| SEC Official Addresses
Regulation of Internet Advisors |
4/8. Paul Roye, Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission's
(SEC) Division of Investment Management gave a speech
titled "Priorities in Investment Adviser Regulation"
in Washington DC.
He stated that the SEC "will hold an open meeting this
Thursday to consider whether to propose a new rule under the
Advisers Act that would permit certain investment advisers
that provide advisory services through interactive Internet
websites to register with the Commission, even if they do not
have $25 million in assets under management. The staff's
recommendation is driven, in part, by the development of
Internet technology that was not prevalent in 1997 when NSMIA
was implemented."
He added that SEC Chairman Harvey
Pitt has stated that the SEC is committed to reviewing and
modernizing all of the federal securities regulations.
"This means that we have to analyze and revise our rules,
as necessary, in the wake of technological developments in the
marketplace," said Roye.
He concluded that "Now is an exciting time to be involved
in the regulation of investment advisers. Adviser regulation
has entered the electronic age through the IARD;
adviser registration information now is available to the
public with just the click of a mouse rather than a laborious
search of microfiche; and adviser regulations currently are
the subject of a top to bottom review." |
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| DOC Official Addresses Tech
Policy |
4/10. Bruce Mehlman, Assistant Secretary for Technology
Policy at the Commerce
Department, gave a speech
titled "Our Digital Future" to the European American
Business Council Digital Economy Workshop in Brussels,
Belgium. He advocated the benefits of new technologies,
reviewed Bush administration policy initiatives, and discussed
pending technology related policy debates.
He stated that "IT brings a history of minimal
regulation, robust competition, rapid innovation, market
driven economics and falling prices. Telecom has traditionally
been heavily regulated, monopolistic, slow to change, heavily
subsidized and often marked by high prices. While convergence
of information technology and telecom creates wonderful
innovations and new services for consumers, it's giving
regulators and policy leaders fits."
He then recited some of the issues that are giving regulators
fits, such as "how to protect privacy without hindering
innovation when data is so easily captured, manipulated and
transmitted; how to ensure security in the face of distributed
and multinational hackers; and how to pursue law enforcement
when wrong doers may live offshore or conceal their
communications".
He also asked rhetorically, "How do we protect
intellectual property rights in an online world with peer to
peer technologies, without strangling innovation in products
and services?" He also identified two other troublesome
issues: spectrum management, and providing widespread access
to new technologies.
Mehlman also listed the areas where the Bush administration
has adopted policies. He stated that "the President has
proposed aggressive investments in research & development.
Our 2002 budget crossed the $100 billion mark for the first
time (at $103B), and we have proposed $112 billion for 2003 --
the largest R&D commitment in our nation's history. We're
also asking Congress to make the R&D tax credit permanent,
to reflect the importance of private investments in R&D,
which are twice as large as government's. We're seeking to
strengthen intellectual property protection -- both by
devoting far more resources to the U.S. Patent & Trademark
Office (21% more in 2003), and by enforcing IPR
aggressively at home and abroad. Additionally, the President
has asked Congress to devote another $200 million to improving
math and science teaching at the K-12 level".
He listed the President's tax initiatives, including tax cuts,
and accelerated depreciation schedules. He also stated that
the administration is supporting legislation
to give the President trade promotion authority, and legislation
"to reform the Export Administration Act to make it less
burdensome for our technology companies to export new tech
equipment consistent with national security concerns."
He also stated that "the President's technology
priorities include hardening the nation's defenses, especially
critical infrastructure protection and cyber security". |
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| FBI's Internet Fraud Data |
4/9. The Department of
Justice's (DOJ) Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
issued a press
release in which it stated that its Internet Fraud
Complaint Center (IFCC) has written a statistical report
on Internet fraud complaints.
The FBI stated that the top five categories of complaints are
auction fraud (43% of all complaints), non deliverable
merchandise and non payment (20.3%), Nigerian letter fraud
(15.5%), credit and debit card fraud, and confidence fraud.
See, FBI
release.
These finding differ from those of a similar report released
by the Federal Trade Commission
(FTC) on January 23, 2002. The FTC ranking the top ten
categories of consumer complaints to the FTC: Identity Theft
(42%), Internet Auctions (10%), Internet Services and Computer
Complaints (7%), Shop at Home and Catalog Offers (6%), Advance
Fee Loans and Credit Protection (5%), Prizes/ Sweepstakes/
Gifts (4%), Business Opportunities and Work at Home Plans
(4%), Foreign Money Offers (4%), Magazines and Buyers Clubs
(3%), Telephone Pay Per Call/ Information Services (2%). See, FTC release.
The FTC report is based upon 204,000 consumer complaints of
all kinds submitted in 2001. The FBI report is based upon
49,711 Internet related complaints in 2001.
The IFCC web site states that it is a "partnership"
and "venture" of the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center
(NW3C). The NW3C web site states that it is funded by the DOJ. |
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| People and Appointments |
| 4/9. AOL Time Warner announced that Barry Schuler, who has
been Chairman and CEO of America Online, "will lead a new
division that will develop digital services for AOL Time
Warner platforms. Mr. Schuler, who will relinquish his
responsibilities as head of America Online, will continue to
report to AOL Time Warner COO-elect Bob Pittman. Mr. Pittman,
who ran America Online's operations before the AOL Time Warner
merger, will take over Mr. Schuler's operating
responsibilities at AOL. Mr. Pittman will also continue to
fulfill his responsibilities as COO-elect of AOL Time
Warner." See, AOLTW
release. |
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| House to Vote on Digital
Tech Corps Bill |
4/9. The House Rules
Committee adopted a rule for
consideration of HR
3925, the Digital Tech Corps Act of 2002. It
adopted an open rule that provides for one hour of debate.
This bill would create an information technology worker
exchange program between the federal government and the
private sector in order to promote the development of
expertise in IT management. It provides that "On request
from or with the agreement of a private sector organization,
and with the consent of the employee concerned, the head of an
agency may arrange for the assignment of an employee of the
agency to a private sector organization or an employee of a
private sector organization to the agency". |
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| USTR Zoellick Addresses
Chinese History, Globalization, and WTO |
4/9. U.S. Trade
Representative (USTR) Robert
Zoellick gave a speech
at the Chinese University of Finance and Economics in Beijing,
China. He spoke about Chinese history, globalization, and
China's entry into the World
Trade Organization (WTO).
He stated that "As a WTO member, China is supposed to
greatly reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers. It will need to
improve protection and enforcement of intellectual property
rights. It needs to allow companies engaged in
telecommunications, computer services, banking, securities,
insurance, freight forwarding, and wholesale and retail
distribution to invest in China, providing services of value
and spurring domestic competition.
He added that "As a result, China's membership in the WTO
will mean lower prices, greater consumer choice, greater
enterprise efficiency, enhanced productivity, higher wages,
new jobs, and more opportunity. Our goal now should be to work
together to assure that China's commitments are implemented
faithfully and on schedule, and to assure that China, in turn,
can utilize WTO rules to prevent other countries from closing
their markets unfairly to Chinese goods. I want to repeat a
key phrase -- we should work together."
Zoellick also offered his advice regarding the requirements
for a successful modern economy, including: "A
transparent system of laws and regulations that are enforced
fairly, eliminating opportunities for corruption and
favoritism. Protection of property rights, so that people can
keep the fruits of their labor and build for the future for
themselves and their children. A pricing system reflecting
supply and demand of individual consumers and businesses, not
state imposed diktats. Competition, so people are inspired to
give their best, to improve, to reach within themselves to tap
their full potential."
Zoellick is on a trip to China and Japan on April 8-11. |
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| IPR News |
4/5. The U.S.
Court of Appeals (FedCir) issued its opinion in In
Re Jagannadha Sastry, an appeal from the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) Board of
Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI). Sastry and other
individuals filed U.S. patent application No. 07/945,865 in
1992. It pertains to a composition for treating and preventing
HIV. A USPTO examiner rejected all of the claims of the
application for obviousness and lack of enablement. The
USPTO's BPAI reversed the enablement rejection, but sustained
the obviousness rejection. The Court of Appeals affirmed.
4/9. The U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) published a notice
in Federal Register stating that it will hold a public hearing
on May 16 on its proposed plan to eliminate the paper patent
and trademark registration collections from its public search
facilities, and to transition to electronic patent and
trademark information collections. The USPTO is seeking public
comment on issues related to this proposal. The USPTO is also
seeking input on whether any governmental entity or non-profit
organization is interested in acquiring the paper patent and
trademark registration collections to be removed from the
USPTO's public search facilities. The deadline to submit
requests to speak at the public hearing is April 30. See,
Federal Register, April 9, 2002, Vol. 67, No. 68, at Pages
17055 - 17060.
4/9. The Recording Industry
Association of America (RIAA) announced that it
"reached an out of court settlement for $1 million with Integrated Information Systems,
Inc. (IIS), a high tech company that ran a dedicated
server permitting its employees to access and distribute
thousands of infringing MP3 files over the corporate
network." See, RIAA release.
4/9. The Recording Industry
Association of America (RIAA) announced "a $3.2
million settlement with DOCdata USA, a
CD manufacturing facility, to resolve claims of copyright
infringement." See, RIAA release. |
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| More News |
4/9. The Commodity Futures
Trading Commission's (CFTC) published a notice
in Federal Register stating that its Technology Advisory
Committee will hold a public meeting on April 24 on technology
related issues in the financial services and commodity
markets, including cyber security. See, Federal Register,
April 9, 2002, Vol. 67, No. 68, at Page 17060.
4/9. The Cato Institute
announced that it will host a panel discussion titled "A
Progress Report on the HDTV Transition" on May 1. The
scheduled speakers are Mark Cuban (HDNet), Thomas Hazlett
(Manhattan Institute), Rick Chessen (FCC), David Donovan
(Association for Maximum Service Television), Michael
Calabrese (New America Foundation), and Richard Wiley (Wiley
Rein and Fielding). See, agenda and
online registration page.
4/9. The World Trade
Organization (WTO) and Cambridge
University Press (CUP) launched a new scholarly journal
named the World Trade Review. WTO Director General Mike Moore
stated that "The mission of this Journal is to publish
peer reviewed articles which contribute to public discussion
and debate about the multilateral trading system". See, WTO
release. |
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| About Tech Law Journal |
Tech Law Journal publishes a free access web site and
subscription e-mail alert. The basic rate for a subscription
to the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert is $250 per year. However, there
are discounts for entities with multiple subscribers. Free one
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subscriptions are available for law students, journalists,
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after writing. See, subscription
information page.
Contact: 202-364-8882; E-mail.
P.O. Box 4851, Washington DC, 20008.
Privacy
Policy
Notices
& Disclaimers
Copyright 1998 - 2002 David Carney, dba Tech Law Journal. All
rights reserved. |
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| Wednesday, April 10 |
The Supreme Court of the U.S. is on recess until Monday,
April 15.
The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. It
may take up HR
3925, the Digital Technology Corps Act of 2002.
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM. The FTC and the Antitrust Division of the
Department of Justice will continue their joint hearings
titled Competition and Intellectual Property Law and Policy
in the Knowledge Based Economy. See, agenda.
Location: Room 432, FTC, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.
10:00 AM. The House
Commerce Committee will mark up HR
3833, the Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency
Act of 2002. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.
10:00 AM. The House
Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce,
Justice, State, and the Judiciary will hold a hearing on the proposed
budget for the FTC for FY2003. FTC
Chairman Timothy Muris will testify. Location: Room H-309, The
Capitol.
10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The AEI Brookings Joint Center for
Regulatory Studies will host a panel discussion titled Microsoft:
Making the Punishment Fit the Crime. The participants will
be Robert Hahn
(AEI Brookings), Robert Litan (AEI Brookings), George
Priest (Yale Law School), Steve
Salop (Georgetown Law Center), and Richard
Schmalensee (MIT Sloan School of Management). See, online registration
page. Location: Wohlstetter Conference Center, AEI, 12th
Floor, 1150 17th Street, NW.
POSTPONED TO APRIL 23. 10:30
AM. The Senate
Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Antitrust,
Competition, and Business and Consumer Rights will hold a
hearing titled Cable Competition and the ATT Comcast Merger.
12:00 NOON. The Congressional
Internet Caucus Advisory Committee will host a luncheon
panel discussion on the use of e-learning to train
workers. The scheduled participants include Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT), Rep. Johnny Isakson
(R-GA), Jerry Berman (Internet
Education Foundation), Rich Moran (Accenture), Daniel
Hamburger (Indeliq),
Greg Priest (SmartForce),
and retired Brig. Gen. Frank Anderson (Defense Acquisition University).
RSVP to RSVP @netcaucus.org
or call Danielle at 202 637-4370. Location: Reserve Officers
Assoc., 1st and Constitution Ave., NW.
2:00 PM. The House
Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Select Revenue
Measures will hold a hearing the Extraterritorial Income
Regime. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building. |
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| Thursday, April 11 |
The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business.
9:30 AM. The House
Financial Services Committee will hold a meeting to mark
up several bills, including HR
3763, the Corporate and Auditing Accountability,
Responsibility, and Transparency Act of 2002, and HR
3764, a bill to authorize appropriations for the SEC. Location:
Room 2128, Rayburn Building.
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM. The FTC and the Antitrust Division of the
Department of Justice will continue their joint hearings
titled Competition and Intellectual Property Law and Policy
in the Knowledge Based Economy. See, agenda.
Location: Room 432, FTC, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.
10:00 AM. The House
Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the
Internet, and Intellectual Property will hold an oversight
hearing titled The U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office: Operations and Fiscal Year
2003 Budget. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.
10:00 AM. The House
Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce,
Justice, State, and the Judiciary will hold a hearing on the
proposed budget for FY 2003 for the Office of Homeland
Security. Location: Room 2359, Rayburn Building.
10:00 AM. The House
Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Trade will hold
a hearing on normal trade relations with Russia.
Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.
10:00 AM. The Senate
Judiciary Committee will hold an executive business
meeting. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.
11:00 AM. The Cato Institute
will host a book forum on Free
Trade under Fire [Amazon], by Douglas Irwin
(Dartmouth). The speakers will be Irwin, Robert Litan
(Brookings) and Steve Clemons (New America Foundation). Lunch
will follow. See, CATO notice.
Location: 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.
12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Business
Software Alliance will host its 5th Annual "Talking
Technology" forum luncheon. Mark Forman, Associate
Director for Information Technology and E-Government with the Office of Management and
Budget, will speak. RSVP to Jeri Clausing at 202 530-5127
or jeric @bsa.org.
Location: Reserve Officers Assoc., One Constitution Ave., NE. |
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| Friday, April 12 |
The House will not be in session.
10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The American
Enterprise Institute (AEI) will hold a panel discussion
titled Is Open Source the Future of Software? The
participants will be Robert Hahn (AEI
Brookings), James
Bessen (Research on Innovation), David
Evans (NERA), Lawrence
Lessig (Stanford), and Brad Smith (Microsoft). See, AEI online registration
page. Location: 1150 17th St., NW.
10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The National
Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS)
will hold an open business meeting. See, notice
in Federal Register. Location: NCLIS, 1110 Vermont Ave., NW,
Suite 820.
The FCBA will
host a luncheon featuring Nancy
Victory, Director of the NTIA. April 9 was the
deadline to RSVP to Wendy Parish at wendy @fcba.org.
Deadline to submit comments to the FCC regarding
its annual report to Congress regarding progress made in
achieving the objectives of the Open Market Reorganization for
the Betterment of International Telecommunications Act (ORBIT
Act). The next FCC Orbit Act report is due to Congress on June
15, 2002. See, FCC
notice [PDF]. |
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| Monday, April 15 |
| Extended deadline to submit comments to the FTC
regarding proposed changes to its Telemarketing Sales Rule.
See, notice
in Federal Register and FTC release. |
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| Tuesday, April 16 |
6:00 - 8:15 PM. The FCBA will
host a CLE seminar titled U.S. Spectrum Policy: Convergence
or Co-Existence? This is Part II of a two part series.
6:30 - 8:30 PM. The IP Law Forum of the Women's Bar
Association of DC and the IP Section of the District of
Columbia Bar will host a panel discussion and reception titled
"What Judges Want: Effective Advocacy in Technology
Cases". The speakers will be Judge Paul Michel of the U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir),
Judge Yvette Kane of the U.S. District Court (WDPenn), and
Judge Marvin Garbis of the U.S. District Court (DMd). The
price to attend is $40. For more information, contact the WBA
at 202 639-8880. Location: Auditorium, The Hirshhorn Museum,
7th Street and Independence Ave., SW. |
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