3/31. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released a document titled "Initial Offer" [120 pages in PDF] that it submitted to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in which it proposes to further open access to the U.S. services sectors. The offer addresses a wide range of services, including telecommunications, information, legal, financial and accounting services.

Telecommunications services are addressed at pages 46-50 of the Initial Offer. Information services are addressed at pages 50-52. Cable services are addressed at page 52. There is also an attached item titled "Reference Paper", at pages 99-101 that further addresses telecommunications services issues, including interconnection, universal service, spectrum allocation, and independent regulators.

The USTR also released a summary [3 pages in PDF] that states that the offer "Allows foreign ownership of cable television networks and allows non-U.S. satellite companies to broadcast directly to American viewers. Expanded ability for foreign companies to provide information services, such as Internet access, directly to U.S. customers."

USTR Robert Zoellick (at right) stated in a release that "Americans lead the world in providing top quality services that improve lives, lower prices, spark new inventions and expand consumer choices. In effect, America has made a down payment in opening services markets -- we're already reaping many of the economic benefits of being quite open ... Last summer we called on our trading partners to lower their barriers to American services. We continue to press for these barriers to be lowered so that American workers and businesses are treated fairly, and today's offer moves this process forward."

Robert Holleyman, P/CEO of the Business Software Alliance (BSA), praised the USTR offer. He stated in a release that "This offer is an important step toward achieving barrier free e-commerce within the WTO ... With the exponential growth of the Internet, barrier-free trade rules that guide the computer and related services industry is becoming increasingly critical to the industry’s ability to deliver its services abroad."

Holleyman added that "Software and computer companies, which depend on trade for their commercial viability, strongly support multilateral trade liberalization efforts through the World Trade Organization (WTO). Trade liberalization through the WTO is critical to the high tech industry’s growth and increased contribution to the world economy, and to the rapid development of the industry in lesser-developed markets."

Similarly, Caroal Ann Bischoff, General Counsel of the Competitive Telecommunications Association (CompTel), stated in a release that "We are pleased with the leadership being demonstrated by the USTR in the WTO's Doha agenda, and hope that this will encourage similar pro-competitive offers in telecommunications services ... The liberalization of services will no doubt open up billions of dollars worth of opportunities for CompTel's members and their trading partners around the world."

3/31. The U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) issued its opinion [45 pages in PDF] in MetroNet Services v. U S West, a antitrust case involves the market for small business local telephone services in Seattle, Washington. The Appeals Court reversed the District Court's grant of summary judgment to U S West (now Qwest). In so doing, the Appeals Court rejected U S West's argument that it has antitrust immunity. This issue is already before the Supreme Court in the Trinko case.

U S West is the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) in the Seattle Tacoma, Washington area. It sold a product named "Centrex", volume discounted line access and calling features, such as voice mail and call forwarding, to businesses with more than 20 phone lines. MetroNet purchased Centrex from U S West and resold it to aggregations of small businesses with 20 or less phone lines. Then, in 1997, U S West imposed a 20 line per location limitation, which eliminated MetroNet's ability to resell by this method.

MetroNet filed a complaint in U.S. District Court (WDWash) against U S West alleging that its imposition of per location pricing violates Section 2 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 2, by illegally maintaining a monopoly over the market for small business local telephone services in Seattle, and by denying MetroNet access to an essential facility. The District Court granted summary judgment to U S West. MetroNet appealed.

The Court of Appeals reversed. MetroNet introduced sufficient evidence to proceed to trial on it monopolization and essential facilities claims.

U S West also argued on appeal that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 preempts the antitrust claims. It cited Goldwasser v. Ameritech, 222 F.3d 390 (7th Cir. 2000) as authority. The Court of Appeals rejected this argument, relying on two other Appeals Court opinions, Law Offices of Curtis V. Trinko v. Bell Atl. Corp., 305 F.3d 89 (2d Cir. 2002), and Covad Communications Co. v. Bellsouth Corp., 299 F.3d 1272 (11th Cir. 2002).

The Supreme Court granted certiorari in the Trinko case on March 10, 2003. See, TLJ story titled "Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in Verizon v. Trinko". The Supreme Court's Order List [14 pages in PDF], at page 4, states that "The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted limited to the following Question: ``Did the Court of Appeals err in reversing the District Court's dismissal of respondent's antitrust claims?´´"

3/31. The Supreme Court denied certiorari in Strand v. Verizon North, No 02-1227. See, Order List [11 pages in PDF], at page 3. This case involves a challenge to a Michigan Public Services Commission (MPSC) order requiring incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) to offer network elements and services to competitors through published tariffs and to combine unbundled network elements (UNEs) for competitors. (John Strand was sued as Chairman of the MPSC.)

The U.S. District Court (WDMich) held both invalid. The U.S. Court of Appeals (6thCir) issued an opinion in which it affirmed as to the tariff requirement, but vacated as to the UNEs requirement. The Supreme Court denied the petition for writ of certiorari, without opinion.

See also, story titled "Sixth Circuit Rules in Verizon v. Strand", TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 545, November 8, 2002.

3/31. The House Homeland Security Committee amended and approved HR 1416, the Homeland Security Technical Corrections Act of 2003.

3/27. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced HR 1481, a bill to extend for five years the moratorium enacted by the Internet Tax Freedom Act. It was referred to the House Judiciary Committee. The Committee's Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law is scheduled to hold a hearing on HR 49, the "Internet Tax Nondiscrimination Act", which would permanently extend the ban, at 10:00 AM on April 1.

3/25. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), and Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) introduced HR 1417, the Copyright Royalty and Distribution Reform Act of 2003, a bill to replace copyright arbitration royalty panels (CARP) with a Copyright Royalty Judge, to be appointed by the Librarian of Congress. It was referred to the House Judiciary Committee. Rep. Smith and Rep. Berman are the Chairman and ranking Democrat on the Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property (CIIP) Subcommittee. Rep. Conyers is the ranking Democrat on the full Committee. The CIIP Subcommittee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the bill at 2:00 PM on April 1.

3/31. President Bush announced his intent to nominate Josette Shiner to be a Deputy U.S. Trade Representative. She is currently Associate U.S. Trade Representative for Policy and Communications. See, White House release.

3/31. The U.S. District Court (DMass) issued its Memorandum and Order [38 page PDF scan] in U.S. v. Boston Scientific Corp., The District Court held that Boston Scientific violated a consent order of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and acted in bad faith, and harmed people with heart disease, when it reneged on its obligation to license its intravascular ultrasound technology to a competitor, Hewlett Packard. The Court imposed a fine of $7,040,000 on Boston Scientific. See also, FTC release and DOJ release

3/31. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) and 18 other Senators wrote a letter to President Bush urging him "to launch negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with New Zealand". The President recently launched negotiations for a FTA with Australia.

3/27. The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI), a Democratic party think tank, issued a policy briefing regarding unsolicited e-mail, or spam. It wrote that "Congress should pass a spam bill this year that contains, at a minimum, the following provisions: Impose criminal penalties for falsifying header information ... Require a standard identifying label such as "ADV" in the subject line of all unsolicited commercial email ... Create a "universal opt-out" by authorizing and appropriating funds for the Federal Trade Commission to create a Do Not Spam list ... Preempt state laws regulating spam ... Work with other countries to establish a unified strategy for dealing with the spam problem".

3/31. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released an Order of Forefeiture [11 pages in PDF] in which it fined WebNet Communications $1,200,000 for repeated willful acts of unauthorized changing of consumers' carriers, or slamming.

The House will meet at 10:30 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. The House will consider several non tech related items under suspension of the rules.

9:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on several judicial nominations: Carolyn Kuhl (to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit), Cecilia Altonaga (Southern District of Florida), and Patricia Minaldi (Western District of Louisiana). Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Commitee's Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law will hold a hearing on HR 49, the "Internet Tax Nondiscrimination Act". The scheduled witnesses include James Gilmore (former Governor of Virginia and former Chairman of the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce), former Rep. Jack Kemp (R-NY), and Harris Miller (Information Technology Association of America). Webcast. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary will hold a hearing on the FY 2004 budget for the Department of Justice. Location: Room 192, Dirksen Building.

10:30 AM. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge and U.K. Home Secretary David Blunkett will hold a press conference. This will follow a meeting between the two are scheduled to discuss security of cyber and physical infrastructures, information and intelligence sharing, the sharing of best practices, joint training exercises, border and transportation security, biometrics, research and development, and science and technology. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) further announced that "media ... must arrive at the Back Gate at the Department of Homeland Security before 10:15 AM to attend the event." Location: DHS, Massachusetts and Nebraska Aves., NW.

2:00 PM. The House Judiciary Commitee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property will hold a hearing on HR 1417, the "Copyright Royalty and Distribution Reform Act". Webcast. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

POSTPONED. Day two of a two day event hosted by the Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) titled "Member Fly-In". For more information, contact Catherine Parsons at 202 331-2130 x106.

Deadline to file Form 499A [34 pages in PDF], the Annual Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet, with the Universal Service Administrative Company's (USAC).

The House will meet at 10:00 PM for legislative business.

9:30 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee's Communications Subcommittee will hold a hearing
on universal service subsidies, and policies that may ensure future stability and sufficiency. The scheduled witnesses include Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy, Carson Hughes (Telepax), Joel Lubin (AT&T), Matthew Dosch (Comporium Communications), Robert Orent (Hiawatha Communication), William Gillis (Center to Bridge the Digital Divide, Washington State University), Charles Robinson (Alaska Commnuications System), Jack Rhyner (TelAlaska), and Dana Tindall (General Communications, Inc.). Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on several pending nominees, including that of Clay Johnson to be Deputy Director for Management at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

11:30 AM - 2:00 PM. Anne Mulcahy, Ch/CEO of Xerox, will speak at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce program titled "From Survival to Success: Leading in Turbulent Times". See, notice. Location: U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 1615 H Street, NW.

1:00 - 3:00 PM. The President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) will hold a meeting via conference call. The meeting is closed to the public. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 21, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 55, at Page 13967.

The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Dastar Corporation v. Twentieth Century Fox Film, a case involving whether Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a), requires an independent showing that consumers will likely be confused by a defendant's false designation of origin or false or misleading description or representation of fact. Dastar made a video that copied extensively from a TV program (that had entered the public domain) without crediting the source. Twentieth Century Fox prevailed in the courts below on a Lanham Act claim.

The House will meet at 10:00 PM for legislative business.

10:00 AM. The Senate Appropriations Committee's VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the FY 2004 budget for the National Science Foundation and the Office of Science Technology Policy (OSTP). Location: Room 138, Dirksen Building.

11:00 AM- 12:00 NOON. Charles McQueary, Under Secretary for Science and Technology, at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), will speak at a program titled "Homeland Security Business Forum: Science and Technology Under DHS". See, notice and registration pages. The price to attend is $35 for members and $100 for non members. Location: U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 1615 H Street, NW.

12:00 NOON. John Muleta, Chief of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireless Telecommunications Bureau will speak at the Land Mobile Communications Council's annual meeting. Location: Loews L'Enfant Plaza Hotel.

3:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property will hold a hearing on HR__, the "United States Patent and Trademark Fee Modernization Act of 2003". James Rogan, Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) will testify regarding this and the USPTO's 21st Century Strategic Plan. Webcast. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

3:30 PM. Pamela Samuelson (Professor, UC Berkeley) will give a lecture titled "Freedom to Tinker, Freedom to Learn: A Constitutional Interest in Reverse Engineering". For more information, contact Julie Cohen at  jec@law.georgetown.edu. Location: Georgetown University Law Center, Faculty Lounge, 600 New Jersey Ave., NW.

Day one of a two day conference hosted by the University of Maryland's Center for Intellectual Property titled "Copyright in the Digital Age: Challenges Facing the Academy". The agenda includes sessions on the TEACH Act, peer to peer file copying, and the DMCA. Location: Greenbelt Marriott, Maryland.

The House will meet at 10:00 PM for legislative business.

Day one of a two day conference hosted by the University of Maryland's Center for Intellectual Property titled "Copyright in the Digital Age: Challenges Facing the Academy". The agenda includes sessions on the TEACH Act, peer to peer file copying, and the DMCA. Location: Greenbelt Marriott, Maryland.

8:00 AM. Phil Bond, Under Secretary of Commerce for the Technology Administration (TA), will deliver a speech titled "Growth and Policy Implications of Nanotechnology" at the National Nanotechnology Initiative 2003 Conference. For more information, contact Connie Correll at connie.correll@ta.doc.gov or 202 482-1065. Location: Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert St, NW.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Sprint Corp v. FCC, No. 02-1129. Judges Sentelle, Rogers and Garland will preside. Location: 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Wireless Telecommunications Committee will host a luncheon. The speaker will be John Muleta, Chief of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. The price to attend is $15. Cancellations and/or RSVPs are due by 5:00 PM on Tuesday, April 1. RSVP to Wendy Parish at wendy@fcba.org. Location: Sidley Austin, 1501 K Street, NW, Conference Room 6E.

6:00 PM. Deadline to submit applications to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for planning and construction grants for public radio and nonbroadcast facilities under the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP). See, notice in the Federal Register, March 5, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 43, at Pages 10609 - 10615.

The Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) will hold a Committee Leadership Meeting. For more information, call 202 466-2396. Location: Ronald Reagan International Trade Center.

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO APRIL 17. Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) [MS Word] regarding "Additional Spectrum for Unlicensed Devices Below 900 MHz and in the 3 GHz Band". Unlicensed devices would include, among other things, 802.11. See, notice in Federal Register, January 21, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 13, at Pages 2730-2733. See also, story titled "FCC Announces Notice of Inquiry Re More Spectrum for Unlicensed Use" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 566, December 12, 2002. For more information, contact Hugh Van Tuyl in the FCC's Office of Engineering & Technology at hvantuyl@fcc.gov or 202 418-7506. This is OET Docket No. 02-380.

Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) regarding the establishment of a petition process to review eligibility of countries for the benefits of the Andean Trade Preference Act. See, notice in Federal Register, February 4, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 23, at Pages 5542-5545.