| Representatives Write
Powell Re UNE Pricing |
9/16. Rep. Billy
Tauzin (R-LA), Rep.
John Dingell (D-MI), and 102 other member of the House of
Representatives signed a letter
[8 pages in PDF] to Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Michael Powell
regarding unbundled network element (UNE) pricing.
The letter states that "The current system of federal
pricing and unbundling rules and state regulatory orders is
eroding investment in telecommunications networks, threatening
the development of innovative new services and retarding the
development of full scale facilities based competition
envisioned by the Act. At the heart of this regulatory regime
is the requirement that Regional Bell Operating Companies
provide elements of their network, particularly combinations
of elements, to other telecommunications companies at prices
far below their actual cost."
The letter argues that "While Congress prescribed the
unbundled network element form of competition, in no way did
it intend to establish, nor even foresee the possibility of
establishing, a system that forces companies to provide
network elements at prices far below their cost. Such a regime
undermines the Act's goal of promoting facilities based
competition by discouraging telecommunications companies
competing with the Bells from investing in their own new
networks. It simply makes no economic sense for these
companies to spend the billions of dollars necessary to invest
in their own networks if they can instead rent access to Bell
company networks and resell their service at an enormous
profit."
Moreover, "The current regulatory system has also caused
dramatic reductions in capital spending by the Bell companies,
who have neither the incentive nor the financial ability to
make investments in their networks that end up subsidizing
their direct competitors."
The letter concludes that "It is important for the FCC to
address the wholesale pricing issue in a manner that restores
the proper incentives for investment in the telecommunications
sector."
Rep. Tauzin and Rep. Dingell are the Chairman and ranking
Democrat on the House
Commerce Committee, which oversees the FCC. The bipartisan
list of signatories includes many other members of the
Committee. |
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| Senators Introduce
Nanotechnology R&D Bill |
9/17. Sen. Ron Wyden
(D-OR), Sen. Joe
Lieberman (D-CT) and Sen.
George Allen (R-VA) introduced the 21st Century
Nanotechnology Research and Development Act. See, joint release
and Lieberman statement.
In addition, the Senate
Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Science, Technology,
and Space held a hearing on nanotechnology. See, prepared
testimony of witnesses in PDF: Richard
Russell (Office of Science and Technology Policy), Mark
Modzelewski (NanoBusiness Alliance), Stan
Williams (Hewlett Packard), and Nathan
Swami (Initiative for Nanotechnology, Commonwealth of
Virginia).
The Commerce Committee is scheduled to mark up the bill on
Thursday, September 19. |
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| Grassley and Baucus
Organize Meeting on FSC/ETI Issue |
9/16. Sen. Max Baucus
(D-MT) and Sen. Charles
Grassley (R-IA) wrote a letter
[PDF] to Rep. Bill Thomas (R-CA), Rep. Charles Rangel
(D-NY), USTR Robert
Zoellick, and Assistant Treasury Secretary Kenneth Dam
inviting them to a legislative executive working group meeting
on September 24 on the Foreign Sales Corporation (FSC) and
Extraterritorial Income Exclusion Act (ETI) issue.
Baucus and Grassley are the Chairman and ranking Republican on
the Senate Finance
Committee, which has jurisdiction of tax and certain trade
matters. They wrote that "We firmly believe that
resolution of this issue will require a long term
collaborative effort, involving tax and trade policy makers in
Congress and the Administration. At the September 24 meeting,
we expect to give directions to our respective staffs to meet
on a regular basis, with the goal of developing specific
recommendations that can win support from the Congress and the
Administration."
Rep. Thomas and Rep. Rangel are the Chairman and ranking
Democrat on the House
Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction in the
House on this issue.
The proposed meeting will be at 5:30 PM on September 24 in
Room 211 of the Dirksen Building, but will be closed to the
public.
The World Trade Organization
(WTO) held that the FSC tax regime constitutes an illegal
export subsidy. So, Congress passed replacement legislation,
the ETI, which the WTO also held to constitute an illegal
export subsidy. On August 30, the WTO issued a Decision
of the Arbitrator [46 pages in PDF] which authorizes the
EU to impose $4 Billion in countermeasures, or retaliatory
tariffs.
Last Friday, September 13, the European Union published a document
[14 pages in PDF] titled "Notice relating to the WTO
Dispute Settlement proceeding concerning the United States tax
treatment of Foreign Sales Corporations (FSC) -- Invitation
for comments on the list of products that could be subject to
countermeasures", which identified a list of products
which could be subject to retaliatory tariffs. The list
includes many electronics products.
The U.S. can avoid the imposition of EU retaliatory tariffs by
repealing the ETI. Rep. Thomas introduced HR 5095,
the American Competitiveness and Corporate Accountability Act
of 2002, on July 11, 2002, to address the WTO's rulings
regarding the FSC and ETI. See also, Rep. Thomas' summary
of HR 5095. However, no action has been taken on the bill.
There is no replacement legislation pending in the Senate. |
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| Bush Campaigns on Judicial
Appointments |
9/17. President Bush gave a speech
in Nashville, Tennessee, at a Lamar Alexander for Senate
event. He repeated his argument that voters should elect
Republican Senators so that his judicial nominees will get
confirmed.
He stated that "I appreciate the fact that I'll be able
to work with Lamar on making sure the good people who I
nominate to our federal benches will not only get a fair
hearing, but a speedy hearing, and will get approved. The
country got to see what happens when the Senate gets so
politicized that they won't give people a fair hearing when it
comes to judicial nominees."
Bush continued: "I named a fabulous woman out of Texas,
named Priscilla Owen to the 5th Court. And they distorted her
record. She had the highest ranking from the ABA, and yet
having listened to the rhetoric coming out of a highly
politicized and polarized committee, you never would have
realized how qualified she is. She was turned down for purely
political purposes. For the sake of a federal judiciary that
is strong and solid, we need United States senators like Lamar
Alexander who will be fair and reasonable and realistic, and
will not play politics with the President's judicial
nominees." |
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| People and Appointments |
| 9/17. Hank Brown resigned as a Director of Qwest Communications. He had
been a director of Qwest and its predecessor,
U S WEST since 1998. He is also a former U.S.
Senator and Representative from Colorado. See Qwest
release. |
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| CEA CEO Criticizes Record
and Movie Companies on Copyright |
9/17. Consumer Electronics
Association (CEA) P/CEO Gary Shapiro gave a speech
titled "The Campaign to Have Copyright Interests Trump
Technology and Consumer Rights" at the Optical Storage
Symposium, in San Francisco, California. He bluntly criticized
the copyright related actions and arguments of the movie and
record companies, and their supporters in the Congress and
Justice Department.
He stated that "We are at a critical juncture in history
when the inevitable growth of technology is conflicting with
the rising power and strength of copyright owners. How we
resolve this tension between copyright and technology will
define our future ability to communicate, create and share
information, education and entertainment."
Shapiro reviewed recent development in technologies for the
reproduction, storage, and transmission of all types of media.
He stated that "Based on these and similar threats the
content community has gone on a scorched earth campaign --
attacking and burning several new recording and peer to peer
technologies. They have used the Congress, media and courts to
challenge the legality of technology and morality and legality
of recording."
He asserted that the "consumer electronics companies have
been working with both the recording and motion picture
industries on developing technological measures that meet the
needs of both industries", but the "copyright
community has declared war on technology and is using
lawsuits, legislatures and clever public relations to restrict
the ability to sell and use new technologies."
He reviewed and criticized recent legal actions by record and
movie companies (which he refers to as "the copyright
community'), bills recently filed in Congress with the support
of record and movie companies, and a recent speech by a
Department of Justice official regarding possible criminal
prosecution of peer to peer networks.
He also discussed the debate and media campaigns regarding the
characterization of downloading copyrighted content on the
Internet. He stated that "The entire theme of the
copyright community is that downloading off the Web is both
illegal and immoral. But is it either? I submit it is neither.
Despite the assertions of the Justice Department, downloading
is not illegal."
He singled out for criticism John Malcolm's speech
to the Progress and Freedom
Foundation in August. Malcolm is the Deputy Assistant
Attorney General in charge of the Computer
Crimes and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS).
Shapiro elaborated that "fair use rights are guaranteed
to consumers by statute, and applied judicially on a case by
case basis. This means that, while some consumer practices
ultimately could be adjudicated as either fair use or
infringement, there is scant basis for challenging them as
criminal."
He also argued that downloading copyrighted content is not
immoral, or comparable to stealing tangible property. "To
make downloading immoral, you have to accept that copyrighted
products are governed by the same moral and legal principles
as real property, thus the recent and continuous reference by
the copyright community to label downloading as
stealing. But the fact is that real and intellectual
property are different and are governed by different
principles. Downloading a copyrighted product does not
diminish the product," said Shapiro.
He said that the "recording industry and motion picture
industry should stop complaining so much and look for
technological solutions to its own problems."
He also offered his advice for policy makers, including:
"advances in technology should not be restricted",
"claims of harm should be greeted with great
skepticism", "copyright owners have a high burden of
proof before any technology should be restricted",
"copyright owners should continue developing ways to
protect their content at the source, rather than insisting
that the burden should be on the device that plays it",
and "any restrictions on technology should be narrowly
crafted, define limitations on abuse by copyright owners and
define legitimate consumer recording rights and
expectations".
He concluded that "If the play button becomes the pay
button, our very ability to raise the world's standard of
living and education will be jeopardized." |
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| More News |
9/17. A grand jury of the U.S. District Court (NDCal)
returned an indictment against Dennis Baker charging one count
of criminal copyright infringement in violation of 17 U.S.C.
§ 506(a)(1) and 18
U.S.C.§ 2319(b)(1). The U.S. Attorneys Office (USAO) for
the Northern District of California stated in a release
that Baker "operated a website in 1996 through which he
made pirated copies of business and game software available
for sale ... that had a retail value of approximately $2.4
million." The USAO further stated that Baker fled to
Malaysia after he learned of earlier charges against him.
However, the FBI tracked him, the State Department revoked his
passport, and Malaysia revoked his authorization to remain and
put him on a plane back to the U.S. He is being held without
bail.
9/17. California Gov. Gray Davis signed AB 2238,
sponsored by Assemblymember Dick Dickerson (R-Redding). The
provides, in part, that "No person shall knowingly post
the home address or telephone number of any elected or
appointed official, or of the official's residing spouse or
child on the Internet knowing that person is an elected or
appointed official and intending to cause imminent great
bodily harm that is likely to occur or threatening to cause
imminent great bodily harm to that individual."
9/17. AT&T stated in a release
that "The waiting period under the Hart Scott Rodino
Antitrust Improvements Act (the HSR Act) applicable to the
combination of Comcast Corporation and AT&T Broadband has
expired. At this time, the HSR Act no longer prohibits the
parties from closing the proposed transaction." AT&T
added that "The parties are still awaiting certain other
regulatory approvals and consents and continue to expect that
the transaction will close in the fourth quarter of
2002."
9/17. The U.S. Court
of Appeals (DCCir) held an en banc hearing in Ruggiero v.
FCC, No. 00-1100. On February 8, a three judge panel issued
its split opinion
holding unconstitutional the ban on issuance of low power FM
radio broadcast licenses to anyone who has previously engaged
in an unlicensed operation. |
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| About Tech Law Journal |
Tech Law Journal publishes a free access web site and
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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, September 18 |
The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business.
7:30 - 9:00 AM. The National
Association of Manufacturers will host a breakfast. Rep. Tom Davis
(R-VA) will speak on the upcoming elections. See, notice.
Location: Grand Hyatt Hotel, 1000 H Street, NW.
LOCATION CHANGE. 8:30 -
11:00 AM. The Alliance for
Public Technology (APT) and the High Tech Broadband
Coalition (HTBC) will host a half day conference titled
"From Debate to Deployment: Making Broadband Competition
Work for All Americans". The scheduled speakers include Kevin Martin
(FCC
Commissioner), Rhett Dawson (ITIC), Henry Geller (APT), John
Haring (Strategic Policy Research), Yardly Pollas (LA for Rep.
Bobby Rush (D-IL)), Paul Schroeder (APT), and Kathy Wallman
(Wallman Consulting). Breakfast will be served. Press contact:
Matt Bennett (APT), 202 263-2972 or mbennett @apt.org.
Location: Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Ave.,
NW.
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a three day meeting of the Computer System Security
and Privacy Advisory Board (CSSPAB). The agenda includes
(1) discussion of a CSSPAB privacy report, (2) discussion of a
CSSPAB baseline standards report, (3) updates on computer
security legislation, (4) an update by the OMB on privacy and
security issues, (5) an agency briefing on compliance with the
Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA), (6) and a
discussion of DMCA issues. Location: GSA, 7th and D Streets,
SW, 5700.
9:30 AM - 1:00 PM. The FCC will hold
an auction seminar for Auction No. 46 applicants. This is for
the 1670-1675 MHz band auction, scheduled for October 30,
2002. See, notice
with registration form [PDF]. Registration starts at 9:30
AM. The seminar begins at 10:00 AM. Location: FCC, 445 12th
Street, SW, Room 8-C245.
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The FCC's
Technological Advisory Council will hold a meeting. See, notice
in Federal Register. Location: FCC, 445 12th St., SW, Room
TW-C305.
10:00 AM. The Senate
Judiciary Committee will hold a hearings to examine
pending judicial nominations. See, notice.
Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.
10:00 AM. The House
Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the
Internet, and Intellectual Property will hold a hearing on HR 5119,
the Plant Breeders Equity Act of 2002. Audio web cast.
Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.
10:30 AM. The House
Ways and Means Committee will meet to mark up two bills,
one of which is HR __, the "Miscellaneous Trade and
Technical Corrections Act of 2002." Location: Room 1100,
Longworth Building.
12:15 PM. The FCBA's
Transactional Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch.
The topic will be FBI and CFIUS
issues that arise in telecommunications transactions. The
scheduled speakers are Richard Salgado (FBI) and Gay Sills and
Jack Dempsey (CFIUS). RSVP to wendy @fcba.org.
Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Room 8-B411.
1:00 PM. The House
Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration, Border
Security, and Claims, and the House Ways and Means
Committee's Subcommittee on Social Security will hold a
joint oversight hearing titled "Preserving the Integrity
of Social Security Numbers and Preventing Their Misuse by
Terrorists and Identity Thieves". Location: Room 1100,
Longworth Building.
2:00 PM. The House
Government Reform Committee's Subcommittee on Technology
and Procurement Policy will hold a hearing on S 803
and HR 2458,
the E-Government Act of 2002. These are companion bills
sponsored by Sen. Joe
Lieberman (D-CT) and Rep. Jim Turner
(D-TX). The Senate passed S 803 on June 27, 2002. The
scheduled witnesses include Linda Koontz (GAO),
Mark Forman (OMB),
Pat McGinnis (Council for Excellence in Government), and Roger
Baker (CACI). Press
contact: David Marin, 225-1492.
6:00 - 8:00 PM. The FCBA will
host a CLE seminar titled "The Wake-Up Call --
Telecommunications Policies One September Later". The
scheduled speakers include Marsha
MacBride (FCC Chief of Staff and Director of the FCC's
Homeland Security Policy Council), Howard Waltzman (Counsel to
House Commerce Committee), Owen Wormser (DOD Principal
Director for Spectrum, Space, Sensors & C3), Mike
Gallagher (NTIA),
Jeffery Goldthorp (FCC Designated Federal Officer, Network
Reliability and Interoperability Council). For more
information contact Laura Phillips at 202 842-8891 or Lauren
Van Wazer at 202 418-0030. RSVP to wendy @fcba.org.
Registrations and cancellations are due by 5:00 PM on
September 16. Location: Sidley Austin,
Conference Room 6-E, 1501 K Street NW.
TIME? The Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) will hold a
hearing on China's compliance with the commitments it made in
connection with its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
See, U.S. Trade Representative
(USTR) notice
in the Federal Register.
Day one of a two day Homeland Security Technology Expo
hosted by the Department of
Commerce's Technology Administration and Bureau of
Industry and Security. See, BIS
notice. For more information contact Cheryl Mendonsa
(202 482-8321). Location: DC Armory.
Deadline for the FCC to act on BellSouth's application
to provide in region interLATA services in the states of
Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South
Carolina. |
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| Thursday, September 19 |
The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business.
8:00 AM. The U.S. Chamber
of Commerce's National Chamber Litigation Center will host
a press briefing on the upcoming term of the Supreme Court. Charles
Cooper (Cooper &
Kirk) and Carter
Phillips (Sidley & Austin.
A continental breakfast will be served. RSVP to 202 463-5337
or nclc @uschamber.com.
Location: 1615 H Street, NW.
8:00 AM. Treasury Secretary Paul
O'Neill will speak at the American Business Conference
CEO's Fall Meeting. Location: Jefferson Hotel, 1200 16th
Street, NW.
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Day three of a three day meeting of the Computer System Security
and Privacy Advisory Board (CSSPAB).
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM. Subcommittees of the FCC's Public
Safety National Coordination Committee will hold meetings. The
Interoperability Subcommittee will meet at 9:00 - 11:30 AM.
The Technology Subcommittee will meet at 12:30 - 3:00 PM. The
will meet at 3:00 - 5:30 PM. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street,
SW, Room TW-C305 (Commission Meeting Room).
10:00 AM. The Senate
Judiciary Committee will hold a business meeting. See, notice.
Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.
10:00 AM. The Senate
Commerce Committee will meet in executive session to mark
up pending legislation. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.
10:00 AM. The Senate
Banking Committee will hold a hearing on financial
privacy and consumer protection. Mike Hatch (Atty. Gen. of
Minnesota), William Sorrell (Atty. Gen. of Vermont), Jim
Kasper (North Dakota House of Representatives), Phyllis
Schlafly (Eagle Forum),
Edmund Mierzwinski (USPIRG), Fred Cate (Indiana Univ. School
of Law), and John Dugan (FSCC).
Location: Room 538, Dirksen Building.
11:00 AM. The Cato Institute
will host a panel discussion titled "Copy Fights: Can
Politicians or Entrepreneurs Best Protect Intellectual
Property?" The scheduled speakers are Rep. Howard Berman
(D-CA), Gigi Sohn (Public
Knowledge), Phil
Corwin (Butera
& Andrews), Troy Dow (MPAA), Ed
Black (CCIA),
and James
Miller (Smith College). Lunch will follow the program.
See, notice.
Location: Cato Institute, 1000 Massachusetts Avenue, NW.
12:00 NOON. The Progress and
Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a luncheon panel
discussion titled "The Future of Telecom".
The participants will be Ivan Seidenberg (Verizon), Randolph May
(PFF), Scott Cleland (Precursor Group), Blair Levin (Legg
Mason), and Brett Swanson (Gilder Technology Report).
To register, contact Rebecca Fuller at rfuller @pff.org or 202
289-8928. Location: Ronald Reagan Building, Pavilion Room,
1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.
2:00 PM. The Senate
Judiciary Committee's Antitrust Subcommittee will hold an
oversight hearing on enforcement of the antitrust laws.
Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI)
will preside. See, notice.
Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.
4:00 PM. Michael
Birnhack (Professor at the University of
Haifa Faculty of Law) will give a lecture titled "The
Denial of the Copyright Law / First Amendment Conflict"
as a part of the George
Washington University Law School Intellectual Property
Workshop Series. For more information, contact Prof.
Robert Brauneis at 202 994-6138. Location: Faculty
Conference Center, 5th Floor Burns, 716 20th Street, NW.
6:00 - 8:00 PM. The FCBA's
Young Lawyers Committee will host a Career Night for law
students and new attorneys. FCC
Commissioner Kevin Martin
will participate. For more information, contact Yaron Dori at
202 637-5600 or ydori
@hhlaw.com or Ryan Wallach at 202 429-4759 or rwallach @willkie.com.
RSVP to Wendy @fcba.org.
Location: Hogan & Hartson, 555 13th Street, NW.
Day two of a two day Homeland Security Technology Expo
hosted by the Department of
Commerce's (DOC) Technology Administration and Bureau of
Industry and Security (BIS). See, BIS
notice. For more information contact Cheryl Mendonsa
(202 482-8321). Location: D.C. Armory.
President Bush is scheduled to release a document that states
a national strategy for cyber security. |
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| Friday, September 20 |
The House will not be in session.
8:30 - 10:00 AM. Harold
Furchtgott Roth and Gregory Sidak
of the American Enterprise
Institute (AEI) will host a press breakfast titled
"Is the FCC Moving Too Slowly?". The AEI states that
this is a "media only" event. RSVP Veronique Rodman
at vrodman @aei.org or
call Heather Dresser at 202 862-5884. Location: AEI, 11th
Floor Conference Room, 1150 17th Street, NW.
9:30 AM - 12:30 PM. The FCC's Public
Safety National Coordination Committee will meet. See, notice
in Federal Register. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW. |
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| Tuesday, September 24 |
11:00 AM. The Cato Institute
will host a policy forum titled "Digital Pearl Harbor:
How Real Is the Cybersecurity Threat, and Who's Responsible
Anyway?" The scheduled speakers include Howard
Schmidt (Federal Office of Cybersecurity), Ken Silva
(Verisign), Ira Parker (Genuity), and Scott Charney
(Microsoft). See, notice and
online registration page. Lunch will follow the program.
Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.
12:15 PM. The FCBA's
Young Lawyers Committee will host a brown bag lunch to
"discuss FCC's recent order mandating that consumer
electronics manufacturers install digital television tuners in
almost all new TVs, as well as TV interface devices such as
VCRs". The scheduled speakers are Lynn Claudy (NAB),
Michael Petricone (CEA), and
Valerie Schulte (NAB). RSVP to Ryan Wallach at rwallach @willkie.com.
Location: Willkie Farr &
Gallagher, 1875 K Street, NW.
CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC. 5:30
PM. Meeting of a legislative executive working group on the
Foreign Sales Corporation (FSC) and Extraterritorial Income
Exclusion Act (ETI) issue. Location: Room 211, Dirksen
Building.
Deadline to submit opposition comments to the Copyright Office (CO)
regarding the motion for stay filed by various broadcasters of
the CO's final rule that provides that transmissions of a
broadcast signal over a digital communications network are not
exempt from copyright liability under 17
U.S.C. § 114(d)(1)(A). See, notice
in the Federal Register. |
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