| House Passes Conference
Report on DOJ Authorization Bill, With Tech Provisions |
9/26. The House passed HR 2215,
the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriation
Authorization Act, by a vote of 400-4. See, Roll
Call No. 422. The bill does far more than authorize the Department of Justice (DOJ).
It is also the vehicle for passage of numerous other tech
related items.
It requires the DOJ to annually report certain information to
the Congress regarding use of the Carnivore e-mail
surveillance system; it changes the procedure for serving
certain search warrants upon ISPs; and, it modifies the
process for extending H1B visas for high tech workers. See,
stories below.
The DOJ authorization bill also amends the Copyright Act to
facilitate distance learning (TEACH Act); it amends the Patent
Act regarding inter partes reexamination, and other matters;
and, it includes the Madrid Protocol Implementation Act. See,
stories in tomorrow's issue.
The House passed an earlier version of HR 2215 on July
23, 2001. The Senate later passed its own version of the bill
on December 20, 2001. Hence, a conference committee was
required to adjust the differences between the two versions of
the bill. House and Senate conferees reached agreement on
September 25. The text of conference report is printed in the
Congressional Record for September 25, at pages H6586-6649.
The House has now passed the conference report. The Senate is
likely to pass it during the week of September 30, with the
President's signature shortly thereafter.
Rep. James
Sensenbrenner (R-WI), the Chairman of the House Judiciary
Committee (HJC), stated on the House floor on September 26
that "This conference report represents the first
Department of Justice authorization that will be signed into
law since 1979. The Department has gone for 23 years without
an authorization. This legislation will help the Congress to
do better oversight over the Department of Justice and will
allow the Department of Justice to do better oversight over
itself through improvements in the Inspector General's
Office."
He stated that "H.R. 2215 also ensures effective
market competition by making important improvements to federal
antitrust statues, and establishes a Commission to review the
adequacy of existing antitrust laws."
The bill provides, at Section 102, that "There are
authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2003, to carry
out the activities of the ... Antitrust Division:
$141,855,000." (Cong. Rec., at H6588.)
Rep. Sensenbrenner also said that the bill "promotes
America's economic competitiveness by strengthening
protections for intellectual property, modernizing the
application process at the Patent and Trademark Office, and
ensuring that holders of U.S. trademarks are accorded the full
protection of international law."
See also, HJC
release and HJC summary
of the conference report. |
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| DOJ Authorization Bill
Changes Procedure for Service of Search Warrants on ISPs |
9/26. The House passed the conference report on HR 2215,
the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriation
Authorization Act, by a vote of 400-4 on September 26. The
Senate will likely pass the bill during the week of September
30. The bill includes, among other things, a provision
regarding persons authorized to serve search warrants on
Internet Service Providers (ISPs). It removes the requirement
that a law enforcement officer be present.
Under current law, 18 U.S.C. § 3105 covers persons authorized
to serve search warrants. It specifies "an officer
authorized by law". Section 11010 of HR 2215 would
add a new subsection to 18 U.S.C. § 2703. This section is a
part of Title 121, which pertains to "Stored Wire and
Electronic Communications and Transactional Records
Access". This title was revised last year by the USA
PATRIOT Act.
The new subsection 2703(g) provides, in full, that "(g)
PRESENCE OF OFFICER NOT REQUIRED. -- Notwithstanding section
3105 of this title, the presence of an officer shall not be
required for service or execution of a search warrant issued
in accordance with this chapter requiring disclosure by a
provider of electronic communications service or remote
computing service of the contents of communications or records
or other information pertaining to a subscriber to or customer
of such service."
Thus, law enforcement authorities will be able to serve search
warrants on ISPs by fax, without having to travel in person
around the country. Likewise, ISPs will be more able to keep
law enforcement officers off of their premises. |
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| DOJ Authorization Bill
Includes Carnivore Reporting Provisions |
9/26. The House passed the conference report on HR 2215,
the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriation
Authorization Act, by a vote of 400-4 on September 26. The
Senate will likely pass the bill during the week of September
30. The bill includes, among other things, a provision
requiring the Department of
Justice (DOJ) to prepare annual reports for the Congress
regarding its use of the Carnivore. Carnivore is a
surveillance system installed on the facilities of Internet
Service Providers (ISPs). It is also known as DCS 1000. The
relevant language is found in Section
305 of the bill.
Currently, 18 U.S.C. § 3126 requires the DOJ to submit annual
reports to the Congress on the number of pen register orders
and trap and trace device orders.
These are both old telephone industry concepts. Originally, a
pen register recorded the numbers that were dialed or punched
into a telephone. Similarly, a trap and trace device captured
the number from which a communication was received. Prior to
passage of the USA PATRIOT Act, the definitions covered
"wire" communications only.
The issuance of pen register and trap and trace orders is
covered by § 3123. The terms pen register and trap and
trace device are defined at § 3127. The Congress amended
these sections last year in the USA PATRIOT Act. In
particular, the definitions of pen register and trap and trace
device were expanded to include electronic communications,
thus encompassing technologies such as the DOJ's Carnivore.
That it, law enforcement authorities may capture the
"To:" and "From:" addresses in e-mail
communications.
Also, currently, 18 U.S.C. § 2519 requires the DOJ to submit
reports pertaining to wiretap orders. These orders, also known
as Title III orders, allow the government to obtain the
content phone conversations, and now, electronic
communications. (Procedure for wiretap orders is covered in
§ 2518.)
Section 305 of the DOJ authorization bill, amends both
reporting requirements of both § 3126 and § 2519.
§ 3126, regarding pen register and trap and trace devices,
would be amended to also require the DOJ to report such things
as "the period of interceptions authorized by the order
... the offense specified in the order ... the number of
investigations involved ... the number and nature of the
facilities affected ... the identity of the applying
investigative or law enforcement agency making the application
for an order" and "the specific persons authorizing
the use of the DCS 1000 program".
§ 2519, regarding wiretap orders, would be amended to require
the DOJ to report a larger number of items. One of the
additional items would be "the number of orders in which
encryption was encountered and whether such encryption
prevented law enforcement from obtaining the plain text of
communications intercepted pursuant to such order". The
bill would also require reporting of information pertaining to
the numbers of resulting arrests, trials, convictions, and
motions to suppress (and grants).
However, there is nothing in the new Section 305 pertaining to
reporting to the Congress regarding orders issued under the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). |
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| DOJ Authorization Bill
Modifies Extension Procedure for H1B Visas |
9/26. The House passed the conference report on HR 2215,
the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriation
Authorization Act, by a vote of 400-4 on September 26. The
Senate will likely pass the bill during the week of September
30. The bill includes, among other things, a provision
regarding extension of H-1B visas.
These visas commonly enable technology companies to employ
aliens in positions for which there is a worker shortage among
U.S. citizens. Section 11030A of the bill provides for an
extension of H-1B status for aliens with lengthy
adjudications.
Rep. Lamar Smith
(R-TX) was the Chairman of the House Immigration Subcommittee
when the House passed the American Competitiveness in the 21st
Century Act (Public Law 106-313), also known as
"AC21", during the previous Congress. He explained
this new section during the floor debate. He said that it
"will permit H-1B aliens who have labor certification
applications caught in lengthy agency backlogs to extend their
status beyond the 6th year limitation or, if they have already
exceeded such limitation, to have a new H-1B petition approved
so they can apply for an H-1B visa to return from abroad or
otherwise re-obtain H-1B status."
He continued that "Either a labor certification
application or a petition must be filed at least 365 days
prior to the end of the 6th year in order for the alien to be
eligible under this section." The problem, said Smith, is
the the AC21 Act has an unforeseen defect. The Act provides
for an extension of H-1B status beyond 6 years in one year
increments, as long as an employment based immigrant visa
petition or employment based adjustment of status application
has been filed and at least 365 days have elapsed since the
filing of the petition or a labor certification application.
Smith said that the Department of Labor has slowed down its
processing, making this process useless for many otherwise
qualified applications. |
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| FCC to Hold Hearing on
Financial State of Telecom Industry |
9/27. The Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it will
hold an en banc hearing on "the current state of the
telecommunications sector and to discuss steps needed to
restore its financial health". It will be held on Monday,
October 7, from 2:00 - 4:00 PM, in the Commission Meeting
Room.
FCC Chairman Michael Powell
stated in a release
[PDF] that "The purpose of this hearing is to bring
together key voices from the financial and research
communities to discuss the financial state of the industry and
what measures need to be taken to revitalize and restore the
financial health of the telecommunications industry, restore
public trust and prevent further erosion from the current
financial turmoil in this sector". The FCC did not
release a list of participants. |
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| Sen. Baucus Calls WTO
Dispute Settlement Process a "Kangaroo Court" |
9/26. Sen. Max Baucus
(D-MT), the Chairman of the Senate Finance
Committee, gave a speech
[PDF] titled "U.S. Trade Law and the WTO". He that a
growing number of World Trade
Organization (WTO) panels "have inappropriately ruled
against U.S. trade laws ... I am deeply troubled about what
has been going on in the WTO dispute settlement process. These
proceedings are looking more and more like a kangaroo court
against U.S. trade laws. This trend must stop."
 Sen.
Baucus (at right) reviewed the creation of the WTO dispute
settlement process. He said that "During the Uruguay
Round negotiations, the U.S. fought for and achieved a system
of binding dispute resolution. We also fought for and won a
deferential standard of review for trade remedy cases. This
standard requires dispute settlement panels to defer to
national authorities when they make reasonable interpretations
of fact and WTO provisions. It was supposed to apply to all
trade remedy cases, but it has been improperly narrowed. And
even where notionally applied, it has been disrespected. As a
nation with trade laws that are transparent, fair, and
consistent with the express language of WTO agreements, we
thought we had little to fear and much to gain from a system
that would require our trading partners to bring their
practices into compliance with WTO standards."
Sen. Baucus next discussed the Foreign Sales Corporation (FSC)
tax regime, and its replacement, the Extraterritorial Income (ETI)
regime. The WTO has held that both of these constitute illegal
trade subsidies. On August 30 the WTO released a Decision
of the Arbitrator [46 pages in PDF] that authorizes the EU
to impose $4 Billion in countermeasures, or retaliatory
tariffs. On September 13 the European Union published a document
[14 pages in PDF] that lists thousands of product category
numbers that identify products that may be subject to
retaliatory tariffs. It includes many tech products.
Sen. Baucus stated that while the FSC/ETI matter "is not
a case involving trade laws, it is one more example of
arbitrary decision making. Of course, I believe the EC was
wrong even to bring this case. But on the merits, the
Appellate Body's decisions make an unworkable distinction
between countries that rely primarily on direct taxes (like
income taxes) and countries that rely primarily on indirect
taxes (like the VAT). Even though the Appellate Body
acknowledged countries' sovereign right to set their own tax
systems, they interpret WTO rules in a way that heavily favors
one particular model."
He added that he and Sen.
Charles Grassley (R-IA), the ranking Republican on the
Finance Committee, "convened a working group on FSC this
week, and I am hopeful that working together with our
colleagues in Congress and with the Administration, we can
evaluate all options and come up with possible
solutions."
The U.S. could avoid the imposition of retaliatory tariffs, by
repealing the ETI tax regime. Rep. Bill Thomas
(R-CA), the Chairman of the House Ways and Means
Committee, 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. However, no action has been taken
on the bill. Also, neither Sen. Baucus, nor any other member
of the Senate, has yet introduced a bill in that body.
Sen. Baucus asked rhetorically, "So, why have we lost all
these cases? What is going on here?" He answered that the
"WTO dispute settlement panels are legislating. They are
ignoring the deferential standard of review. They are
exceeding their powers to add to the obligations and diminish
the rights of the United States. In sum, they are making up
rules out of whole cloth -- substituting their judgment for
the negotiated agreement. They are making up rules that the
United States never negotiated, that Congress never approved,
and, I suspect, that Congress would not approve."
He concluded that "Overall, one thing is clear. WTO
proceedings must be governed by the rule of law, not simply an
abiding dislike on the part of our trading partners for some
aspects of U.S. trade policy. If this trend is not addressed,
this will be the next major trade issue. And it absolutely
threatens the legitimacy of the WTO." |
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| House Subcommittee Holds
Hearing on Berman P2P Piracy Bill |
9/26. The House
Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet
and Intellectual Property held a hearing on HR 5211,
sponsored by Rep.
Howard Berman (D-CA). The bill is sometimes referred to as
the "peer to peer piracy protection act", or as the
"Berman bill".
The bill would add a new Section 514 to Chapter 5 (pertaining
to copyright infringement and its remedies) of Title 17 (the
Copyright Act).
The bill provides, in part, that "Notwithstanding any
State or Federal statute or other law, ... a copyright owner
shall not be liable in any criminal or civil action for
disabling, interfering with, blocking, diverting, or otherwise
impairing the unauthorized distribution, display, performance,
or reproduction of his or her copyrighted work on a publicly
accessible peer-to-peer file trading network, if such
impairment does not, without authorization, alter, delete, or
otherwise impair the integrity of any computer file or data
residing on the computer of a file trader."
See also, story titled "Rep. Berman Introduces Bill to
Legalize Self Help Technologies to Disable P2P Piracy" in
TLJ
Daily E-Mail Alert No. 478, July 26, 2002.
 Rep. Berman (at right)
said in his opening
statement that while there have been "some truly
outrageous press attacks", the basic premise of the bill
is "that copyright owners should be able to use
reasonable, limited self help measures to thwart rampant,
notorious P2P piracy."
He continued that "Unauthorized distribution or
downloading of copyrighted works on public P2P networks is
illegal. To paraphrase the 9th Circuit in the Napster case:
public P2P users ``infringe at least two of the copyright
holders' exclusive rights: the rights of reproduction and
distribution. P2P users who upload file names to the search
index for others to copy violate a copyright holder's
distribution rights. P2P users who download files containing
copyrighted music violate a copyright holder's reproduction
rights.´´ Any attempt to say otherwise is a bald-faced
attempt to rewrite well settled law."
"Massive theft of copyrighted works is the predominant
use for public P2P networks today," said Rep. Berman.
"Rather than looking for solutions to piracy, P2P
companies are designing their systems to be better piracy
tools. Both Morpheus and KaZaA have upgraded their software
specifically to impair the ability of copyright owners to
proliferate decoy files through the networks. Based on these
facts, what can an objective person conclude other than that
P2P companies plan to profit from piracy, and have no intent
or desire to stop it?"
He stated that his bill "says that copyright owners
should not be liable for thwarting the piracy of their works
on P2P networks IF they can do so without causing harm."
He added that this is necessary because "a variety of
state and federal statutes can be read to create liability for
copyright owners engaging in such harmless self help."
Rep. Howard Coble
(R-NC), the Chairman of the Subcommittee, condemned critics of
the bill for using "scare tactics" and accusing the
bill's supporters of being "in the pockets of
Hollywood". Rep. Coble, who is an original cosponsor of
the bill, said in his opening
statement that Recent technological advances have created
a digital environment that is almost solely devoted to the
unauthorized use of copyrighted works. In other words, P-2-P
network customers are primarily using the program to obtain
music, movies, software, photographs and other works without
paying for the product."
Rep. Berman also wrote a speech
for delivery at a Cato
Institute panel discussion on peer to peer piracy on
September 19. However, he was unable to attend, and the
Minority Counsel for the Subcommitte, Alec French, delivered
the speech in his place.
Rep. Rick Boucher
(D-VA), a leading critic of HR 5211, said in his opening
statement that "I question at the outset what it is
the industry wants to do under the provisions of the bill that
it cannot do under current law. Spoofing is allowed now.
Decoys are allowed now. Redirection to legitimate websites is
allowed now."
He raised several questions about the bill. He stated:
"Would any of these intended self help mechanisms harm
innocent Internet users by slowing down the speed of a shared
network such as a cable modem service? Would any of these
mechanisms permit the recording industry to intrude into the
personal computer space of an Internet user? If so, what
are the implications of such intrusions for the privacy rights
of individuals? If any damage is done to hardware, software or
data owned by an Internet user, how would the damaged party
know who to proceed against? After all, no notice to him is
required under the bill that his space is being invaded or who
is doing the invading. What assurance will there be that
material which is protected under the fair use doctrine will
not be blocked or disables by a self help invasion?"
He stated that the music industry should "simply place
entire inventories on the Web for permanent portable
downloading at a reasonable price". He also promoted his
own legislative proposal "to facilitate the lawful
distribution of music across the Internet in a manner that
assumes that all owners of copyright are paid. Mr. Cannon and
I have introduced a comprehensive measure, the Music Online
Competition Act, each of the elements of which if enacted into
law would help achieve that goal." The two introduced
this bill, HR 2724,
or the "MOCA" bill, on August 2, 2001.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren
(D-CA), who represents a Silicon Valley district, also spoke
in opposition to the bill. She said that peer to peer
applications are the "next killer app", and give
consumers an incentive to embrace broadband.
Rep. Darrell Issa
(R-CA) and Rep. Robert
Wexler (D-FL) both delivered emphatic excoriations of peer
to peer piracy.
Rep. Marty Meehan
(D-MA) called the bill a "good first step". Rep. Bob Goodlatte
(R-VA) expressed support for efforts to combat piracy, and
criticized misuse of peer to peer networks. However, he also
said, "I have not yet cosponsored this bill."
Rep. Anthony Weiner
(D-CA) reflected on the parties to the debate. He said that
"there is an intramural battle going on in the technology
community." He added that for some companies that provide
both equipment and content, such as Sony, "it is not even
clear that companies are on the same page".
"Congress is not going to sit and watch this go on much
longer," said Rep. Weiner. He conclude that "no one
has made a good argument to me why this should be allowed to
continue."
See also, prepared statements of witnesses: Hilary
Rosen (CEO of the RIAA), Randy
Saaf (President of Media Defender), Phil
Galdston (songwriter), and Gigi Sohn
(founder of Public
Knowledge).
This hearing was likely Rep. Coble's last as Chairman of the
Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual
Property. He has served the maximum six years permitted by
House Republicans. Members took the opportunity to praise Rep.
Coble's hard work, fairness, and bipartisanship. Although,
most of the praise came from the Democrats on the
Subcommittee. |
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| FCC and NextWave Argue Over
Pleadings on Eve of Oral Argument |
9/27. The Supreme
Court will hear oral argument in FCC v. Nextwave, Case No.
01-653, and Arctic Slope Corp. v. Nextwave, Case No. 01-657,
on Tuesday, October 8. On September 27, the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) filed a pleading with the Supreme Court titled
"Response of the Federal Communications Commission to the
Respondents' Motion to File Supplemental Appendix". The
FCC stated in this latest pleading that the respondents'
September 20 "Motion to File a Supplemental
Appendix" is in fact a "sur-reply not provided for
by this Court's rules", and that the Court should not
accept it. The Acting Solicitor General, who is counsel for
the FCC, is shocked that someone else would raise matters in
an untimely manner.
NextWave obtained
spectrum licenses at FCC auctions in 1996. The FCC permitted
NextWave to obtain the licenses, and make payments under an
installment plan, thus creating a debtor creditor relationship
between NextWave and the FCC. NextWave did not make payments
required by the plan, and filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy
petition. The FCC cancelled the licenses. It then proceeding
to re-auction the disputed spectrum. The U.S. Court of Appeals
(DCCir) ruled in its June 22, 2001 opinion
that the FCC is prevented from canceling the spectrum licenses
by §525
of the Bankruptcy Code. The FCC petitioned the Supreme Court
for writ of certiorari. The Court granted certiorari.
The FCC argued in its May 6 Brief
that §525 "does not displace the FCC's exclusive
regulatory authority over spectrum licensing and the license
allocation mechanism established in 47
U.S.C. § 309(j)." See also, August
12 Reply
Brief [PDF]. |
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| More News |
9/27. The General Accounting
Office (GAO) released a report
[PDF] titled "Information Technology: Greater Use of Best
Practices Can Reduce Risks in Acquiring Defense Health Care
System". This report examines the Defense Department's
acquisition of the $1 Billion Composite Health Care System
(CHCS) II.
9/27. The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security
(BIS), formerly known as the Bureau of Export Administration
(BXA), published a notice
in the Federal Register that it is requesting comments on its
foreign policy based export controls set forth in the Export
Administration Regulations (EAR). This includes, among other
things, high performance computers and encryption products.
Comments are due by November 29, 2002. See, Federal Register,
September 27, 2002, Vol. 67, No. 188, at Pages 61047 - 61049.
9/27. The Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) announced that it has conditionally
approved Shell Oil Company's proposed acquisition of Pennzoil
Quaker State Company, subject to certain divestitures. See, FTC
release. Specifically, the FTC filed an administrative
complaint [5 page in PDF] against Shell and Pennzoil
Quaker State alleging that their merger plan violates Section
5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45, and
Section 7 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. § 18. Then, the
parties simultaneously settled the matter. See, Agreement
Containing Consent Order [4 pages in PDF], Decision and
Order [10 pages in PDF], and Order to Hold
Separate and Maintain Assets [17 pages in PDF]. See also,
the FTC's summary
[PDF] of the proceeding.
9/27. The New
Millennium Research Council hosted a panel discussion
titled "A WorldCom Phoenix: Is Bankruptcy a Tool for
Competitive Advantage?" See, release. |
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| House to Vote on Internet
Gambling Bill |
9/27. The House of Representatives has scheduled a vote on HR 556,
the Unlawful Internet Gambling Funding Prohibition Act, for
Tuesday, October 1. It will be considered under a suspension
of the rules, which means that no amendments are in order, and
that passage requires two thirds of those voting.
HR 556 is sponsored by Rep.
James Leach (R-IA). It provides, in part, that "No
person engaged in the business of betting or wagering may
knowingly accept, in connection with the participation of
another person in unlawful Internet gambling (1) credit, or
the proceeds of credit, extended to or on behalf of such other
person (including credit extended through the use of a credit
card); (2) an electronic fund transfer or funds transmitted by
or through a money transmitting business, or the proceeds of
an electronic fund transfer or money transmitting service,
from or on behalf of the other person; (3) any check, draft,
or similar instrument which is drawn by or on behalf of the
other person and is drawn on or payable at or through any
financial institution; or (4) the proceeds of any other form
of financial transaction as the Secretary may prescribe by
regulation which involves a financial institution as a payor
or financial intermediary on behalf of or for the benefit of
the other person."
The House
Financial Services Committee approved the bill by a vote
of 34-18 on October 31, 2001. See, story titled "House
Committee Passes Internet Gambling Funding Bill" in TLJ
Daily E-Mail Alert No. 299, Nov. 1, 2002.
There is another, broader, bill aimed at Internet gambling
pending in the House -- HR 3215,
the Combating Illegal Gambling Reform and Modernization Act.
It is sponsored by Rep.
Bob Goodlatte (R-VA).
HR 3215 contains language similar to the above quoted language
of HR 566. However, HR 3215 contains much more. For
example, it would amend 18 U.S.C. §§ 1081 and 1084, which
contain the definitions and prohibition, respectively, of the
Wire Act. The Wire Act currently criminalizes the use of
"wire communications facilities" in interstate
commerce for gambling. The Wire Act does not ban gambling.
This is a matter of state law. HR 3215 expands the
prohibition to cover all communications between states or with
other foreign countries. It maintains the principle that
gambling is otherwise a matter of state law. Hence, under
HR 3215, use of the Internet for gambling purposes would
become illegal (if interstate or foreign). |
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| Monday, September 30 |
The House will meet at 2:00 PM in pro forma session.
The Senate will meet at 1:00 PM for morning business. At 2:00
PM the Senate will resume consideration of HR 5005,
the Homeland Security Act.
9:00 AM - 4:30 PM. The President's
Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) will
hold an open meeting. The agenda includes: the science and
technology of combating terrorism, federal investment in
science and technology research and development, and
"demand issues that can speed the deployment of a 21st
Century broadband infrastructure". See, notice
in the Federal Register for pre-clearance requirements and
other information. Location: Loy Henderson Conference Room,
Department of State, 2201 C St., NW. The public must use the
23rd Street entrance.
Third of three deadlines to submit proposals to the NIST
for FY 2002 Advanced
Technology Program (ATP) funds. See, notice
in Federal Register.
Deadline to submit comments to the FCC in response
to it Public
Notice [7 pages in PDF] regarding relief for the Auction
No. 35 winners. The FCC asks for public comments regarding two
possible scenarios for providing relief to the winning bidders
in the January 2001 re-auction of spectrum previously
auctioned to NextWave: full refund and option to dismiss all
pending applications, and selective opt out for pending
applications.
Deadline to submit comments and Notices of Intention to
Participate to the Copyright
Office "royalty fees collected for calendar year 2000
under the section 111 cable statutory license". The CO
seeks comments "as to whether a Phase I or Phase II
controversy exists as to the distribution of those fees, and a
Notice of Intention to Participate in a royalty distribution
proceeding." See, notice
in the Federal Register.
Deadline to submit comments and proposals to the Copyright Office (CO)
regarding data format and delivery for record keeping
requirements to be established by the CO for the Section 112
and 114
statutory licenses. See, notice
[8 pages in PDF]. |
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| Tuesday, October 1 |
The House will meet at 10:30 AM for morning hour and at
12:00 NOON for legislative business. No votes are expected
before 6:30 PM. The House will consider numerous of measures
under suspension of the rules, including HR 556,
the Unlawful Internet Gambling Funding Prohibition Act,
sponsored by Rep. James
Leach (R-IA). See, Whip
Notice.
9:30 AM. The Senate
Commerce Committee will hold a hearings to examine the
government's role in promoting the future of the
telecommunications industry and broadband deployment.
The scheduled witnesses include Reed Hundt (former FCC
Chairman), Michael Price (Evercore Partners), Lawrence Lessig
(Stanford University), Peter Huber (Manhattan Institute), and
Craig Mundie (Chief Technical Officer of Microsoft). Location:
Room 253, Russell Building.
10:00 AM. The House
Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications
and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "Recording
Industry Marketing Practices: A Check-Up". Location:
Room 2123, Rayburn Building.
10:00 AM. The House
Government Reform Committee's Subcommittee on Technology
and Procurement Policy will hold a hearing titled
"Ensuring Coordination, Reducing Redundancy: A Review of
OMB's Freeze on IT Spending at Homeland Security
Agencies". Web cast. Location: Room 2154, Dirksen
Building.
10:00 AM. The Senate
Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing titled
"Narrowing the Nation's Power: The Supreme Court Sides
with the States". Sen.
Charles Schumer (D-NY) will preside. The Committee has not
yet released an agenda or witness list. Nevertheless, the
scope of the hearing could include the 1996 ruling in Seminole
Tribe of Florida v. Florida that the Congress lacks
authority under Article I of the Constitution to abrogate the
States' 11th Amendment immunity from suit in federal courts.
The Supreme Court extended this to the context of intellectual
property in the 1999 rulings in Florida
Prepaid v. College Savings Bank (invalidating the Patent
and Plant Variety Protection Remedy Clarification Act) and College
Savings Bank v. Florida Prepaid (invalidating the
Trademark Remedy Clarification Act). Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
and others have introduced S 2031,
the Intellectual Property Protection Restoration Act of 2002,
to stop states from evading liability for infringing
intellectual property rights by asserting 11th Amendment
immunity. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.
12:30 PM. U.S. Trade
Representative (USTR) Robert
Zoellick will give a luncheon address. Location: National Press Club,
Ballroom, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor. |
|
|
| Wednesday, October 2 |
The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business.
The agenda includes several non tech related matters. See, Whip
Notice.
10:00 AM. The Senate
Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing titled
"Stopping Child Pornography: Protecting our Children and
the Constitution". See, notice.
Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.
1:30 - 3:30 PM. The FCC's WRC-03
Advisory Committee Informal Working Group 7: Regulatory Issues
and Future Agendas will meet. Location: Boeing Company,
Arlington, VA. |
|
|
| Thursday, October 3 |
The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business.
The agenda includes several non tech related matters. See, Whip
Notice.
10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The AEI Brookings Joint Center will
host an event titled "High Stakes Antitrust: The
Clinton Legacy". Location: Stein Room, Brookings
Institution, 1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW.
1:00 - 3:00 PM. The FCC's Office
of Engineering and Technology will host a tutorial titled
"Free Space Optical Communications". FSO is
the practice of transmitting information, or data by means of
modulated beams of light through the atmosphere, rather than
through fiber optical cables. John Schuster, CTO of Terabeam Corporation, will
speak. See, notice
[PDF]. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room (TW-C305), 445
12th Street, SW.
The George Mason University (GMU) Tech Center and the
Federalist Society will host a one day conference on cyber
crime. Registration is free, except for persons seeking
CLE credit, who must pay $50. A continental breakfast and
buffet lunch will be provided. See, notice.
Location: GMU School of Law, 3301 Fairfax Drive, Arlington,
VA. |
|
|
| Friday, October 4 |
Target adjournment date for the House and the Senate.
The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. The
agenda includes several non tech related matters. See, Whip
Notice.
9:30 AM. The U.S.
Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Seven
Company Services, Inc. v. FCC, No. 01-1326. This is a
petition for review of a final order of the FCC regarding 47
U.S.C. § 224 (Section 703 of the 1996 Act) and rates,
terms and conditions of access for attachments by cable
operators and telecommunications carriers to utility poles,
ducts, conduits and rights of way. See, FCC order [78 pages in
PDF in three parts: 1
| 2
| 3]
titled "Consolidated Partial Order on
Reconsideration", released on May 25, 2001. This in the
proceedings titled "In the Matter of the Commission's
Rules and Policies Concerning Pole Attachments" (CS
Docket No. 97-98), and "In the Matter of the
Implementation of Section 703(e) of the Telecommunications Act
of 1996" (CS Docket No. 97-151). Judges Edwards, Rogers
and Garland will preside. Location: 333 Constitution Ave., NW.
9:30 - 10:45 AM. Paul Gallant (Chair of the FCC's Media
Ownership Working Group) will participate on a panel titled,
"Media Ownership and the Public Interest: The Role of the
FCC" at a Consumer
Federation of America's conference on energy and
communications regulation. Location: Radisson Barcelo Hotel.
12:15 PM. The FCBA's
Wireless Committee will host a luncheon titled "Wireless
Industry Consolidation: Is It Needed? Will It Happen?"
The scheduled speakers are Chris Murphy (Consumers Union), Rudy
Baca (Precursor Group),
and Lauren Patrich (FCC Commercial Wireless Division). The
price to attend is $15. RSVP to wendy@fcba.org. Registrations and
cancellations due by 5:00 PM on October 1. Location: Sidley Austin, 1501
K Street, NW, Conference Room 6E. |
|
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