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June 8, 2004, 9:00 AM ET, Alert No. 913.
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Pate Addresses US EU Differences on Antitrust, Microsoft, and IPR

6/7. Hewitt Pate, the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, gave a speech in Brussels, Belgium titled "Antitrust in a Transatlantic Context: From the Cicada's Perspective".

Cicadas are noisy bugs, currently buzzing about Washington DC, that emerge once every 17 years. The gist of Pate's speech was that while Mario Monti and the European Commission erred in their recent action against Microsoft, when the cicadas re-emerge in 17 years, Monti's tenure will not look so bad.

See, Commission Decision [302 pages in PDF]. The EC announced this decision on March 24, 2004. The Decision is dated March 24, 2004. However, the EC did not release the Decision until April 22, 2004.

The EC fined Microsoft 497,196,304 Euros, and ordered it to sell Windows without Media Player and make certain intellectual property available to competitors.

The Decision provides that "Microsoft Corporation shall, within 90 days of the date of notification of this Decision, offer a full-functioning version of the Windows Client PC Operating System which does not incorporate Windows Media Player". It also provides that Microsoft shall, within 120 days, "make the Interoperability Information available to any undertaking having an interest in developing and distributing work group server operating system products and shall, on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms, allow the use of the Interoperability Information by such undertakings for the purpose of developing and distributing work group server operating system products".

See, story titled "European Commission Seeks 497 Million Euros and Code Removal from Microsoft" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 863, March 25, 2004; and story titled "European Commission Releases Microsoft Decision" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 883, April 23, 2004.

Pate did not go into the details of the Microsoft case in his June 7 speech. Rather, he stated that "I have expressed our concerns about that specific case elsewhere."

For example, on April 2, 2004, Pate gave a speech in Washington DC in which he expressed "deep concern about the apparent basis of this decision and the serious potential divergence it represents." Pate said that the EC decision lacks comity, that it will lead to antitrust forum shopping by parties seeking to benefit from regulation, that it may protect competitors rather than competition, and that it may chill lawful product improvement. See, story titled "Pate Criticizes EC Decision Regarding Microsoft" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 869, April 5, 2004.

See also, Pate's statement of March 24, 2004, and story titled "US Antitrust Chief Says EU's Microsoft Decision Could Harm Innovation and Consumers" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 863, March 25, 2004.

Pate concluded in his June 7 speech in Brussels with the statement that "My prediction is that in 2021, when the cicadas reemerge in Washington, it will be easy to look back and see the enduring significance of Mario Monti's tenure as Competition Commissioner in the context of a positive, strong, and mature transatlantic antitrust enforcement relationship."

Pate offered no prediction in his prepared speech regarding how Microsoft will look at the next emergence of the cicadas.

Hewitt PatePate said that "there has been positive movement in the direction of convergence" of competition law, and reviewed some of these positive developments.

He then reviewed some of the major differences between the EU and US. For example, he discussed the absence of private antitrust litigation in the EU. He said that "My own view is that the American focus upon private litigation and its relative absence in Europe has up to now been the single most important difference between our systems."

He continued that "Our experience has shown that private enforcement complements public enforcement as an additional deterrent to anticompetitive conduct. It allows private parties to obtain compensation for harm suffered as a result of unlawful conduct. Decentralization of antitrust decision-making likewise has many positive aspects. The establishment of our courts as the basic arbiters of development in the law and the dispersal of enforcement authority has allowed antitrust largely, though certainly not completely, to take place outside of partisan political debate and to focus more upon sound development of doctrine through legal argumentation and economic research.

He also discussed divergence on unilateral conduct. He stated that "unilateral conduct remains the area of greatest separation between the general approaches of the US and the EU. At the broadest level, we in the United States might be said -- in words suggested by Judge Posner at a recent Antitrust Division event -- to have a more Darwinian view of the competitive process. Over here, as a DG Comp economist has put it during the same program, there is a greater emphasis on requiring that dominant firms limit themselves to ``gentlemanly´´ competition."

He added that "Differences in this overall view of unilateral conduct are reflected in many aspects of specific application. Thresholds for finding that a firm has a ``dominant position,´´ for example, have been lower than for the analogous finding of monopoly power in the United States. Our approaches to pricing practices, including discounting and fidelity rebates are quite different, and approaches in Europe are more likely to be characterized by per se rules."

Pate also addressed divergence on mandated intellectual property (IP) licensing. The EC has mandated IP licensing in its Microsoft proceeding.

Pate said that "The area of mandated licensing of intellectual property is another related one where there is the continued potential for divergence between the US and the EC. This is a point on which there was much less practical divergence in the Microsoft case, with much greater overlap and complementarity between the US and EC remedies on server interoperability. We imposed these aspects of our remedy as part of the settlement of our case involving affirmative anticompetitive conduct in related markets. Whether the refusal to provide access would itself support a determination of liability was not a question we were required to face. Combining the approach to claimed duties of assistance to competitors reflected in Trinko with precedents against unilateral licensing duties in American IP law indicates that liability for unadorned refusals to license is not part of our system. There has been much attention to this question in the wake of the recent IMS decision on this side of the Atlantic, and we will watch with interest for further developments."

Pate continued that "it cannot possibly make sense for intellectual property law to recognize as its most valued creation a patent describing an invention essential to the creation of a valuable commercial product, and for competition law to then step in and say that the owner will be required to relinquish exclusive ownership of the patent because it is essential to the creation of a valuable commercial product."

However, he added that "given the significant attention to possible reforms to the patent system now under discussion in the United States, the intellectual property community must recognize that if it does not address possible areas for reform, then it should not be surprised to see competition law trying to do so, even if not very well."

Supreme Court Denies Certiorari in Section 230 Immunity Case

6/7. The Supreme Court denied certiorari, without opinion, in Batzel v. Smith, a case regarding the application of California's Anti-SLAPP statute to a suit alleging defamation on an internet listserv. See, Order List [8 pages in PDF] at page 2.

The District Court denied a defendant's motion to dismiss under the Anti-SLAPP statute. The U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir), relying upon the federal interactive computer service immunity provision of 47 U.S.C. § 230(c)(1), vacated and remanded. See, Appeals Court opinion [41 pages in PDF] of June 24, 2003.

The three judge panel of the Court of Appeals issued its opinion on June 24, 2003. See, story titled "9th Circuit Construes Section 230 Immunity in Suit Against Listserv Operator" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 687, June 25, 2003. This opinion is also reported at 333 F.3d 1018.

On December 3, 2003, the Appeals Court issued an order [16 pages in PDF] denying the petition for rehearing and the petition for rehearing en banc. See, story titled "9th Circuit Denies Petition for Rehearing En Banc in Section 230 Immunity Case" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 792, December 4, 2003.

This case is Ellen Batzel v. Robert Smith, Netherlands Museum Association, Mosler Inc., and Tom Cremers, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Nos. 01-56380 and 01-56556, appeals from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Judge Stephen Wilson presiding.

Supreme Court Denies Cert in Ranger Cellular

6/7. The Supreme Court denied certiorari in Ranger Cellular v. FCC. The Court wrote that "The motion of petitioners for partial remand for consideration of settlement agreement is denied. The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied.". See, Order List [8 pages in PDF] at page 6.

On November 14, 2003, the U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) issued its opinion [13 pages in PDF] in Ranger Cellular v. FCC (No. 02-1155), an appeal from an order of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rejecting Ranger Cellular's and Miller Communication's (appellants) challenge to four licenses issued by the FCC to provide cellular phone service in rural markets. See, story titled "DC Circuit Rules on Appeal in Ranger Cellular v. FCC" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 780, November 17, 2003.

On July 1, 2003, the Appeals Court issued its opinion [12 pages in PDF] in Ranger Cellular v. FCC (No. 02-1093), denying petitions for review of the FCC's award of the cellular licenses. See, story titled "DC Circuit Rules in Ranger Cellular v. FCC" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 693, July 8,2003.

Circuit Courts Rule in Counterfeiting Cases

6/7. Various U.S. Courts of Appeal have recently issued opinions in counterfeiting cases.

On June 7, the U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) issued its opinion [24 pages in PDF] in In Re Lorillard Tobacco Company a civil case involving counterfeit cigarettes. The issue in this case was narrow, but may have applicability in other types of counterfeiting cases.

The issue on appeal was whether a seizure order authorized under 15 U.S.C. § 1116(d), which pertains to civil actions arising out of use of counterfeit marks, is an injunction, and whether an interlocutory order denying seizure is thus appealable under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1). The Court of Appeals held that there is no appealable denial of ultimate injunctive relief, and that therefore, it lacks jurisdiction.

This holding is contrary to that of the Third Circuit in Vuitton v. White, 945 F.2d 569 (1991).

The present case is In Re Lorillard Tobacco Company, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, No. 03-16553, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, D.C. No. CV-03-00775-LRH/PAL.

On June 4, the U.S. Court of Appeals (4thCir) issued its opinion [9 pages in PDF] in USA v. Farmer, a criminal case involving trafficking in counterfeit clothing. One of Farmer's arguments on appeal was that the District Court should have dismissed the indictment because it did not also allege violation of the federal criminal trademark infringement statute, which is codified at 18 U.S.C. § 2320. The Appeals Court held that this was not required, and affirmed the conviction.

Nike and Hilfiger do not manufacture their t-shirts and sweatshirts. They contract with independent companies to do so. Farmer purchased blank t-shirts and sweatshirts from various mills that were manufacturing apparel for Nike and Hilfiger, and then hired companies to sew labels into the shirts, and either screen-print or embroider logos on them. He then sold these to retailers.

Farmer's argument was that he affixed Nike's and Hilfiger's trademarked logos only to shirts that had been manufactured for the respective trademark holders, and hence, he did not confuse consumers about the source of his goods. He argued that his unauthorized placement of the trademarked logos did not constitute criminal trademark infringement.

The Court rejected this argument. First, Farmer was purchasing irregular or defective t-shirts and sweatshirts, and was therefore deceiving consumers by selling inferior goods. Second, "One of the rights that a trademark confers upon its owner is ``the right to control the quality of the goods manufactured and sold´´ under that trademark." (Citations omitted.)

This case is USA v. William Haskell Farmer, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, No. 03-4428, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, D.C. No. CR-00-385.

On June 7, the U.S. Court of Appeals (4thCir) issued its opinion [7 pages in PDF] in USA v. Habegger, a criminal case involving trafficking in counterfeit goods in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2320. This is another case involving clothing. However, in this case, the Appeals Court reversed the conviction on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence to establish the trafficking element of this offense. The clothing seized in this case was samples provided by Habegger to a retailer, without payment, in the hope that the retailer would place an order for more.

This case is USA v. Larry Fricke Habegger, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, No. 03-4473, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, D.C. Nos. CR-01-465 and CR-02-351.

On March 23, 2004, Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) and others introduced S 2227, the "Anticounterfeiting Act of 2004", a bill pertaining to trafficking in counterfeit labels, illicit authentication features, or counterfeit documentation or packaging. See, story titled "Sen. Biden Introduces Anticounterfeiting Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 866, March 30, 2004.

This bill would amend 18 U.S.C. § 2318, regarding trafficking in counterfeit labels and documentation. The bill would criminalize "illicit authentication features", and create a private right of action for copyright owners.

Sen. Biden also sponsored a similar bill in the 107th Congress -- S 2395, the "Anticounterfeiting Amendments of 2002". That bill was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, but not by the full Senate. See, stories titled "Biden Bill Would Ban Illicit Authentication Features" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 423, May 2, 2002; "Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Anti Counterfeiting Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 473, July 19, 2002; and "Sen. Allen Opposes Sen. Biden's Anticounterfeiting Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 503, September 6, 2002.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has scheduled a hearing for Wednesday, June 9 at 9:30 AM titled "Evaluating International Intellectual Property Piracy". The witnesses will be Jack Valenti (Motion Picture Association of America), Mitch Bainwol (Recording Industry Association of America), Robert Holleyman (Business Software Alliance), and Douglas Lowenstein (Entertainment Software Association).

Sen. Biden is the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee. He is also a senior member of the Judiciary Committee.

More News

6/7. The Supreme Court announced that "The Court will take a recess from today until Monday, June 14, 2004." See, Order List [8 pages in PDF] at page 8.

6/7. The U.S. Court of Appeals (1stCir) issued its opinion in Venegas-Hernandez v. Sonolux Records, a music copyright infringement case involving the statutory damages provision codified at 17 U.S.C. § 504(c). This case is Maria Venegas-Hernandez, et al. v. Sonolux Records, et al., U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit, App. Ct. Nos. 03-2014, 03-2015, appeals from the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.

Washington Tech Calendar
New items are highlighted in red.
Tuesday, June 8

The House will meet at 12:30 PM for morning hour and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. The House will consider two resolutions pertaining to Ronald Reagan. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. See, Republican Whip Notice.

The Senate will meet at 9:45 AM for morning business.

8:15 AM - 5:00 PM. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology will hold a partially closed meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, May 24, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 100, at Page 29520. Location: NIST, Employees Lounge, Administration Building, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:30 AM. William Maher, Chief of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) will hold "a briefing for members of the media". RSVP to Michael Balmoris Michael.Balmoris@fcc.gov or 202 418-0253. Location: FCC, Hearing Room B, TW A-402, 445 12th Street, SW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing titled "DOJ Oversight: Terrorism and Other Topics". Attorney General John Ashcroft will testify. See, notice. Press contact: Margarita Tapia (Hatch) at 202 224-5225 or David Carle (Leahy) at 202 224-4242. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary will hold a hearing on intellectual property rights. Location: Room 124, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Advisory Committee for the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-07) will meet. See, notice [PDF]. Location: Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 445 12th Street, SW, Room TW-C305 (Commission Meeting Room).

Wednesday, June 9

The House will meet at 10:00 AM. It will consider a resolution pertaining to Ronald Reagan. See, Republican Whip Notice.

7:30 - 10:30 AM. Washington Technology will host an event titled "Solutions Series: Building Trust Services (The Department of Homeland Security)". At 9:30 AM Under Secretary of Homeland Security Asa Hutchinson will speak. See, notice and registration page. This event is free. For more information, contact Bridgit Kearns at 202 772-5749 or bkearns@postnewsweektech.com. Location: Sheraton Reston Hotel, 11810 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA.

9:30 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing titled "Completing the Digital Television Transition". See, notice. The hearing will be webcast by the Committee. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

9:30 AM. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing titled "Evaluating International Intellectual Property Piracy". The witnesses will be Jack Valenti (Motion Picture Association of America), Mitch Bainwol (Recording Industry Association of America), Robert Holleyman (Business Software Alliance), and Douglas Lowenstein (Entertainment Software Association). See, notice. Location: Room 419, Dirksen Building.

CANCELLED. 10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee will meet to mark up several bills, including HR 4518, the "Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act 2004", HR 338, the "Federal Agency Protection of Privacy Act of 2004", and HR 3632, the "Anti-Counterfeiting Amendments of 2003".

POSTPONED. 10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing titled "Problems with the E-rate Program: Waste, Fraud, and Abuse Concerns in the Wiring of Our Nation's Schools to the Internet". The hearing will be webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing titled "DHS Oversight: Terrorism and Other Topics". Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge will testify. See, notice. Press contact: Margarita Tapia (Hatch) at 202 224-5225 or David Carle (Leahy) at 202 224-4242. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host a brown bag lunch. This is an election and organizational meeting. Person interested in running for office should contact either Ryan Wallach at rwallach@willkie.com or 202-303-1159, or Pam Slipakoff at Pam.Slipakoff@fcc.gov or 202-418-7705. Location: Willkie Farr & Gallagher, 1875 K Street, NW, second floor.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Mass Media Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The speaker will be Ken Ferree, Chief of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Media Bureau. The topic will be "Current Issues at the Media Bureau". Location: National Association of Broadcasters, 1771 N Street, NW.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a brown bag lunch program titled "The U.S. Science and Technology Enterprise: Are We Making the Right Choices?". The speaker will be John Marburger, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in the Executive Office of the President. RSVP to Jennifer Buntman at 202 986-4901 or to buntman@newamerica.net. See, notice. Location: NAF, 1630 Connecticut Ave., NW, 7th Floor.

2:00 PM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Neomagic v. Trident Microsystems. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) regarding its proposed rules changes to adjust certain patent fee amounts to reflect fluctuations in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). See, notice in the Federal Register, May 10, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 90, at Pages 25861 - 25864.

Deadline to submit comments to the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) regarding its proposed rules changes regarding accounting policies and procedures for RUS Telecommunications Borrowers. See, notice in the Federal Register: May 10, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 90, at Pages 25848 - 25856.

Deadline to submit requests for grant applications to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for grants under the Pan-Pacific Education and Communications Experiments by Satellite (PEACESAT) program. See, notice in the Federal Register, May 10, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 90, at Pages 25883 - 25885.

Thursday, June 10

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

Day one of a two day conference titled "SecurE-biz.net Security Summit". At 8:30 AM, Amit Yoran, the Director of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) National Cyber Security Division, will speak. Prices to attend vary. For more information, contact John Weiler at 703 768-0400 or john@ICHnet.org. Location: Marriott Metro Center, 775 12th St., NW.

The Department of Commerce (DOC) will host a one day event titled "International Travel to the U.S.: Dialogue on the Current State of Play". See, agenda. Location: DOC, Main Auditorium, 1401 Constitution Ave., NW.

9:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold a meeting. See, agenda [PDF] and story titled "FCC Announces Agenda for June 10 Meeting" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 911, June 4, 2004. The event will be webcast. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Room TW-C05 (Commission Meeting Room).

10:00 AM. The House Ways and Means Committee will meet to mark up HR 4520, the "American Jobs Creation Act of 2004". This bill would, among other things, replace the ETI/FSC tax regimes. Press contact: 202-225-8933. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

RESCHEDULED FOR JUNE 15. 10:00 AM. The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of Alan Greenspan to be Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. See, notice. Location: undisclosed.

CANCELLED. 11:30 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property will hold a hearing titled "Internet Streaming of Radio Broadcasts: Balancing the Interests of Sound Recording Copyright Owners with Those of Broadcasters".

POSTPONED. 12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee will host a luncheon titled "The DMCA Revisited: What's Fair?" RSVP to rsvp@netcaucus.org or 202 638-4370. See, notice. Location: Room HC-5, Capitol Building.

12:15 PM. The DC Bar Association and the Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Transactional Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The topic will be "The Nuts and Bolts of Transfers of Control at the FCC". The speakers will be Neil Dellar (FCC's Office of the General Counsel), William Dever (Wireline Competition Bureau), William Freedman (Enforcement Bureau), Susan O'Connell (International Bureau), Royce Sherlock (Media Bureau), Jeff Tobias (Wireless Telecommunications Bureau), and Julie Veach (Wireline Competition Bureau). Prices vary. See, notice. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St.

1:00 - 4:00 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "Market Shock and Trading Efficiency: A Comparison of Electronic and Non-Electronic Markets". The speakers will be Peter Wallison (AEI), Kenneth Lehn (University of Pittsburgh), Sukesh Patro (UPitt), Kuldeep Shastri (UPitt), Paul Bennett (New York Stock Exchange), Lawrence Harris (Securities and Exchange Commission), Frank Hatheway (Nasdaq), Mike Plunkett (Instinet), Benn Steil (Council on Foreign Relations). See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

Friday, June 11

The House will not meet.

President Bush issued an Executive Order stating that "All executive departments, independent establishments, and other governmental agencies shall be closed on June 11, 2004, as a mark of respect for Ronald Reagan, the fortieth President of the United States." It adds that "this order shall not apply to those offices and installations, or parts thereof, in the Department of State, the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, or other departments, independent establishments, and governmental agencies that the heads thereof determine should remain open for reasons of national security or defense or other essential public business." See also, memorandum of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) added in a release that its "EDGAR filing system will not accept filings on Friday, June 11".

8:30 AM - 3:00 PM. George Mason University Law School (GMULS) will host a conference titled "The Law and Economics of Cyber Security". The speakers (and their affiliations and topics), include Bruce Kobayashi (GMULS, The Law & Economics of Cybersecurity), Yochai Benkler (Yale LS, Distributed Social Provisioning of Redundant Critical Infrastructures), Randy Picker (University of Chicago LS, Raising Transaction Costs and Network Security: Of Heterogeneity and Autarchy), Jack Goldsmith and Tim Wu (University of Virginia LS, Internet Jurisdiction over Crime and Terrorism). Joel Trachtman (Tufts LS, Global Cybersecurity, Jurisdiction, and International Organization), Amitai Aviram (Florida State University, A Paradox of Spontaneous Formation), Eric Posner and Doug Lichtman (University of Chicago LS, National versus International Regulation), and Neal Katyal (Georgetown LS, The Dark Side of Private Ordering for Cybersecurity). See, conference brochure [PDF]. Location: GMULS, 3301 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA.

POSTPONED. 10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will hold a hearing on HR __, the "Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2004". The hearing will be webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

Day one of a two day conference titled "SecurE-biz.net Security Summit". Prices to attend vary. For more information, contact John Weiler at 703 768-0400 or john@ICHnet.org. Location: Marriott Metro Center, 775 12th St., NW.

Monday, June 14

The Supreme Court will return from a recess that it began on Monday, June 7, 2004.

2:00 - 5:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee on Diversity for Communications in the Digital Age will meet. For more information, contact Jane Mago at 202 418-2030 or Maureen McLaughlin at 202 418-2030. See, FCC notice [PDF] and notice in the Federal Register, May 6, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 88, at Pages 25390 - 25391. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW.

6:30 to 8:30 PM. The National Press Club will host an event titled "Cybersecurity: The Threat and the Response". The speakers will be Wilson Dizard (Senior Editor, Government Computer News), Bob Dix (House Government Reform Committee's Technology and Information Policy Subcommittee), Richard Forno, and Hun Kim (Department of Homeland Security's National Cyber Security Division). Prices vary. For more information, call 202 662-7129. Location: National Press Club, 529 14th St., NW.

6:30 - 8:30 PM. The DC Bar Association's Arts, Entertainment and Sports Law Section will host a panel discussion titled "D.C. Confidential: Does The First Amendment Protect A Journalist's Conversations With A Source? A Roundtable Debate". Prices vary. See, notice. For more information, contact 202 626-3463. Location: National Press Club, Holeman Lounge, 13th Floor, 529 14th Street, NW.

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