| Senate Committee Holds
Hearing on Protecting Digital Content |
2/28. The Senate
Commerce Committee held a hearing titled "Protecting
Content in a Digital Age -- Promoting Broadband and the
Digital Television Transition" at which it heard
different views from the copyright and technology industries
regarding piracy of digital content.
Disney's Michael Eisner urged the "Congress to act to
facilitate the establishment of open and common standards for
technological protection of creative content in digital
distribution."
In contrast, Intel's
Leslie Vadasz stated that "Any attempt to inject a
regulatory process into the design of our products will
irreparably damage the high tech industry: it will
substantially retard innovation, investment in new
technologies, and will reduce the usefulness of our products
to consumers." Similarly, Cisco's
Andreas Bechtolsheim stated that "The best way to protect
content is through technology, not government. Proven content
protection technology exists today that does not require new
legislation for efficacy. Alternative technologies that would
require new legislation to be effective in our opinion are not
technically sound because the protection offered by the law
can never be as strong as protection offered by the strength
of encryption and mathematics."
Sen. Ernest Hollings
(D-SC), the Chairman of the Committee, wrote in his opening
statement [PDF] that "With the exception of rural
America and some underserved areas, there is no broadband
availability problem; we have a demand problem. 80% can get
it, only 10-12% take it. Most Americans don't want to pay $50
a month for faster access to email. If more content were
available online, consumers would come."
"But there is almost no legal, high quality content
available on the Internet. Why? Because there is no single,
open standard providing technological protection to
copyrighted products to give content owners the confidence to
place their premium content online. The same is true for
digital television, where piracy deters programmers from
putting digital content over the airwaves," said Sen.
Hollings.
"America has had copyright law on the books since the
Constitution. But in an era when products are delivered
digitally, the copyright laws mean less and less. Absent
strong technological protections layered on top of the
copyright laws, it is virtually impossible to enforce the law
as it exists."
Hollings concluded that "Senator Stevens and I are
planning legislation that would place a deadline on affected
industries to come together to solve these problems in private
sector talks. If they do, we will empower government
enforcement so that all consumer devices comply with the
private sector's solution. If they don't, the government's
technologists and engineers, in consultation with the private
sector will step in."
See, prepared testimony of Michael
Eisner (Ch/CEO of Disney), Peter
Chernin (P/COO of News Corp.), Leslie
Vadasz (EVP of Intel), Andreas
Bechtolsheim (Cisco), James
Meyer (Thomson Multimedia), Robert
Perry (Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America), and Jack
Valenti (P/CEO of the Motion Picture Association of
America). |
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| FCC Sets Comment Deadlines
in Broadband Framework NPRM |
2/28. The Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) published a notice
in the Federal Register regarding its notice of proposed rule
making (NPRM) regarding the appropriate regulatory framework
for broadband access to the Internet over wireline facilities.
The FCC announced this NPRM
[58 pages in PDF] at its February 14 meeting. This Federal
Register notice summarizes the NPRM and sets deadlines.
Comments are due April 15, 2002. Reply comments are due May
14, 2002.
This NPRM states that "we examine the appropriate
classification for wireline broadband Internet access service.
As discussed more fully below, we tentatively conclude that,
as a matter of statutory interpretation, the provision of
wireline broadband Internet access service is an information
service. In addition, we tentatively conclude that when an
entity provides wireline broadband Internet access service
over its own transmission facilities, this service, too, is an
information service under the Act. In addition, we tentatively
conclude that the transmission component of retail wireline
broadband Internet access service provided over an entity’s
own facilities is ``telecommunications´´ and not a
``telecommunications service.´´ We seek comment on these
tentative conclusions and ask additional questions with regard
to the proper classification of wireline broadband Internet
access service."
See, Federal Register, February 28, 2002, Vol. 67, No 40, at
pages 9232 - 9242. |
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| People and Appointments |
2/28. President Bush announced his intent to nominate Christopher
Conner and John Jones to be U.S. District Court
Judges for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. See, WH
release.
2/28. Ronnie Chan will not seek re-election to the
Board of Directors of Motorola
at the May 6, 2002 annual shareholders meeting. See, Motorola
release.
2/28. Kevin Donovan was named Assistant Director of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) in charge of the New York Office. He will replace Barry
Mawn, who will retire in March, 2002. See, FBI
release. |
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| House Committee Holds
Hearing on Export Controls |
2/28. The House Armed
Services Committee held a hearing on Export Administration
Act of 2001.
The Senate version of the bill, S 149,
is sponsored by Sen. Mike
Enzi (R-WY). It would modernize export control laws. It
would ease restraints on most dual use products, such as
computers and software, but increase penalties for violations.
The Bush Administration supports this version of the bill. The
Senate passed it by a vote of 85 to 14, five days before the
terrorist attacks of September 11, over the opposition of a
small group of Senators who assert that it would harm national
security.
The House
International Relations Committee passed a much different
version just before the August 2001 recess, HR 2581,
also titled the Export Administration Act of 2001.
Administration officials testified in favor of the Senate
version of the bill. The Committee heard testimony from J.D.
Crouch (Assistant Secretary of Defense for International
Security Policy), James Jochum (Asst. Secretary of Commerce
for Export Administration), and Vann Van Diepen (Acting Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State).
Rep. Bob Stump
(R-AZ), Chairman of the Committee, said in his opening
statement that "reform is always in the eye of the
beholder and the concern over this bill is that it will open
the floodgates and allow some of our most sensitive
technologies to flow into labs and arsenals of nations who
have consistently demonstrated hostility to United States'
interests and could one day become military adversaries".
See also, prepared testimony of Joseph
Christoff (GAO), Edmund
Rice (Coalition for Employment Through Exports), Gary
Milhollin (Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control). |
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| More News |
2/28. The Office of the U.S.
Trade Representative (USTR) published a notice
in the Federal Register stating that it will hold a public
hearing concerning negotiation of a U.S. Singapore Free
Trade Agreement on Monday, April 1, 2002. The USTR stated
that the agreement is "expected to include provisions on
trade in services, investment, trade related aspects of
intellectual property rights, competition, government
procurement, electronic commerce, trade related environmental
and labor matters, and other issues." Parties wishing to
testify orally at the hearings must provide written
notification of their intention by 12:00 NOON, Monday, March
18, 2002. See, Federal Register, February 28, 2002, Vol. 67,
No. 40, at pages 9349 - 9351.
2/28. The U.S.
Court of Appeals (7thCir) issued its opinion
US
v. Kah Choon Chay, an appeal from the sentence
in a case involving criminal copyright infringement by
auctioning counterfeit computer games on eBay and other
auction sites. Chay plead guilty in U.S.
District Court (WDWisc) to one count of trafficking in
counterfeit documents and packaging for computer programs in
interstate commerce in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2318(a). The
District Court sentenced him to eight months of incarceration,
three years of supervised release, and $49,941.02 in
restitution to the owners of the copyrighted programs that he
had pirated. The Appeals Court affirmed.
2/28. The U.S. Chamber of
Commerce and the Privacy Leadership
Initiative (PLI) released a document
[57 pages in PDF] titled "Privacy Made Simple: A Do It
Yourself Guide to Privacy Management". See also, Chamber
release.
2/28. The Senate
Judiciary Committee postponed its business meeting, which
had been scheduled for Thursday morning, February 28.
2/28. The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications
and Information Administration (NTIA) published a notice
that it is seeking to fill the position of Associate
Administrator for Spectrum Management. This is a Senior
Executive Service position that pays $125,972 - $138,200.
Applications are due by March 27. This position is the
principal official of the executive branch of government
responsible for the management of the federal government's use
of the radio frequency spectrum. |
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| Friday, March 1 |
The House will not be in session.
12:00 NOON. The Progress and
Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a panel discussion on
multi channel video services. The participants will be David
Gardy (TVWorldwide), Link Hoewing (Verizon), Chirstopher
McLean (National Strategies), Steven Vest (NCTA), Randolph May
(PFF), and Jeffrey Eisenach (PFF). See, PFF
release. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.
Deadline to submit public comments to the FTC
regarding the use of disgorgement as a remedy for competition
violations, including those involving the Hart Scott Rodino
Premerger Notification Act, FTC Act, and Clayton Act. See, FTC
release
and Federal Register notice.
Deadline to file comments with the FCC in response
to its notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the appropriate
regulatory requirements for incumbent local exchange carriers'
provision of broadband telecommunications services. The FCC
adopted this NPRM at its December 12 meeting. See, notice
in the Federal Register.
Deadline to submit reply comments to the FCC regarding Verizon's Section
271 application to provide in region interLATA services in
the state of Vermont. See, FCC
notice [PDF]. |
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| Monday, March 4 |
| 9:30 AM. The U.S.
Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in ACS
Anchorage Inc v. FCC, 01-1059. Judges Edwards, Randolph
and Williams will preside. Location: 333 Constitution Ave.,
NW. |
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| Tuesday, March 5 |
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The NIST's
Computer System
Security And Privacy Advisory Board (CSSPAB) will meet to
discuss computer security legislation, privacy issues,
critical infrastructure protection, the USPS's electronic
postmark products, and other matters. The CSSPAB advises the
Secretary of Commerce and the Director of NIST on security and
privacy issues pertaining to federal computer systems. This is
the first day of a three day meeting. See, notice
in Federal Register. Location: GSA, 7th and D Streets, SW,
Room 5700.
10:00 AM. The Senate
Appropriations Subcommittee's Subcommittee on Commerce,
Justice, State, and the Judiciary will hold a hearing
regarding the Department of
Justice (DOJ) budget request
for FY2003. Location: Room 138, Dirksen Building.
10:00 AM. The U.S.
Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Marketel
International v. Priceline.com, No. 01-1279, an appeal
from the U.S. District
Court (NDCal). Marketel filed a complaint against
Priceline alleging misappropriation of trade secrets,
misappropriation of business model, conversion, false
advertising, and entitlement to a correction of inventorship
of Priceline's U.S.
Patent No. 5,794,207. Marketel appeals the District
Court's dismissal of some of its claims. Location: Courtroom
203, LaFayette Square, 717 Madison Place, NW.
10:30 AM - 4:30 PM. The President's Council of Advisors on
Science and Technology (PCAST) will hold a meeting to discuss
the science and technology of combating terrorism, federal
spending on science and technology research and development,
demand issues related to deployment of broadband
infrastructure, and other topics. See, notice
in Federal Register. Location: Board Room, American Institute
of Architects, 1735 New York Ave., NW.
6:00 - 8:15 PM. The FCBA will
host a CLE seminar titled "U.S. Spectrum Policy:
Convergence or Co-Existence?" This is Part I of a two
part series. Part II will be on April 16. See, program agenda. |
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| Wednesday, March 6 |
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The NIST's
Computer System
Security And Privacy Advisory Board (CSSPAB) will meet.
This is the second day of a three day meeting.
10:00 AM. The U.S.
Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in NeoMagic
v. Trident MicroSystems, No. 01-1631, an appeal from the
U.S. District Court (DDel) in a patent infringement and
antitrust case involving embedded memory semiconductors. The
District Court granted summary judgment of non infringement to
Trident
MicroSystems. Location: Courtroom 201, LaFayette Square,
717 Madison Place, NW.
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM. The SEC will hold
a roundtable meeting to examine proposals for better
protecting investors by reforming financial disclosure and
auditor oversight. The morning session (10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON)
will focus on financial disclosure. The afternoon session
(2:00 - 4:00 PM) will focus on auditor oversight. See, SEC notice.
Location: Douglas Room, Basement, SEC.
10:30 AM. The Senate
Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Antitrust,
Competition, and Business and Consumer Rights will hold a
hearing titled "Dominance in the Sky: Cable Competition
and the Echostar Direct TV Merger". Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) will
preside. The scheduled witnesses include Charlie Ergen (Echostar),
Eddy Hartenstein (DirecTV), Gene Kimmelman (Consumers Union),
Robert Pitofsky (Arnold & Porter), and Jay Nixon (Attorney
General of Missouri). Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.
12:15 PM. The FCBA's
Online Committee will host a brown bag lunch. Anthony Rutkowki
of Verisign will
address "Broadband, When? Verisign's' View." RSVP to
Scott Harris at sharris
@harriswiltshire.com. Location: Lampert & O'Connor,
5th Floor, 1750 K Street, NW.
2:30 PM. The Senate
Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications will
hold a hearing on wireless communications infrastructure.
Location: Room 253, Russell Building. |
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| Thursday, March 7 |
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The NIST's
Computer System
Security And Privacy Advisory Board (CSSPAB) will meet.
This is the third day of a three day of meeting.
9:30 AM. The U.S.
Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in USTA
v. FCC. Judges Edwards, Randolph and Williams will
preside. Location: 333 Constitution Ave., NW.
10:00 AM. The Senate
Appropriations Subcommittee's Subcommittee on Commerce,
Justice, State, and the Judiciary will hold a hearing on the
administration's proposed budget estimates for FY 2003 for the
SEC and the FCC . Location:
Room 253, Russell Building.
10:00 AM. The Senate
Banking Committee will hold a hearing. Federal Reserve
Chairman Alan Greenspan will deliver his semi annual
report on monetary policy. Location: Room 106, Dirksen
Building. |
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