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July 25, 2005, 9:00 AM ET, Alert No. 1,181.
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GAO Finds that DHS Violated Privacy Act

7/22. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) wrote a letter [16 pages in PDF] to the Chairmen and ranking Democrats of several House and Senate committees in which it states that the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) violated the Privacy Act in connection with its use of commercial databases in its implementation of its Secure Flight program.

The report states that the "TSA did not fully disclose to the public its use of personal information in its fall 2004 privacy notices as required by the Privacy Act. In particular, the public was not made fully aware of, nor had the opportunity to comment on, TSA's use of personal information drawn from commercial sources to test aspects of the Secure Flight program."

Before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the airline companies conducted passenger screening, and administered the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS), subject to federal guidelines. In late 2001, the Congress passed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, which created the TSA as a unit of the Department of Transportation (DOT). This Act gave the TSA responsibility for airport passenger screening. In late 2002, the Congress passed the Homeland Security Act, which, among other things, created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and transferred the TSA from the DOT to the new DHS.

The TSA then developed a new passenger screening program, which it named CAPPS II. However, this program was criticized on privacy grounds. The DHS then stated that it terminated the CAPPS II program. It also immediately reincarnated CAPPS II as the current Secure Flight program.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), the Chairman and ranking Democrat on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, stated in a release that "We understand that, in response to GAO's assertions, TSA took corrective actions to inform the public of its actual test protocols through updated Privacy Notices. However, that action does not excuse TSA's failure to meet basic Privacy Act requirements in carrying out this program ... Given fundamental concerns surrounding the government's use of personal information and the unfortunate history of TSA's passenger prescreening program, careless missteps such as this jeopardize the public trust and DHS' ability to deploy a much-needed, new system."

Thomas Donohue, P/CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce stated in a release that "Having a presidentially-appointed coordinator at a high level will greatly benefit the combined efforts of government and business in this fight."

On April 17, 2002, Israel gave a speech titled "Prometheans in Alaska -- Education and Technology, the Foundation of our Future". See also, story titled "Commerce Department Official Addresses Broadband Policy" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 415, April 22, 2002.

On October 8, 2002, he gave a speech in which he addressed the benefits of technology, the role of technology in regional competitiveness, policies that can promote regional technology development, and broadband demand. See also, story titled "Commerce Department Official Addresses Regional Technology Development" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 527, October 10, 2002.

On January 31, 2002, he gave a speech titled "Online Privacy -- Observations, Acknowledgements, Actions Taken and Challenges". On June 25, 2002, he gave a speech titled "Sharing the Promise of Technology in a Networked World".

Copyright Office Commences Rulemaking on Preregistration of Unpublished Works

7/22. The Copyright Office published a notice in the Federal Register that describes, recites, and sets comment deadlines for its proposed rules implementing the preregistration of unpublished works provision of the Artists' Rights and Theft Prevention Act (ART Act).

Earlier this year, the Congress enacted, and the President signed into law, the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005 (FECA). It was S 167. It is now Public Law No. 109-9. See also, story titled "House Approves Copyright Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,119, April 20, 2005.

The FECA was a large composite bill that included the ART Act. The ART Act may be best known for its ban on camcorders in movie theaters. That is, it criminalizes certain unauthorized recording of motion pictures in motion picture exhibition facilities.

However, the ART Act also contains a related provision that requires the Register of Copyrights to "establish procedures for preregistration of a work that is being prepared for commercial distribution and has not been published ... for any work that is in a class of works that the Register determines has had a history of infringement prior to authorized commercial distribution". It also provides that infringement actions may be based upon these preregistrations.

The CO's notice states that "this new law permits owners of works in certain classes that have experienced a history of infringement prior to commercial distribution to preregister a work prior to its publication during the period when the work is being prepared for commercial distribution."

Registration of copyright with the CO is a prerequisite for suit for infringement of United States works and a prerequisite for awards of attorney's fees and statutory damages. Yet, pirates often obtain, copy, and disseminate works before that are reduced to final form and released to the public. These acts can cause significant commercial harm. These acts occur before the copyright holder has obtained a certificate of registration from the CO.

Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property, explained the dilemma during floor debate in the House. He said that "Even more detrimental to copyright owners than camcording a movie in the theaters is the effect of distributing an unauthorized copy of a movie or sound recording as it is prepared for commercial distribution. Distributing a film before final edits are made can undermine artistic integrity and can also harm the film's commercial prospects because the release is typically coordinated with a marketing effort. Sections 103 and 104 provide for enhanced penalties for prerelease of a work being prepared for commercial distribution. Furthermore, it requires the Copyright Office to establish rules for preregistration of works."

The ART Act specifies that this preregistration option shall be available for "a class of works that the Register determines has had a history of infringement prior to authorized commercial distribution". The proposed rules narrowly construe this "class of works" to include only certain motion pictures, sound recordings, and nondramatic musical works.

This leaves out both software and books, although there have been instances of pre-release infringement in these media. For example, the landmark case of Harper & Row v. Nation, 471 U.S. 539 (1985), involved the theft of galleys of former President Ford's memoirs, before his publisher, Harper & Row, had published his memoirs.

The notice states that that CO "seeks comments on whether there are additional classes of works that have a history of pre-release infringement".

Comments are due by August 22, 2005. Reply comments are due by September 7, 2005. See, Federal Register, July 22, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 140, at Pages 42286 - 42292.

The House Judiciary Committee approved S 167 on March 9, 2005. See, story titled "House Judiciary Committee Approves Copyright Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,093, March 11, 2005. The Senate approved this bill on February 1, 2005. See, story titled "Senate Approves Copyright Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,069, February 3, 2005. That story contains a more detailed summary of its contents.

Bush Names Chris Israel Coordinator for International Intellectual Property Enforcement

7/22. President Bush announced his intent to appoint Christian Israel to the new position titled "Coordinator for International Intellectual Property Enforcement" at the Department of Commerce (DOC). See, White House release.

Currently, many federal departments and agencies, and their subdivisions, are involved in international IPR enforcement, including the DOC, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), Department of State, and the Department of Justice's Criminal Division. This newly created position will be tasked with attempting to coordinate the efforts of these entities.

Chris IsraelIsrael (at right) is currently Deputy Chief of Staff at the DOC. Before that he was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy. Before going to work at the DOC, he was Deputy Director of International Public Policy for Time Warner.  He has also worked as a legislative aide for former Rep. Jan Meyers (R-KS) and Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS).

Israel has worked on a variety of technology related issues, one of which has been intellectual property.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) praised President Bush's announcement. Rep. Schiff represents a Los Angeles area district that is home to many people who work in the movie and music industries. He is also a member of the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property, and a Co-Chair of the Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus.

Rep. Schiff stated in a release that "As a longtime advocate for a senior level administration official devoted to the protection of intellectual property I applaud today's announcement ... I look forward to working with Mr. Israel to protect the property of the hardworking, talented, and creative people in our community and country."

Rep. Schiff's release adds that "Congressman Schiff proposed the creation of an ``Intellectual Property Czar´´ in the Fortifying America's Intellectual Property Rights (FAIR) Act (H.R. 5117), introduced in September 2004. The FY 2005 Omnibus Appropriations bill (H.R. 4818) included the creation of such an office to strengthen America's intellectual property rights throughout the world."

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) also praised the announcement. The BSA wrote in a release that "Israel will work with agencies across the Administration to develop policies to address international intellectual property violations and enforce intellectual property laws overseas. In this role, he will head the international work of the National Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordination Council (NIPLECC) and coordinate and supervise international intellectual property protection plans among other agencies. Israel will accordingly play a significant role in the implementation of the Bush Administration’s STOP Initiative."

More People and Appointments

7/22. President Bush nominated Roel Campos to be a Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the remainder of a five year term expiring on June 5, 2010. This is a reappointment. He has been an SEC Commissioner since 2002. See, White House release and release.

7/22. President Bush nominated Annette Nazareth to be to be a Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the remainder of a five year term expiring on June 5, 2007. She is currently the Director of the SEC's Division of Market Regulation. Before that, she was Senior Counsel to former Chairman William Donaldson. Before that, she was Managing Director of Salomon Smith Barney. See, White House release and release.

Christopher Cox7/22. The Senate Banking Committee announced that it will hold a hearing on the nominations of Rep. Christopher Cox (R-CA) (at left), Roel Campos, and Annette Nazarath to be Commissioners of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, July 26. President Bush has selected Rep. Cox to be Chairman. He will replace former Chairman William Donaldson. Cynthia Glassman is the acting Chairman.

7/22. Broderick Johnson was named VP-Federal Relations for BellSouth. He was previously VP for Congressional Affairs at AT&T. Before that, he worked in the Office of Legislative Affairs during the Clinton administration. He also worked on the Kerry Edwards 2004 Presidential campaign. He has also worked as an associate in the law firm of Wiley Rein & Fielding.

7/21. Kay King was named SVP of External Relations at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). She was previously Director of Congressional and Public Affairs at the U.S. Institute for Peace. She was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs late in the Clinton administration. See, CSIS release.

7/20. James Plummer was elected to the Board of Directors of Intel. He is Dean of the Stanford School of Engineering. See, Intel release.

7/15. Thomas Donohue resigned as a Director of Qwest. Donohue is the P/CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. See, Qwest release.

More News

7/21. The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a notice in the Federal Register that states that it is recruiting private sector members for its six Technical Advisory Committees (TAC). One of these is the Information Systems TAC, which addresses the BIS's regulation of electronics, computers, telecommunications, and information security. The notice states that "This Notice of Recruitment will be open for one year from its date of publication in the Federal Register." See, Federal Register, July 21, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 139, at Page 42027.

7/21. The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing that the President's Export Council Subcommittee on Export Administration (PECSEA) will meet on September 22, 2005. This notice states that "The PECSEA provides advice on matters pertinent to those portions of the Export Administration Act, as amended, that deal with United States policies of encouraging trade with all countries with which the United States has diplomatic or trading relations and of controlling trade for national security and foreign policy reasons." However, there is no Export Administration Act (EAA). It was sunsetted, and lapsed. For several Congresses the House and Senate have worked towards, but not enacted, a replacement EAA. See, Federal Register, July 21, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 139, at Pages 42027 - 42028.

7/20. The Copyright Office published a notice in the Federal Register regarding its settlement proposal for the adjustment of certain royalty rates for use of the cable statutory license. The deadline to submit comments in response to, and notices of intent to participate in proceedings on, the proposed settlement is August 19, 2005. See, notice in the Federal Register, July 20, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 138, at Pages 41650 - 41652.

7/21. Peter Mandelson, the European Commissioner for External Trade, gave a speech in London titled "Challenges for Europe" in which he addressed the Doha round of trade negotiations.

7/19. José Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission, gave a speech to the European Chamber of Commerce titled "From fragrant harbour to world city: Hong Kong as a beacon for free trade", in which he discussed the Doha Development Agenda.

7/15. The World Trade Organization (WTO) released its annual report [180 pages in PDF] for 2005.

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Washington Tech Calendar
New items are highlighted in red.
Monday, July 25

The House will meet at 12:30 AM for morning hour, and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. It will consider numerous items under suspension of the rules, including HRes 376, a resolution expressing the sense of the House that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) should investigate the publication of the video game titled "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" to determine if the publisher intentionally deceived the Entertainment Software Ratings Board to avoid an Adults-Only rating. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. See, Republican Whip Notice.

The Senate will meet at 1:00 PM. It will consider a resolution commemorating the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It will then resume consideration of S 1042, the defense authorization bill.

RESCHEDULED FOR JULY 26. 12:00 NOON. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold a hearing on the nomination of Timothy Flanigan to be the Deputy Attorney General. The SJC frequently cancels hearings without notice. Press contact: Blain Rethmeier (Specter) at 202 224-5225, David Carle (Leahy) at 202 224-4242 or Tracy Schmaler (Leahy) at 202 224-2154. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

EXTENDED TO SEPTEMBER 9. Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of second further proposed rulemaking regarding horizontal and vertical cable ownership limits. The FCC adopted this Second Further NPRM on May 13, 2005, and released it on May 17, 2005. This item is FCC 05-96 in MM Docket No. 92-264. See, notice in the Federal Register, June 8, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 109, at Pages 33679 - 33687. See, notice of extension of deadlines, in the Federal Register, July 6, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 128, at Pages 38848 - 38849.

Tuesday, July 26

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for morning hour, and at 10:00 AM for legislative business. It will consider HR 3283, the "United States Trade Rights Enforcement Act". See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day roundtable hosted by the Copyright Office on orphan works. See, notice in the Federal Register, July 7, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 129, at Pages 39341 - 39343. Location: Room 188, Russell Building, Capitol Hill.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee may hold a hearing titled "Comprehensive Immigration Reform". The scheduled witnesses include Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), Michael Chertoff (Secretary of Homeland Security), Elaine Chao (Secretary of Labor), Tamar Jacoby (Manhattan Institute), Gary Endelman, Hal Daub (American Health Care Association). The SJC frequently cancels hearings without notice. See, notice. Press contact: Blain Rethmeier (Specter) at 202 224-5225, David Carle (Leahy) at 202 224-4242 or Tracy Schmaler (Leahy) at 202 224-2154. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Banking Committee will hold hearings on the nominations of Rep. Christopher Cox (R-CA), Roel Campos, and Annette Nazarath to be Commissioners of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Location: Room 538, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to prepare for the ITU-D's meetings of Study Group 1 and Study Group 2, which will take place in September, Geneva, on September 6-9 and 12-15, 2005. See, notice in the Federal Register, July 8, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 130, at Pages 39544 - 39545. Location: Room 2533A, State Department.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Chamber of Commerce will host a luncheon program titled "The Wireless Revolution: Enriching the Global Economy with Mobile Broadband and Smart Devices". The speaker will be Irwin Mark Jacobs, Chairman of Qualcomm. The price to attend ranges from free to $145. For more information, contact Natalie Safertal at 202-463-5500. See, notice. Location: Chamber of Commerce, 1615 H Street, NW.

2:15 PM. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a business meeting. The Committee's agenda includes consideration of ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, which was signed by the U.S. on November 23, 2001. The agenda also includes consideration of numerous nominations, including those of Josette Shiner to be Under Secretary of State (Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs), and Kristen Silverberg to be an Assistant Secretary of State (International Organization Affairs). Location: Room S-116, Capitol Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on Intellectual Property has scheduled another hearing titled "Perspective on Patents: Harmonization and Other Matters". The scheduled witnesses include Gerald Mossinghoff (law firm of Oblon Spivak, and former head of the USPTO), Todd Dickinson (General Electric Company, and former head of the USPTO), Christine Siwik (law firm of Rakoczy Molino Mazzochi & Siwik, on behalf of Barr Laboratories), Marshall Phelps (Microsoft), Charles Phelps (University of Rochester, on behalf of the Association of American Universities), and David Beier (Amgen). The SJC frequently cancels hearings without notice. Press contact: Blain Rethmeier (Specter) at 202 224-5225, David Carle (Leahy) at 202 224-4242 or Tracy Schmaler (Leahy) at 202 224-2154. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee's Subcommittee on Superfund and Waste Management will hold a hearing on electronics waste. Location: Room 406, Dirksen Building.

RESCHEDULED FROM JULY 25. 4:00 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold a hearing on the nomination of Timothy Flanigan to be the Deputy Attorney General. The SJC frequently cancels hearings without notice. Press contact: Blain Rethmeier (Specter) at 202 224-5225, David Carle (Leahy) at 202 224-4242 or Tracy Schmaler (Leahy) at 202 224-2154. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

Wednesday, July 27

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. It may take up HR 3045, the "Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act". See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a two day roundtable hosted by the Copyright Office on orphan works. See, notice in the Federal Register, July 7, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 129, at Pages 39341 - 39343. Location: Room 2237, Rayburn Building, Capitol Hill.

9:00 AM. Day one of a two day meeting of the Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee. The agenda includes "Department of Energy's uses of High Performance Computers", "Ethernet Technology Trends" and "Nanotechnology Update". Part of the meeting will be close to the public. See, notice in the Federal Register, July 11, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 131, at Pages 39720 - 39721. Location: Room 3884, Department of Commerce, 14th Street between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, NW.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee may hold a hearing titled "FBI Oversight". The scheduled witnesses include Robert Mueller (Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation), Glenn Fine (Inspector General of the Department of Justice), Lee Hamilton (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars), William Webster (law firm of Milbank Tweed, and former FBI Director), and John Russack (Office of the Director of National Intelligence). The SJC frequently cancels meetings without notice. See, notice. Press contact: Blain Rethmeier (Specter) at 202 224-5225, David Carle (Leahy) at 202 224-4242 or Tracy Schmaler (Leahy) at 202 224-2154. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing titled "Health Care Information Technology". See, notice. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will meet to mark up several bills, including HR 3402, the "Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2006 through 2009". The meeting will be webcast by the HJC. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The New Republic will host a panel discussion titled "Updating America's Telecommunications Laws: What's In It For Us?" The speakers will be Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR), Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT), Michael Crowley (Senior Editor of The New Republic), Kim Anderson (National Education Association), Harry Alford (National Black Chamber of Commerce), George Kohl (Communications Workers of America), and Clyde Prestowitz (Economic Strategy Institute). Lunch will be served. For more information, contact Joan Daly at 703 407-3204 or jdaly at tnr dot com. Location: Room 11, Dirksen Building, Capitol Hill.

2:00 - 3:00 PM. The President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) will meet by teleconference. The meeting will be partially closed. See, notice in the Federal Register, July 12, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 132, at Page 40052, and notice in the Federal Register, July 20, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 138, at Page 41778.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on S 1372, the "Fairness, Accuracy, Inclusivity, and Responsiveness in Ratings Act of 2005", a bill to regulate television ratings services. The witnesses will be George Ivie (Media Rating Council), Susan Whiting (Nielsen Media Research), Ceril Shagrin (Univision), Pat Mullen (Tribune Broadcasting), Kathy Crawford (MindShare Worldwide), and Gale Metzger. See, notice. Press contact: Melanie Alvord (Stevens) (202) 224-8456 or Melanie_Alvord at commerce dot senate dot gov, or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202 224-4546 or Andy_Davis at commerce dot senate dot gov Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making (FNPRM) regarding advancing the date on which all new television receiving equipment must include the capability to receive over the air DTV broadcast signals from July 1, 2007, to a date no later than December 31, 2006. The FCC adopted and released this item on June 9, 2005. This item is FCC 05-121 in ET Docket No. 05-24. See, notice in the Federal Register, July 6, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 128, at Pages 38845 - 38848. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts Order and NPRM Regarding Its Digital Tuner Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,153, June 14, 2005.

Thursday, July 28

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. It may take up HR 3045, the "Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act". See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:00 AM. Day two of a two day meeting of the Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee. The agenda includes "Department of Energy's uses of High Performance Computers", "Ethernet Technology Trends" and "Nanotechnology Update". Part of the meeting will be close to the public. See, notice in the Federal Register, July 11, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 131, at Pages 39720 - 39721. Location: Room 3884, Department of Commerce, 14th Street between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, NW.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold an executive business meeting. The SJC frequently cancels meetings without notice. The agenda includes S __, the "Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2005", S 751, the "Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act", and S 1326, the "Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act". See, notice. The SJC rarely follows its published agenda. Press contact: Blain Rethmeier (Specter) at 202 224-5225, David Carle (Leahy) at 202 224-4242 or Tracy Schmaler (Leahy) at 202 224-2154. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will meet to mark up S 1408, the "Identity Theft Protection Act". See, notice. Press contact: Melanie Alvord (Stevens) (202) 224-8456 or Melanie_Alvord at commerce dot senate dot gov, or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202 224-4546 or Andy_Davis at commerce dot senate dot gov. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection will hold a hearing titled "Data Security: The Discussion Draft of Data Protection Legislation". The hearing will be webcast by the HCC. See, notice. Press contact: Larry Neal at 202 225-5735. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Technological Advisory Council will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 25, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 57, at Page 15316. See also, notice in the Federal Register, July 6, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 128, at Pages 38928. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Commission Meeting Room (TW-C305).

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to prepare for the Americas Regional Preparatory Meeting for the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-06) in Lima, Peru, from August 9-11, 2005. See, notice in the Federal Register, June 22, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 119, Page 36224. Location: DOS, Room 2533A.

10:30 AM -12:30 PM. The Internet Governance Project and others will host a panel discussion titled "Regime Change on the Internet? Internet Governance After WGIG". See, notice. See also, the United Nation's (UN) Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG). Location: Syracuse University's Paul Greenberg House, 2301 Calvert Street, NW.

2:00 - 5:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "How to Do Legal Research on the Internet: Find It Fast and Free". The speakers will be Carole Levitt and Mark Rosch of Internet for Lawyers. The price to attend ranges from $80-$135. For more information, call 202-626-3488. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of tate's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee's (ITAC) U.S. Study Group A will meet to prepare positions for the next meeting of ITU-T's Study Group 3 (tariff and accounting principles for international telecommunication services), which will be on September 12-16, 2005, in Geneva, Switzerland. To participate by teleconference, contact minardje at state dot gov. See, notice in the Federal Register, July 8, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 130, at Pages 39544 - 39545. Location: AT&T, Suite 210, 1133 21st Street, NW.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing titled "Issues Related to MGM v. Grokster". The witnesses will be Adam Eisgrau (P2P United), Gregory Kerber (Ch/CEO, Wurld Media), Mark Heesen (President, National Venture Capital Association), Dave Baker (VP Law & Public Policy, Earthlink), Mitch Bainwol (Ch/CEO, Recording Industry Association of America), and Fritz Attaway (EVP, Motion Picture Association of America). See, notice. Press contact: Melanie Alvord (Stevens) (202) 224-8456 or Melanie_Alvord at commerce dot senate dot gov, or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202 224-4546 or Andy_Davis at commerce dot senate dot gov Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

Friday, July 29

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

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Defying Classification: Can the Information Services/Telecommunications Services Regulatory Dichotomy Survive in an IP World?". The speakers will be Jonathan Askin (General Counsel of Pulver.com), David Hickey (Legislative Counsel to Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), Alexandra Wilson (Cox Enterprises), Jack Zinman (SBC Communications), and Drew Caplan (Nextel). No RSVP requested. For more information, contact Phil Marchesiello at pmarchesiello at akingump dot com or 202 887-4348 or Natalie Roisman natalie at roisman at fcc dot gov. Location: Akin Gump, 1333 New Hampshire Ave., NW, 10th Floor.

Monday, August 1

The House will not meet on Monday, August 1 through Monday, September 5. See, House calendar.

The Senate will not meet on Monday, August 1 through Monday, September 5. See, Senate calendar.

EXTENDED TO OCTOBER 1. Deadline for the National Cable & Telecommunications Association's (NCTA) and Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) to file their first round of status reports with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding progress in talks regarding the feasibility of a downloadable security solution for integrating navigation and security functionalities in cable set top boxes. See, FCC's Second Report and Order [37 pages in PDF] adopted and released on March 18, 2005. This order is FCC 05-76 in CS Docket No. 97-80. See also, FCC release [PDF] summarizing this order, and story titled "FCC Again Delays Deadline for Integrating Navigation and Security Functionalities in Cable Set Top Boxes" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,099, March 21, 2005. See, notice of extensions (DA 05-1930) [2 pages in PDF].

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding the exchange of customer account information between local exchange carriers (LECs). This FNPRM is FCC 05-29 in CG Docket No. 02-386. See, notice in the Federal Register, June 1, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 104, at Pages 31406 - 31409.