9/26. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a Notice of Appeal [3 pages in PDF] with the U.S. District Court (DColo) in Mainstream Marketing v. FTC. On September 25, the District Court issued its Memorandum Opinion and Order [34 pages in PDF] holding that the FTC's do not call registry violates the First Amendment free speech rights of telemarketers.

The FTC also filed a Motion for an Emergency Stay Pending Appeal [3 pages in PDF] and a Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of It's Motion for an Emergency Stay Pending Appeal [9 pages in PDF].

The FTC requested that the District Court expedite its consideration of this motion for stay, to enable the Court of Appeals "to give the Tenth Circuit adequate time, before October 1, to consider the matter."

The District Court's decision was based upon its analysis that the FTC's do not call registry is content based regulation that covers commercial, but not non-profit, solicitations. The FTC asserts that the District Court "obliterates the constitutional distinction between fully-protected speech and commercial speech."

The FTC argued that "There will be irreparable harm if a stay is not granted. Already, consumers have registered more than 50 million telephone numbers onto the registry. By doing this, millions of consumers have indicated that they find unwanted telemarketing calls to be abusive and they want them stopped. ... The Rule's registry provisions that protect consumers were scheduled to take effect on October 1, 2003. If this Court’s Order is not stayed, these consumers will continue, after that date, to receive abusive telemarketing calls. There is no remedy for the countless intrusions on privacy such abusive calls will impose on these consumers during the time an appeal in this case is pending."

On September 26, Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA) and Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), the Chairman and ranking Democrat on the House Commerce Committee, released a joint release regarding the Colorado ruling.

They wrote that "We are disappointed to learn that a second federal court in Colorado has agreed with the telemarketing industry and ruled against the do-not-call registry. The court found the registry to be an unconstitutional regulation of speech. We disagree."

Rep. Tauzin (at right) and Rep. Dingell added that "The do-not-call registry does not restrict a salesman's right to speak, rather it empowers American consumers who choose not to listen. Putting your name on the do-not-call list is no different than hanging a 'no solicitation' sign on your front door. This issue is not about speech, it is about American citizens deciding who they let into the privacy of their homes. Rest assured, we will examine the judge's opinion closely and will take whatever steps we can to ensure that the do-not-call registry is open for business as scheduled."

Similarly, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Michael Powell stated in a release that the District Court decision is "fundamentally flawed. We strongly believe the Do Not Call list withstands constitutional scrutiny."

This case is Mainstream Marketing Service, TMG Marketing Inc., and American Teleservices Association v. Federal Trade Commission, et al., D.C. No. 03-N-0184, U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, Judge Edward Nottingham presiding. Lawrence DeMille-Wagman signed these pleading for the FTC. Robert Corn-Revere of the law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine represents the telemarketers.

9/23. The Competitive Telecommunications Association (CompTel) filed a petition for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeking review of the FCC's rules implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) on constitutional, and other, grounds.

This is a challenge to the FCC's order, FCC 03-153, in CG Docket No. 02-278, released on July 3, 2003. See also, notice in the Federal Register, July 25, 2003, at Vol. 68, No. 143, at Pages 44143 - 44179.

The just filed action is Competitive Telecommunications Association v. FCC and USA, U.S.C.A. No. 03-1296. CompTel is represented by Ian Heath Gershengorn of the law firm of Jenner & Block.

9/26. In addition to Mainstream Marketing Services v. FCC (D.C. Colorado) and CompTel v. FCC (U.S.C.A., D.C.), there are several other proceeding related to the do not call registry, telemarketing practices, and consumer complaints about telemarketers.

MMS v. FCC (10thCir). On July 25, 2003, Mainstream Marketing Services (MMS) filed a petition for review in the U.S. Court of Appeals (10thCir).

On September 26, the Tenth Circuit denied MMS's request for a stay of the FCC's do not call order, holding that it had failed to show a substantial likelihood of success on the merits.

This is Mainstream Marketing Services, Inc., TMG Marketing, and American Teleservices Association v. FCC, Appeals Court No. 03-9571. These telemarketers are represented by Robert Corn-Revere.

U.S. Security v. FTC (U.S.D.C., W.D. Okla). U.S. Security, and other telemarketing related entities, filed a civil complaint in the U.S. District Court (WDOkla) against the FTC. On September 24, the District Court issued its Order [19 page PDF scan] holding that the FTC's rule creating a do not call registry exceeds the statutory authority of the FTC.

This was a matter of statutory interpretation, so the Congress was able to render the District Court's order moot by amending the statute to make clear that the FTC has authority to implement a do not call registry. See, HR 3161, which was passed by both the House and Senate on September 25.

See also, stories titled "Oklahoma Court Rules FTC Do Not Call Registry Invalid" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 746, September 25, 2003, and "Congress Passes Bill to Authorize Do Not Call Registry" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 747, September 26, 2003.

This case is U.S. Security, et al. v. Federal Trade Commission, D.C. No. CIV-03-122-W, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, Judge Lee West presiding.

ATA v. FCC (U.S.D.C., D.C.). The American Teleservices Association (ATA) has also filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court (DC) against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) alleging violation of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), codified at 5 U.S.C. § 552, in connection with the ATA's efforts to obtain from the FCC personally identifying information about the over 10,000 consumers who have complained to the FCC about telemarketing practices.

See, story titled "Telemarketers Sue FCC To Get Names, Addresses, and Phone Numbers of Consumers Who Complained to FCC" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 741, September 17, 2003.

This case is American Teleservices Association v. FCC, D.C. No. 03-CV-1848, Judge Richard Leon presiding. The complaint was signed by Robert Corn-Revere. It was filed on September 4, 2003.

9/26. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) issued its en banc opinion [MS Word] on remand in Festo v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki, a patent case regarding the doctrine of equivalents and the rule of prosecution history estoppel.

On May 28, 2002, the Supreme Court issued its opinion [21 pages in PDF] reversing the Court of Appeals and remanding. The Supreme Court affirmed the doctrine of equivalents, articulated its purpose, held that the narrowing of a patent claim may give rise to prosecution history estoppel (but that it does not absolutely bar application of the doctrine of equivalents), and listed circumstances under which it might or might not operate as a bar. See, story titled "Supreme Court Reverses in Festo Case" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No.439, May 29, 2002.

The Appeals Court wrote in this opinion on remand that "The sole issue specifically before us is whether Festo can rebut the presumption that the filing of narrowing amendments for the two patents in suit surrendered all subject matter between the original claim limitations and the amended claim limitations."

It concluded that "Festo cannot overcome that presumption by demonstrating that the rationale underlying the narrowing amendments bore no more than a tangential relation to the accused equivalents or by demonstrating that there was ``some other reason´´ such that the patentee could not reasonably have been expected to have described the accused equivalents. However, we remand to the district court to determine whether Festo can rebut the presumption of surrender by establishing that the equivalents in question would have been unforeseeable to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the amendments."

Judge Pauline Newman dissented at length. She wrote that this opinion "places new and costly burdens on inventors, and reduces the incentive value of patents. By adopting a generous interpretation of the scope of surrender, and stinginess toward its rebuttal, the ensuing framework is one that few patentees can survive."

9/22. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) issued its divided opinion [MS Word] in MIDCO v. Elekta, a patent infringement case involving a computer based inventions. The Appeals Court reversed the District Court.

MIDCO is the holder of the U.S. Patent No. 5,099,846 titled "Method and apparatus for video presentation from a variety of scanner imaging sources" and U.S. Patent No. 5,398,684 titled "Method and apparatus for video presentation from scanner imaging sources". The inventions disclosed in these patents involve a computer implemented system for use in brain surgery. Specifically, the Court wrote that they attempt to "to enhance the surgeon's ability to conceptualize the structures inside the brain by combining stereotactic surgical techniques with various imaging technologies, including computerized axial tomography (``CT´´) and nuclear magnetic resonance (``NMR´´) scanning."

MIDCO filed a complaint in U.S. District Court (SDCal) against Elekta alleging that Elekta's products infringe the 846 and 684 patents. Elekta asserted noninfringement and invalidity.

The District Court granted MIDCO's motion for partial summary judgment that its patents are not invalid. The jury found that the patents were infringed and awarded $16 Million in damages. The District Court denied Elekta's motions for judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) following the verdict. This appeal followed.

The Appeals Court reversed the District Court's denial of Elekta's motion for JMOL. The Appeals Court also reversed the grant of summary judgment of noninvalidity to MIDCO. Judge Newman wrote a strenuous dissent.

On the issue of infringement, the Appeals Court's opinion, and the dissenting opinion, focus on the clause in the patent claims that states "means for converting said plurality of images into a selected format." The majority held that the District Court erred in its construction of the converting means limitation. It held that digital-to-digital conversion by software routines is not within the scope of the disclosed conversion.

Judge Clevenger, writing for the majority, stated that "The correct inquiry is to look at the disclosure of the patent and determine if one of skill in the art would have understood that disclosure to teach software for digital-to-digital conversion and been able to implement such a program, not simply whether one of skill in the art would have been able to write such a software program."

Judge Newman wrote in dissent that "The patent specification need not ``teach software´´ and the writing of routine programs in order to teach how to practice the described method.  It suffices if one of skill in the art ``would have been able to write´´ a standard program of digital-to-digital conversion.  If one of skill in the programming art would have been able to write such a program without undue experimentation, the statutory requirements are met." She added, "Now requiring that more must be recited than that the computerized conversion is run by software, it is far from clear what my colleagues are requiring. Is this court now requiring a five-foot-shelf of zeros and ones?"

She concluded that "The majority has created inappropriate conditions for computer-based inventions".

This case is Medical Instrumentation and Diagnostics Corporation v. Elekta AB, et al., No. 03-1032, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, Judge Robert Whaley presiding. Judge Raymond Clevenger wrote the opinion, in which Judge Alvin Schall joined. Judge Pauline Newman dissented.

9/26. The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) in MGM v. Grokster.

On April 25, 2003, the U.S. District Court (CDCal) issued its opinion holding that Grokster's and Streamcast's peer to peer file copying networks do not contributorily or vacariously infringe the copyrights of the holders of music and movie copyrights. See, story titled "District Court Holds No Contributory or Vicarious Infringement by Grokster or Streamcast P2P Networks" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 650, April 28, 2003. See also, story titled "Music Publishers File Appeal Brief in P2P Infringement Case", also published in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 724, August 22, 2003.

The CCIA argues that "This case is about more than the legality of peer-to-peer software. It is about the future of the information technology (``IT´´) industry, the Internet, and the fair use of digital works."

"The legal foundation upon which the IT industry stands is the Supreme Court’s decision in Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios ... In Betamax, the Supreme Court proclaimed that the manufacturer of a product could not be held secondarily liable for infringing uses of the product so long as the product was capable of substantial noninfringing uses. That clear standard gave venture capitalists, engineers, and manufacturers the confidence and certainty that they could invest their resources in developing a wide range of consumer IT products without facing copyright liability. These products include personal computers, laptops, scanners, printers, and the software that enables them to operate."

Finally, the CCIA states that "Appellants claim that the District Court's decision leaves them powerless to combat infringement over P2P networks. Two recent developments prove the opposite." The CCIA states that the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has successfully reduced infringement by bringing lawsuits against individual infringers. It also states that the "legal downloads of sound recordings are finally available in a low cost, user-friendly manner."

9/23. Several more satellite industry entities, including Directv and Skybridge, have filed petitions for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeking review of various of the FCC orders regarding subsidiary terrestrial use of the 12.2 - 12.7 GHz band.

These petitions challenge the NorthPoint orders. See also, story titled "Echostar Files Petition for Review of FCC's Northpoint Orders" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 744, September 23, 2003.

One of the orders under review is the FCC's Memorandum Opinion and Order and Second Report and Order, adopted on April 11, 2002. The FCC released the text of this order on May 23, 2002. It published its notice in the Federal Register on June 26, 2002, at Vol. 67, No. 123, at Pages 43031-43044. This is FCC 02-116. See also, story titled "FCC Acts on Northpoint Application" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 417, April 24, 2002.

Another of the orders under review is the FCC's Fourth Memorandum Opinion and Order, announced on April 22, 2003. The FCC released the text of this order on April 29, 2003. It published its notice in the Federal Register, on July 25, 2003, at Vol. 68, No. 143, at Pages 43942 - 43946. This is FCC 03-97.

On September 23, Directv filed its petition for review (03-1300) challenging three FCC orders, including the 4th MO&O released on April 29, 2003. It states that "Among other things, the FCC rulings have unlawfully and arbitrarily authorized a new terrestrial service to operate on the same frequencies that are currently used to provide Digital Broadcast Satellite (``DBS´´) television service ... exposing DBS providers (including DIRECTV) and their customers to harmful interference from the new service." (Parentheses in original.)

On September 23, Skybridge filed its petition for review (03-1298) challenging the FCC's 1st R&O, MO&O, 2nd R&O, and 4th MO&O. It states that Skybridge "is an applicant for a Commission license to operate a constellation of non-geostationary orbit (``NGSO´´) fixed satellite service (``FSS´´) satellites using, inter alia, the 12.2-12.7 GHz frequency band." It alleges that sharing with terrestrial users will "cause harmful interference to NGSO FSS operations in the same band". Skybridge is represented by Jeffrey Cohen of the law firm of Paul Weiss.

Petitions for review were also filed by the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association (SBCA) (No. 03-1297) and by SES American Inc. (No. 03-1299).

These petitions for review challenge the FCC's decision to allow sharing in the 12 GHz band. There is a second major issue. That is whether NorthPoint will have to purchase its licenses at auction, or will obtain the spectrum licenses for free. The FCC decided that NorthPoint should purchase. However, the Senate Commerce Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee have both passed bills that provide for NorthPoint to obtain spectrum licenses for free. However, the House Commerce Committee, has not passed any such bill.

See also, TLJ story titled "Senate Appropriations Bill Includes Northpoint Spectrum Amendment", also published in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 733, September 5, 2003.

The House will meet at 1:00 PM in pro forma session only. See, Republican Whip Notice.

The Senate will meet at 1:00 PM for morning business. At 2:00 PM it will resume consideration of HR 2765, the District of Columbia Appropriations Bill for FY 2004.

8:30 AM. Charles McQueary (Under Secretary of Science and Technology at the Department of Homeland Security) and David Bolka (Director of the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency) will host a bidders conference. Press contact: Michelle Petrovich at 202-441-6970. Location: Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, 2660 Woodley Road, NW.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Federal Advisory Committee on Diversity in the Digital Age will hold its first meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 10, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 175, at Pages 53376 - 53377. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, Room TW-C305, 445 12th St. SW.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The topic will be "Hot Topics in Consumer Affairs". For more information, contact Pam Slipakoff at 202 418-7705 or pslipako@fcc.gov. Location: Hogan and Hartson, 555 13th Street, NW.

3:00 PM. The Cato Institute will host a panel discussion titled "Cancun Postmortem: What Next for the WTO?". The speakers will be Christopher Padilla (Assistant U.S. Trade Representative), Scott Miller (Procter & Gamble), Bruce Stokes (National Journal), and Brink Lindsey (Cato). See, notice. The event will be webcast. Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

Day two of a four day conference hosted by the Appalachian Regional Commission titled "RuralTelCon03". See, conference website. Location: Hyatt Regency Hotel, 400 New Jersey Ave., NW.

Deadline to submit nominations to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for membership on the FCC's Intergovernmental Advisory Committee (IAC), which was previously known as the Local and State Government Advisory Committee. The FCC stated that this Committee provides "ongoing advice and information to the Commission on a broad range of telecommunications issues of interest to state, local and tribal governments, including cable and local franchising, public rights-of-way, facilities siting, universal service, broadband access, barriers to competitive entry, and public safety communications, for which the Commission explicitly or inherently shares responsibility or administration with local, county, state, or tribal governments." The deadline to submit nominations is September 29, 2003. See, FCC release [PDF] and FCC notice [3 pages in PDF].

The House will meet at 12:30 PM for morning hour and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. The House will consider several non-tech related items under suspension of the rules. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. See, Republican Whip Notice.

8:30 AM - 6:00 PM. Day one of a two day conference titled "Workshop on Regional, State and Local Initiatives in Nanotechnology", hosted by the Department of Commerce (DOC) and the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO). See, agenda [PDF]. Location: DOC, Main Auditorium, 14th Street and Constitution Ave., NW.

? 8:30 AM. The House Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing. Robert Liscouski, Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection at the Department of Homeland Security, will testify. Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

Day three of a four day conference hosted by the Appalachian Regional Commission titled "RuralTelCon03". At 9:00 AM, Technology Administration Assistant Secretary Bruce Mehlman will give a speech titled "How Broadband is Being Used in Rural America". See, conference website. Location: Hyatt Regency Hotel, 400 New Jersey Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing titled "State of the Securities Industry". Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman William Donaldson will testify. See, notice. Location: Room 538 Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee's Investigations Subcommittee will hold a hearings to examine illegal file sharing on peer-to-peer networks and the impact of technology on the entertainment industry. Location: Room 106, Dirksen Building.

Deadline to submit applications to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for its Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory Grants Program (EEEL). The NIST stated that the EEEL Grants Program provides "grants and cooperative agreements for the development of fundamental electrical metrology and of metrology supporting industry and government agencies in the broad areas of semiconductors, electronic instrumentation, radio-frequency technology, optoelectronics, magnetics, video, electronic commerce as applied to electronic products and devices, the transmission and distribution of electrical power, national electrical standards (fundamental, generally  quantum-based physical standards), and law enforcement standards." See, notice in the Federal Register, February 20, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 34, at Pages 8211-8226.

Deadline to submit comments to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in response to it second Privacy Act notice and request for comments regarding its proposal to establish a new system of records to support the development of a new version of the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System, CAPPS II. See, Federal Register, August 1, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 148, at Pages 45265 - 45269.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislation business. See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Day two of a two day conference titled "Workshop on Regional, State and Local Initiatives in Nanotechnology", hosted by the Department of Commerce (DOC) and the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO). See, agenda [PDF]. Location: DOC, Main Auditorium, 14th Street and Constitution Ave., NW.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Compact Council for the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact. See, notice in the Federal Register: August 28, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 167, at Page 51807. Location: Radisson Hotel Old Town Alexandria, 901 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of Dora Irizarry to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Press contact: Margarita Tapia (Hatch) at 202 224-5225 or David Carle (Leahy) at 202 224-4242. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

1:00 PM. The House Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing on fraudulent identification and the threat posed to homeland security. See, notice. Press contact: Liz Tobias at 202 226-9600. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law will hold a hearing titled "The Streamlined Sales Tax Agreement: States’ Efforts to Facilitate Sales Tax Collection from Remote Vendors". The hearing will be webcast. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

Day four of a four day conference hosted by the Appalachian Regional Commission titled "RuralTelCon03". See, conference website. Location: Hyatt Regency Hotel, 400 New Jersey Ave., NW.

The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) will require full compliance with its amended Telemarketing Sales Rule as of October 1, 2003. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 4, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 65, at Pages 16414 - 16415.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rules changes pertaining to USPTO fees takes effect. See, notice in the Federal Register July 14, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 134, at Pages 41532 - 41535. However, legislation is pending in the Congress that would supercede this rule. On July 9, 2003 the House Judiciary Committee approved HR 1561, the "United States Patent and Trademark Fee Modernization Act of 2003". See, story titled "House Judiciary Committee Approves USPTO Fee Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 695, July 10, 2003.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislation business. See, Republican Whip Notice.

8:00 AM - 12:15 PM. There will be a conference titled "Dialogue on Nanotechnology and Federal Regulation". Department of Commerce (DOC) Deputy Under Secretary Ben Wu will speak at 9:00 AM. on the potential regulatory issues that may emerge from nanotechnology research and commercialization. See, notice. Location: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, 5th Floor Conference Room.

9:30 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on media ownership. The hearing will be webcast. See, notice. Press contact: Rebecca Hanks (McCain) at 202 224-2670 or Andy Davis (Hollings) at 202 224-6654. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Common Carrier Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The topic will be "Antitrust Law and the Telecommunications Act of 1996: Broader Implications of the Supreme Court Trinko Case". The speakers will include Donald Russell (Robbins Russell), John Thorne (Verizon), and Chris Wright (Harris Wiltshire). RSVP to Cecelia Burnett at 202 637-8312 or cmburnett@hhlaw.com. This event was originally scheduled for September 18, but was rescheduled because of Hurricane Isabel. Location: Hogan & Hartson, 555 13th Street, NW, lower level.

The rules changes regarding the unbundling requirements of incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) that are contained in the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) triennial review order [576 pages in PDF] take effect. See also, notice in the Federal Register, September 2, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 169, at Pages 52275 -  52306, describing the rules changes. See also, TLJ story titled "Summary of FCC Triennial Review Order", also published in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 725, August 25, 2003. See also, stories titled "FCC Announces UNE Report and Order", "FCC Order Offers Broadband Regulatory Relief", "FCC Announces Decision on Switching", "Commentary: Republicans Split On FCC UNE Order", and "Congressional Reaction To FCC UNE Order" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 609, February 21, 2003.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the portion of the FCC's triennial review order [576 pages in PDF] that contains a notice of proposed rulemaking [NPRM] regarding modifications to the FCC's rules implementing 47 U.S.C. § 252(i), which requires local exchange carriers (LECs) to make available to other telecommunications carriers interconnection agreements approved under Section 252. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 2, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 169, at Pages 52307 - 52312, and September 2 FCC release [3 pages in PDF].

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislation business. See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a two day meeting of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Compact Council for the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact. See, notice in the Federal Register: August 28, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 167, at Page 51807. Location: Radisson Hotel Old Town Alexandria, 901 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA.

10:00 AM. The Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) will hold a public hearing to assist the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in preparing a report to the Congress on the People's Republic of China's compliance with its World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations. Location: Truman Room, White House Conference Center, 726 Jackson Place, NW. This hearing had previously been scheduled for September 18, but was postponed because of the weather.

12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute will host a panel discussion titled "Regulations ``R´´ U.S.? The State of the Regulatory State". The speakers will be John Graham (Office of Management and Budget), David Schoenbrod (New York Law School), and Clyde Wayne Crews (Cato). See, notice. Lunch will be served. Location: Room B-369, Rayburn Building.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Wireless Practice Committee will host a lunch. Bill Maher, Bureau Chief of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau will address common carrier issues relevant to the wireless industry, including intermodal local number portability (LNP), intercarrier compensation and the triennial review order. The price to attend is $15.00. RSVP to Wendy Parish at wendy@fcba.org by 5:00 PM on Tuesday, September 30th. Location: Sidley & Austin, 1501 K Street, NW, Conference Room 6E.

9/25. The Senate confirmed Dana Sabraw to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court (SDCal) by a vote of 95-0. See, Roll Call No. 366.

9/25. The Senate confirmed Michael Mosman to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court (Oregon) by a vote of 93-0. See, Roll Call No. 367.

9/24. Ennis Communications Corp. filed a petition for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeking review of the FCC's media ownership rule released on July 2, 2003. This petition, which is now just one of many, is numbered 03-1303. Ennis is represented by John Fiorini, Helgi Walker and Eve Reed of the law firm of Wiley Rein & Fielding.

9/23. Polygram Holdings, Inc., Decca Music Group Limited, UMG Recordings Inc., and Universal Music & Video Distribution Corp. filed a petition for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The seek review of the FTC's Final Order [PDF] holding that several music companies illegally agreed to restrict competition for audio and video products featuring The Three Tenors. See also, FTC Opinion [PDF] and FTC release of July 28, 2003.

9/26. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau announced that it seeks nominations for several Board member positions on the Board of Directors of its Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). Nominations are due by October 27, 2003. See, FCC notice [PDF].