9/22. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property (CIIP) held a hearing titled "Reducing Peer To Peer Piracy (P2P) on University Campuses: A Progress Update".

Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the Subcommittee, stated that progress has been made, as a result of the Supreme Court's opinion in MGM v. Grokster, because some free P2P file sharing services have become legitimate, and because some universities are now offering legitimate alternatives to P2P piracy. However, he said that there is still much illegal downloading, and "we have a long way to go".

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the Chairman of the Subcommittee, said that "some universities have clearly stepped up to the plate of educating their students, while others have not."

See, prepared testimony [PDF] of Daniel Updegrove (VP for Information Technology at University of Texas at Austin), prepared testimony of Richard Taylor (SVP of the Motion Picture Association of America), prepared testimony [PDF] of Norbert Dunkel (Director of Housing and Residence and Education at the University of Florida, and prepared testimony of William Raduchel (Ch/CEO of the Ruckus Network).

Updegrove and Dunkel reviewed efforts by their universities to limit P2P infringement, including adopting policies, educating students about infringement, enforcement, filtering, and offering alternatives.

Raduchel, whose company legally offers content at schools, argued that the Congress should legislate a safe harbor. He wrote in his testimony that "Congress should consider creating a civil and criminal safeharbor for colleges and universities for filesharing inside their networks for those institutions where 80% or more of the students utilize legitimate music and movie services. No institution can police all of its students all of the time, but institutions that achieve meaningful adoption of legitimate services should be rewarded with immunity. At the same time, those institutions that knowingly tolerate widespread filesharing on their networks should continue to be on notice that it must stop."

He added that "Congress must modernize music licensing laws to make it easier for services such as ours to offer students legally what they want."

Cary Sherman, head of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), did not testify at this hearing, but was present in the hearing room, and submitted a statement for the record. He pointed out that two problems are student run systems on local area networks, and hacking of legitimate services.

Rep. Smith said that the CIIP Subcommittee will hold more hearings on P2P piracy. He also said that he and Rep. Berman will request the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study. See, following story.

9/22. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) announced at a hearing on September 22 that he and Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) will write a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting that it write a report that rates universities and colleges on the extent of their efforts to limit on campus infringement of copyrighted works via peer to peer (P2P) file sharing systems.

He did not indicate when such a report would be released to the public. The GAO is an arm of the Congress that conducts research on behalf of its members.

TLJ spoke with Rep. Smith (at right) after the hearing. He said that the study will not include all universities and colleges. Rather, it will be limited to about one hundred, selected on a criterion such as the total number of students. He added that he did not know what the grading scale will be.

He also said that the purpose of the GAO report will be to embarrass those universities that do not take efforts to limit P2P infringement, and that he expects that this alone will have an effect upon some universities' policies.

One might speculate that such a report could also have a counterproductive effect. That is, some prospective students judge universities not only on criteria such as academic quality, price, and location, but also on lifestyle attributes. Some prospective students may not wish to attend a school with a reputation for cracking down on P2P infringement, and might instead attend schools that are rated as lax.

9/22. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) held a hearings titled "Communications in Disaster". The topics covered also included the DTV transition, the return of broadcast spectrum, 911/E911, and voice over internet protocol (VOIP).

See, opening statement of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) and opening statement of Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI), the Chairman and ranking Democrat on the SCC. See also, prepared testimony [PDF] of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin, prepared testimony [16 pages in PDF] of Bill Smith (BellSouth), prepared testimony [5 pages in PDF] of Paul Roth (Cingular Wireless), prepared testimony [5 pages in PDF] of Jeffrey Citron (Vonage), and prepared testimony [15 pages in PDF] of Hossein Eslambolchi (AT&T).

Vonage's Citron stated that with Hurricane Katrina, "Much like September 11th, phone networks failed. Wireless networks failed. Satellite phones stopped working. But the Internet was still alive in some places, and so was Internet phone service." He attributed this to "the redundant and resilient nature of the Internet". He also said that "Katrina also underscored the urgent need to make our 911 network every bit as flexible and resilient as the Internet. ... In far too many cases, today’s 9-1-1 system is characterized by local technology decisions and outdated infrastructure. Left to fend for themselves, dedicated 911 professionals are unable to share resources or utilize today’s technology."

The FCC has mandated that interconnected VOIP service providers comply with the old 911/E911 regulatory framework, and to cut off service to certain of their customers.

See also, story titled "Pulver Criticizes FCC for Slighting VOIP and Other IP Services" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,216, September 19, 2005; story titled "FCC Delays Its VOIP Customer Lockout Mandate for 30 Days" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,202, August 26, 2005; story titled "FCC Amends E911 VOIP Order's Subscriber Notice, Reporting and Cancellation Requirements" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,184, July 28, 2005; story titled "FCC Releases VOIP E911 Order" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,148, June 6, 2005; and stories titled "FCC Adopts Order Expanding E911 Regulation to Include Some VOIP Service Providers", "Summary of the FCC's 911 VOIP Order", "Opponents of FCC 911 VOIP Order State that the FCC Exceeded Its Statutory Authority", and "More Reaction to the FCC's 911 VOIP Order", in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,139, May 20, 2005.

9/22. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) held over its consideration of several bills that were on its agenda for the executive business meeting of September 22. The held over S 1088, the "Streamlined Procedures Act of 2005", S _, the "Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2005", and S 751, the "Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act", and S 1326, the "Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act". The SJC has long been placing these items on its weekly agendas, only to hold them over.

9/22. The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing titled "Examining the Financial Services Industry’s Responsibilities and Role in Preventing Identity Theft and Protecting Sensitive Financial Information". See, opening statement of Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), the Chairman of the Committee. See also, prepared testimony [13 pages in PDF] of Stuart Pratt (P/CEO of the Consumer Data Industry Association), prepared testimony [13 pages in PDF] of Ira Hammerman (SVP and General Counsel of the Securities Industry Association), and prepared testimony [11 pages in PDF] of Gilbert Schwartz (Schwartz & Ballen, on behalf of the American Council of Life Insurers). The other witnesses were Edmund Mierzwinski (US Public Interest Research Group) and Oliver Ireland (Morrison and Foerster).

9/22. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) approved the nomination of Judge John Roberts to be Chief Justice of the United States by a vote of 13-5. The nomination also requires approval by the full Senate.

9/22. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) held over consideration of the nomination of Timothy Flanigan to be the Deputy Attorney General. It had been on the agenda for the SJC's executive business meeting of September 22.

9/22. President Bush announced his intent to designate Thomas Barnett to be the acting Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division. See, White House release.

9/22. President Bush nominated Katherine Baicker to be a member of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA). She will replace Harvey Rosen. Bush also nominated Matthew Slaughter to be a member of the CEA. He will replace Kristin Forbes. Bush announced his intent to make these nominations on September 21. See, White House release.

9/22. President Bush announced his intent to appoint Sharon Allen, John Sau Chung Chen (aka John Chen), James Dicke, Hamilton James [PDF], Prakash Puram, and Timothy Paul Smucker to be members of the President's Export Council (PEC). The PEC's charter states that it advises the President "on matters relating to U.S. export trade". All six are leaders of exporting businesses. Two, Chen and Puram, head software companies. Allen is Chairman of Deloitte & Touche USA, an accounting firm. Chen is Chairman of Sybase, a database technology company based in the state of California. Dicke is the President of Crown Equipment Corporation, a manufacturer of fork lift trucks based in the state of Ohio. James is President of The Blackstone Group, and Chairman of Global Investment Banking and Private Equity at Credit Suisse. Puram is P/CEO of iXmatch, a search software company based in the state of Minnesota. And finally, with the name like Smucker, Timothy Paul has to be in the jam and preserves business. See, White House release.

9/22. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) dismissed three administrative complaints (MUR Nos. 5513, 5533 and 5489) involving Ralph Nader's campaign for President in 2004. Various Democratic entities and persons alleged violation of federal campaign laws by various Republican entities and persons, and the Nader campaign, in connection with alleged cooperation in seeking to have Nader's name placed on some state ballots. The gist of the allegations was that the assistance constituted corporate or excessive contributions in violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act. There is nothing technology related about these matters. However, one of the respondents is named David M. Carney. David Carney is also the name of the publisher of Tech Law Journal. The two persons are different, and unrelated, but often confused.

Tech Law Journal publishes a free access web site and subscription e-mail alert. The basic rate for a subscription to the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert is $250 per year. However, there are discounts for subscribers with multiple recipients. Free one month trial subscriptions are available. Also, free subscriptions are available for journalists, federal elected officials, and employees of the Congress, courts, and executive branch. The TLJ web site is free access. However, copies of the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert are not published in the web site until one month after writing. See, subscription information page.

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The House will not meet. It will next meet on Monday, September 26.

The Senate will not meet. It will next meet on Monday, September 26.

The Supreme Court is between terms. The opening conference of its October 2005 Term will be held on September 26.

8:00 AM. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Standing Committee on Law and National Security will host a breakfast. The speaker will be Nuala Kelly, Chief Privacy Officer at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The title of her speech will be "Challenges in Preserving Privacy while Protecting Homeland Security". The price to attend is $20. See, notice and registration form [PDF]. Location: University Club, 1135 16th St., NW.

EXTENDED FROM SEPTEMBER 9. Extended extended 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, original notice in the Federal Register, June 8, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 109, at Pages 33679 - 33687. See also, notice of extension of deadlines, in the Federal Register, July 6, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 128, at Pages 38848 - 38849. See also, notice [PDF] of further extension.

Deadline to submit requests to participate as a panelist in the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division's and the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) October 25, 2005, workshop titled "Competition and Real Estate Workshop". See, FTC notice and notice in the Federal Register, September 8, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 173, at Pages 53362 - 53364.

The Senate will meet at 1:00 PM. It will begin consideration of the nomination of Judge John Roberts to be the Chief Justice of the United States.

The Supreme Court will hold the opening conference of the October Term 2005. See, calendar [PDF].

12:00 NOON. Xuan-Thao Nguyen (Southern Methodist University School of Law) will deliver a paper titled "Collateralizing Intellectual Property". This event is a part of the George Washington University Law School's (GWULS) intellectual property workshop series. RSVP by Tuesday, September 20, to Rosalie Kouassi at rkouassi at law dot gwu dot edu. Location: GWULS, Faculty Conference Center, 5th Floor Burns, 716 20th St., NW.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Cable Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch. This will be an organizational meeting. For more information, contact Frank Buono at fbuono at willkie dot com. Location: Willkie Farr & Gallagher, 875 K Street, NW.

Deadline to register for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) pre-auction seminar for the MVDDS Auction (Auction No. 63), to be held on September 28, 2005. See, notice and registration form [PDF].

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

8:30 AM. The Department of Defense (DOD) Advisory Group on Electron Devices (AGED) will hold a closed meeting to review research and development efforts in electronics and photonics. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 19, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 180, at Page 54902. Location: Noesis, Inc., 4100 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 800, Arlington, VA.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in American Association of Paging Carriers v. FCC, No. 04-1359. This petition for review pertains to paging carriers and licensing by itinerant mobile radio transmitters on a nationwide, non-coordinated basis. The AAPC challenges the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Memorandum Opinion and Order (MOO) adopted September 1, 2004, and released on September 8, 2004. This MOO is FCC 04-212 in WT Docket No. 01-146. See, brief [43 pages in PDF] of the AAPC. Judges Henderson, Garland and Griffith will preside. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

1:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law will hold a hearing on HR 1956, the "Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2005". The meeting will be webcast by the HJC. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "How to Litigate a Patent Infringement Case". The speakers will be Patrick Coyne and Jerry Ivey (both of Finnegan Henderson). The price to attend ranges from $80-$125. For more information, call 202-626-3488. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "copyright and innovation in a post-Grokster world". Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM - 2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold a pre-auction seminar for the MVDDS Auction (Auction No. 63). See, notice and registration form [PDF]. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a seminar titled "Electronic Filing At The Trademark Office". The speaker will be Craig Morris (US Patent and Trademark Office). The price to attend ranges from $20-$40. For more information, call 202 626-3463. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

12:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Professional Responsibility Committee will host a brown bag lunch. This will be an organizational and planning meeting. RSVP to Tina Screven at  escreven at wbklaw dot com. Location: Wilkinson Barker Knauer, 2300 N St., NW, 7th floor large conference room.

1:00 PM. The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing titled "United States Japan Economic and Trade Relations". See, notice. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

2:00 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights may hold a hearing on "whether there is more consolidation or new choices for consumers regarding video competition in 2005". The SJC frequently cancels or postpones hearings without notice. Press contact: Blain Rethmeier (Specter) at 202 224-5225, Amanda Flaig (DeWine) at 202 224-7997, or Lynn Becker (Kohl) at 202 224-5653. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

Extended effective date of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) VOIP customer lockout order. See, the order contained in the FCC's document titled "Public Notice' [PDF], numbered DA 05-2085, and released on July 26, 2005. It requires, among other things, that every interconnected voice over internet protocol (VOIP) service provider must send every one of its subscribers an FCC mandated statement regarding E911, and that every interconnected VOIP service provider must send to every one of its customers the FCC mandated VOIP warning stickers. This order further requires that every interconnected VOIP service provider obtain acknowledgement from every one of its subscribers, and that it "disconnect, no later than August 30, 2005, all subscribers from whom it has not received such acknowledgements". See, extension order [4 pages in PDF].

9:30 AM - 5:00 PM. The Antitrust Modernization Commission (AMC) will hold a hearing on the state action doctrine and exclusionary conduct. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 8, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 173, at Page 53331. Location: Federal Trade Commission, Main Building, Room 432, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "Public Safety Communications from 9/11 to Katrina: Critical Public Policy Lessons". 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. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold the second of two hearings titled "Communications in Disaster". See, notice. The hearing will be webcast by the SCC. 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 562, Dirksen Building.

10:30 AM. The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing titled "Implementation of the United States Bahrain Free Trade Agreement". See, notice. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

2:00 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing on pending judicial nominations. The SJC frequently cancels of postpones 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.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of States' (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to prepare for ITU-T Advisory Group. See, notice in the Federal Register, July 13, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 133, at Page 40414. Location: undisclosed. The DOS states that "Access to these meetings may be arranged by contacting Julian Minard at minardje at state dot gov.

4:00 - 5:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) and other groups will host a panel discussion titled "Making Effective Presentations before Congress and the FCC". The speakers will be Johanna Shelton (Minority Counsel, House Commerce Committee), Lauren Belvin (Legal Advisor to FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy), and Anita Wallgren (Sidley Austin Brown & Wood). The price to attend ranges from $0-15. For more information, and to RSVP, contact Anita Wallgren at 202 736-8468 or awallgren at sidley dot com. Location: Sidley Austin, 1501 K Street NW.

The Public Knowledge will host an awards ceremony and reception. For more information, contact Art Brodsky at 202 518-0020 x103. See, PK release. Location: Sewall-Belmont House, 144 Constitution Ave., NE (next to the Hart Building on Capitol Hill).

Target adjournment date for the House. See, House calendar.

POSTPONED. 12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Legislative Practice and Wireless Telecommunications Practice Committees will host a lunch titled "DTV Transition". The price to attend is $15. Registrations and cancellations are due by 5:00 PM on Tuesday, September 27, 2005. See, registration form [PDF]. Location: Sidley Austin, 1501 K Street, NW., 6th Floor.

Deadline for applications to be received by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory (EEEL) Grants. The EEEL covers semiconductors, electronic instrumentation, radio frequency (RF) technology, optoelectronics, magnetics, video, electronic commerce as applied to electronic products and devices, the transmission and distribution of electrical power, national electrical standards, and law enforcement standards. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 5, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 3, at Pages 781 - 789.

Deadline to submit comments to the Antitrust Modernization Commission regarding criminal remedies. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 10, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 153, at Page 46474.