9/20. David McCormick, the new Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, gave a speech in Beijing, People's Republic of China, titled "Rebalancing the U.S.-China Economic Relationship".

McCormick (at right) said that "China's growth model for the past several decades has featured high levels of investment in physical inputs to production, such as plants for producing manufacturing exports, but has done comparatively less to foster innovation, entrepreneurship, and the development of the deep and competitive markets. The current growth model has served China well to this point, but it is now exacerbating some of the challenges in achieving balanced growth."

He said that the "development of the financial services sector -- including increased access to consumer finance for Chinese households -- will be particularly important to ensuring that strong Chinese growth continues." He added that "investment by foreign firms ... can play an important role".

He also said the the PRC has experienced "environmental degradation", and that "the Chinese people are capturing a smaller and smaller share of the benefits of growth".

He also called for "exchange rate adjustment". He argued that "currency flexibility" would provide "a growth strategy that brings higher consumption to Chinese households and more balanced, harmonious, and sustainable growth".

He also discussed protectionism. He said that the US "must also continue to strive to avoid the siren song of protectionism. We must not sacrifice the long-term gains of openness by pursuing short-term and misguided responses to the challenges presented by global international markets. President Bush and Secretary Paulson are committed to ensuring America's open trade and investment climate."

"Talk of protectionism can easily invoke national passions, and it is important for both our countries to keep in mind the tremendous benefits that openness to foreign investment has brought to our economies", said McCormick.

He did not address intellectual property rights.

9/24. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a report [72 pages in PDF] titled "Issues of Importance to American Business in the U.S.-China Commercial Relationship". Much of the report relates to the People's Republic of China's failure to protect intellectual property rights (IPR), and the PRC's innovation and investment stifling access barriers, discriminatory practices, regulations, and standards.

This report states that in 2007 "Chinese enterprises and some in government became increasingly sophisticated at developing and wielding industrial policies -- discriminatory investment practices, government procurement preferences, mandatory national standards -- and other tools of competitive advantage."

It also states that "Inadequate transparency and the lack of domestic legal and political accountability throughout the Chinese polity remains a high obstacle for American consumer groups, business organizations, and government policymakers".

However, the Chamber adds, the US has its own defects, including an "overly restrictive" visa policy for foreign business people, "export control regulations that are often out of step with global realities", and "excessive mistrust of Chinese investment" in the US.

The report states that while China has instituted some reforms related to intellectual property, it is still not in "full compliance with its TRIPS commitments", and its reforms "remain toothless without effective implementation and enforcement mechanisms".

"Counterfeiting and piracy constitute a fundamental blight on China's economic progress that will lead political leaders in the United States and other countries to call into question China's status as a responsible global power", the Chamber asserts.

Moreover, the report states that "China is considering or has implemented several laws and regulations that discriminate against foreign suppliers, technologies, and IP owners by extending legal benefits solely to their domestic competitors. These rules will limit market access, prevent the lawful exercise of IP rights, and deter foreign trade and investment -- and, in the end, undermine China's own efforts to develop into a full-fledged Innovation Society."

"China has also continued to support and promote homegrown technology through the use of national standards and technical regulations", with its Enhanced Versatile Disc (EVD) technology, its 3G mobile phone standard, and its encryption regulations.

The report also complains about the possibility that China will impose compulsory licensing of patents in a manner inconsistent with its WTO obligations.

The report states that the film, music and software industries face both IPR infringement and access barriers. It states that China is particularly bleak for the music and movies industries, but that China has shown "the beginnings of improvement" for the software industry. That is, estimated software piracy is down to 80%.

9/20. The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) released a report [392 pages in PDF] titled "U.S. Korea Free Trade Agreement: Potential Economy-wide and Selected Sectoral Effects". See also, USITC release.

Introduction. The report concludes that if this free trade agreement (FTA) were implemented, "U.S. GDP would likely increase by $10.1–11.9 billion as a result of tariff and tariff-rate quota (TRQ) provisions related to goods market access."

The report states that this FTA "would expand access to Korea's services market and would provide substantial opportunities for financial, telecommunications" and other services."

It also finds that this FTA would improve the regulatory environment in Korea. For example, Korea's "more secure and stable investment environment and enhanced implementation of intellectual property rights enforcement would likely increase trade and investment in a wide array of goods and services."

The President, through the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR), and Korea concluded this FTA in April. See, story titled "US and Korea Announce FTA" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,559, April 2, 2007.

See also, text of the agreement and sections regarding telecommunications [17 pages in PDF], electronic commerce [4 pages in PDF], intellectual property rights [35 pages in PDF].

USTR Susan Schwab, and Korea's Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong, signed this FTA on June 30, 2007. However, the Congress has not approved it.

Susan Schwab (at left), the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), stated in a release that "We welcome the ITC's finding that the U.S. -- Korea Free Trade Agreement will expand U.S. exports and U.S GDP. The ITC’s independent and comprehensive analysis reinforces the fact that the KORUS FTA is the most commercially significant free trade agreement the United States has concluded in over 15 years -- and that Congress should act to approve it".

Intellectual Property. The USITC report states that full and effective enforcement of the IPR provisions of this FTA "would likely benefit U.S. industries that rely on copyrights, patents, trademarks, and other intellectual property by reducing their losses from infringement and increasing export and foreign sales opportunities for their products. U.S. copyright industries report substantial losses in Korea as a result of hard goods and online infringement of software, music, motion pictures, and books. ... To the extent it successfully addresses these and other IPR issues, the U.S.-Korea FTA should improve the business environment in Korea for U.S. industries that rely on intellectual property protections."

It elaborates that "Full implementation and enforcement of the copyright and digital technology protection and enforcement provisions in the FTA likely would benefit the U.S. motion picture, music, business and entertainment software, and book publishing industries. U.S. industries that may benefit from patent and confidential data protections include pharmaceuticals and agricultural chemicals. A broad range of U.S. industries with valuable brand names may benefit from the strengthened trademark and enforcement provisions of the FTA."

It adds that "Implementation by the United States of its FTA obligations will likely have little effect on the U.S. economy, because the United States already meets or exceeds the standards of IPR protection contained in the FTA."

E-Commerce. The USITC report states that this FTA "is likely to facilitate" e-commerce activity between the two countries "as well as trade in the goods and services that enable e-commerce".

It continues that "U.S. suppliers of information and communication technology (ICT) products, which have a competitive advantage in the Korean marketplace in terms of technology and price, are the most likely to benefit from the FTA. Despite the steady progress of e-commerce in Korea, however, current laws and regulations continue to limit the growth of e-commerce." (Footnotes omitted from this and other quotations.)

It also summarizes the e-commerce provisions of this FTA "(1) would provide for nondiscriminatory and duty-free treatment of all digital products, whether delivered electronically or in physical form; (2) contains commitments by both parties to facilitate the use of electronic authentication in their respective markets; and (3) includes principles that ensure consumers’ reasonable access to the Internet to conduct electronic commerce."

Telecommunications. The report states that "The FTA would likely have minimal impact on U.S. cross-border exports of telecommunication services, largely due to already high levels of price competition for voice telephone services between the United States and Korea."

"By contrast", it continues, "the provisions of the FTA likely would facilitate the entry of U.S. firms into the Korean market, either through the establishment of a wholly owned subsidiary or through investment in existing telecommunication companies. Currently, Korea limits foreign direct investment (FDI) in facilities-based telecommunication-services firms to 49 percent of total voting shares."

However, it adds that while the FTA removes this restriction, allowing 100 percent foreign ownership after 2 years, "high levels of competition, the maturation of important market segments ..., and FTA exclusions pertaining to mobile services and nonfacilities-based service providers may deter U.S. firms from entering the domestic Korean market and/or impair the ability of U.S. firms to offer telecommunication services to residential and/or corporate customers within Korea".

However, "the FTA's investment provisions would likely benefit U.S. firms seeking to offer international corporate data, virtual private network, and Internet Protocol-based corporate customers in Korea."

Finally, the report states that "The FTA would likely have minimal impact on the entry of Korean telecommunication firms into the U.S. market, or the sales of existing Korean subsidiaries in the United States, due largely to the existing regulatory openness of the U.S. telecommunication services market."

9/20. The U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) issued its opinion [31 pages in PDF] in Lozano v. AT&T Wireless, a class action against a wireless service provider based upon allegations of failure to disclose the practice of out of cycle billing for phone calls.

Paul Lozano is a cell telephone service customer of AT&T Wireless Services (AWS) in the state of California. He asserts that AWS billed its customers for cellular calls during a billing period other than the billing period in which the calls were made -- that is, out of cycle billing.

He asserts that by doing this AWS charged him for calls for which he would not have been charged had the calls been assigned to the billing period in which they were made. Moreover, he asserts, AWS did not fully and adequately disclose its billing practice to its customers at the time they entered into contracts with AWS.

AWS asserts that its roaming cellular telephone calls are billed to its customers based on the date that AWS receives the information regarding the call, not on the date the call was actually made, and that it fully disclosed this practice.

Lozano filed a complaint, which he amended, in the U.S. District Court (CDCal) against AWS alleging violation of the federal Communications Act (FCA), the Declaratory Judgment Act (DJA), California contract law, the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CLRA), and the California Unfair Competition Law (UCL).

He also sought class action status. In particular, he sought certification of a national class for claims based on the FCA, the DJA, and breach of contract law, and certification of a California subclass based on his CLRA and UCL claims.

AWS moved to compel arbitration, pursuant to a class action waiver in an arbitration agreement in a document titled "Welcome Guide" which Lozano received when he purchased service. The District Court ultimately held that the waiver was unconscionable and therefore unenforceable under California law.

The Court of Appeals offered this summary of the decision of the District Court. "The district court declined to certify a national class for Lozano's FCA and derivative DJA claims because to do so would require a state-by-state analysis of conscionability jurisprudence with respect to the enforceability of class action waivers. The court also denied Lozano’s request for class action status for his breach of contract claim. The district court certified a California class action for Lozano’s CLRA claim, based on AWS's inclusion of an unconscionable term in its agreement, i.e., the class action waiver; the district court declined to certify a class for Lozano’s other theories of liability pursuant to the CLRA. Finally, the district court certified a class action on two theories of liability under the UCL; one claim based on a violation of the CLRA (the ``derivative UCL claim´´) and a second claim based on the ``unfairness´´ prong of the UCL." (Parentheses in original.)

Both Lozano and AWS appealed. The Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part.

It wrote that "We reverse the district court’s order granting class certification of Lozano’s CLRA claim based on the inclusion of an unconscionable clause in the agreement. Similarly, we reverse the district court’s certification of Lozano’s UCL claim based on unlawful conduct, as it is dependent on Lozano’s CLRA claim. We otherwise affirm the district court’s order on class certification."

This case is Paul Lozano v. AT&T Wireless Services, Inc., U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, App. Ct. Nos. 05-56466 and 05-56511, appeals from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, D.C. No. CV-02-00090-AHS, Judge William Rea presiding. Judge James Robart, sitting by designation, wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Cynthia Hall and Consuelo Callahan joined.

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The House will meet at 12:30 PM for morning hour and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. The House will consider numerous non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. Votes will be postponed until at least 6:30 PM. See, Rep. Hoyer's calendar [PDF].

The Senate will meet at 2:00 PM for morning business. At 3:00 PM it will begin consideration of the conference report on HR 1495 [LOC | WW], the "Water Resources Development Act".

The Supreme Court will hold the opening conference of its October Term 2007.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day conference titled "A Roadmap to REAL ID Compliance and Inter-State Collaboration". See, conference web site. Location: Renaissance Hotel 999 9th St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Proposed Free Trade Agreements with Peru, Panama, Colombia and Korea". The speakers will be Jamie Estrada (Deputy Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing at the Department of Commerce), Marc Lautenbach (IBM), John Zogby (pollster), and Robert Atkinson (ITIF). Lunch will be served. Location: Room B-354, Rayburn Building.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Privacy and Data Security Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Why Privacy Matters to Your Company or Clients". For more information, contact Lisa Cordell at lcordell at fh-law dot com, Yaron Dori at YDori at HHLAW dot com, Ronnie London at ronnielondon at dwt dot com, or Jenell Trigg at strigg at lsl-law dot com. RSVP to Lisa Cordell at lcordell at fh-law dot com. Location: Hogan & Hartson, Litigation Center Moot Court Room (one level below the main lobby), 555 13th St., NW.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for morning hour and at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The House will consider numerous non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. See, Rep. Hoyer's calendar [PDF].

8:30 AM - 1:00 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host an event titled "Biotechnology and the Patent System: The Economic Implications of the Proposed Patent Reform Act of 2007". See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

8:30 AM - 12:00 PM. The American Society of Access Professionals (ASAP) will host a one half day conference titled "Opening the Door on Privacy Issues". The topics to be addressed include "Social Security Numbers: Can the Government Operate Without the Use of SSNs?", "Federal Information Security: Safeguarding, Reporting, and Training", and "Identity Theft and Sharing Information in Today’s Security Conscious Environment". Location: Ronald Reagan and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.

8:30 AM - 4:30 PM. Day two of a two day conference titled "A Roadmap to REAL ID Compliance and Inter-State Collaboration". See, conference web site. Location: Renaissance Hotel 999 9th St., NW.

9:00 AM - 1:00 PM. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will hold a public meeting regarding its Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupon Program. See, NTIA notice, and notice in the Federal Register, July 20, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 139, at Page 39799. Location: Department of Commerce, Auditorium, 1401 Constitution Ave., NW.

TIME AND AGENDA CHANGE. 9:30 AM - 11:15 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) will host an event titled "Summit on Communications Network Surge Management in Emergencies". See, notice [PDF]. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Strengthening FISA: Does the Protect America Act Protect Americans' Civil Liberties and Enhance Security?" The witnesses will be Michael McConnell (Director of National Intelligence), James Baker (Harvard Law School, and previously Counsel for Intelligence Policy, Department of Justice), James Dempsey (Center for Democracy and Technology), Suzanne Spaulding (Bingham Consulting Group), and Bryan Cunningham (Morgan & Cunningham). See, notice. Location: Room 216, Hart Building.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection will hold a hearing titled "From Imus to Industry: The Business of Stereotypes and Degrading Images". The hearing will be webcast by the HJC. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties will hold a hearing titled "Oversight Hearing on the Employment Section of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:30 AM. The House Ways and Means Committee will meet to mark up HR __, a bill to implement the US-Peru trade promotion agreement. See, notice. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a program titled "Digital Music and Practice Before the Copyright Royalty Board". The speakers will be Jacqueline Charlesworth (National Music Publishers' Association), Michael Huppe (SoundExchange, Inc.), David Oxenford (Davis Wright Tremaine), Steven Englund (Jenner & Block), and Lee Knife (Digital Media Association). The price to attend ranges from $10 to $30. For more information, call 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) FCC Enforcement Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch. It will be a "Kick Off meeting for Enforcement Committee Members". RSVP to Kerry Loughney at kerry at fcba dot org. Location: Wilmer Hale, 1875 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

12:30 PM - 4:30 PM. The American Society of Access Professionals (ASAP) will host a one half day conference titled "Spotlight on National Security Issues". Location: Ronald Reagan and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.

1:00 - 3:00 PM. The House Intelligence Committee's (HIC) Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence will hold a closed hearing titled "Digital Globe". Location: Room H-405, Capitol Building.

1:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of Transportation's (DOT) Intelligent Transportation Systems Program Advisory Committee (ITSPAC) will meet. See, DOT's ITS web page, and notice in the Federal Register, September 6, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 172, at Page 51290. Location: Conference Room 7, lobby level, West Building, DOT, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE.

1:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Antitrust Task Force will hold a hearing titled "Oversight Hearing of the Antitrust Agencies: Department of Justice Antitrust Division and Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Competition". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing on nominations of John Tinder (to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit) and Robert Dow (to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois). See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

3:00 - 4:30 PM. The New America Foundation will host a book presentation by Amy Zeigart, author of the book titled Spying Blind: the CIA, the FBI, and the Origins of 9/11. See, notice. Location: NAF, 7th Floor, 1630 Connecticut Ave., NW.

TIME?. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) will hold a hearing. Location?

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's calendar [PDF].

8:00 AM - 4:15 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will host a day long event titled "Digital Television Consumer Education Workshop". See, FCC release. Location: FCC, 445 12th St., SW.

8:00 - 9:30 AM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) and the Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) will host an event titled "Digital Media and Emerging Legal Challenges". The speakers will include Lauren Van Wazer (Cox Enterprises), David Gardy (TV Worldwide), Raj Sharma (3CLogic), Thomas Sydnor (Progress & Freedom Foundation), and Kurt Wimmer (General Counsel of Gannett). See, notice. Prices vary. Location: Ritz-Carlton, 1700 Tysons Boulevard, McLean, VA.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Science Committee (HSC) will hold a hearing titled "Meeting the Need for Interoperability and Information Security in Health IT". The hearing will be webcast by the HSC. For more information, all 202-225-6375. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) program titled "How Will the New CFIUS Reform Legislation Affect FDI in the US?". The speakers will be Nova Daly (Deputy Assistant Secretary for Investment Security, Department of Treasury), Joseph Dennin (McKenna Long & Aldridge), Jamie Gorelick (Wilmer Hale), Scott Morris (House Committee on Financial Services), and Linda Menghetti (Emergency Committee for American Trade). The price to attend ranges from $0 to $30. For more information, call 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: Wilmer Hale, 1875 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

1:00 PM. The National Science Foundation (NSF) will host a lecture by Hsinchun Chen (University of Arizona) titled "Using Computational Science and the Dark Web to Snag Terrorists Online". See also, NSF's Dark Web web page. For more information, contact Dana Cruikshank at 703-292-7738 or dcruiksh at nsf dot gov. Location: NSF, Arlington, VA.

Day one of a two day event hosted by the American Society of Access Professionals (ASAP) titled "Annual Symposium and Training Conference". Location: Ronald Reagan and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's calendar [PDF].

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of S 1267 [LOC | WW], the "Free Flow of Information Act of 2007", S 2035, [LOC | WW], also titled the "Free Flow of Information Act of 2007", and S 980, [LOC | WW] the "Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2007". The SJC frequently fails to obtain a quorum for its meetings. The SJC rarely follows the agendas for its meetings. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Intelligence Committee's (HIC) Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence will hold a closed hearing titled "The Boeing Company". Location: Room H-405, Capitol Building.

10:00 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee on Diversity for Communications in the Digital Age will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, July 26, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 143, at Pages 41074-41075. Location: FCC, Room TW-C305, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

12:15 - 2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Cyberspace Practice and Wireless Telecom Practice Committees will host a lunch titled "700 MHz Auction: Will the Reality Match the Hype?". The speakers will be Christopher Guttman-McCabe (CTIA - Wireless Association), Harlin McEwen (International Association of Chiefs of Police), Janice Obuchowski (Frontline Wireless), and Richard Whitt (Google). The price to attend is $15. Reservations and cancellations are due by 12:00 NOON on September 25. See, registration form [PDF]. Location: Sidley Austin, 6th Floor, 1501 K St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Alliance for Public Technology (APT), National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA), and National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) will hold a brown bag lunch titled "How Broadband is Changing Educational Institutions and the Lives of Those Who Use Them". RSVP to apt at apt dot org. Location: 10th Floor, 919 18th St., NW.

2:00 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights will hold a hearing titled "An Examination of the Google DoubleClick Merger and the Online Advertising Industry: What Are the Risks for Competition and Privacy?" Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) will preside. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

2:00 - 3:00 PM. The President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) will meet by teleconference. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 29, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 250, at Page 78451.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will meet to mark up bills, including S 1453 [LOC | WW], the "Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) Extension Act of 2007", and S 1965 [LOC | WW], the "Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act", a bill pertaining to child pornography and online predation. See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

3:00 - 5:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Consumer Advisory Committee will meet. See, FCC Public Notice (DA 07-3842) and notice in the Federal Register, September 11, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 175, at Page 51814. Location: FCC, Room 3-B516, 445 12th St., SW.

TIME? The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) will hold a hearing to assist it in preparing its annual report to the Congress on the People's Republic of China's compliance with the commitments made in connection with its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The OUSTR will consider, among other things, intellectual property rights (IPR) and IPR enforcement. The hearing may also be continued on September 28. See, notice in the Federal Register, July 25, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 142, at Pages 40905-40906. Location: Room 1, 1724 F St., NW.

Day two of a two day event hosted by the American Society of Access Professionals (ASAP) titled "Annual Symposium and Training Conference". Location: Ronald Reagan and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) regarding the Nationwide Differential Global Positioning System (NDGPS) Program. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 1, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 147, at Pages 42219-42220.

Rep. Hoyer's calendar [PDF] states that "no votes are expected in the House".

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a program titled "Feist, Facts, and Functions: IP Protection for Works Beyond Entertainment". The price to attend ranges from $25 to $50. For more information, call 202-289-7442. See, notice. Location: Cosmos Club, 2121 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

12:15 - 2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Cable Practice and Young Lawyers Committees will host a brown bag lunch titled "Translating the Set Top Box Debate and Visualizing the Living Room of the Future". For more information, contact Chris Fedeli at chrisfedeli at dwt dot com or Tarah Grant at tsgrant at hhlaw dot com. Location: Willkie Farr & Gallagher, Suite 200, 1875 K St., NW.

1:30 - 3:30 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host another panel discussion titled "Is Sarbanes-Oxley Impairing Corporate Risk-Taking?". The speakers will be Peter Wallison (AEI), Katherine Litvak (University of Texas at Austin School of Law), Henry Butler (Northwestern University), and Richard Geddes (Cornell University). See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

4:00 PM. Abdoulaye Wade, President of Senegal, will give a speech titled "I Don't Want Money. I Want Trade Agreements". See, notice. Location: Cato Institute, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

Effective date of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) final rule adjusting certain patent fee amounts to reflect fluctuations in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). See, notice in the Federal Register, August 22, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 162, at Pages 46899-46903.

9:30 AM - 3:40 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a conference titled "Women and Science". See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

Extended deadline to submit reply comments to the Copyright Office (CO) in response to its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding the operation of, and continued necessity for, the cable and satellite statutory licenses under the Copyright Act. See, original notice in the Federal Register, April 16, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 72, at Pages 19039-19055; technical correction notice in the Federal Register, April 24, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 78, at Page 20374; and notice of extension in the Federal Register, June 19, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 117, at Pages 33776-33777.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) regarding user needs and systems requirements of the terrestrial component of the Nationwide Differential Global Positioning System (NDGPS). See, notice in the Federal Register, August 1, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 147, at Pages 42219-42220.

Deadline to submit applications to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the renewal of state telecommunications relay services (TRS) program certification. See, notice in the Federal Register, July 18, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 137, at Pages 39423-39424.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding planning consumer understanding of the transition to digital television. This NPRM is FCC 07-128 in MB Docket No. 07-148. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 16, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 158, at Pages 46014-46020.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding ten studies related to government regulation of media ownership. See, FCC Public Notice [4 pages in PDF], which is DA 07-3470 in MB Docket Nos. 06-121 and 02-277, and MM Docket Nos. 01-235, 01-317, and 00-244. See also, notice in the Federal Register, August 8, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 152, at Pages 44539-44540.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding various proposals to promote minority and female ownership in the media industry. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 8, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 152, at Pages 44457-44466.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) regarding proposed changes to the system of records maintained by the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) titled Terrorist Screening Records System (TSRC). See, notice in the Federal Register, August 22, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 162, at Pages 47073-47079, and story titled "FBI Announces Changes to Terrorist Screening Records System" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,627, August 23, 2007.