5/29. Microsoft and AOL Time Warner announced that they settled the private antitrust lawsuit brought by AOLTW against Microsoft. They announced that Microsoft will pay $750 Million, license Internet Explorer royalty free, and work with AOLTW on digital media and digital rights management initiatives.

The two companies issued press releases. See, Microsoft release and AOLTW release. They also held a press conference. See, transcript of May 29, 2003, press conference of Bill Gates (Chairman and Chief Software Architect of Microsoft) and Richard Parsons (Ch/CEO of AOLTW). However, they did not release the text of a settlement agreement.

On January 22, 2002, AOLTW's Netscape unit filed a complaint in U.S. District Court (DC) against Microsoft alleging violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, the parallel sections of the District of Columbia Code, and the common law claim of tortious interference. AOLTW relied upon facts and conclusions of law previously adjudicated in the government's antitrust action against Microsoft. See, Judge Thomas Jackson's Findings of Fact [PDF] (November 5, 1999), Conclusions of Law (April 3, 2000), and Final Judgment (June 7, 2000). See also, opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) (June 28, 2001).

In addition, AOLTW alleged that Microsoft continued to engage in illegal and anticompetitive conduct. AOLTW sought treble damages and injunctive relief. See, story titled "AOL Time Warner Files Treble Damages Antitrust Suit Against Microsoft" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 352, January 23, 2002.

Microsoft and AOLTW announced that the settlement provides AOLTW with "a royalty-free, seven-year license to use Microsoft's Internet Explorer technologies with the AOL client." In addition, the settlement includes "a commitment by Microsoft to make available technical information contained in test or ``beta´´ versions of its Windows operating system to AOL at the same time that Microsoft makes them available to other independent software vendors. Microsoft will also ensure that AOL can participate in other programmatic offerings relating to the development of Microsoft's next-generation ``Longhorn´´ version of Windows on the same terms and at the same time as other independent software vendors."

It also provides for "a long-term, non-exclusive license agreement allowing AOL Time Warner to use, if it so chooses, Microsoft's entire Windows Media 9 Series digital media platform, as well as successor Microsoft digital rights management software."

The settlement also provides that the two companies will work together on several digital media and digital rights management initiatives.

The settlement also provides that "The two companies have agreed to explore ways to establish interoperability between AOL and MSN Instant Messenger networks in a manner that will protect consumer privacy, security and network performance."

Bill Gates stated that "There are a lot of provisions in this agreement. It puts any past issues behind us. It extends technical cooperation that we've had with AOL in areas like the browser. It creates a new technical relationship on the media-related issues, and so it's the most comprehensive media license that we've done."

Ed Black, P/CEO of the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), stated in a release that "We are pleased that AOL Time Warner was successful in extracting a substantial measure of compensation for the destruction of Netscape, however the settlement is a relatively small price to pay for illegally crushing the company that brought the worldwide web to most consumers."

He added that this settlement "demonstrates that only vigorous government enforcement and judicially imposed restraints will have any real chance to restrain Microsoft's ongoing unlawful conduct".

5/28. Jack Messman, Ch/P/CEO of Novell, wrote a letter to Darl McBride, P/CEO of The SCO Group (aka Caldera Systems), regarding Linux, and proprietary rights related to UNIX.

UNIX is an operating system created by Bell Laboratories, then a part of AT&T, beginning in 1969. Linux is an open source operating system. The name is derived from Linus Torvalds, its creator, and Unix. Novell, like IBM, sells Linux based products.

SCO previously wrote to Linux customers asserting that SCO's intellectual property has been incorporated into Linux without its authorization. Also, SCO sued IBM alleging misappropriation of trade secrets, tortious interference, unfair competition and breach of contract in connection with IBM's alleged use of Caldera's proprietary UNIX code.

On May 28, Messman wrote that Novell, not SCO, owns relevant patents and copyrights in UNIX technology. He also wrote that SCO's claims are so vague that they fail to put Novell on notice of any allegedly infringing Linux code, and thus, any obligation to address the claims.

SCO Letter to Linux Customers. SCO wrote a letter to Linux customers on May 12, 2003. It asserted that "SCO holds the rights to the UNIX operating system software originally licensed by AT&T to approximately 6,000 companies and institutions worldwide (the ``UNIX Licenses´´). The vast majority of UNIX software used in enterprise applications today is a derivative work of the software originally distributed under our UNIX Licenses. Like you, we have an obligation to our shareholders to protect our intellectual property and other valuable rights."

The letter continued that "In recent years, a UNIX-like operating system has emerged and has been distributed in the enterprise marketplace by various software vendors. This system is called Linux. We believe that Linux is, in material part, an unauthorized derivative of UNIX."

The letter elaborated that "much of Linux has been built from contributions by numerous unrelated and unknown software developers, each contributing a small section of code. There is no mechanism inherent in the Linux development process to assure that intellectual property rights, confidentiality or security are protected. The Linux process does not prevent inclusion of code that has been stolen outright, or developed by improper use of proprietary methods and concepts."

The letter did not allege with specificity what UNIX code has been incorporated into Linux. It merely stated that "We have evidence that portions of UNIX System V software code have been copied into Linux and that additional other portions of UNIX System V software code have been modified and copied into Linux, seemingly for the purposes of obfuscating their original source."

The letter also stated that "We believe that Linux infringes on our UNIX intellectual property and other rights. We intend to aggressively protect and enforce these rights."

SCO Lawsuit Against IBM. On March 6, 2003, SCO filed a complaint in state court in Utah against IBM. This complaint contains factual allegations regarding the proprietary rights in UNIX technology, and how SCO came to possess them.

SCO asserted in this complaint that "During or about 1992, SCO's predecessor in interest, Novell, Inc. (``Novell´´), acquired all right, title and interest in and to the UNIX Software Code from AT&T for $750 million in Novell stock. For branding purposes, Novell renamed UNIX as ``UnixWare.´´" (Complaint, at ¶ 43.)

It further alleged that "Upon SCO’s acquisition of the UNIX assets from Novell, SCO owned the rights to all UNIX software designed for Intel processors. SCO retained its original UNIX product, SCO OpenServer, which remained dedicated to the relatively low-power computing tasks identified above. SCO also had acquired UnixWare from Novell, which was designed for high-power computing tasks, and competed directly against the related UNIX products of Sun, IBM, SGI and others." (Complaint, at ¶ 44.)

SCO further alleged in its complaint (at ¶¶ 57-59), that "When SCO acquired the UNIX assets from Novell in 1995, it acquired rights in and to all (1) underlying, original UNIX software code developed by AT&T Bell Laboratories, including all claims against any parties relating to any right, property or asset used in the business of developing UNIX and UnixWare; (2) the sale of binary and source code licenses to various versions of UNIX and UnixWare; (3) the support of such products and (4) the sale of other products that are directly related to UNIX and UnixWare. ... As a result of this acquisition, SCO became the authorized successor in interest to the original position of AT&T Technologies with respect to all licensed UNIX software products. ... There are two primary types of software licensing agreements between AT&T Technologies and its various licensees:
a) The AT&T-related software agreements are collectively referred to hereinafter as the ``AT&T UNIX Software Agreements.´´
b) The AT&T-related sublicensing agreements are collectively referred to hereinafter as the ``AT&T UNIX Sublicensing Agreements.´´"

Finally, SCO alleged (at ¶¶ 59-60) that "The AT&T UNIX Software Agreements and the AT&T UNIX Sublicensing Agreements are sometimes collectively referred to hereinafter as the ``AT&T UNIX Agreements.´´" SCO concluded that SCO "is successor in interest to, and owner of, all contractual rights arising from the AT&T UNIX Agreements."

IBM filed its answer [17 page PDF scan] on April 30, 2003. It asserted that "IBM has the irrevocable, fully paid-up, and perpetual rights to use the ``proprietary software´´ that it is alleged to have misappropriated or misused."

Novell Letter to SCO. Novell's Messman wrote in his May 28 letter to SCO's McBride that "SCO continues to say that it owns the UNIX System V patents, yet it must know that it does not. A simple review of U.S. Patent Office records reveals that Novell owns those patents."

He also stated that "Importantly, and contrary to SCO's assertions, SCO is not the owner of the UNIX copyrights. Not only would a quick check of U.S. Copyright Office records reveal this fact, but a review of the asset transfer agreement between Novell and SCO confirms it. To Novell's knowledge, the 1995 agreement governing SCO's purchase of UNIX from Novell does not convey to SCO the associated copyrights. We believe it unlikely that SCO can demonstrate that it has any ownership interest whatsoever in those copyrights."

SCO Statement Regarding Novell Letter. SCO promptly responded to Messmer's letter. It released a statement which claims that "SCO owns the contract rights to the UNIX operating system. SCO has the contractual right to prevent improper donations of UNIX code, methods or concepts into Linux by any UNIX vendor."

"Copyrights and patents are protection against strangers. Contracts are what you use against parties you have relationships with. From a legal standpoint, contracts end up being far stronger than anything you could do with copyrights", added SCO. "SCO's lawsuit against IBM does not involve patents or copyrights. SCO's complaint specifically alleges breach of contract, and SCO intends to protect and enforce all of the contracts that the company has with more than 6,000 licensees."

Microsoft. SCO stated in a May 19, 2003 release that SCO "has licensed its UNIX technology including a patent and source code licenses to Microsoft Corporation." See also, story titled "Microsoft Licenses Technology at Issue in Caldera v. IBM" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 669, May 29, 2003.

5/28. LinuxTag, a software association located in the nation of Germany, issued a release in which it stated that it sent a notice on May 23, 2003, to SCO Group's German subsidiary, SCO Group GmbH, demanding that it desist from unfair competitive practices. LinuxTag asserts that "SCO Group is sowing uncertainty among the community of GNU/Linux users, developers and suppliers."

LinuxTage added that it "demanded that the German SCO subsidiary retract its claims regarding ownership of Linux kernel code by this Friday, May 30, or make its evidence public."

SCO (aka Caldera) wrote a letter to Linux customers on May 12, 2003. It asserted that "SCO holds the rights to the UNIX operating system software originally licensed by AT&T to approximately 6,000 companies and institutions worldwide". The letter continues that "In recent years, a UNIX-like operating system has emerged and has been distributed in the enterprise marketplace by various software vendors. This system is called Linux. We believe that Linux is, in material part, an unauthorized derivative of UNIX."

LinuxTag describes itself in its web site: "LinuxTag is Europe's largest annual convention for Free Software focusing on GNU/Linux". The GNU Project web site states that Linux is the kernel of the GNU operating system.

5/29. The U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) issued its opinion [21 pages in PDF] in Rice v. Fox, a copyright infringement case.

Robert Rice owns the copyright to a home video titled "The Mystery Magician". It reveals how to perform several well known magic tricks and illusions. Fox Broadcasting Company developed and aired a series of television programs that revealed the secrets behind famous magic illusions. Rice asserts that Fox's shows were inspired and based upon his video.

Rice filed a complaint in U.S. District Court (CDCal) against Fox and other alleging copyright infringement, false advertising under the Lanham Act, and violation of the California Unfair Business Practices Act. The District Court granted Fox summary judgment on the copyright claim.

The Court of Appeals affirmed the grant of summary judgment on the copyright claim. In so doing, the Court discussed the elements of copyrights claims, the extrinsic test for copyright infringement, what constitutes substantial similarity, the doctrines of merger and scenes a faire, and the inverse ratio rule.

5/27. Kamil Idris was re-appointed to a second term as Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). See, WIPO release.

5/22. The Competitive Telecommunications Association (CompTel) released a study [8 pages in PDF] titled "Wholesale Lies: The Truth About RBOC UNE-P Costs". It asserts that the four regional Bell operating companies (RBOCs) "earn healthy margins" on their wholesale unbundled network element platform (UNE-P) business, "even when accounting for the ``embedded´´ cost of constructing and maintaining the existing phone networks". The report asserts that the four RBOCs had an annual rate of profits of at least $605 Million on their UNE-P leases in the first quarter of 2003. See also, CompTel release.

5/28. BellSouth, SBC, and Verizon announced that they "have adopted a set of common technical requirements based on established industry standards and specifications for a technology known as fiber to the premises (FTTP)". They stated that this "will enable equipment manufacturers to more cost-effectively develop and build FTTP equipment". See, BellSouth release and SBC release.

5/28. The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI), a Democratic think tank, released a report [PDF] titled "String of Pearls or Multi-Car Pile Up? The U.S. Negotiates New Trade Agreements with 15 Countries". The report notes that the Bush administration is ambitiously pursuing 15 free trade agreements (FTAs) with nations such as Singapore and Chile, but that "larger trade initiatives are struggling". It states that "Europe's farm lobby has stalled the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Doha Round. The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) faces both an economic crisis in much of South America and an apparently indifferent administration. And Russia has slowed the pace of its negotiations on membership in the WTO." It states that "FTAs are not a substitute for success on genuinely big issues." The report was written by Edward Gresser.

Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA), Chairman of the House Commerce Committee released a statement in which he wrote that "Critics of FCC Chairman Michael Powell's plan to deregulate antiquated media ownership rules have brought new meaning to the phrase static interference. It's time for these folks to adjust their antennas and tune in reality."

Rep. Tauzin (at right) continued that "Only in Washington, D.C. would those who ostensibly want to preserve free speech seek to do so by regulating broadcast rules. Despite the diverse viewing options available to consumers resulting from the explosive growth of cable, satellite and the Internet over the past two decades, some people do not see the value in the FCC's fundamental reexamination of our nation's ownership rules. But these same people need to remember, the FCC is merely trying to do what both Congress and the courts have repeatedly told it to do -- justify its broadcast ownership rules."

Rep. Tauzin also noted that "The Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires the FCC to review its broadcast ownership rules on a biennial basis", and that "the need to reassess these rules was made all the more urgent by decisions issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia."

"Under Chairman Powell's leadership, the FCC has undertaken the most thoughtful and thorough review of our nation's broadcast ownership rules in the history of their existence. First, Chairman Powell directed the formation of the Media Ownership Working Group to review these issues. He called for 12 FCC commissioned studies from divergent groups and the agency has received more than 18,000 comments in this proceeding alone. Then the Chairman and the Commissioners participated in a public hearing on media ownership in New York; and, to complete the process, the FCC sponsored its own field hearing in Virginia", said Rep. Tauzin.

He concluded that, "Clearly, the FCC has an extensive record on the subject. It is now time for the Commission to act. In a highly competitive, diverse 21st Century marketplace the idea of the federal government trying to regulate media ownership should be as offensive to Americans as trying to regulate free speech itself."

Similarly, Randolph May of the Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) wrote an item titled "Outdated federal regulations actually likely to impede diversification in media". He stated that "The rationale for the ownership restrictions is to promote diversity of viewpoint, the availability of local information and competition among media outlets. These are worthy public policy goals. But the outdated FCC regulations are no longer necessary to achieve them. Indeed, in an increasingly digital, technologically dynamic, competitive media environment, they are more likely than not to impede their realization."

Meanwhile, Rush Limbaugh, a conservative talk radio host, wrote in a statement that the critics, and Democrats, are really out to get him. He opined that "Critics worry that television could become like Rush Limbaugh. ... They are afraid that if consolidation happens in TV, everything is going to end up like the Fox News Channel, just like they think all of radio ended up as me and Limbaugh wannabes."

Limbaugh added that "This is where the Democrats continually miss the boat. Do people listen to radio stations because of who owns them? They don't. People are going to watch TV or listen to radio based on what's on it, not on who owns it, but the Democrats cannot get that through their head. They think if they can get the right group of owners, or shut out certain owners, then certain programming will be shut out. They are so out of the realm of reality here, my friends, they do not know what hit them. It started about 15 years ago, and they're nowhere near figuring it out."

He concluded that "There's a bunch of stuff out there that's popular (conservatives) that certain people (liberals) don't like and, since they can't beat that popularity in the market, they'll go after the owners and try to break it up and give it to other people. It's like the Fairness Doctrine. The Fairness Doctrine was not about fairness. The Fairness Doctrine was about making sure that nobody you want to hear got a radio show." (Parentheses in original.)

The House and Senate will be in recess for the Memorial Day District Work Period from May 26 through May 30.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will a public hearing its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend its regulations to implement the Madrid Protocol Implementation Act of 2002 (MPIA). See, notice in the Federal Register, March 28, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 60, at Pages 15119 - 15138. Location: USPTO, Patent Theater, 2121 Crystal Drive, Room 200, Arlington, VA.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) will host a tutorial titled "Radio Noise Measurement and Related Standards". The speaker will be Akira Sugiura, a professor at Tohoku University. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room (TW-C305), 445 12th Street, SW.

10:30 AM. The U.S. District Court (DC) will hold a status hearing in FTC v. Capital City Mortgage, D.C. No. 1:1998cv0237. Location: Courtroom 19.

12:00 NOON. Howard Beales, Director of the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Bureau of Consumer Protection, will speak on "Marketing and the Law" at an event titled "2003 American Marketing Association Forum -- Emerging Issues and Challenges in Public Policy. Location: Marriott at Metro Center Hotel, 775 12th Street, NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Small Business Administration (SBA) in response to its proposal to grant a waiver of the Nonmanufacturer Rule for "overhead fiber optic groundwire and ancillary hardware components". The Nonmanufacturer Rule is found at 13 CFR 121.406(b). The notice states that the reason for the proposed waiver is that "there are no small business manufacturers or processors in the Federal market". See, notice in the Federal Register, May 28, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 102, at Pages 31641-31642.

The House will return from its Memorial Day District Work Period at 2:00 PM. It will consider several non tech related items under suspension of the rules. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. See, Republican Whip Notice.

The Senate will return from its Memorial Day District Work Period at 12:00 NOON. At 1:00 PM it will resume consideration of S 14, the energy bill.

9:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold a meeting. It is scheduled to take action in its review of media ownership rules. See, FCC notice [PDF]. The event will be webcast. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

10:45 AM. The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA) and the Foundation for Rural Service (FRS) will hold a press briefing to release a report titled "Rural Youth Survey on Telecom Services". For more information, contact Donna Taylor at dtaylor@ntca.org or 703-351-2086. Location: National Rural Electric Cooperative Association's Conference Center, first floor, 4301 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA.

The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a program titled "Competition in the Postal Industry". This is the third event of an AEI series examining the potential of modern communications technology, a more open and competitive market environment, and other topics. This event will focus on antitrust issues. The speakers will be Rick Geddes (Cornell University), Bill Kovacic (Federal Trade Commission), David Sappington (University of Florida), and Gregory Sidak (AEI). See, AEI notice. Location: 1150 17th Street, NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) regarding its proposal to withdraw seventeen Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). The list of FIPS publications proposed for withdrawal includes FIPS 73, Guidelines for Security of Computer Applications; FIPS 83, Guideline on User Authentication Techniques for Computer Network Access Control; FIPS 102, Guideline for Computer Security Certification and Accreditation; FIPS 112, Password Usage; and FIPS 127-2, Database Language SQL (ANSI X3.135-1992). See, notice in the Federal Register, March 4, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 42, at Pages 10204-10205.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding its slamming rules. Slamming is the unauthorized changing of subscriber's selection of a provider of telephone exchange service or telephone toll service. The FCC adopted this NPRM on February 28, 2003, and released it on March 17. See, Third Order on Reconsideration and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking [63 pages in PDF]. This is FCC Docket No. 94-129. See also, FCC release [PDF]. For more information, contact Kelli Farmer at 202 418-7057.

SUPERSEDED. Deadline to submit comments to the Copyright Office (CO) in response to its request for public comments on "proposed regulations that set rates and terms for the use of sound recordings in eligible nonsubscription transmissions for the 2003 and 2004 statutory licensing period, and for the use of sound recordings in transmissions made by new subscription services from 1998 through December 31, 2004, in addition to the making of ephemeral recordings necessary for the facilitation of such transmissions." See, notice in the Federal Register, May 1, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 84, at Pages 23241 - 23249. See, superseding notice in the Federal Register, which also sets June 19, 2003, as the deadline for public comments.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit nominations to the Department of Commerce's Technology Administration for appointment to the Joint High Level Advisory Panel of the United States Israel Science and Technology Commission. See, notice in the Federal Register, May 2, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 85, at Pages 23443 - 23444.

The House will meet at 10:30 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. The House will consider HR 2143, the "Unlawful Internet Gambling Funding Prohibition Act" under suspension of the rules. That is, it cannot be amended, and it requires a two thirds majority to pass. See, Republican Whip Notice.

10:00 AM. The House Financial Services Committee's Capital Markets Subcommittee will hold a hearing titled "Accounting Treatment of Employee Stock Options". See also, HR 1372, the "Broad-Based Stock Option Plan Transparency Act", sponsored by Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA). See, notice. Press contact: Peggy Peterson or Brookly McLaughlin at 202 226-0471. Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

1:00 PM. Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), the Chairman of the House Science Committee (HSC), will host a pen and pad briefing on HSC matters for reporters. Press contact: Heidi Tringe at Heidi.Tringe @mail.house.gov or 202 225-4275. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour. It will consider several non tech related items under suspension of the rules. See, Republican Whip Notice.

8:30 AM - 12:30 PM. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Price Waterhouse Coopers, and Evolutionary Technologies International will host a workshop titled "Public-Private IT Security Information Sharing: Addressing Next-Generation Challenges". See, notice. For more information, contact Scott Algeier at salgeier@uschamber.com or 202 463-5845. Location: 1615 H Street, NW.

RESCHEDULED. 10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in InTouch Group v. Amazon.com, No. 02-1631. This is an appeal from the U.S. District Court (NDCal) in a patent infringement case (D.C. No. C-00-1156-DLJ) involving internet audio technology. Intouch alleged that Amazon's, and others', method of interactive delivery of portions of recorded music infringe its business method patent. See, U.S. Patent No. 5,237,157, titled "Kiosk apparatus and method for point of preview and for compilation of market data", and U.S. Patent No. 5,963,916 titled "Network apparatus and method for preview of music products and compilation of market data". Location: Courtroom 203, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "Wireless E-911 Implementation: Progress and Remaining Hurdles". The hearing will be webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

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

The Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) will host an event titled "Inventor of the Year". Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) is scheduled to speak. For more information, call 202 466-2396. Location: Caucus Room, Cannon Building.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will hold a one day workshop on the role of technology in helping businesses protect the privacy of personal information, including the steps taken to keep their information secure. See, FTC release and notice in the Federal Register, February 26, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 38, at Pages 8904 - 8906. Location: FTC, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour. It will consider several non tech related items under suspension of the rules. See, Republican Whip Notice.

10:30 AM. The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on several pending Department of Homeland Security nominations, including Joe Whitley to be General Counsel. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON. The Congressional Internet Caucus will host a panel discussion titled "Internet Tax Simplification: Is It Really That Simple?" The discussion will focus on the Streamlined Sales Tax Project (SSTP), the existing internet tax moratorium, and the Business Activity Tax (BAT). The scheduled speakers include former Virginia Governor James Gilmore, Illinois State Senator Rauschenberger, Jean Cantrell (Circuit City), Paul Misener (Amazon), and Bartlett Cleland (Institute for Policy Innovation). RSVP to rsvp@netcaucus.org or 202 638-4370. Location: Room HC-5, U.S. Capitol Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Akamai Technology v. Cable & Wireless, No. 03-1007. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Custom Computer v. Paychex Properties, No. 03-1148. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Wireless Telecommunications Practice Committee will host a luncheon. The topic will be "State Issues in Wireless Regulation". The speakers will include Dane Snowden (FCC), Steve Berry (CTIA), Jeff Kramer (AARP), and Jessica Zufola (NARUC). The price to attend is $15. RSVP to Wendy Parish at wendy@fcba.org by 5:00 PM on Wednesday, June 4. Location: Sidley Austin, 1501 K Street, NW.