. He elaborated that this is important to ensure
that quality patents will be issued, and to limit patent
pendancy. The risk, said Maebius, is the issuance of an overly
broad patent. He also added that the length of patent pendency
might be reduced by forming a nano technology group at the
USPTO. He also stated that the Congress is currently
considering legislation regarding the patent re-examination
process that would be relevant to nano technology patents. |
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| Calif Supreme Court to Hear
Case Re Jurisdiction Over Non Resident DeCSS Poster |
|
12/12.
The Supreme
Court of California announced that it will hear an appeal
in Pavlovich
v. Superior Court, which is also known as the
DVD copy control jurisdiction case. (Case Nos., S100809 and
H021961.) See, Conference
Results for 12/12/2001 [PDF] at page 1.
On
August 7, 2001, the Court of Appeal of California
(6) held that California's long-arm jurisdiction statute
reaches owners, publishers, and operators of web sites when,
in violation of California law, they make available for
copying or distribution trade secrets or copyrighted material
of California companies.
The issue on appeal, and in the opinion below, is not the
merits of the case; it is not whether or not the defendant
violated the trade secrets or copyrights of the plaintiff.
Rather, the issue is whether the California courts have
authority to try this case. California's long arm jurisdiction
statute authorizes California courts to "exercise
jurisdiction on any basis not inconsistent with the
Constitution of this state or of the United States."
The DVD Copy Control
Association (DVD CCA) filed a complaint in the Superior
Court for Santa Clara County California against Matthew
Pavlovich and others alleging misappropriation of trade
secrets and other claims. Pavlovich published the DeCSS
program in a web site which he owned and operated. He is not a
resident of California. He also testified that he knew that
the movie industry was based in California, and that DeCSS
would harm that industry. He sought to quash the summons.
DVD is sometimes known as Digital Versatile Disc. CSS is a
Content Scrambling System for DVD to protect intellectual
property rights by means of encryption. DeCSS is a decryption
tool that facilitates infringement. |
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| Daschle Introduces Bill to
Authorize Funds for Technology for Rural Police |
12/12. Sen. Tom Daschle
(D-SD) and Sen. Tim
Johnson (D-SD) introduced S 1787,
the Rural Safety Act of 2001. It was referred to the Senate Judiciary
Committee. This is a bill to promote rural safety and
improve rural law enforcement which includes a section on use
of technology.
It authorizes appropriations of $40,000,000 over five years
for grants to rural and tribal police departments to "(A)
improve police communications through the use of wireless
communications, computers, software, videocams, databases and
other hardware and software that allow law enforcement
agencies to communicate and operate more effectively; and (B)
develop and improve access to crime solving technologies,
including DNA analysis, photo enhancement, voice recognition,
and other forensic capabilities." |
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| People and Appointments |
12/13. The members of the Federal
Election Commission (FEC) elected David Mason
Chairman and Karl Sandstrom Vice Chairman for 2002.
See, FEC
release.
12/3. The Senate confirmed Frederick Martone to be a
U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Arizona by a
vote of 97-0. |
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| Friday, Dec 14 |
POSTPONED UNTIL NEXT YEAR.
The House has tentatively scheduled a vote on HR
1542, the Tauzin Dingell bill.
8:30 - 10:00 AM. The American
Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a press breakfast on
"The Role of the FCC in Restricting the Ownership of
Licenses". Harold
Furchtgott Roth and other AEI scholars will speak. RSVP to
Veronique Rodman at 202 862-4871 or vrodman@aei.org. Location:
AEI, 1150 17th Street, NW, 11th Floor Conference Room.
9:30 AM. The Senate
Finance Committee will meet to continue its markup of HR
3005, the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Act of 2001. Location:
Room 215, Dirksen Building.
Day two of a two day conference titled the "19th Annual
Institute on Telecommunications Policy & Regulation".
Location: International Trade Center. |
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| 19th Annual Institute on
Telecommunications Policy & Regulation |
| Second Day: December 14 |
| 9:00 AM. Tutorial on FCC Legal Issues by Jane Mago and John
Rogovin. |
| 9:45 AM. Tutorial on International Issues by Donald Abelson
and David Gross. |
| 10:45 AM. Debate: The 1996 Telecommunications Act: A Failure
or a Success? The moderator will be Peter Shields. The
debaters will be Jeffrey Eisenach and David Leach. |
| 11:30 AM. Panel: Telecommunications Future. The moderators
will be Michele Farquhar and Richard Wiley. The panelists will
be Scott Cleland, Peter Fannon, Dale Hatfield, William
Kennard, Scott Marcus, and Alexandra Wilson. |
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| Monday, Dec 17 |
| 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Department of Commerce's Technology Administration
(TA) will host a workshop titled "Understanding Broadband
Demand: Digital Content & Rights Management". Bruce
Mehlman and Philip Bond of the TA will moderate. The morning
session (9:15 - 11:45 AM) will address public demand for
digital media. The speakers will be Brendan Traw (Intel), Andy
Moss (Microsoft), Jack Valenti (MPAA), Jeff Okkonen (Liquid
Audio ), Peter Fannon (Panasonic), Robert Holleyman (BSA),
Victor McCrary (NIST), Dave Winston (Winston Group), Scott
Sander (SightSound), William Check (NCTA), Rhett Dawson (ITIC),
David Cheriton (Cisco). The afternoon session (1:15 - 3:45 PM)
will address barriers to digital media online. The speakers
will be Preston Padden (Disney), Elizabeth Frazee (AOLTW),
Manus Cooney (Napster), Rick White (TechNet), Rick Lane (NewsCorp),
Eric Scheirer (Forrester), Mark Bohannon (SIIA), Jonathan
Potter (DiMA), Tim Sheehy (IBM), Gary Klein (CEA), Mitch
Glazier (RIAA), Matt Gerson (Vivendi), Jenny Toomey (Future of
Music Coalition), Justin Lilley (Bertelsman), Joel Wiginton
(SONY). Location: Department of Commerce, 14th &
Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room 4830. |
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| Tuesday, Dec 18 |
12:15 PM. The Federal
Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers
Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The speakers will be
Commissioner Michael Copps' Legal Advisors: Jordan Goldstein,
Paul Margie, and Susanna Zwerling. For more information
contact Chris Moore at 202 224-9584 or moorecva@aol.com or Yaron
Dori at 202 637-5458 or ydori@hhlaw.com.
1:30 PM. The U.S. International Telecommunication Advisory
Committee (ITAC) will hold a meeting. See, notice
in Federal Register, October 17, 2001, Vol. 66, No. 201, Page
52825. Location: State Department. |
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| Wednesday, Dec 19 |
10:00 AM. The House
Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and
Consumer Protection will hold a hearing titled Electronic
Communications Networks in the Wake of September 11th.
Room 2123, Rayburn Building.
10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Commission's
(FCC) Advisory Committee for the 2003 World Radiocommunication
Conference (WRC-03 Advisory Committee) will hold a meeting.
See, notice
in Federal Register, November 26, 2001, Vol. 66, No. 227, at
Page 59019. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Room TW-C305.
Deadline to submit oppositions and comments to the FCC in
response to Cingular Wireless', Nextel's, and Verizon
Wireless' petitions for reconsideration of certain provisions
of the FCC's October 12 orders addressing and conditionally
approving requests for waivers and approval of revised
deployment plans for wireless Enhanced 911 (E911) services.
See, FCC
Notice. (CC Docket No. 94-102.)
Deadline to submit comments to the National Telecommunications
and Information Administration (NTIA) in response to its
Request for Comments on Deployment of Broadband Networks and
Advanced Telecommunications. See, notice. |
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