2/17. The U.S. District Court (CDCal) issued its order [48 pages in PDF] titled "Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Perfect 10's Motion for Preliminary Injunction Against Google" in Perfect 10 v. Google, a copyright infringement case.

Google's Image Search function involves the creation and display of reduced size (thumbnail) images, created from full sized images copied from other web sites, which may be protected by copyright, without first obtaining authorization. Google also displays these thumbnail images on a search results page, and on a two frame web pages, with the thumbnail in the top frame, and the web page containing the full size image in the bottom frame. The content of the lower frame is created by third parties, and stored on servers of third parties. Some of these third party web sites themselves display infringing full size pictures.

The present order pertains to Perfect 10's (P10) motion for preliminary injunction for copyright infringement, and Google's defense of fair use. The District Court wrote that the issue is "does a search engine infringe copyrighted images when it displays them on a ``image search´´ function in the form of ``thumbnails´´ but not infringe when, through in-line linking, it displays copyrighted images served by another website?"

The District Court granted P10's motion for a preliminary injunction of the display by Google of thumbnail copies of P10's copyrighted images. The District Court denied P10's motion as to framing of, and in-line linking to full size infringing copies elsewhere. The District Court also denied injunctive relief based upon P10's theories that Google's framing of, and linking to, infringing web sites constitutes vicarious and contributory infringement claims.

What follows is a summary of this 48 pages order. However, it is long and detailed, and interested readers should read the entire order.

Related Cases. This case may affect more that just P10 and other web based businesses that sell access to pictures of women. This case may be cited and relied on as precedent in other copyright infringement cases against search web sites.

Moreover, this case reaches a different result from the other 9th Circuit opinion on search and images, Kelly v. Arriba Soft. On February 6, 2002, the U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) issued its original opinion [25 pages in PDF] in Kelly v. Arriba Soft. Arriba Soft filed a petition for review. The Court of Appeals denied the petition, but issued its revised opinion [16 pages in PDF] on July 7, 2003. This revised opinion is also reported at 336 F.3d 811. See also, stories titled "9th Circuit Reverses in Kelly v. Arriba" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 363, February 7, 2002; and "Petition for Rehearing Filed in Kelly v. Arriba Soft" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 381, March 5, 2002.

The opinion is Kelly v. Arriba Soft is fundamental to Google's defense in the book publishers' and the Authors Guild's cases.

On October 19, 2005, five book publishing companies filed a complaint [35 pages in PDF] in U.S. District Court (SDNY) against Google alleging that its GPL infringes copyrights. The plaintiffs are McGraw Hill, Pearson Education, Penguin, Simon & Schuster, and John Wiley & Sons. All are members of the Association of American Publishers (AAP).

See also, story titled "Major Book Publishers Sue Google for Digitizing Copyrighted Books" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,237, October 20, 2005. This case is McGraw Hill Companies, Inc., Pearson Education, Inc., Penguin Group (USA) Inc., Simon & Schuster, Inc. and John Wiley & Sons, Inc. v. Google Inc., U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, D.C. No. 05-CV-8881.

On September 20, 2005, the Author's Guild and others filed a similar complaint in the same District Court against Google alleging copyright infringement in connection with the same GPL. The plaintiffs in that action seek class action status. See, stories titled "Author's Guild Sues Google for Copyright Infringement" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,218, September 21, 2005, and "University Publishers Accuse Google of Systematic Infringement of Copyright on a Massive Scale" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,142, May 25, 2005.

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.

The present case involves pictures. The Authors Guild and book publishers' case involve scanning of books. Hence, the underlying facts differ. Nevertheless, one set of facts that is common to all cases is the extent to which Google is operating its search functions for commercial purposes. Google has developed sophisticated advertising programs to generate revenue. These caused the District Court in the present case to find Google's activities to be more commercial than those of Arriba Soft. And this was one reason that this Court reached a different result in its fair use analysis.

Perfect 10 and Google. Perfect 10 publishes a print magazine, and operates a web site, that display pictures of naked women. The women are young, and their images appeal to a prurient interest. P10 has registered copyrights with the U.S. Copyright Office. P10's business model includes generating revenues from magazine sales, web site subscriptions, and licensing. The web subscription is $25.50 per month. This is $306 at an annual rate. (TLJ is a comparative bargain at $250.)

P10 has licensed reduced size copies of its pictures, for compensation, to a third party for display on cell phones. P10 has not licensed Google or Amazon.

Google operates a web site that provides web search functions, including a service titled "Image Search". Google states in its web site that "Google's Image Search is the most comprehensive on the Web, with billions of images indexed and available for viewing. ... Enter a query in the image search box, then click on the "Search" button. On the results page, just click the thumbnail to see a larger version of the image, as well as the web page on which the image is located."

Google adds that "The images identified by the Google Image Search service may be protected by copyrights. Although you can locate and access the images through our service, we cannot grant you any rights to use them for any purpose other than viewing them on the web. Accordingly, if you would like to use any images you have found through our service, we advise you to contact the site owner to obtain the requisite permissions."

Google also states that "The results you see with this feature may contain mature content." That is, Google Image Search also operates as a pornography search engine.

The District Court's order states that "Google stores content scanned by its web crawler in Google's ``cache.´´" It identifies the subject of images by the text surrounding the images.

The order relates that Google creates and stores in a cache thumbnail sized images, that can then be produced in a search results web page in response to a user's query. Google generates results pages that display thumbnail images, arranged in a grid, and hyperlinked to a page that will provide more information. If the user clicks on an image from the grid, he then is provided a framed web page. The top frame contains the thumbnail, and is content that resides on Google servers. The larger bottom frame contains material hosted by the third party. It contains the full size image that Google used to create the thumbnail image.

Some of these third party web sites contain full sized copies of P10's copyrighted images.

Google's business model includes generating revenues through paid advertising displays on search results pages.

Pleadings. P10 filed a complaint in U.S. District Court (CDCal) against Google alleging copyright infringement and trademark infringement. P10 filed a second complaint against Amazon.com, and its subsidiary, A9.com. The two suits were consolidated.

More specifically, P10 plead direct copyright infringement, vicarious copyright infringement, contributory copyright infringement, circumvention of copyright protection systems under the DMCA, direct trademark infringement, contributory trademark infringement, vicarious trademark infringement, trademark dilution under federal law, unfair competition, wrongful use of a registered mark, trademark dilution under state law, and violation of rights of publicity.

P10 filed a motion for preliminary injunction on its copyright claims, seeking to enjoin Google and Amazon from displaying thumbnail copies of its copyrighted pictures, and to further enjoin the defendants from hyperlinking to the web sites of third parties that display infringing full size copies of P10's pictures.

Google did not dispute that the P10 pictures are copyrightable subject matter. Nor did it dispute P10's ownership. Google did argue that its copyright is protected by the doctrine of fair use, which is codified at 17 U.S.C. § 107.

District Court's Ruling on Direct Copyright Infringement and Fair Use. The District Court provided an overview of the legal standards for issuance of a preliminary injunction. It also reviewed the elements of a claim for copyright infringement. Also, since Google raised the defense of fair use, the District Court discussed standards applicable to this defense. The Court stated that fair use is an affirmative defense, but that on P10's motion for preliminary injunction, P10 "carries the burden of overcoming Google's fair use defense".

However, before applying fair use analysis, the District Court first examined whether and where there was a violation of any of the six exclusive rights of copyright enumerated in 17 U.S.C. § 106. The District Court had little difficulty finding direct infringement by Google in the creation and use of thumbnail images. It found that Google did "display" infringing copies. (The District Court did not decide whether Google did "distribute" infringing copies. See, footnote 11.)

However, after a lengthy discussion and analysis of the technology, the District Court concluded that "for the purposes of direct copyright infringement, Google's use of frames and in-line links does not constitute a ``display´´ of the full-size images stored on and served by infringing third-party websites. Thus, P10's claim of direct infringement with respect to these actions will likely fail." Moreover, the District Court concluded that Google's use of frames and in-line links to infringing websites is not a "distribution".

The District Court then applied fair use analysis to the question of direct infringement via display of infringing thumbnail images.

The fair use doctrine is codified at 17 U.S.C. § 107. The relevant language of the fair use exception provides: "In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include -- (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; (2) the nature of the copyrighted work; (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work." The Court applied this test, prong by prong.

First, as to the "purpose and character of the use", the Court found that this prong weighs slightly in favor of P10. In so doing, the Court distinguished Kelly v. Arriba Soft, which also involved the fair use exception to copyright infringement in the context of online digital images and search engines. The Court of Appeals held that Arriba Soft's use of small thumbnail copies of Kelly's copyrighted photographs in its search engine results constituted fair use. And, the Court of Appeals found that the "purpose and character" prong worked in Arriba Soft's favor.

In the P10 case, the Court considered both the commercial versus non-commercial aspect of the use, and transformative versus consumptive aspect of the use. The District Court found that Google's use is commercial, since its image search generates advertising revenues. However, it found that Google's use was more commercial than was Arriba Soft's. Also, while the Court of Appeals found that Arriba Soft's images were transformative, the District Court found that Google's use was consumptive. That is, P10 licenses thumbnail images, for payment, for display on cell phones. The District Court noted that cell phone customers could instead use the thumbnails generated and displayed by Google, thus replacing P10's licensed service.

Second, as to the "nature of the copyrighted work", the District Court found that because the works are published photographs, this prong weighs only slightly in P10's favor. The Court of Appeals reached the same conclusion in Kelly v. Arriba Soft.

Third, as to the "amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole", the District found that this prong weighs in favor of neither party. The Court of Appeals also reached the conclusion that this test is neutral in Kelly v. Arriba Soft.

Fourth, as to the "effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work", the District Court found that because there is a cell phone image download market for small pictures of naked women, Google is harming the potential market for P10's works, and hence, this factor weighs in P10's favor. The District Court concluded that Google is not likely to affect the market for full sized pictures.

Then, the District Court concluded that since three of the four fair use tests weigh in P10's favor, and the fourth is neutral, Google's fair use defense fails.

Vicarious or Contributory Infringement. The District Court noted that there was no evidence in the record on direct infringement by individual users. There was, however, evidence in the record of direct infringement by third party web sites. The District Court rejected P10's request for a preliminary injunction based upon either the theories of vicarious or contributory infringement claims.

This case is Perfect 10 v. Google, Inc., et al., U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, D.C. No. CV 04-9484 AHM (SHx), Judge Howard Matz presiding.

2/23. Cynthia Glassman, a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), gave a speech in London, England, to the Tenth Annual Conference on SEC Regulation Outside the United States. She discussed, among other topics, the use of Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). See also, SEC's XBRL web page.

Glassman (at right) said that "XBRL is an interactive data format that makes financial information easier to locate and analyze. XBRL enables filers to use special definitions to ``tag´´ various items in their financial reports. I analogize tagged interactive data to Lego building blocks -- investors can use the data to construct for themselves financial, operating ratio or other meaningful information about companies just as Lego blocks can be used to build a variety of different structures. Users can retrieve the tagged data through computer searches and analyze it quickly and easily with other computer software tools. Doing this electronically saves time and money and ensures better accuracy -- ultimately resulting in more robust and efficient analyses."

She added that "U.S. regulators have begun to experiment with and use XBRL. The FDIC has made progress toward a web-based system for regulatory reporting by banks. Last year, the SEC launched a voluntary XBRL pilot program. The program presents registrants the opportunity to explore the costs and benefits of this new approach. So far, nine filers have participated, and I encourage more non-U.S. filers to consider participating. Recently, we announced a new program with incentives to encourage additional voluntary filings under XBRL. I am confident that this powerful technology could make the information that registrants file with us more useful to investors and other global market constituents."

2/27. The Supreme Court denied certiorari in Theis Research v. Brown & Bain. See, Order List [10 pages in PDF] at page 2. This lets stand the October 20, 2004 opinion [12 pages in PDF] of the U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) affirming the District Court's confirmation of an arbitration award. See also, Supreme Court docket, and story titled "Court of Appeals Affirms Zero Arbitration Award in Theis v. Brown & Bain" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,001, October 21, 2006. This case is Theis Research v. Brown & Bain, Sup. Ct. No. 04-1566, a petition for writ of certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, App. Ct. No. 02-16839. The Court of Appeals heard an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, D.C. No. CV-99-20645-RMW.

2/27. The Supreme Court denied certiorari in Shymatta v. Microsoft., a pro se action alleging discrimination on the basis of religion in violation of the state of California's Unruh Civil Rights Act, which is codified at Cal. Civ. Code § 51 et seq., and violation of California Business and Professions Code §§ 16721 and 17200. The District Court granted summary judgment to Microsoft. It held that Microsoft's denial of permission to copy from its Encarta Encyclopedia for inclusion in a book on religion by Shymatta did not violate the Unruh Act or the Business and Professions Code. The Court of Appeals affirmed. See, Court of Appeals' September 27, 2005 opinion [4 pages in PDF]. See, Order List [10 pages in PDF] at page 9, and Supreme Court docket. This case is David Shymatta v. Microsoft Corporation, Sup. Ct. No. 05-8433, a petition for writ of certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, App. Ct. No. 04-55206. The Court of Appeals heard an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, D.C. No. CV-03-01038-JFW. Chief Justice Roberts took no part in this case.

2/27. President Bush announced his intent to appoint 14 persons to be members of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). See, White House release.
 • Duane Ackerman (Ch/CEO of BellSouth).
 • Paul Anderson.
 • Robert Brown (MIT).
 • Nance Dicciani (Specialty Materials, Honeywell).
 • Richard Herman (Univ. of Illinois, Urbana Champaign).
 • Martin Jischke (President of Purdue University).
 • Fred Kavli.
 • Daniel Reed (Univ. of Illinois, Urbana Champaign).
 • Hector de Jesus Ruiz (Ch/CEO of AMD).
 • Stratton Sclavos (P/Ch/CEO of VeriSign).
 • John Brooks Slaughter.
 • Joseph Tucci (P/Ch/CEO of EMC)
 • Robert Witt (President, University of Alabama).
 • Tadataka Yamada (Chairman for Research & Development, Pharmaceuticals, at GlaxoSmithKline, and Executive Director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Global Health program).

2/27. On February 23, 2006, President Bush announced his intent to nominate John Emling to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs. He is currently Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs at the Department of Treasury. See, White House release. On February 27, Bush formally nominated Emling. See, White House release.

2/27. John Nester was named Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Office of Public Affairs. See, SEC release.

2/28. The Department of Commerce (DOC) released preliminary gross domestic product (GDP) data for the fourth quarter of 2005. See, release and tables. The DOC stated that real GDP "increased at an annual rate of 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2005". The DOC also reported that fixed investment in information processing equipment and software, in chained (2000) dollars, seasonally adjusted, at an annual rate, was $615.4 Billion in the 4th quarter. This is up from 600.2 in the 3rd quarter, and 539.7 in the 4th quarter of 2004. The DOC also reported, that in current dollars, fixed investment in information processing equipment and software, seasonally adjusted, at an annual rate, was $502.4 Billion in the 4th quarter of 2005. This is up from 494.5 in the 3rd quarter, and 456.3 in the 4th quarter of 2004. That is, information technology purchases are growing far faster than the economy as a whole. Also, the DOC noted in its release that "Final sales of computers contributed 0.34 percentage point to the fourth-quarter growth in real GDP".

2/24. Roger Ferguson, Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board (FRB), gave a speech in Laurel, Maryland, titled "The Importance of Education". He discussed the importance of math and science education for creativity and innovation. He also said that "Investment in human capital ... is critical to generating products and services with high economic value. Today, much of that high-value output demands workers with the creativity, cognitive abilities, and skills to interact with challenging technologies. In addition, ongoing innovation requires workers to be flexible and to be willing to view education as a life-long commitment. In short, an educated workforce is a must if our economy is to continue to enjoy significant gains in productivity and living standards." He concluded that "the economy of the United States depends greatly on an educated workforce -- one with the skills to tackle new ideas and new technologies, one in which morals and ethics are deeply instilled, and one with a love of learning, exploring, and questioning that lasts a lifetime."

2/24. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) published a notice in the Federal Register in which it states that it plans to destroy certain back up tapes of electronic records maintained by the National Security Council (NSC) during the administration of former President Bill Clinton. See, Federal Register, February 24, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 37, at Pages 9609-9611.

The House will return from its President's Day District Work Period. It will meet at 2:00 PM for legislative business. It 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 consider S 2271, the "USA PATRIOT Act Additional Reauthorizing Amendments Act of 2006".

8:30 AM - 4:45 PM. Day one of a two day conference hosted by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) titled "Improving Spectrum Management through Economic or Other Incentives". See, notice. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Anthony Sampson will give opening remarks. Location: National Academy of Sciences, Lecture Room, 2101 Constitution Ave., NW. The entrance at 2100 C St.

9:30 - 11:30 AM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "Former SEC Division Directors Give Their Views on Regulatory Reform". The speakers will be Barry Barbash, Kathryn McGrath, Paul Roye, and Marianne Smythe. See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold another hearing to examine the legal authority of the President and the National Security Agency (NSA) to conduct extra-judicial surveillance. This hearing is titled "Wartime Executive Power and the NSA’s Surveillance Authority II". The scheduled witnesses include James Woolsey (VP of the Global Strategic Security Division at Booz Allen Hamilton), Harold Hongju Koh (Dean of the Yale Law School), Ken Gormley (Duquesne University School of Law), Doug Kmiec (Pepperdine University School of Law), Bruce Fein (Fein & Fein), Robert Turner (University of Virginia law school), Robert Levy (CATO Institute). Press contact: Blain Rethmeier (Specter) at 202 224-5225 or Tracy Schmaler (Leahy) at 202 224-2154. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "USF Contributions". The witnesses will be Glenn Post (CEO of Century/Tel), Tom Simmons (Midcontinent Communications), Trent Boaldin (Epic Touch Co.), Bonnie Cramer (AARP Board of Directors), Paul Garnett (CTIA). See, notice. Press contact: Melanie Alvord (Stevens) at 202 224-8456, Aaron Saunders (Stevens) at 202 224-3991, or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202 224-4546. The hearing will be webcast by the SCC. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Patent Law Update: Impact Of Recent Federal Circuit Decisions On Crafting Patent Applications". The speaker will be Dale Lazar (DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary). The price to attend ranges from $10-$30. For more information, call 202 626-3463. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

1:00 - 6:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Communications Law 101". Location: Wiley Rein & Fielding, 1776 K St., NW.

RESCHEDULED FOR MARCH 2. 2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "USF Distribution". The witnesses will be Jeff Mao (Maine Department of Education), Shirley Bloomfield (National Telecommunications Cooperative Association), Carson Hughes (Cellular South), Tony Clark (North Dakota Public Service Commission, and Chairman of NARUC's Telecommunications Committee Department), and Ben Scott (Free Press). See, notice. Press contact: Melanie Alvord (Stevens) at 202 224-8456, Aaron Saunders (Stevens) at 202 224-3991, or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202 224-4546. The hearing will be webcast by the SCC. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division regarding its Draft Special Publication 800-73-1, titled "Interfaces for Personal Identity Verification". See also, summary [3 pages in PDF] titled "Proposed Changes to SP 800-73".

6:30 - 8:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host an event titled "Happy Hour". For more information, contact Jason Friedrich at jason dot friedrich at dbr dot com or Natalie Roisman at natalie dot roisman at fcc dot gov. Location: Restaurant Kolumbia, 1801 K Street, NW.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. It may consider S 2271, the "USA PATRIOT Act Additional Reauthorizing Amendments Act of 2006". See, Republican Whip Notice.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a two day conference hosted by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) titled "Improving Spectrum Management through Economic or Other Incentives". See, notice. Location: National Academy of Sciences, Lecture Room, 2101 Constitution Ave., NW. The entrance at 2100 C St., NW.

8:30 AM - 1:00 PM. The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) will host an event titled "Enterprise VoIP: From Communication to Collaboration". For more information, contact Eerik Kreek at ekreek at itaa dot org. See, notice. Location: Ritz Carlton Pentagon City, Arlington, VA.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold a hearing on judicial nominations. The SJC frequently cancels or 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.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Propoerty (CIIP) will meet to mark up HR 4742, a bill to allow the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to waive statutory provisions governing patents and trademarks in certain emergencies, and S 1785, the "Vessel Hull Design Protection Amendments of 2005". The meeting will be webcast by the HJC. Press contact: Terry Shawn at 202 225.2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

RESCHEDULED FOR MARCH 2. 10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will meet to mark up numerous items, including HR 4709, the "Law Enforcement and Phone Privacy Protection Act of 2006" and HR 2955, the "Intellectual Property Jurisdiction Clarification Act of 2005". The meeting will be webcast by the HJC. Press contact: Terry Shawn at 202 225.2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:30 AM. The Senate Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch will hold a hearing on the FY 2007 budget for the Library of Congress (LOC), Government Accountability Office (GAO), and other entities. Location: Room 138, Dirksen Building.

2:00 PM. The House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science, and Technology will hold a hearing titled "The State of Interoperable Communications: Perspectives from State and Local Governments". Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

2:00 PM. The House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Science, the Departments of State, Justice, and Commerce, and Related Agencies will hold a hearing on the FY 2007 budget for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Location: Room H-309, Capitol Building.

2:00 PM. The House Financial Services Committee's (HFSC) Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade and Technology will hold a hearing titled "Foreign Investment, Jobs and National Security: The CFIUS Process". Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

RESCHEDULED FROM FEBRUARY 14. 6:30 PM. The House Armed Services Committee will meet to mark up HRes 645, which requests the Bush administration "to transmit to the House of Representatives all information in the possession of the President or the Secretary of Defense relating to the collection of intelligence information pertaining to persons inside the United States without obtaining court-ordered warrants authorizing the collection of such information and relating to the policy of the United States with respect to the gathering of counterterrorism intelligence within the United States". Location: Room 2118, Rayburn Building.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) portion of its Report and Order (R&O) and NPRM of August 5, 2005 regarding regulation of information services. 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 60259 - 60271.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. It may consider S 2271, the "USA PATRIOT Act Additional Reauthorizing Amendments Act of 2006". See, Republican Whip Notice.

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

RESCHEDULED FROM MARCH 1. 10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will meet to mark up numerous items, including HR 4709, the "Law Enforcement and Phone Privacy Protection Act of 2006" and HR 2955, the "Intellectual Property Jurisdiction Clarification Act of 2005". The meeting will be webcast by the HJC. Press contact: Terry Shawn at 202 225.2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

RESCHEDULED FROM FEBRUARY 28. 10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "USF Distribution". The witnesses will be Jeff Mao (Maine Department of Education), Shirley Bloomfield (National Telecommunications Cooperative Association), Carson Hughes (Cellular South), Tony Clark (North Dakota Public Service Commission, and Chairman of NARUC's Telecommunications Committee Department), and Ben Scott (Free Press). See, notice. Press contact: Melanie Alvord (Stevens) at 202 224-8456, Aaron Saunders (Stevens) at 202 224-3991, or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202 224-4546. The hearing will be webcast by the SCC. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building.

POSTPONED. 10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Voice over Internet Protocol". See, notice. Press contact: Melanie Alvord (Stevens) at 202 224-8456, Aaron Saunders (Stevens) at 202 224-3991, or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202 224-4546. The hearing will be webcast by the SCC. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Science, the Departments of State, Justice, and Commerce, and Related Agencies will hold a hearing on the FY 2007 budget for the National Science Foundation (NSF). Location: Room H-309, Capitol Building.

10:00 AM. The House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies will hold a hearing on the FY 2007 budget for President Bush's American Competitiveness Agenda. Location: Room 2358, Rayburn Building.

MOVED TO MARCH 14. 10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Wireless Issues / Spectrum Reform". See, notice. Press contact: Melanie Alvord (Stevens) at 202 224-8456, Aaron Saunders (Stevens) at 202 224-3991, or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202 224-4546. The hearing will be webcast by the SCC. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on the implementation of the Exon-Florio Amendment and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) for protectionist and political purposes. This hearing will focus on the acquisition of by Dubai Ports World of P&O. See, notice. Location: Room 538, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON. The Parents Television Council (PTC) will host a news conference regarding a PTC report on children's television. For more information, contact Kelly Oliver at 703 683-5004 koliver at crc4pr dot com. Location: Murrow Room, National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor.

The Republican Whip Notice states that "no votes expected in the House".

9:00 AM. There will be an event titled "eBay Media Roundtable". For more information, contact Jean Shim at 202 295-4114 or jshim at foley dot com. Location: National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor.

12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Wireless Committee will host a lunch. The topic will be "Consumer Litigation in the Wireless Industry". The speakers will be Laura Buckland (T-Mobile USA), Sue Haller (Sprint), and Michael Altschul (CTIA). The price to attend is $15. Registrations and cancellations are due by 12:00 NOON on February 28. See, registration form [PDF]. Location: Sidley Austin, 1500 K Street, 6th Floor.

12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute will host a forum on the book titled An Army of Davids: How Markets and Technology Empower Ordinary People to Beat Big Media, Big Government, and Other Goliaths [Amazon], by Glenn Reynolds. See, notice and registration page. Lunch will be served. The event will be webcast by Cato. Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Ethics and the Internet". The speaker will be J.T. Westermeier (DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary). The topics to be covered include web based advertising, unauthorized practice of law, formation of attorney client relationships, attorney client confidentiality, online referral services and directories, online bids for legal services, and class action communications. 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.

8:30 AM - 5:15 PM. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 17, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 33, at Page 8566. The public must request permission to attend by March 2. Location: Employees Lounge, Administration Building, NIST, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in AT&T (formerly SBC) v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 05-1186. This is a petition for review of a final order of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) denying a petition for forbearance from applying Title II regulatory obligations to certain services characterized by SBC as internet protocol services. See, brief [40 pages in PDF] of the FCC. Judges Randolph, Tatel and Williams will preside. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Rural Telecommunications". See, notice. Press contact: Melanie Alvord (Stevens) at 202 224-8456, Aaron Saunders (Stevens) at 202 224-3991, or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202 224-4546. The hearing will be webcast by the SCC. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Competitive Technologies, Inc., et al. v. Fujitsu, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (NDCal) in patent infringement case involving plasma display panels (see, U.S. Patent Nos. 4,866,349 and 5,081,400), and 11th Amendment immunity of state universities. This is App. Ct. No. 05-1237 and D.C. No. C-02-1673 JCS. Previously, the Federal Circuit dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. See, June 30, 2004, opinion. The Supreme Court denied certiorari on October 3, 2005. See, Order List [84 pages in PDF], at page 14. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

12:00 NOON. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security will hold an oversight hearing titled "White Collar Enforcement (Part l): Attorney-Client Privilege and Corporate Waivers". The hearing will be webcast by the HJC. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

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.