1/4. The Supreme Court granted certiorari in Sprint Communications v. APCC Services, a case regarding private rights of action under the Communications Act for violation of FCC rules -- in this case, payphone compensation rules. See, Orders List [4 pages in PDF] at page 2-3.

The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) issued the opinion [PDF] under review on June 8, 2007. This is the second time that this case has been before the Supreme Court.

APCC and the other respondents are payphone service providers (PSP) and aggregators -- intermediaries between PSPs and interexchange carriers (IXCs). Respondents Sprint and AT&T are IXCs. The plaintiffs below (who are now respondents before the Supreme Court, and were previously its petitioners) filed complaints in U.S. District Court (DC) claiming compensation owed to them by IXCs for coinless payphone calls required by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules. The IXCs moved to dismiss the aggregators' claims, asserting lack of standing. The District Court, back in 2003, held that the petitioners had standing to sue.

The Court of Appeals wrote in its June 8, 2007, opinion that "The IXCs moved to dismiss on the grounds that the aggregators did not have standing to sue and the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. § 151 et seq., did not give the plaintiffs a private right of action to recover for a violation of the regulation. The district court denied the motions, concluding the aggregators had standing, ... and that § 276 of the Act created a private right of action."

On June 28, 2005, the Court of Appeals issued its divided opinion [32 pages PDF] in APCC Services v. Sprint, 418 F.3d 1238. The Court of Appeals held then that Chapter 5 of the Communications Act, which is codified at 47 U.S.C. §§ 151–615b, does not create a private right of action for an owner or operator of a payphone to recover from an interexchange carrier (IXC) the compensation for coinless payphone calls required by a FCC rules.

The Court of Appeals wrote a short summary of its June 28, 2005 opinion in its June 8, 2007 opinion. It wrote that "This court reversed. The panel determined, over the dissent of Judge Sentelle, that the aggregators had standing to sue and, over the dissent of Chief Judge Ginsburg, that none of the provisions cited gave the plaintiffs a right to sue in federal court; they were remitted to filing a complaint for reparations before the FCC."

The plaintiffs (APCC et al.) petitioned the Supreme Court for writ of certiorari. On April 23, 2007, the Supreme Court wrote in its Orders List [10 pages in PDF] that "The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted. The judgment is vacated and the case is remanded to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for further consideration in light of Global Crossing Telecommunications, Inc. v. Metrophones Telecommunications, Inc., 550 U. S. __ (2007)."

The Supreme Court issued its opinion [40 pages in PDF] in Global Crossing on April 17, 2007. It wrote in that opinion the FCC "has established rules that require long-distance (and certain other) communications carriers to compensate a payphone operator when a caller uses a payphone to obtain free access to the carrier’s lines (by dialing, e.g., a 1–800 number or other access code)." (Parentheses in original.)

The Supreme Court continued that the FCC has written rules that make a carrier's refusal to pay compensation a practice that is unjust or unreasonable under the Communications Act, at 47 U. S. C. §201(b). It further wrote that the act "links §201(b) to §207, which authorizes any person ``damaged´´ by a violation of §201(b) to bring a lawsuit to recover damages in federal court."

The Supreme Court stated that the issue is "whether this linked section, §207, authorizes a payphone operator to bring a federal-court lawsuit against a recalcitrant carrier that refuses to pay the compensation that the Commission’s order says it owes." The Supreme Court held that "the FCC’s application of §201(b) to the carrier’s refusal to pay compensation is a reasonable".

On remand, the Court of Appeals issued the June 8, 2007 opinion now under review. It affirmed the District Court's ruling that the plaintiffs lack standing, and remanded to the District Court.

The Court of Appeals offered this explanation. "The Supreme Court, however, held in Global Crossing that a violation of the regulation at issue is a violation of § 201(b) of the Act, for which a private right of action is authorized by § 207 of the Act, in effect creating a right of action to remedy a violation of the regulation itself. ... It is now clear, therefore, that APCC et al. may pursue their case in district court under § 201(b). Accordingly, the orders of the district court denying the motions to dismiss are affirmed, and the case is remanded for further proceedings."

Sprint and AT&T then filed a petition for writ of certiorari. They argue that the Supreme Court's opinion in Global Crossing addresses remedies of PSPs, while, in contrast, they seek dismissal of claims by aggregators.

And now, the Supreme Court has granted certiorari again.

This case is Sprint Communications v. APCC Services, Supreme Court of the United States, Sup. Ct. No. 07-552, a petition for writ of certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Sprint is represented by Thomas Goldstein of the Washington DC office of the law firm of Akin Gump.

APCC is represented by Roy Englert of the Washington DC office of the law firm of Robbins Russell.

The brief of petitioners is due by Thursday, February 14, 2008. The brief of respondents is due by Wednesday, March 12, 2008.

1/7. The Supreme Court issued an order in Quanta Computer v. LG Electronics, Sup. Ct. No. 06-937, a patent infringement case. It wrote that "The motion of petitioners for leave to file a reply brief under seal with redacted copies for the public record is granted." See, Orders List [44 pages in PDF] at page 18. See also,  July 7, 2006, opinion [31 pages in PDF] of the U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) and Supreme Court docket. And see, stories titled "Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in Patent Exhaustion Case" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,647, September 27, 2007, and "Supreme Court to Hear Case Regarding Patent Exhaustion Doctrine" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,683, December 5, 2007. The Supreme Court will hear oral argument on January 16, 2008.

1/7. The Supreme Court denied certiorari in Semen Leykin v. AT&T, Sup. Ct. No. 07-484. See, Orders List [44 pages in PDF] at page 20. This is dismissed class action securities fraud case arising in the U.S. District Court (NYSD), and appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals (2ndCir).

1/7. The Supreme Court denied certiorari in Motionless Keyboard v. Microsoft, Sup. Ct. No. 07-574. See, Orders List [44 pages in PDF] at page 38. This is a patent infringement case involving ergonomic keyboards. See, May 29, 2007 opinion [17 pages in PDF] of the U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) and Supreme Court docket.

1/7. The Supreme Court denied certiorari in Leo Stoller v. Google, Sup. Ct. No. 07-7043. See, Orders List [44 pages in PDF] at page 25. See, Supreme Court docket.

1/7. The Supreme Court denied certiorari in Tomi Bryan v. BellSouth, Sup. Ct. No. 07-458. See, Orders List [44 pages in PDF] at page 20.

1/7. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) announced that it will host a 911 summit on February 6, 2008, at the FCC building in Washington DC. It stated that the summit will address "issues relating to the deployment and use of Next Generation 911 technology and the coordination of those efforts among Public Safety Answering Points, the telecommunications industry and manufacturers". See, notice and registration page.

1/3. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced the deadlines for comments in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the establishment of a Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS). This NPRM, which was adopted and released on December 14, 2007, is FCC 07-214 in PSHSB Docket No. 07-287. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 3, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 2, at Pages 545-607. The relevant FCC proceeding is numbered CG Docket No. 03-123. Initial comments are due by February 4, 2008. Reply comments are due by February 19, 2008.

1/2. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee announced that it will meet in Boulder, Colorado, on Friday, February 8, 2008. See, NTIA notice and notice in the Federal Register, January 2, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 1, at Pages 170-171.

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The House will not meet.

The Senate will meet momentarily in pro forma session. The Senate Democratic leadership holds these pro forma sessions to maintain the procedural fiction that it is not in recess. It does so to preclude President Bush from making recess appointments, based upon the fiction that the Senate is unavailable to confirm nominees.

8:30 AM - 6:00 PM. Day one of a three day meeting of the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board's (ATBCB) Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee (TEITAC). Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, provides at 29 U.S.C. § 794d that each federal agency "developing, procuring, maintaining, or using electronic and information technology" must provide comparable access to disabled federal employees, and to disabled members of the public who have access to and use of information and data of that agency; it further provides that each agency must comply with disability access regulations written by the ATBCB. For more information, contact Timothy Creagan at 202-272-0016 or creagan at access dash board dot gov. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 18, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 242, at Pages 71613-71614. Location: National Science Foundation (NSF), 4121 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in International Rectifier v. IXFS, a patent infringement case involving silicon semiconductor wafer technology, App. Ct. No. 2007-1063. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Finisar Corporation v. Directv Group, a patent infringement case, App. Ct. No. 2007-1023. This is an appeal from the U.S. District Court (EDTex), D.C. No. 1:05-CV-264. Location: Courtroom 203, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Sitrick v. Dreamworks, a patent infringement case, App. Ct. No. 2007-1174. Location: Courtroom 203, 717 Madison Place, NW.

CANCELLED. 12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a program titled "The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Part I". For more information, call 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding allowing AM stations to use FM translator stations to rebroadcast the AM signal locally. This NPRM is FCC 07-144 in MB Docket No. 07-172. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 6, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 214, at Pages 62616-62622.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding hearing aids and wireless handsets. This item is FCC 07-192 in WT Docket No. 07-250. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 21, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 224, at Pages 65494-65508. See also, story titled "FCC Releases 2nd Report and Order and NPRM on Hearing Aids and Wireless Handsets" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,672, November 8, 2007.

8:30 AM - 6:00 PM. Day two of a three day meeting of the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board's (ATBCB) Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee (TEITAC). See, notice in the Federal Register, December 18, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 242, at Pages 71613-71614. Location: National Science Foundation (NSF), 4121 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA.

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) will hold an open meeting. The agenda includes a discussion of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), a panel on research partnerships among universities and the private sector, and a panel on personalized medicine. See, PCAST agenda [PDF] and notice in the Federal Register, December 19, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 243, Page 71908-71909. Location: Room 100 at the Keck Center of the National Academies at 500 5th St., NW.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will hold a news conference at which it will release a report titled "State of American Business". The Chamber's Tom Donohue and Bruce Josten will speak and answer questions. See, notice. Location: Chamber, 1615 H St., NW.

10:30 AM - 1:30 PM. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will host an event titled "Outlook 2008: The State of American Business". See, notice. Location: Chamber, 1615 H St., NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Microprocessor Enhancement Corp. v. Texas Instruments, a patent infringement case involving the architecture of digital signal processing chips, App. Ct. No. 2007-1249. This is an appeal from the U.S. District Court (CDCal). Location: Courtroom 203, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Aristocrat Technologies Australia v. Multimedia Games, , App. Ct. No. 2007-1201, and Aristocrat Technologies Australia v. International Game Technology, App. Ct. No. 2007-1419, patent cases involving the authority of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to revive unintentionally late national stage applications. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in In Re Lee, App. Ct. No. 2007-1191. Location: Courtroom 203, 717 Madison Place, NW.

8:30 AM - 6:00 PM. Day three of a three day meeting of the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board's (ATBCB) Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee (TEITAC). See, notice in the Federal Register, December 18, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 242, at Pages 71613-71614. Location: National Science Foundation (NSF), 4121 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Dominant Semiconductor v. Osram, a patent infringement case, App. Ct. No. 2007-1456. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Fuji America v. U.S., App. Ct. No. 2007-1653, an appeal from the Court of International Trade. Location: Courtroom 203, 717 Madison Place, NW

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Zenith Electronics v. PDI, App. Ct. No. 2007-1288. Location: Courtroom 203, 717 Madison Place, NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Alliance for Public Technology (APT) will host a program titled "Bringing Educational Opportunities to Rural & Urban America". The speakers will include Robert Atkinson (head of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation). This is part of a series of events on Capitol Hill at which the APT gives broadband related awards. A box lunch will be served. RSVP to apt at apt dot org or 202-263-2970. Location: Room HC-6, Capitol Building.

11:00 AM. The National Science Foundation's (NSF) National Science Board's (NSB) Committee on Programs and Plans will hold a teleconferenced public meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 31, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 249, at Page 74347. Location: 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA.

12:30 - 1:30 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a closed event titled "2008: Washington’s View of the Year for Telecom, Media and IT". The speakers will be Carolyn Brandon (CTIA), Jessica Rosenworcel (Senate Commerce Committee staff), Brian Huseman (FTC Chief of Staff), Jessica Zufolo (Medley Global Advisors), David Murray (NTIA Senior Advisor), Bruce Gottleib (advisor to FCC Commissioner Michael Copps). The price to attend ranges from $15 to $30. For more information, call 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

No events.

8:15 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day conference hosted by the Utilities Telecom Council (UTC) titled "2008 Pole Attachment Meeting". On January 14, there will be programs titled "Overview of the FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking", "Access Issues: Application Processing", "Access Issues: Make Ready", "Access Issues: NESC Interpretation", "Access Issues: Audits and Inspections", "Rate Issues: Broadband Rate -- What should it be?", and "Rate Issues: Legal/Regulatory Strategies". See, notice. Location: Marriott Washington, 1221 22nd St.,  NW.

CANCELLED. 12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a program titled "The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Part I". For more information, call 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in which it proposes to extend the current five year registration period for the Do Not Call Registry. This NPRM is FCC 07-203 in CG Docket No. 02-278. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 14, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 240, at Pages 71099-71102. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts NPRM Regarding Extending Do Not Call Registrations" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,680, November 30, 2007.

January 7-10. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) will hold a convention titled "2008 International CES". Location: Las Vegas, Nevada.

Wednesday, January 9. 7:30 - 9:30 AM. There will be an event titled "11th Annual Wall Street Project Economic Summit". Kevin Martin, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is scheduled to speak at about 9:00 AM. Location: Metropolitan Ballroom East, Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers, 811 7th Avenue at 53rd Street, New York, New York.

Wednesday, January 9. The National Exchange Carriers Association (NECA) Board of Directors will meet. Location: San Diego, California.

Thursday, January 10. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a lunch event titled "Radio Today and Tomorrow". The speakers will be Ed Christian (Saga Communications), Stan Raymond (media broker), Jack Messmer (Radio & Television Business Report). For more information, contact Will Cox at wcox at abelband dot com or 941-364-2733. Location: Fleming's Prime Steak House, 2001 Siesta Drive, Sarasota, Florida.

January 11-16. The American Library Association (ALA) will host a six day event titled "2008 Midwinter Meeting". See, notice. Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Monday, January 14. 11:15 AM - 3:15 PM. Princeton University's Center for Information Technology Policy (CITP) will host a one day conference titled "Cloud Computing and Privacy". There will be panels titled "Possession and ownership of data", Security and risk in the cloud", and "Civics in the cloud". The final panel will address the following topics: "What new services might develop, and how will today’s services evolve? How well will cloud computing be likely to serve users, companies, investors, government, and the public over the longer run? Which social and policy problems will get worse due to cloud computing, and which will get better?" See, notice. Location: Friend Center convocation room, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey.

Tuesday, January 15. 8:00 - 10:45 AM. The AeA will host an event titled "Exit Strategies for High Tech Companies". See, notice. Location: 175 W. Jackson Boulevard, 22nd floor conference room, Chicago, Illinois.

Monday, January 21. The European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs will hold a hearing titled "Data Protection and Search Engines on Internet: the Google-DoubleClick Case" The witnesses will include Marc Rotenberg (head of the Electronic Privacy Information Center). See, notice. Location: Brussels, Belgium.

January 21-25. The US Telecom and Cisco will host a five day event titled "Leadership Development Program". See, notice. Location: San Jose, California.

Tuesday, January 22. 4:00 - 5:00 PM. The Council for Economic Development -- Research Triangle will host a program titled "The State of Venture Capital". The speaker will be Mark Heesen (President of the National Venture Capital Association). The event is free, and registration is required. See, notice. Location: Brier Creek Country Club, Raleigh, North Carolina.

January 23-24. The American Conference Institute (ACI) will host a conference titled "Privacy and Security of Consumer Information". Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

January 23-26. The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) will host a four day conference titled "2008 AIPLA Mid-Winter Institute". See, notice. Location: Arizona Biltmore, Phoenix, Arizona.

Saturday, January 26. The Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) will host a conference titled "Technology in Wartime Conference". See, notice. Location: Stanford University, Palo Alto, California.

January 26-27. Midem will host a two day event titled "Midemnet Forum". Location: Palais Des Festivals, Cannes, France.

January 27-30. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will hold a four day meeting titled "Interim Meetings of the 93rd National Conference on Weights and Measures" or "NCWM". The agenda includes the following proposal to amend NIST Handbook 44: "Item 310-2. Appendix D -- Definition of Electronic Devices, Software-Based: This item removes the terms ``built-for-purpose´´ and ``not-built-for-purpose´´ and instead defines software-based devices as either ``embedded software devices (Type P)´´ or ``programmable or loadable metrological software devices (Type U)''. See, notice in the Federal Register: January 4, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 3, Page 842-843. Location: Hyatt Regency Albuquerque, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

January 28-30. The Utilities Telecom Council (UTC) will host a three day conference titled "Next Generation Summit". See, notice. Location: Rancho Bernardo Inn Golf Resort & Spa, San Diego, California.

January 30-31. The Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) will host a two day conference titled "SIIA Information Industry Summit". See, conference web site. Location: New York City.