Tech Law Journal Daily E-Mail Alert
November 15, 2005, 8:00 AM ET, Alert No. 1,253.
Home Page | Calendar | Subscribe | Back Issues | Reference
USTR Discusses IPR and Market Access in China

11/14. U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Rob Portman traveled to the People's Republic of China to discuss intellectual property rights, market access, and other topics, with Chinese officials. He made the argument, as he and other U.S. officials have in the past, that protecting intellectual property rights is in China's self interest. See, speech [PDF] and transcript of news conference in Beijing, China.

Robert PortmanPortman (at right) said in his speech that "China must open up its economy further to US products, it must address limitations in market access that continue to hamper US companies seeking to participate in the Chinese market. And it must act vigorously to address intellectual property infringement that not only deprives US companies of their ability to participate in the Chinese market, but also damages them worldwide. In short, the benefits of economic opportunity and market access must flow more evenly in both directions."

"China must open up more to our exports and investment. It must address limitation and market access that continue to hamper US companies seeking to participate in the Chinese market", said Portman at his news conference. "China must also act vigorously to address intellectual property infringement. This was raised at every one of my meetings today."

Intellectual Property Rights. Portman said in his speech that "It is hard to develop a full and thorough system for the protection of IPR. But China is not building this system from scratch, and Chinese companies seem to understand these concepts pretty well when they invest in other countries. We have been working intensely with China on intellectual property protection for more than a decade -- beginning in the early 1990s. We have had several agreements and there has been significant improvement in some areas -- in the development of IP laws. We remain eager to work with the Chinese to help them improve their system. Just last week, for example, we had excellent meetings here in Beijing with representatives from both of our governments to discuss this problem and practical solutions. To date, though, the problem of intellectual property protection is not being solved quickly enough. There are obvious areas in which China can and should act immediately.

He singled out as easy targets for enforcement the "illegal distribution networks that are known to bring millions of fake DVDs and CDs to market" and the use of "fake software" by "government offices and government-controlled firms".

Portman argued that enforcing IPR is in China's self interest. He said that "the Chinese government has good reason to crack down on piracy themselves. While U.S. firms suffer huge losses from IP piracy and counterfeiting and while this is a disproportionate impact on US knowledge based exports, the losses faced by Chinese firms and by Chinese entrepreneurs and the Chinese economy are even greater. Well-known Chinese marks such as Haier, for example, suffer from copycat productions of their goods. Chinese musicians, movie studios, and authors lose profits from their own efforts because they cannot enforce their own legal rights throughout the country."

He added at his news conference that "The bigger loser is not the US. It is actually the Chinese economy and Chinese innovators, entrepreneurs, artists, authors, singers."

He elaborated that "I think it’s in the interest of Chinese innovators and entrepreneurs and authors, and anybody who wants to protect their knowledge-based property would benefit. It’s also a sign of a mature economy though. It’s very difficult to see China taking the next step in terms of its economic development without providing more protection for intellectual property. We’ve seen this around the world in countries where there has been an evolution of protection of property that tends to go hand in hand with economic development. So, I do think that it’s in their interest. Have they acknowledged that? Yes, they have."

Market Access. Portman said in his speech that "China makes it difficult for foreigners to fully own their investments. ... Beyond the limits on investment, there are also increasing numbers of technical barriers to trade that interfere with U.S. companies' access to the China market. Cumbersome, opaque, and unequally-applied rules in telecommunications, insurance, financial services and other sectors continue to stymie foreign firms."

He also said that "Despite clear WTO commitments, direct sales companies still cannot import U.S. products into China and sell them freely to their customers in accordance with their generally accepted business practices around the world. Nor can those companies pay their employees according to the same rules that those companies operate under in almost every other country in the world."

Doha Talks. Portman said at his news conference that "there are very few areas I can identify where China and the United States have a disagreement over Doha. We agree on the overall goal of a successful round because it will reduce barriers to trade, make our economies more efficient, and increase global economic growth.

But he added, "I want China to be more engaged, not less engaged, in Doha."

NARA Requests Comments on Archiving Internet and Other Electronic Records

11/14. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) published a notice in the Federal Register that announces, and sets the comment deadline for, its draft NARA guidance for implementing Section 207(e) of the E-Government Act of 2002.

This statute, which is now Public Law 107-347, required an interagency committee to prepare a report within two years. It then required the NARA to adopt "policies and procedures", within one more year, that provide that federal statutes regarding archiving of government records "are applied effectively and comprehensively to Government information on the Internet and to other electronic records".

See, the Interagency Committee on Government Information's (ICGI) report [29 pages in PDF] titled "Recommendations for the Effective Management of Government Information on the Internet and other Electronic Records", and dated December 16, 2004.

Comments are due by December 29, 2005. See, Federal Register, November 14, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 218, at Pages 69165 - 69168.

People and Appointments

11/14. Scott Taub was named acting Chief Accountant at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He was previously the SEC's Deputy Chief Accountant, since September 2002. Prior to that, he worked for Arthur Andersen. See, SEC release.

11/14. The Senate announced that the Senate Intelligence Committee will hold a closed hearing on the nomination of Dale Meyerrose to be the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Thursday, November 17.

11/8. Douglas Naquin was named Director of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence's (DNI) newly created Open Source Center, which is a data aggregation and analysis program. Naquin works for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). See, DNI release.

10/31. Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) announced that Michael Wertheimer is the Assistant Deputy Director and Chief Technology Officer in the Office of the Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Analysis. See, DNI release.

11/10. The Progress & Freedom Foundation's (PFF) Center for the Study of Digital Property created an IP Academic Advisory Council (IPAAC), and announced its members: Donald Boudreaux (George Mason University department of economics), John Duffy (George Washington University law school), Richard Epstein (University of Chicago law school), Mark Grady (University of California, Los Angeles law school), Stan Liebowitz (University of Texas at Dallas School of Management), Douglas Lichtman (University of Chicago law school), Julia Mahoney (University of Virginia law school), Ronald Mann (University of Texas School of Law), Fred McChesney (Northwestern University Law School and Business School), Adam Mossoff (Michigan State University law school), and Mark Schultz (Southern Illinois University law school). James DeLong (PFF) and Solveig Singleton (PFF) are the Co-Chairs of the IPAAC. Amy Smorodin (PFF) is the Secretariat. See, PFF release.

More News

11/14. The Supreme Court released two opinions, neither of which is technology related. It also released a relatively short order list. It denied certiorari in Six West Retail Acquisition, Inc. v. Sony Theatre Management Corp., a petition for writ of certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals (2ndCir). This is Sup. Ct. No. 05-332. See, Order List [9 pages in PDF] at page 2.

11/14. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report [PDF] titled "Taxpayer Information: Options Exist to Enable Data Sharing Between IRS and USCIS but Each Presents Challenges". This is a study of just one government data disclosure program. It examines the transfer of data between the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Bureau. The report concludes that disclosing taxpayer data to the USCIS can assist the USCIS in making immigration eligibility decisions, and that disclosing immigration data to the IRS can enable the IRS to collect more taxes. It also makes recommendations for making these data transfer programs more effective in accomplishing these goals. This report is not about the consequences of this program, or other government data dissemination programs, for personal privacy. Although, the report does acknowledge several times that there are privacy issues, and that there is a federal Privacy Act. The report also references the use of data obtained from third party sources.

11/14. The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) released a short paper titled "Networks and Copyrights: A False Analogy". The author is Richard Epstein, a law professor at the University of Chicago. This paper concludes that Google's new project involving the scanning and digitizing library books "is not protected by the standard account of fair use". This paper also addresses Google's arguments regarding opt outs, the nature of property rights, and takings of property. This paper also discusses Supreme Court Justice William Douglas's 1946 opinion in United States v. Causby (reported at 328 U.S. 256). This was a dispute between a chicken farmer, and the U.S. military, whose bombers' runway approach went "over this property at 83 feet, which is 67 feet above the house, 63 feet above the barn". This case attained some fame following Lawrence Lessig's use, or misuse, of this case in his recent book, Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity [Amazon]. Epstein wrote that "Lessig's plea for Google gains no strength from the analogies to the redefinition of property rights in the upper airspace. Google is not putting together a network. Its library will be valuable even if it is not complete, just like all other libraries that hold hard copies. The whole case here turns on the ease or difficulty of getting permissions from single owners who happen to be difficult to track down. The very fact that he and Google would allow opt outs from their system shows the vast difference in the cases." See also, story titled "Google, Publishers and Authors Debate Google's Print for Libraries Program" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,239, October 25, 2005.

11/11. Chris Cox, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), gave another speech on the use of interactive data. See also, story titled "SEC Chairman Cox Discusses Use of Interactive Data in Corporate Reporting" Alert No. 1,250, November 9, 2005. Cox stated in his Veterans' Day speech in Boca Ratan, Florida, that "With interactive data, the information in SEC reports could be made instantly searchable by anyone with an Internet hookup. Not just the disclosure documents, but the data within them will be searchable and retrievable. Interactive data will dramatically improve the usefulness of the entire disclosure exercise." He continued that "Right now, in countries around the world, companies, software designers, the accounting profession, and regulators are teaming up in an unprecedented global effort. In much the same way that Linux has developed an open source operating system for computers worldwide, a computer language for financial reporting called XBRL is being developed as a global open standard." He added that data "will not only be instantly searchable and retrievable, but you'll also be able to immediately download them into spreadsheets and an unlimited number of software applications." Cox also explained the nature of XBRL, and reviewed the SEC's February 2005 rule changes that initiated the SEC's XBRL Voluntary Program.

11/8. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) issued a release in which it announced a program titled "Open Source Center". This use of the phrase "open source" is inconsistent with the commonly understood meaning of the phrase. This is not a software center. Rather, the DNI states that this center, to be based at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), will aggregate and use data obtained from the "Internet, databases, press, radio, television, video, geospatial data, photos and commercial imagery".

About Tech Law Journal

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.

Contact: 202-364-8882.
P.O. Box 4851, Washington DC, 20008.

Privacy Policy
Notices & Disclaimers
Copyright 1998 - 2005 David Carney, dba Tech Law Journal. All rights reserved.

Washington Tech Calendar
New items are highlighted in red.
Tuesday, November 15

The House will meet at 10:30 AM for morning hour, and 12:00 NOON for legislative business. The House will consider several non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. See, Republican Whip Notice.

The Senate will meet at 9:45 AM. It will resume consideration of S 1042, the "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006".

9:00 AM - 5:30 PM. Day two of a four day closed meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 25, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 205, at Page 61606. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Room A1038, Gaithersburg, MD.

10:00 AM. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the House Minority Leader, will give a speech "Innovation Agenda: A Commitment to Competitiveness to Keep America #1". For more information, call Brendan Daly or Jennifer Crider at 202 226-7616. Location: Holeman Lounge, 13th Floor, National Press Club, 529 14th Street, NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of Ben Bernanke to be Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. See, notice. Location: Room 106, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a panel discussion titled "Should Vacant TV Channels Be Opened for Wireless Broadband?" The speakers will be Michael Marcus (former Associate Chief of the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology), David Donovan (Association for Maximum Service Television), Paul Kolodzy (former Chair of the FCC Spectrum Policy Task Force), and Michael Calabrese (NAF's Spectrum Policy Program). See, notice. Lunch will be served. RSVP email communications at newamerica dot net with name, affiliation, and contact information. Location: Room HC-8, Capitol Building.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Cable Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Regulatory Issues & Developments". The speaker will be the FCC's Catherine Bohigian. For more information, contact Quyen Truong at ttruong at dowlohnes dot com or 202 776-2058. Location: Dow Lohnes & Albertson, 1200 New Hampshire Ave., NW, Suite 800.

2:00 PM. The House Financial Services Committee's Domestic & International Subcommittee will hold a hearing titled "Increasing Efficiency and Economic Growth Through Trade in Financial Services". Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold a hearing on several judicial nominations, including examine the nominations of Virginia Mary Kendall (to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois), Kristi Dubose (Southern District of Alabama), and Keith Watkins (Middle District of Alabama). See, notice. The SJC frequently cancels or postpones meetings 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.

4:30 PM. Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE) and Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) will hold a briefing on the discussion draft of HR __, the "Universal Service Reform Act of 2005". For more information, contact Amanda Potter (Boucher) at 202 225-3861. Location: Room 2105, Rayburn Building.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Privacy in Today’s Workplace". The speakers will be Charles Henter (Henter Law Group), Lawrence Greenberg (The Motley Fool, Inc.), and Gerard Stegmaier (Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati). The price to attend ranges from $70-$125. For more information, call 202-626-3488. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

Deadline to submit to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) proposals for issues and speakers for its forum on the draft Substantive Patent Law Treaty (SPLT). See, WIPO notice.

Effective date of the Copyright Office (CO) interim regulations promulgated pursuant to the Artists' Rights and Theft Prevention Act of 2005 (ART Act) governing the preregistration of unpublished works that are being prepared for commercial distribution in classes of works that the Register of Copyrights has determined have had a history of pre-release infringement. Also, the CO's online preregistration system will commence operation on November 15. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 27, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 207, at Pages 61905 - 61908.

Wednesday, November 16

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The House may take up HR 1036, regarding copyright royalty judges, and/or HConRes 268, which expresses the sense of the Congress that "the authoritative root zone server should remain physically located in the United States and the Secretary of Commerce should maintain oversight of ICANN" and "Internet governance discussions in the World Summit should focus on the real threats to the Internet's growth and stability, and not recommend changes to the current regime of domain name and addressing system management and coordination on political grounds unrelated to any technical need". The House may also take up motions to appoint conferees, and conference reports. See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:00 AM - 5:30 PM. Day three of a four day closed meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 25, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 205, at Page 61606. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Room A1038, Gaithersburg, MD.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection will hold a hearing titled "Fair Use: Its Effects on Consumers and Industry". The witnesses will be Gigi Sohn (Public Knowledge), Gary Shapiro (Consumer Electronics Association), Peter Jaszi (Washington College of Law), Jonathan Band (NetCoalition), Prudence Adler (Association of Research Libraries), and James DeLong (Progress and Freedom Foundation). See, notice. The hearing will be webcast by the HCC. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

12:30 - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Regulatory and Economic Implications of Delivery of Video Via IP Technology: Burdens, Barriers, and Costs of Doing Business". The speakers will include Brent Olson (SBC Services), Michael Schooler (National Cable & Telecommunications Association), David Young (Verizon), and Ryan Wallach (Willkie Farr & Gallagher). The price to attend ranges from $15-$30. For more information, call 202 626-3463. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

9:00 AM - 1:30 PM. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will host an event titled "Erosion of the Attorney-Client Privilege: What Does the Future Hold?". See, notice. The price to attend ranges from free to $145. For more information, contact Andrew Persson at 202 463-5500. Location: Grand Hyatt Washington, 1000 H Street, NW.

2:00 - 3:00 PM. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to prepare for meetings of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development/Committee for Information, Computer and Communications Policy (OECD/ICCP) Working Parties ITU-D Telecommunication Development Advisory Group (TDAG). See, notice in the Federal Register, October 26, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 206, at Page 61876. Location: DOS, Harry Truman Building, Room 2533A.

2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts may hold a hearing on creation of new federal judgeships. See, notice. The SJC frequently cancels or postpones meetings 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.

? 6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Negotiating Telecommunications Service Agreements for Enterprise Clients". Location: __.

Effective date of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) rules adopted in its Report and Order (R&O) and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) of August 5, 2005. The R&O classified wireline broadband internet access services as information services. The NPRM proposes to impose new regulatory burdens on information services. This item is FCC 05-150 in WC Docket No. 05-271, CC Docket No. 02-33, CC Docket No. 01-337, CC Docket Nos. 95-20 and 98-10, and WC Docket No. 04-242. See, story titled "FCC Classifies DSL as Information Service" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,190, August 8, 2005. The FCC released the text [133 pages in PDF] of this item on September 23, 2005. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 17, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 199, at Pages 60222 - 60234.

Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) regarding significant barriers to U.S. exports of goods, services and overseas direct investment, to assist the USTR in preparing the annual National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE). See, notice in the Federal Register, September 20, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 181, at Pages 55204 - 55205.

Thursday, November 17

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The House may take up HConRes 268, regarding internet governance, and/or HR 1036, regarding copyright royalty judges, under suspension of the rules. The House may also take up motions to appoint conferees, and conference reports. See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Day four of a four day closed meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 25, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 205, at Page 61606. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Room A1038, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold an executive business meeting. The SJC frequently cancels of postpones 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.

9:30 AM. The Antitrust Modernization Commission (AMC) will meet. The topic will be "Merger Enforcement". The morning panel will be from 9:30 to 11:30 AM. The afternoon panel will be from 12:45 to 2:45 PM. See, AMC notice and notice in the Federal Register, October 21, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 203, at Page 61247. Location: Federal Trade Commission, Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Science Committee will hold a hearing titled "Environmental and Safety Impacts of Nanotechnology: What Research is Needed?" The witnesses will be Clayton Teague (National Nanotechnology Coordination Office), Richard Denison (Environmental Defense), Krishna Doraiswamy (DuPont Central Research and Development), Matthew Nordan (Lux Research Inc.), and David Rejeski (Smithsonian Institution). Press contact: Joe Pouliot, Deputy Communications Director, at Joe dot Pouliot at mail dot house dot gov or 202 225-6371. For more information, contact Marty Spitzer (Republican staff) at 202 225-7858, or Jim Wilson or Christal Sheppard (Democratic staff) at 202 225-6375. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Heritage Foundation will host a panel discussion titled "Let the UN Govern the Internet?". The speakers will be Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN), Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), Adam Thierer (Progress and Freedom Foundation), John Tkacik (Asian Studies Center of the Heritage Foundation), and James Gattuso (Heritage Foundation). See, notice. Location: Allison Auditorium, Heritage Foundation, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to prepare for meetings of the ITU-D Telecommunication Development Advisory Group (TDAG). See, notice in the Federal Register, October 26, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 206, at Page 61876. Location: DOS, Harry Truman Building, Room 2533A.

10:30 AM. The Senate Intelligence Committee will hold a closed hearing on the nomination of Dale Meyerrose to be the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Location: Room 219, Hart Building.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Remedies In Trademark Infringement And Unfair Competition Cases". The speakers will include John Dabney (McDermott Will & Emery) and Anita Polott (Morgan Lewis). The price to attend ranges from $20-$40. For more information, call 202 626-3488. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

? 2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a business meeting. Press contact: Melanie Alvord (Stevens) at 202 224-8456 or Melanie_Alvord at commerce dot senate dot gov, Aaron Saunders (Stevens) at 202 224-3991 or Aaron_Saunders at commerce dot senate dot gov, or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202 224-4546 or Andy_Davis at commerce dot senate dot gov. Location: __?

Friday, November 18

The House may meet at 9:00 AM to take up motions to appoint conferees, and to approve conference reports. See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Consumer Advisory Committee will meet. See, FCC notice and agenda [PDF] of November 14, 2005, and notice in the Federal Register, October 26, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 206, at Page 61823. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a panel discussion titled "Gutenberg meets Google: The Debate About Google Print". The speakers will be Alan Davidson (Google), Allan Adler (Association of American Publishers), Keith Kupferschmid (Software & Information Industry Association), and Solveig Singleton (PFF). See, notice and registration page. Location: Room B-369, Rayburn Building, Capitol Hill.

Saturday, November 19

? The House may meet to take up motions to appoint conferees, and to approve conference reports. See, Republican Whip Notice.

Monday, November 21

2:00 PM. The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) will host a webcast event titled "China Transactions: The IP Paradigm". The speakers will be Chris Cooper & Ken DeWoskin of Price Waterhouse Coopers. See, notice. For more information, contact Mark Uncapher at muncapher at itaa dot org.

Deadline to submit nominations to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Technology Administration for its 2006 Commerce Science and Technology Fellowship (ComSci) Program. Only full time career federal employees in a professional or management series at the GS/GM-13 level or above are eligible. See, notice.