6/22. Three members of the House of Representatives and a collection of interest groups and companies held a press conference to describe and promote HR 107, the "Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act of 2003". Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) and Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), who are the original sponsors of the bill, and Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), the Chairman of the House Commerce Committee (HCC), praised the bill, and predicted that the HCC will approve the bill in July.

Rep. Barton (at left) stated that "I am here to strongly endorse the Boucher Doolittle bill. We hope that we can mark that up in the very near future." He added later that "It is my hope to have a markup sometime in July."

Rep. Doolittle said that "unfortunately we now have a law on the books that tilts the balance", and the balance needs to be restored. He said that if it is not, innovation will be constrained. He also asserted that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is "nearly destroying the fair use rights of consumers".

"The time has come to pass this much needed measure", said Rep. Boucher. He added that "fair use rights in the digital era depend upon the enactment of this bill."

"The DMCA holds the potential for the complete extinguishment of the exercise of fair use rights with regards to digital media. And, so in putting this measure forward we are acting in the effort to save the right of consumers to use digital media in pursuit of their fair use rights in the way that is most convenient to them", said Rep. Boucher.

Summary of HR 107. The primary purpose of HR 107 is to amend the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA, which are codified at 17 U.S.C. § 1201. See also, the Copyright Office's summary [18 pages PDF] of the DMCA, and the full text [96 pages in PDF] of the DMCA.

§ 1201(a)(1)(A), which was added in 1998 by the DMCA, provides that "No person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title."

Then, § 1201(a)(2)( A) provides that "No person shall manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide, or otherwise traffic in any technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof, that --- (A) is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of circumventing a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title;"

Furthermore, § 1201(b)(1)(A) provides that "No person shall manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide, or otherwise traffic in any technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof, that --- (A) is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of circumventing protection afforded by a technological measure that effectively protects a right of a copyright owner under this title in a work or a portion thereof".

HR 107 would amend § 1201(c)(1), which currently provides that "Nothing in this section shall affect rights, remedies, limitations, or defenses to copyright infringement, including fair use, under this title."

HR 107 bill would add to this sentence the following phrase: "and it is not a violation of this section to circumvent a technological measure in connection with access to, or the use of, a work if such circumvention does not result in an infringement of the copyright in the work".

Also, the bill would add to § (c) the following new subparagraph: "(5) It shall not be a violation of this title to manufacture, distribute, or make noninfringing use of a hardware or software product capable of enabling significant noninfringing use of a copyrighted work."

The bill would also add to both § 1201(a)(1)(A) and § 1201(b)(1)(A) an exception for scientific research. Specifically, the bill provides that "Subsections (a)(2)(A) and (b)(1)(A) ... are each amended by inserting after ‘‘title’’ in subsection (a)(2)(A) and after ‘‘thereof’’ in subsection (b)(1)(A) the following: ‘‘unless the person is acting solely in furtherance of scientific research into technological protection measures’’."

While these proposed substantive provisions do not expressly reference "fair use", it is the intent of drafters, as revealed by their statements upon introduction, at the HCC's May 12, 2004 hearing, and at the June 22 event, to provide that circumvention of copy protection measures for the purpose of exercising fair use rights protected by 17 U.S.C. § 107 is not a violation of the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA.

The consequences of providing this fair use exception would be to enable circumvention for fair use purposes, and to enable circumvention for infringing purposes. The speakers at the June 22 event stressed only the former consequence.

That is, once copy protection technology is circumvented, there is no technology that can limit the number of copies that can be produced from the original. Nor is there any technology that can distinguish between a fair use circumvention and an infringing circumvention. Thus, the practical effect of HR 107 would be not only to protect fair use circumvention of copy protection measures, but also to undermine the effectiveness of the DMCA's anti-circumvention provisions.

Witnesses who testified in opposition to HR 107 at a May 12, 2004 hearing argued that HR 107 would effectively nullify § 1201, or swallow the rule. See, story titled "House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Creating Fair Use Exceptions to DMCA" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 899, May 17, 2004.

See also, and stories titled "Reps. Boucher and Doolittle Introduce Digital Media Consumer Rights Act" and "Summary of the Digital Media Consumer Rights Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 532, October 4, 2002; and story titled "Reps. Boucher and Doolittle Introduce Digital Fair Use Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 582, January 14, 2003.

Prospects for passage. This June 22 event was organized, in part, to demonstrate support for the bill. Rep. Boucher, in particular, also used the occasion to argue that the prospects for passage of the bill are good.

He stated that "The passage of this measure is within our reach during the course of this Congress. And even if we take another year or two beyond this Congress, we are establishing tremendous momentum this year, with the movement forward of this bill in the House." He noted it took eight years to pass the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and six years to pass the DMCA.

"So, it might, yes, take us a couple of years beyond the current Congress in order to achieve this result. But, we are making tremendous progress as we move this measure forward." He added that "I believe potentially we can achieve passage this year."

Rep. Boucher also addressed committee consideration. He said that "The way that the rules of the House operate, a committee that has secondary jurisdiction may not, through inaction or negative action, prevent the bill from going to the floor. Under the current House rules, there is a referral to a committee primarily, and there may be subsequent sequential referrals that are secondary in nature."

He continued that "In the case of HR 107, the committee of primary jurisdiction is the House Energy and Commerce Committee. That is the committee that will act on this measure. A secondary sequential referral will be made to House Judiciary. It will be time limited. That committee will have an opportunity to propose amendments, if it chooses to do so. Those amendments can then be considered by the House Rules Committee which will decide on the order of proceeding on the floor. And the Rules Committee may or may not make the Judiciary Committee's amendments in order."

Rep. Boucher also said that "Judiciary is undoubtedly going to have a slightly different view than I have, or that I think that a majority of the Commerce Committee members will have. And Judiciary will have its opportunity to construct amendments to the bill. Those potentially could be made in order for floor debate. But if they are, I think that our position will prevail on the floor, because I think that the House Energy and Commerce Committee is more nearly reflective of the broad membership of the House than is the House Judiciary Committee on matters such as this."

No companion bill has yet been introduced in the Senate. However, Rep. Boucher said that he believes that a companion bill in the Senate would be referred to the Senate Commerce Committee, not the Senate Judiciary Committee.

He also said that he has been talking to Senators about introducing a bill, but would not say who they are.

Supporters of HR 107. The event on June 22 also announced and introduced a coalition of companies and groups named the Personal Technology Freedom Coalition (PTFC) that supports HR 107.

Members of the PTFC include the four incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs), BellSouth, Qwest, SBC, and Verizon, and their trade association, the U.S. Telecom Association (USTA).

The PTFC is a newly formed group. Its website went online on June 22. The Whois database records that the PTFC's domain is registered to, and administered by, a BellSouth subsidiary.

Herschel Abbott, a BellSouth VP, spoke at the event. He advocated consumer rights. He added in a written statement that "Our customers do not want us to be the Internet Police and we don't want that either."

He did not articulate what business reason the ILECs have for supporting this legislation. Nor did he provide any examples of how the ILECs have been involved in the enforcement of the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA.

Although, Verizon has been involved in extensive litigation with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) over another section of the DMCA -- § 512(h), pertaining to subpoenas to ISPs to obtain the identities of infringers. See, story titled "DC Circuit Reverses in RIAA v. Verizon" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 804, December 22, 2004.

The PTFC membership also includes Sun Microsystems, Gateway, Intel, and Philips Consumer Electronics North America. It also includes several library groups.

While most of the discussion at the June 22 event focused on consumer fair use rights, some members of the PTFC advanced other arguments in support of HR 107.

Gary Shapiro, the P/CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), which is a member of the PTFC, stated in a release that "Innovators are blocked from bringing legitimate competitive products to the market, even where no exploitation of a copyrighted work is involved".

Ed Black, President of the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), who spoke at the event, argued that the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA threaten national security by "exposing computer security researchers to possible litigation for merely searching computer products for vulnerabilities that real criminals and terrorists could exploit".

6/22. The Library of Congress' summary of HR 107, the "Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act of 2003", states that this bill was "Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned".

Moreover, this bill has also been referred to the House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. It has also been referred to the House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property.

This article addresses how this referral to the HJC came about.

The House rules address the jurisdiction of committees, and the referral of bills. House Rule X, which defines the jurisdiction of the various committees of the House, provides that the HJC has jurisdiction over "Patents, the Patent and Trademark Office, copyrights, and trademarks".

Rule X also provides that the HJC has jurisdiction over "The judiciary and judicial proceedings, civil and criminal". That is, it has jurisdiction over crime bills. The DMCA criminalizes certain conduct.

Rule X provides that the HCC has jurisdiction over "Interstate and foreign commerce generally", as well as "Consumer affairs and consumer protection".

Also, House Rule XII, which is titled "Receipt and Referral of Measures and Matters", addresses primary jurisdiction of committees, and sequential referrals. See also, Congressional Research Service (CRS) report [2 pages in PDF] titled "House Committee Jurisdiction and Referral: Rules and Practice".

Rule X also gives the HCC jurisdiction over "Regulation of interstate and foreign communications". No one is arguing that HR 107 is a communications bill. However, this grant means that the HCC has jurisdiction over federal regulation of telecommunications.

This makes carriers, such as BellSouth, Qwest, SBC and Verizon, which have long been hostile to copyright protection in a variety of legislative debates, a part of the constituency of the HCC. And because the HCC writes telecommunications legislation, and oversees the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), these companies have come to have closer relationships, and more influence, with members of the HCC than with the members of other committees.

Similarly, since the HJC has jurisdiction over copyright, the copyright based industries, such as movies, music, games, and software, are part of the constituency of the HJC. They have closer relationships, and more influence, with members of the HJC. See also, story titled "House Commerce and Judiciary Committees Vie for High Tech Leadership", June 15, 1999.

The telecommunications companies have simply taken their request for legislation to the committee with which they have more influence.

The primary purpose of HR 107 is to amend the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which contains within its title the word "Copyright". The anti-circumvention provisions, which are found in § 1201, make numerous reference to copyrights and infringement.

§ 1201 is also a part of Title 17 of the U.S. Code, which codifies copyright law. The placement of § 1201 within Title 17 is not the result of a compiler's decision. The DMCA, which was HR 2281 in the 105th Congress, provided that "Title 17, United States Code is amended by adding at the end the following new chapter: ``CHAPTER 12—COPYRIGHT PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS´´." Also, this new Chapter 12 included § 1201, which the bill titled "Circumvention of copyright protection systems".

Moreover, the West Group has designated 17 U.S.C. § 1201 a part of the "Copyright Act of 1976".

And furthermore, proponents of HR 107 describe their bill in terms of "copyright" and "fair use". The key section title and subsection title of HR 107 use the term "fair use". There is also the number of the bill -- 107. § 107 is the fair use section. Rep. Boucher specifically requested the assignment of this number.

Yet, Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) has successfully convinced the House Parliamentarian that HR 107 is not a copyright bill.

He drafted the bill carefully with jurisdiction in mind. He did several things to support the argument that this is not a copyright bill. First, he presented the bill as a measure to protect consumers. The HCC has jurisdiction over consumer protection. For example, he added language to the bill giving the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) authority, under its power to protect consumers, to regulate the labelling of DVDs. This provision has gone almost unmentioned at events such as the one on June 22, and the HCC's hearing on May 12. However, this provision is fundamental to Rep. Boucher's case that the HCC should have jurisdiction.

Second, Rep. Boucher (at right) has presented this bill as a measure to regulate interstate commerce. The HCC has jurisdiction over interstate commerce. The bill states that "The Congress finds ... The limited introduction into commerce of `copy protected compact discs´ has caused consumer confusion ..."

Third, while the section and subsection titles in HR 107 reference "fair use", the substantive provisions of the bill carefully avoid any reference to either "fair use" or § 107. That is, key provisions of the bill do not provide, for example, that "fair use circumvention is permissible". Rather, these key provisions are drafted in a complex double negative that omits the terms fair use.

For example, the bill does provide that "it is not a violation of this section to circumvent a technological measure in connection with access to, or the use of, a work if such circumvention does not result in an infringement of the copyright in the work". § 107 provides that "the fair use of a copyrighted work ... is not an infringement of copyright", and this is the section that, if HR 107 is passed, will be asserted. But, by drafting this section of the bill with language that does not actually use the words "fair use", Rep. Boucher bolstered his argument that HR 107 is not a copyright bill, and hence, that the HCC should have jurisdiction.

The drafting of HR 107 sought to avoid HJC jurisdiction by omitting substantive reference to fair use. However, there was no way to draft a statute amending the DMCA that did not reference the DMCA. Hence, to avoid HJC jurisdiction, Rep. Boucher has also had to argue that the DMCA is not a copyright statute.

TLJ spoke with Rep. Boucher about this subject after the event on June 22. He first summarized his argument. "Well, you see, it doesn't amend the Copyright Act. You see, that is one of the key considerations here. That is a mistake that many people make. The DMCA is not a copyright statute. It is incorrectly named ``Digital Millennium Copyright Act´´. But is not a copyright statute. It does not amend the copyright title. It does not create any new copyright rights."

He elaborated that "What it does is create a crime of circumvention for people who bypass technology in order to access a copyrighted work. But, it technically is not a copyright statute. That is why the clause in the dag gone bill, that says that the defense of fair use is in no way affected by this statute, is ineffective, because that defense is only a defense in the law only to a charge of copyright infringement. It is not a defense in the law to the separate crime created in the DMCA of circumvention. If it were we wouldn't be doing this."

Rep. Boucher continued that "The Commerce Committee has jurisdiction because of the totality of what is contained in this. Bear in mind that when the DMCA was passed, the Commerce Committee had a secondary referral and offered fair use amendments that were made a part of the final law. And that is what set up this process over at the Copyright Office that they go through now and sort of try and define categories of works where the fair use rights of users would be inhibited by the DMCA."

Rep. Boucher's statement referred to 17 U.S.C. § 1201, at subsections (C) and (D). See also, the Copyright Office's web section addressing its rulemaking on the classes of works subject to the exemption from the prohibition against circumvention.

Rep. Boucher added, "But, it has been a total failure, and in fact we only got a tenth of a loaf at the time we were negotiating those particular amendments in further stages of the process. And they got whittled down from what the Commerce Committee had proposed."

He concluded, "And so, I mention that only by example to show you that the DMCA itself was referred only sequentially to the Commerce Committee last time. This time we have a different bill. It is written in a different way. It is written in a way that persuaded the Parliamentarian that the primary jurisdiction should be with the Commerce Committee."

6/18. Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC), Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL), and Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced HR 4615, the "Playwrights Licensing Antitrust Initiative Act of 2004", a bill to modify the application of the antitrust laws to permit collective development and implementation of a standard contract form for playwrights for the licensing of their plays. It was referred to the House Judiciary Committee.

6/17. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Ron Wyden (R-OR) introduced S 2536, the "Homeland Security Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Protection Act of 2004". Sen. Collins stated that "Under the leadership of Secretary Ridge, the new Department of Homeland Security has won praise for its commitment to the protection of our freedoms. Secretary Ridge has provided the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and the Privacy Officer with the tools they need to be effective." However, she said, the Homeland Security Act 2002, which created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), does not codify these efforts. She explained that the bill "would write into law the activities of the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties" and provide "that the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties as well as the Privacy Officer should report directly to the Secretary, and requires coordination between those officers to ensure an integrated and comprehensive approach to the important issues they address."

6/17. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) introduced S 2540, the "Educational Radio Protection Act", a bill to protect educational FM radio stations providing public service broadcasting. It was referred to the Senate Commerce Committee. Sen. Cantwell is a member.

6/22. Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), and Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) released a statement on June 22, attacking both the substance of HR 107 and the procedure being used to attempt to pass the bill.

Rep. Sensenbrenner and Rep. Conyers are the Chairman and ranking Democrat of the House Judiciary Committee. Rep. Smith and Rep. Berman are the Chairman and ranking Democrat of the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property.

Rep. Berman (at right) represents a southern California district, and has a long history of advocating the copyright interests of the entertainment industries. Rep. Conyers represents a Detroit, Michigan district, and has long advocated the interests of music companies and artists.

The four stated that "We strongly oppose the substance of H.R. 107. This legislation would eviscerate a key provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which is successfully protecting copyrighted works and providing consumers access to more digital content than ever before. In fact, a DVD player is now as common a household item as the VCR was 15 years ago precisely because of the DMCA. H.R. 107 would undo a law that is working and destroy the careful balance in copyright law between consumers' rights and intellectual property rights."

They continued, "Furthermore, our strong objections to the substance of H.R. 107 are matched by our objections to what appears to be a bold jurisdictional power grab. The Judiciary Committee has -- and has long had -- exclusive jurisdiction over copyright law. Rest assured, we will wholeheartedly oppose this move in a bipartisan fashion, as we would expect Energy and Commerce Committee leaders to do if we attempted to write energy legislation."

Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), the lead sponsor of HR 107, has exercised great legislative skill so far in using the procedural rules of the House, his drafting of the bill, and the ruling of the Parliamentarian, to set the House agenda in the manner that is most favorable for passage of the bill by the House.

However, there remains substantial opposition. First, there is the membership of the House Judiciary Committee, who not only oppose the bill, but oppose Commerce Committee encroachment upon both their jurisdiction and expertise.

Moreover, the House Republican leadership has few legislative days remaining on which to schedule floor debates. Hence, they may not wish to devote some of the little remaining time to a bill upon which two committees are divided, and which has not even been introduced in the Senate.

There is also the matter of the powerful groups that are actively opposing this bill. These include the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Business Software Alliance (BSA), other trade groups that represent copyright based industries, and the copyright based companies.

Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), the lead co-sponsor of HR 107, noted at the event on June 22 that Jack Valenti, the President of the MPAA, has been visiting members of Congress to discuss this bill.

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

9:30 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) FY 2005 budget request, the enhanced Computer Assisted Passenger Pre-screening System (CAPPS), and other issues. This witnesses will include Asa Hutchinson (Under Secretary, Border and Transportation Security, DHS), Thomas Kinton (Massachusetts Port Authority), James May (Air Transport Association America), Patricia Friend (Association of Flight Attendants-CWA). Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee will meet to mark up several bills, including HR 338, the "Defense of Privacy Act", a bill to require that when agencies write rules, they take into consideration the impact of these rules on the privacy of individuals, and HR 3632, the "Anti-Counterfeiting Amendments of 2003". The meeting will be webcast by the Committee. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Finance Committee will hold a meeting regarding the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on pending judicial nominees. See, notice. Press contact: Margarita Tapia (Hatch) at 202 224-5225 or David Carle (Leahy) at 202 224-4242. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

11:30 AM. The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of David Stone to be Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). See, notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

1:30 PM. The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "Protecting Homeland Security: A Status Report on Interoperability Between Public Safety Communications Systems". The witnesses will be David Boyd (Department of Homeland Security), Gary Grube (Motorola), Robert Legrande (District of Columbia), and John Muleta (Federal Communications Commission). The hearing will be webcast by the Committee. See, notice. Press contacts: Jon Tripp (Barton) at 202 225-5735 or Sean Bonyun (Upton) at 202 225-3761. Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.

TIME CHANGE. 2:00 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Competition, Foreign Commerce, and Infrastructure will hold a hearing titled "The Future of Peer to Peer (P2P) Technology". Howard Beales (Director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection), John Rose (The EMI Group), Michael Weiss (StreamCast Networks -- Morpheus), and Les Ottolenghi (Intent MediaWorks). Curt Pederson (Oregon State University). See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

3:00 PM. The House Ways and Means Committee will meet to mark up several bills, including a draft of HR __, the "United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act". See, notice. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

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

POSTPONED. 9:00 AM. The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee will hold the second part of its hearing titled "Buyer Beware: The Danger of Purchasing Pharmaceuticals Over The Internet". See, notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

9:30 AM. The House Commerce Committee will meet to mark up several bills, including HR 4600, the "Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2004" and HR 2929, the "Safeguard Against Privacy Invasions Act" or "SPY Act". This is Rep. Mary Bono's (R-CA) spyware bill. The meeting will be webcast by the Committee. See, notice. The Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection approved an amendment in the nature of a substitute [18 pages in PDF] on June 17, 2004. See, story titled "House Subcommittee Approves Spyware Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 922, June 21, 2004. The meeting will be webcast by the Committee. Press contact: Larry Neal or Samantha Jordan at 202 225-5735. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a business meeting. 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 - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association's Arts, Entertainment and Sports Law Section will host a lunch titled "Indecent Exposure: Broadcast Standards and the First Amendment". The speakers will be Lee Carosi (Majority Counsel, Senate Commerce Committee) Thomas Carpenter (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists), Robert Corn-Revere (Davis Wright & Tremaine), Kelly Zerzan (Majority Counsel, House Commerce Committee), and John Davis Malloy. Prices vary. See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3463. Location: Jenner & Block, 601 13th Street, NW, Concourse Level.

12:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will hold its Annual Meeting and Luncheon. The speaker will be Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy. Location: J.W. Marriott, 1331 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The House Science Committee's Subcommittee on Environment, Technology, and Standards will hold a hearing titled "Testing and Certification for Voting Equipment: How Can the Process Be Improved?" Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

4:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property will hold a hearing titled "Patent Quality Improvement: Post-Grant Opposition". The hearing will be webcast by the Committee. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to assist it in preparing its report (which is required by the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act, 15 U.S.C. § 7601 et seq.) on the strength of competition in the sale of prescription contact lenses. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 22, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 78, at Pages 21833 - 21836.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rule making (NPRM) regarding expanding the disruption reporting requirements beyond wireline carriers. See, notice in the March 26, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 59, at Pages 15761 - 15774.

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

5:45 - 8:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) Cable Committee and Legislation Committee will hold a joint brown bag lunch. The speakers will be majority and minority counsel for the House Commerce Committee. RSVP to Wendy Parish at wendy@fcba.org. Location: Willkie Farr & Gallagher, 1875 K Street, NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding presubscribed interexchange carrier (PIC) change charge policies. This NPRM is FCC 04-96 in CC Docket No. 02-53. See, notice in the Federal Register, May 26, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 102, at Pages 29913 - 29917.

The House and Senate will not meet on June 28 through July 5.

The Supreme Court will return from the recess that it began on June 21.

1:00 PM. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) will host a telephone press conference to discuss the Supreme Court's opinion in Ashcroft v. ACLU, a challenge to the constitutionality of the Child Online Protection Act (COPA). If the Supreme Court does not issue the opinion on this date, then the CDT will reschedule this conference for the next likely date for the issuance of the opinion -- June 28. To participate, call 334 260-2557 and provide security code 36991.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) [97 pages in PDF] regarding issues relating to services and applications utilizing internet protocol (IP). This NPRM is FCC 04-28 in WC Docket No. 04-36. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 29, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 60, at Pages 16193 - 16202. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts NPRM Regarding Regulation of Internet Protocol Services" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 837, February 16, 2004.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding changes to the FCC Form 477 local competition and broadband data gathering program. This NPRM is FCC 04-81 in WC Docket No. 04-141. See, notice in the Federal Register, May 27, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 103, at Pages 30252 - 30277.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. There will be a meeting of the WRC-07 Advisory Committee, Informal Working Group 5: Regulatory Issues. See, FCC notice [PDF]. Location: The Boeing Company, 1200 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA.

3:00 - 5:00 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "Terror, Torts, and Teleco: The Supreme Court's 2003-2004 Term". The speakers will be Viet Dinh (Georgetown University Law Center), Richard Garnett (Notre Dame Law School), Edward Warren (Kirkland & Ellis), and Michael Greve (AEI). See, notice and registration page. Location: AEI, Twelfth floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

The Defense Science Board Task Force on Global Positioning System will hold a closed meeting to discuss Galileo and other future radio navigation satellite systems. See, notice in the Federal Register, May 18, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 96, at Pages 28125 - 28126. Location: Strategic Analysis Inc., 3601 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA.

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. Location: 8th Floor Conference Room, Dow Lohnes & Albertson, 1200 New Hampshire Ave., NW.

2:00 PM. The Japan International Transport Institute and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will host a conference titled "Aviation Security of Tomorrow". There will be a technology demonstration from 1:00 - 7:00 PM that will feature an IPv6-based secure peer-to-peer communication service platform, information secrecy management solutions using a multi-purpose smartcard, and radio frequency tags. The speakers will include Asa Hutchinson, Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Masayuki Nomura (NTT Communications Corporation) will give a technology demonstration. There will be a reception from 5:30 - 7:00 PM. See, notice and registration page. Registration is required by June 25. Location: Grand Hyatt Washington, 1000 H Street, NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) regarding its document titled "Exposure Draft, Share-Based Payment, an Amendment of FASB Statements No. 123 and 95", in which it proposes to that companies must expense employee stock option plans.

Deadline to submit applications to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for grants for homeland security related information technology demonstration projects. See, DHS release.

6/22. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published a notice in the Federal Register that summarizes, and sets comment deadlines for, its public notice (DA 04-1690) requesting public comments on constitutionally permissible ways for the FCC to identify and eliminate market entry barriers for small telecommunications businesses and to further opportunities in the allocation of spectrum-based services for small businesses and businesses owned by women and minorities. Comments are due by July 22, 2004. Reply comments are due by August 6, 2004. See, Federal Register, June 22, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 119, at Pages 34672 - 34673.

6/22. The Copyright Office published a notice in the Federal Register that summarizes, and states the effective date (June 22, 2004), of its final rule "amending its regulations governing the content and service of certain notices on the copyright owner of a musical work. The notice is served or filed by a person who intends to use a musical work to make and distribute phonorecords, including by means of digital phonorecord deliveries, under a compulsory license." See, Federal Register, June 22, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 119, at Pages 34578 - 34585.

6/21. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released a draft of the U.S. Bahrain Free Trade Agreement.

6/17. Pascal Lamy, the EU Trade Commissioner, issued a release regarding the House passage of HR 4520, the "American Jobs Creation Act of 2004", a bill that repeals the ETI tax regime. He stated that  "I have repeatedly stated that our objective remains the withdrawal of the US illegal subsidy, and compliance with the WTO’s findings. Today, thanks to the efforts of Chairman Thomas and his colleagues in the House, we are a step closer to this objective. I very much hope that both the House and Senate can now agree on a final text so that an FSC/ETI repeal bill is rapidly adopted and signed into law by President Bush. It goes without saying that the moment WTO compliant legislation becomes law, the EU will immediately repeal the countermeasures. That will be good news for all involved in transatlantic trade. Let's hope the time will shortly come to put this long standing dispute behind us once and for all." On May 11, 2004, the Senate passed its ETI repeal bill, S 1637, the "Jumpstart Our Business Strength (JOBS) Act". On June 17, 2004 the House passed its bill. See, story titled "House Passes Bill to Repeal ETI" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 921, June 18, 2004. See also, story titled "EU Imposes FSC/ETI Sanctions" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 847, March 2, 2004.

6/22. Pascal Lamy, the EU Trade Commissioner, gave a speech at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan titled "Globalisation and Trade: How to make sure there is space for development?"

6/21. The European Community announced in a release that it "is submitting today to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva its instrument of accession to the Madrid Protocol on the international registration of trademarks. It is the first time that the EC as such accedes to a WIPO treaty. This link will allow businesses to benefit from the advantages of the Community Trademark through the Madrid Protocol system and vice-versa, which will simplify procedures, reduce the costs for international protection and make administration easier."

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