11/29. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced, but did not release, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the U.S. and the People's Republic of China (PRC) regarding subsidies that the U.S. alleges violate the PRC's World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations.

The OUSTR stated in a release that this MOU "is designed to settle a WTO case the United States and Mexico initiated in February of this year. The United States had alleged that China was maintaining several subsidy programs prohibited under WTO rules and that these programs were providing significant benefits across the spectrum of industrial sectors in China -- including steel, wood products, information technology, and many others."

See, stories titled "US Files Complaint with WTO Regarding PRC Export Subsidies" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,533, February 6, 2007, and "USTR Requests WTO Dispute Settlement Panel on PR China Subsidies" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,610, July 17, 2007.

The OUSTR continued that "Most of the challenged subsidies were tied to exports, giving an unfair competitive advantage to Chinese products and denying U.S. manufacturers the chance to compete fairly with them in the United States and in third country markets. The remaining subsidies, known as ``import substitution´´ subsidies, encouraged companies in China to purchase Chinese-made goods instead of imports. These subsidies were designed to give Chinese-made goods a significant edge in the China market over high-quality, fairly priced goods from the United States and other countries."

See also, statement [PDF] by USTR Susan Schwab.

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) stated in a release that "This is welcome news. We don't litigate needlessly. When we initiate a WTO case, we have a legitimate basis for complaint. In this case, the Chinese government maintained eight subsidy programs that distorted competition in violation of international trade rules. I’m glad the Chinese government recognized that and agreed to permanently terminate the subsidies by January 1."

Sen. Grassley added that "We have three more cases against China pending at the WTO. There's a lot of room for improvement in the protection of intellectual property rights in China."

With respect to the WTO intellectual property case, see story titled "US Requests WTO Dispute Settlement Panel Re PRC Failure to Protect IPR" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,623, August 15, 2007.

11/28. The U.S. Court of Appeals (2ndCir) issued its opinion [PDF] in In Re: Literary Works in Electronic Databases Copyright Litigation, holding the members the three judge panel need not recuse themselves.

This opinion pertains to long running class action litigation over the rights of free lance authors with respect to republication of their works in electronic databases, such as those of LexisNexis and Westlaw. The Supreme Court held in its June 25, 2001 opinion in New York Times v. Tasini, which is reported at 533 U.S. 483, that freelanced articles in newspapers, for which the author still owns the copyright, cannot be republished in electronic databases without permission from the author. The Supreme Court held that the defendant publishers did not have a privilege under 17 U.S.C. § 201(c) to include in electronic databases the freelance articles written for and licensed to print publications.

See also, story titled "Supreme Court Rules for Authors in NYT v. Tasini" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 216, June 26, 2001. And see, story titled "Supreme Court Grants Cert in NYT v. Tasini", Tech Law Journal, November 7, 2000.

The present appeal concerns the settlement of consolidated class actions brought on behalf of freelance authors. The District Court approved the settlement on September 27, 2005. Several members of the plaintiff class objected to the settlement and brought the present appeal.

Two members of the three judge panel (Ralph Winter and John Walker) learned in March of 2007 that they are members of the plaintiff class (although they filed no claims, and the deadline for doing so has passed) as a result of having authored articles for law reviews and speeches.

Moreover, they sought an opinion from the Committee on Codes of Conduct of the Judicial Conference of the United States. The Committee issued an opinion, which is attached to the Court of Appeals' opinion, advising the two Judges to recuse themselves.

In the just released opinion, the two judges who hold copyrights concluded that they need not recuse themselves. The third member of the panel did not participate in this opinion.

The two judges wrote that "We decide today that a judge who learns that he is a party to a class action lawsuit by virtue of his possession of a small financial interest in one of the parties parties or in the subject matter of the lawsuit, and who has devoted substantial time to consideration of that case, but who promptly divests himself of the otherwise disqualifying financial interest, need not recuse himself from continued participation in the disposition of that case."

11/27. Verizon Wireless (VW) announced in a release that "it will provide customers the option to use, on its nationwide wireless network, wireless devices, software and applications not offered by the company ... by the end of 2008".

The release adds that early next year VW "will publish the technical standards the development community will need to design products to interface with the Verizon Wireless network. Any device that meets the minimum technical standard will be activated on the network."

VW is a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin stated in a release [PDF] that "As I noted when we adopted open network rules for our upcoming spectrum auction, wireless customers should be able to use the wireless device of their choice and download whatever software they want onto it. I continue to believe that more openness -- at the network, device, and application level -- helps foster innovation and enhances consumers' freedom and choice in purchasing wireless service."

He continued that "As I said at the time, I had hoped that our auction rules would ultimately encourage all of the wireless industry to adopt a more open and consumer-friendly industry approach."  See also, Martin's statement [PDF] of July 31, 2007, and story titled "FCC Adopts 700 MHz Band Order" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,619, July 31, 2007.

Martin stated that VW's announcement, along with the Open Handset Alliance (OHA) announcement of November 5, 2007, "is a significant step towards fulfilling these goals." See also, stories titled "Open Handset Alliance Announces Android and New Members" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,670, November 6, 2007, and "Martin Praises Open Handset Alliance Announcement" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,671, November 7, 2007.

Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), the Chairman of the House Commerce Committee, stated in a release that "I am pleased to hear Verizon Wireless's announcement. While we do not yet have all the details, the company's decision appears to be a step forward for consumers. I'd like to see additional carriers listen to their customers and offer a more open platform."

Steve Largent, head of the CTIA, stated in a release that "Over the past several weeks, the wireless industry has repeatedly demonstrated that competitive market forces bring consumers the choices they want and need in a far more efficient and effective manner than can government regulation."

The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) stated in its web site that "This announcement represents a major development in the evolution of the wireless communications marketplace, and the policy debate over the more closed policies that wireless carriers have followed to date. CDT applauds the new plan and believes it will spur significant innovation and consumer benefit. In addition, CDT believes the plan will impact the ongoing Internet neutrality debate by confirming the benefits of open network architectures."

Gigi Sohn, head of the Public Knowledge (PK), stated in a release that her group is "cautiously optimistic that it will lead to a more open network in the wireless industry at large".

She also noted that the FCC, "in a rule being challenged by the cellular industry’s trade association, endorsed that type of market opening for all carriers in the spectrum auction due to take place next year.

She also stated that VW's announcement "is very limited. If other carriers don’t follow the same model, then consumers will still find their phones tied to a specific technology or wireless company. Until they do, an iPhone will still be useless on any network but AT&T’s. In order for an open network to become a reality, all carriers will have to participate."

She also stated that if VW "continues to subsidize cellphones, then the adoption of the open model will be minimal absent a rapid decline in cell phone prices."

11/28. The U.S. Court of Appeals (4thCir) issued its opinion [11 pages in PDF] in Waytec Electronics v. Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials, a contract dispute involving the manufacture of printed circuit boards. The Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of the District Court for Rohm and Haas. This case is Waytec Electronics Corporation v. Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials, LLC, et al., App. Ct. No. No. 06-2242, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, at Lynchburg, D.C. No. 6:05-cv-00024-sgw.

11/28. The U.S. Court of Appeals (7thCir) issued another opinion in JCW Investments v. Novelty, a copyright and trademark case. The Court of Appeals addressed substantive issues in an earlier opinion. That opinion is reported at 482 F.3d 910. See also, "More News" section in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,555, March 21, 2007. The just released opinion addresses recovery of appellate attorney fees and costs. 17 U.S.C. § 505 and 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a) both permit an award of full costs and reasonable attorneys fees to the prevailing party, including fees and costs incurred on appeal. The Court of Appeals awarded JCW appellate attorneys fees of $70,423.75. This case is JCW Investments, Inc. v. Novelty, Inc., U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, App. Ct. No. 05-2498, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, D.C. No. 02 C 4950, Judge Robert Gettleman presiding.

11/30. Motorola's Board of Directors elected Greg Brown as CEO, effective January 1, 2008. He is currently P/COO. He will replace Edward Zander, who will remain as Chairman of the Board of Directors until the annual meeting of stockholders in May 2008. See, Motorola release.

11/29. Former Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL) died. He was Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee (HJC) for six years following the 1994 elections. He presided over the passage of HR 2281 (105th Congress), the "Digital Millennium Copyright Act", which he also cosponsored. See also, statement by President Bush.

11/29. James Finnegan joined Comcast as VP, Intellectual Property Strategy. Comcast stated in a release that "Finnegan is responsible for the continuing development and execution of Comcast’s Intellectual Property strategy. ... Prior to joining Comcast, Finnegan spent 17 years at AT&T and Lucent as a leading contributor to their intellectual property business. Most recently he served as Vice President, Intellectual Property, for Qimonda AG in Munich, Germany. He has also served in various consulting roles to major communications and electronics firms."

11/28. President Bush named Marie Sciarrone to be Special Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Senior Director for Cybersecurity and Information Sharing Policy. See, White House release.

11/28. President Bush named Terri Moore to be Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Communications for Policy and Planning. See, White House release.

11/28. President Bush named Luke Frans to be Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Political Affairs. See, White House release.

11/29. Alan Holmer, the Department of the Treasury's Special Envoy for China and the Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED), gave a speech in Atlanta, Georgia, on trade relations between the United States and the People's Republic of China.

11/27. The U.S. Court of Appeals (10thCir) released a scheduling order [3 pages in PDF] in U.S. v. Joseph Nacchio, App. Ct. No. 07-1311. The Court of Appeals will hear oral argument in this appeal at 2:00 PM on December 18, 2007, at the Byron White Courthouse, in Denver, Colorado.

11/27. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a report [108 pages in PDF] titled "Federal Trade Commission 2006 Identity Theft Survey Report". See also, FTC release. The report was prepared for the FTC by Synovate.

The House will not meet.

The Senate will meet at 2:00 PM for morning business.

Deadline for states, territories and the District of Columbia to submit to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) their Statewide Communications Interoperability Plans and Investment Justification under the PSIC Grant Program. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 20, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 160, at Pages 46442-46444. See also, story titled "Public Safety Interoperable Communications Grant Applications Due in 30 Days" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,612, July 19, 2007, and story titled "NTIA Clarifies Deadlines for PSIC Grant Applications" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,625, August 21, 2007.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Mass Media Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The topic will be "Meet the Press". Location: National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), 1771 N St.,  NW.

2:00 PM. Deadline for respondent (LG Electronics) to file its opposition brief with the Supreme Court of the US (SCUS) in Quanta Computer v. LG Electronics, a patent infringement case. See, story titled "Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in Patent Exhaustion Case" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,647, September 27, 2007.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the Emergency Alert System (EAS). The FCC adopted this NPRM on May 31, 2007, and released the text [75 pages in PDF] on July 12, 2007. It is FCC 07-109 in EB Docket No. 04-296. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 2, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 212, at Pages 62195-62198. See also, story titled "FCC Expands EAS Program" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,589, May 31, 2007.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding post-reconfiguration 800 MHz band plans for the U.S.-Canada border regions. This FNPRM is DA 07-4489 in WT Docket No. 02-55. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 13, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 218, at Pages 63869-63871.

Hanukkah begins at sundown.

The House will return from its Thanksgiving recess at 2:00 PM. The House will meet for legislative business. It 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 schedule for the week.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances: Addressing Health Care and Law Enforcement Priorities". See, notice. The witnesses will be Joseph Rannazzisi (Drug Enforcement Administration), Tony Trenkle (Office of E-Health Standards and Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services), Laura Adams (Rhode Island Quality Institute), Kevin Hutchinson (Sure Scripts), David Miller (Covisint), and Mike Podgurski (Rite Aid Corporation). Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) International Trade Administration (ITA) President's Export Council will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 8, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 216, at Page 63164. Location: DOC, Room 4830, 1401 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) will host a news briefing on FISA reform legislation. For more information, contact Brook Meeks at 202-637-9800 ext. 114. Location: CDT conference room, 11th floor, 1634 I St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 4:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host an event titled "Resolving Commercial Disputes with Chinese Parties: Trends in International Arbitration and WTO". The lunch speaker will be Yu Jianlong, Secretary-General of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CCPIT). There will be a panel discussion of arbitration. The speakers will be Mu Zili (Deputy Secretary-General of CCPIT), Fei Ning (Haiwen & Partners), Patrick Norton (Steptoe & Johnson), and Jean Kalicki (Arnold & Porter). There will also be a panel discussion on the WTO. The speakers will be Claire Reade (Chief Counsel for China Trade Enforcement, USTR), Matthew Yeo (Steptoe & Johnson), Lucille Barale (Georgetown University Law Center), and Mary Michel (McKenna Long & Aldridge). The price to attend ranges from $5 to $35. For more information, call 202-626-3488. See, notice. Location: Arnold & Porter, 555 12th St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Survey to Win! How to Successfully Use Surveys in Trademark Litigations". The speakers will be Michael Mazis (American University) and Danny Awdeh (Finnegan, Henderson). The price to attend ranges from $20 to $30. For more information, call 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

1:00 - 3:00 PM. The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board's (ATBCB) Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee will meet by teleconference. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 1, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 211, at Pages 61827-61828.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of S 2332 [LOC | WW], the "Media Ownership Act of 2007". See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

First day of Hanukkah.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The agenda for the week includes consideration under suspension of the rules of HR 3526 [LOC | WW], a bill to include all banking agencies within the existing regulatory authority under the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTCA) with respect to depository institutions, HR 2517 [LOC | WW], the "Protecting Our Children Comes First Act of 2007", and HR 3791, [LOC | WW], the "Securing Adolescents From Exploitation-Online Act of 2007" or "SAFE Act". The agenda for the week also includes consideration of conference reports on HR 2082, the "Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008" and HR 1585, the "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008". See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for the week.

9:30 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "Oversight of the Federal Communications Commission: Media Ownwership". The hearing will be webcast by the HCC. Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute will host a program titled "The Real Story about Trade, Jobs, and Living Standards". The speaker will be Daniel Griswold. See, notice and registration. Location: Room B-339, Rayburn Building, Capitol Hill.

The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a dinner. The speaker will be FCC Chairman Kevin Martin. Location: Washington Hilton Hotel.

8:00 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a dinner. Chris Cox, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), will give a speech titled "The Rise of the Sovereign Business". See, notice. Location: Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center, Pavilion Room, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding potential interference unique to the reverse band operating environment in the 17/24 GHz BSS. This FNPRM is FCC 07-76 in IB Docket No. 06-123. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 22, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 162, at Pages 46939-46949.

9:00 AM - 4:30 PM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host an event titled "Voluntary Voting System Guidelines" or "VVSG". At 9:15 - 10:15 AM there will be a panel titled "VVSG in Context". The speakers will be Caroline Hunter (EAC), Barbara Guttman (NIST), and Sharon Laskowski (NIST). At 10:20 - 11:20 AM there will be a panel titled "Effect of VVSG on Cost and Innovation". The speakers will be Alan Dechert (Open Voting Consortium), David Beirne (Election Technology Council), and Stefan Popoveniuc (PunchScan). At 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM there will be a panel titled "New metrics and standards in the VVSG". The speakers will be Alec Yasinsac (Florida State University), Ed Smith (Sequoia Voting Systems), and Jim Dickson (AAPD). At 12:45 - 1:45 PM there will be a panel titled "Beyond VVSG: Next steps". The speakers will be Rebecca Mercuri, Lillie Coney (EPIC), and David Chaum. See, notice and agenda and web page for registering and ordering a box lunch. Location: ITIF, 1250 I St., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of three internet related bills: S 1829 [LOC | WW], the "Protect Our Children First Act of 2007", S 431 [LOC | WW], the "Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual Predators Act of 2007", and S 2344 [LOC | WW], the "Internet Safety Education Act of 2007". The agenda also includes consideration of S 352 [LOC | WW], the "Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2007", S 344 [LOC | WW], a bill to require the Supreme Court to permit television coverage of all open events, except in cases where it would violated the due process rights of a party, and S 1638 [LOC | WW], the "Federal Judicial Salary Restoration Act of 2007". The SJC rarely follows its published agendas. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

12:30 - 2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) International Telecommunications Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Outcome of the 2007 ITU World Radio Conference (WRC)". The speakers will be Richard Russell and Richard Beaird of the Department of State. For more information, contact Fiona Alexander at falexander at ntia dot doc dot gov. Location: Verizon Communications, 1300 I Street, NW.

1:30 - 4:30 PM. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee will meet. See, notice. Location: Room 4830, 1401 Constitution Ave., NW.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) program titled "Export Controls and Economic Sanctions 2007". The speakers will be Thomas Scott and Carol Kalinoski. The price to attend ranges from $80 to $115. For more information, call 202-626-3488. See, notice. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

2:00 PM. Deadline to file amicus briefs on the merits in support of the respondent (LG Electronics) with the Supreme Court of the US (SCUS) in Quanta Computer v. LG Electronics, a patent infringement case. See, story titled "Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in Patent Exhaustion Case" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,647, September 27, 2007.

Deadline to submit comments to the Copyright Royalty Judges regarding their proposed regulations that set the rates and terms for the use of sound recordings in transmissions made by new subscription services and for the making of ephemeral recordings necessary for the facilitation of such transmissions for the period commencing from the inception of the new subscription service through December 31, 2010. See, notice in the Federal Register: November 9, 2007 Vol. 72, No. 217, at Pages 63532-63535.

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 1998-2007 David Carney, dba Tech Law Journal. All rights reserved.