2/13. On February 12, 2008, the Senate passed its Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) reform bill (S 2248). On Wednesday, February 13, 2008, the House rejected a bill (HR 5349) to extend the Protect America Act (PAA) for another 21 days. The PAA is set to expire on Saturday, February 15, 2008.

Senate Action. On February 12, the Senate approved S 2248 [LOC | WW], the "Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2007". The vote was 68-29. All of the votes against S 2248 were cast by Democrats. All of the votes in favor of Sen. Chris Dodd's (D-CT) amendment (Amendment No. 3907) to delete the immunity title, which failed, were cast by Democrats. See, Roll Call No. 20.

President Bush hailed this as a "bipartisan" vote, notwithstanding the high statistical correlation between party affiliation on vote.

Early in the day, the Senate rejected a series of amendments, including one that would have removed language that provides immunity for companies that have cooperated with the government. See also, story titled "Senate Rejects Efforts to Remove Immunity Language from FISA Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,716, February 12, 2008.

Late on February 12, after the Senate approved its FISA bill, President Bush issued a statement. He said that the Senate bill "will ensure that our intelligence professionals continue to have the critical tools they need to protect the Nation."

He argued that the Senate's bill "provides a long-term foundation for our Intelligence Community to monitor the communications of foreign terrorists in ways that are timely and effective and that also protect the liberties of Americans. It will keep closed dangerous intelligence gaps that threatened our security. And this bill improves on the Protect America Act passed last summer by providing fair and just liability protection to those private companies who have been sued for billions of dollars only because they are believed to have done the right thing and assisted the Nation after the September 11th terrorist attacks."

Bush concluded that the House "now has an opportunity to put aside narrow partisan concerns and come together to pass this bipartisan bill and send it to my desk without delay."

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC), stated in a release that "I had hoped that the Senate would incorporate improvements included in the House-passed RESTORE Act and in the bill reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee. It has not. I had hoped that the administration would work with us, but it has not. Instead, having gotten exactly the bill they want and the way they want it from the Intelligence Committee, they have threatened a presidential veto if any improvements are made."

He added that "Republicans voted lockstep to table the Judiciary Committee improvements and virtually lockstep against every individual amendment and improvement.  Worse, the Republican leadership has stalled action on the measure for weeks and continues to insist it is their way or no way.  Sadly, with the acquiescence of some on this side of the aisle, they have controlled the debate, the bill and the final result in the Senate." 

Gregory Nojeim, of the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), stated in a release after the Senate vote that "By rejecting telecom immunity, the House bill would ensure that telephone companies will have an incentive to insist on a court order before they tap the email and calls of Americans ... We urge the House of Representatives to stand by its stronger bill."

House Action. On February 13, 2008, the House rejected HR 5349 [LOC | WW], a bill to extend S 1927 [LOC | WW], the "Protect America Act", for another 21 days. The vote was 191-229. Republicans voted 0-195. Democrats voted 191-34. See, Roll Call No. 54.

The House did not vote on, or consider, the Senate's bill.

The House passed its bill to reform the FISA back on November 15, 2007. It is HR 3773 [LOC | WW], the "Responsible Electronic Surveillance That is Overseen, Reviewed, and Effective Act of 2007" or "RESTORE Act".

S 1927 [LOC | WW] is the "Protect America Act". It was enacted into law in August of 2007. However, it has a six month sunset. The House and Senate passed, and President Bush signed, a bill providing for a two week extension of the sunset. The PAA is now set to expire on Saturday, February 16, 2008.

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the House Majority Leader, stated on February 13 that "I support this 21-day extension. Here’s why: It represents progress toward a final measure to modernize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act."

He argued that President Bush's demand that the House pass the Senate's bill is "absolutely untenable". He noted too that the President "is threatening to veto" the 21 day extension bill, HR 5349.

He continued that "we are declaring that we will not just take whatever legislation the Senate sends us and rubber-stamp it. We are declaring that this body has a prerogative and a role in making law. The bottom line is: responsible people in both chambers want an opportunity to work out the differences between the House and Senate bills."

He said that the RESTORE Act "modernizes the technologically outdated FISA statute, gives the intelligence community the authority to intercept critical foreign communications, and honors our constitutional principles".

Bush Speech. President delivered a speech at the White House on February 13. The White House press office also issued a related release urging the House to pass the Senate's bill.

Bush said that "At this moment, somewhere in the world, terrorists are planning new attacks on our country. Their goal is to bring destruction to our shores that will make September the 11th pale by comparison. To carry out their plans, they must communicate with each other, they must recruit operatives, and they must share information."

"Our intelligence professionals must be able to find out who the terrorists are talking to, what they are saying, and what they're planning", said Bush.

Bush referenced the 15 day extension of the PAA. He said that "the Senate has used this time wisely", but that the House has not.

He again defended immunity language in the Senate bill as "fair and just liability protections for companies that did the right thing and assisted in defending America after the attacks of September the 11th."

He continued that "In order to be able to discover enemy -- the enemy's plans, we need the cooperation of telecommunication companies. If these companies are subjected to lawsuits that could cost them billions of dollars, they won't participate; they won't help us; they won't help protect America. Liability protection is critical to securing the private sector's cooperation with our intelligence efforts."

Bush concluded that the "Congress has had over six months to discuss and deliberate. The time for debate is over. I will not accept any temporary extension." He added that "there is no reason why Republicans and Democrats in the House cannot pass the Senate bill immediately."

Later on February 13, the White House press secretary issued a statement regarding the House rejection of a further extension. "We commend the House for rejecting this misguided legislation that fails to provide a long-term foundation for our Intelligence Community to monitor terrorist communications quickly and effectively. In addition, this bill failed to provide liability protection for companies that did the right thing and assisted our efforts to defend America after the attacks of September 11. ... The PAA expires at the end of this week. The time for debate is over. The time for the House to act is now."

Presidential Candidates. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) voted for final passage of S 2248, and against the Dodd amendment.

Sen. Barrack Obama (D-IL) missed the vote on final passage, but voted for the Dodd amendment. He stated in a release that he opposes putting "protections for special interests ahead of our security and our liberty. There is no reason why telephone companies should be given blanket immunity to cover violations of the rights of the American people -- we must reaffirm that no one in this country is above the law.

"We can give our intelligence and law enforcement community the powers they need to track down and take out terrorists without undermining our commitment to the rule of law, or our basic rights and liberties." Sen. Obama continued that "This Administration continues to use a politics of fear to advance a political agenda. It is time for this politics of fear to end. We are trying to protect the American people, not special interests like the telecommunications industry. We are trying to ensure that we don't sacrifice our liberty in pursuit of security ..."

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) missed the vote on final passage, and missed the vote on the Dodd amendment. However, she wrote in a release that she opposes the bill, and supports the Dodd amendment. She wrote that "I oppose the provision contained in the bill that grants blanket retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that allegedly cooperated in the administration's warrantless wiretapping program. I believe granting retroactive immunity under these circumstances is wrong and undermines accountability."

She added that "Over the past seven years, the Bush Administration has blatantly and systematically disregarded Americans' civil liberties. It cannot be trusted to protect Americans’ privacy rights."

2/13. Jerry Yang, CEO of Yahoo, sent a letter to Yahoo shareholders regarding Microsoft's February 1, 2008, offer to acquire Yahoo. He wrote that "your Board of Directors ... believes that Microsoft's proposal substantially undervalues Yahoo! and is not in the best interests of our stockholders"

"Yahoo! is an attractive partner for marketers", wrote Yang. "The global online advertising market is projected to grow from $45 billion in 2007 to $75 billion in 2010. And we are moving quickly to take advantage of what we see as a unique window of time in the growth - and evolution - of this market to build market share and to create value for stockholders."

He focused on what Yahoo is doing now, and what its business plans are. He did not address Microsoft's offer, or what would be the consequences of acquisition by Microsoft.

See also, stories titled "Microsoft Makes Offer to Acquire Yahoo" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,710, February 4, 2008, and "Yahoo Asserts Microsoft Offer Undervalues Yahoo" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,715, February 11, 2008.

2/13. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division filed a civil complaint in U.S. District Court (DC) against Bain Capital (Bain), Thomas H. Lee Partners (THL), and Clear Channel Communications to block the proposed acquisition of a controlling interest in Clear Channel by Bain and THL.

The DOJ also simultaneously filed a proposed settlement that would permit the acquisition, subject to divestiture of radio stations in four cities where Bain and THL own interests in competitors of Clear Channel.

Thomas Barnett, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division, stated in a release that "Without the divestitures obtained by the Department, advertisers that rely on radio advertising in the affected cities likely would have faced higher prices ... The divestitures will ensure that advertisers will continue to receive the benefits of competition."

On January 24, 2008, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted and released a Memorandum Opinion and Order (MO&O) [46 pages in PDF] that approves the transfer of control of Clear Channel Communications (CCC) from its public shareholders to private equity funds controlled by Bain and HLP, subject to conditions, including the divestiture of 42 radio stations.

See, "More News" section of TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,705, January 28, 2008. See also, the FCC's web page for this Clear Channel acquisition. The FCC's proceeding is Docket No. 06-226.

2/11. February 11, 2008 was the deadline for all parties except foreign governments to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) to assist it in making Special 301 identifications of countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection.

The International Intellectual Property Alliance's (IIPA) submitted a huge report to the OUSTR titled "2008 Special 301 Report". See especially, summary data [2 pages in PDF] on piracy loses and levels by country.

The IIPA represents several U.S. copyright based industry groups, including the American Association of Publishers (AAP), Business Software Alliance (BSA), Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), and Entertainment Software Association (ESA).

The IIPA report recommends that 13 countries be placed on the OUSTR's Priority Watch List, including the People's Republic of China, Russia, India, Canada, and Mexico. It recommends that another 29 countries be placed on the OUSTR's Watch List.

The report states that "Online copyright piracy, a serious problem for the past several years, is undergoing explosive growth. As improved mobile devices proliferate in every market and become ever more capable of transmitting and receiving copyrighted works, and as access to broadband networks becomes more ubiquitous around the globe, these new technologies are all too often placed at the service of piracy. Legitimate markets for electronic commerce in copyrighted works are being undermined -- and in some cases prevented from coming into existence at all -- by a flood of unauthorized copies of sound recordings, entertainment and business software, literary material, and motion pictures. The Internet, and other networks linking mobile devices, are being employed as highly efficient, low cost networks for infringing activity, reaching any part of the world with ease, no matter where infringing material first enters the system." (See, cover letter [18 pages in PDF] of Eric Smith, head of the IIPA.)

"Consequently," wrote Smith, "the U.S. copyright industries face the daunting task of trying to enforce their legal rights in an online world where borders and distances have decreasing practical significance."

The report states that the U.S. must engage foreign governments and encourage them to upgrade their "enforcement systems to meet their international obligations by adopting effective remedies and imposing deterrent penalties".

The report also argues that "regimes of secondary liability for online infringement are essential".

The report concludes that "The Special 301 process must specifically target enforcement in a direct and clear way. Many countries believe that Special 301 ranking decisions can be made on the basis of law reform, followed by enforcement ``promises´´ alone. Experience has taught us that this simply has not worked. Countries should be made acutely aware that they will not see a change in their Special 301 placement unless they take the specific enforcement actions necessary that actually reduce piracy rates (and, conversely, that they will see a change in placement when such actions are in fact undertaken)." (Parentheses in original.)

The AAP, a member of the IIPA, stated in a release that the "AAP and its sister organization in the UK have continued their engagement with China over the past year, especially regarding organized textbook piracy on China's university campuses and Internet infringements affecting professional and scholarly publishers. While 2007 saw progress made on the textbook piracy issue, China has still failed to implement key notices regarding textbook piracy issued over a year ago, and the threat of Internet piracy is growing daily. Chinese authorities need to find more efficient ways to tackle this problem."

Patricia Schroeder, head of the AAP, and a former member of the House Judiciary Committee (HJC), stated that the piracy of books and journals "stunts economic growth in the U.S. and abroad by harming industries that play a central role in that growth. In addition to the problems of illegal photocopying and print piracy that we are already battling, digital online and mobile piracy are mounting menaces, and are therefore highlighted in several ways in this year’s report. Increases in broadband penetration, online offerings of books and journals and the popularity of mobile devices make this ever-lurking problem an increasingly immediate threat for our industry. It is imperative that the gaps in protection highlighted in this report are mended, to ensure efficient mechanisms for tackling the myriad problems our industry will face in 2008."

Robert Holleyman, head of the BSA, another IIPA member, stated in a release that "Piracy remains the software industry’s largest trade barrier, costing the industry nearly $40 billion per year."

Neil Turkewitz of the RIAA stated in a release that in addition to online piracy, there remains "old-fashioned piracy", including "CD-R burning and illegal optical disc production by organized criminal enterprises. Many markets continue to be dominated by piracy, including in particular China where piracy rates remain at more than 90 percent of the market, and Russia where despite some gains in reducing physical piracy, U.S. record labels continue to lose more than $300 million a year in a marketplace where over half of the records sold are pirate copies."

He also cited "Canada's continued failure to amend its copyright law to meet the challenges of new technologies, despite repeated calls from Canada's domestic copyright community, producers, creators and unions, and numerous promises by the Government that they would do so".

The ESA's Mike Gallagher likewise complained about Canada. The ESA stated in a release "Pirated copies of games and circumvention devices have permeated retail markets in Canada, due to legal deficiencies and that IPR enforcement remains a low priority for public officials".

The IIPA report does not recommend placing Japan on either the Priority Watch List or the Watch List. However, its section on Japan [3 pages in PDF] does state that "Japan faces a serious and growing problem of online copyright piracy. All forms of copyright materials, such as musical recordings, audio-visual materials, business software, and book and journal publications, are suffering from widespread infringement via peer to peer (p2p) and mobile services. The motion picture industry reports that 80% of pirated DVDs and other optical media products sold by street vendors (some of them involved with Yakuza organized crime groups), or via Internet auction sites, originate from p2p downloading." (Parentheses in original.)

The report encourages the U.S. government to engage the Japanese government on various legislative, regulatory and enforcement related matters.

The IIPA report recommends placing Taiwan on the Watch List. The section on Taiwan [9 pages in PDF] states that "Internet piracy continues to be the most urgent problem in Taiwan", and that "Taiwan must quickly adopt its ISP bill establishing clear secondary liability for ISPs. This would foster better cooperation among right holders and the ISP community. Internet piracy must be made a public crime."

See also, story titled "OUSTR Seeks Special 301 Comments on Countries that Deny Adequate IPR Protection" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,703, January 22, 2008, and notice in the Federal Register, January 16, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 11, at Pages 2958-2959.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The House will consider numerous non-technology related items. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of February 11, and schedule for February 14.

The Senate will meet at 9:30 AM. It will resume consideration of S 1200 [LOC | WW], the "Indian Health Care Improvement Act".

8:00 - 9:30 AM. The Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) will host a breakfast program titled "New Directions in Federal Procurement -- Changes in the Legal Terrain for 2008". See, notice. The price to attend ranges from $45 to $85. Location: The Ritz Carlton, 1700 Tysons Blvd., McLean, VA.

9:30 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing on the nomination of John Sullivan to be Deputy Secretary of Commerce. See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Rambus Inc v. FTC, App. Ct. No. 07-1086. Judges Henderson, Randolph and Williams will preside. See, FTC brief [90 pages in PDF]. See, FTC's August 2, 2006, opinion [120 pages in PDF] in its administrative proceeding titled "In the Matter of Rambus, Inc.". See also, FTC Docket No. 9302 for hyperlinks to pleadings in this proceeding. And see, story titled "FTC Holds That Rambus Unlawfully Monopolized Markets" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,427, August 8, 2006, and story titled "FTC Files Administrative Complaint Against Rambus" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 455, June 20, 2002. Location: 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Small Business Committee will hold a hearing titled "Business Activity Taxes and their Impact on Small Businesses". See also, HR 5267 [LOC | WW], the "Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2008", and story titled "Boucher and Goodlatte Again Introduce BAT Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,715, February 11, 2008. Location: Room 2360, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "One Year to the DTV Transition: Consumers, Broadcasters, and Converter Boxes". See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of several bills, including S 2449 [LOC | WW], the "Sunshine in Litigation Act of 2007", and S 352 [LOC | WW], the "Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2007". The agenda also includes consideration of the nominations of Kevin O'Connor (to be Associate Attorney General) and Gregory Katsas (to be Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Civil Division). The SJC rarely follows its published agendas. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Science Committee will hold a hearing titled "Funding for the America COMPETES Act in the FY2009 Administration Budget Request". The witness will be John Marburger, Director of the Executive Office of the President's (EOP) Office of Science and Technology Policy. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

TIME CHANGE. 11:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties will hold a hearing on the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). See, notice. The hearing will start at 11:00 AM, or immediately after services for Rep. Tom Lantos. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives will hold a hearing titled "Federal IT Security: A Review of H.R. 4791". Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute will host a briefing titled "Who Are the Real Free Traders in Congress?". The speakers will include Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Daniel Griswold (Cato). Lunch will be served. See, notice and registration page. Location: Room 385, Russell Building.

2:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law will hold a hearing on HR 3679 [LOC | WW], the "State Video Tax Fairness Act of 2007". The witnesses will be Mike Palkovic (Directv), Howard Symons (Mintz Levin), Kristina Rasmussen (National Taxpayers Union), and David Quam (National Governors Association). See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property will hold a hearing titled "Design Law -- Are Special Provisions Needed to Protect Unique Industries?". See, notice. Location: Room 2237, Rayburn Building.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its two notice of proposed rulemakings (NPRMs) regarding service rules for the Wireless Communications Service (WCS) and for terrestrial repeaters used in conjunction with the Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service (SDARS). These items are FCC 07-215 in WT Docket No. 07-293 and IB Docket No. 95-91. The FCC adopted these items on December 17, 2007, and released them on December 18, 2007. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 15, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 10, at Pages 2437-2440.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The House may consider legislation to reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) or to extend the S 1927 [LOC | WW], the "Protect America Act". See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of February 11.

8:30 - 11:45 AM. The Alliance for Public Technology (APT) will host an event titled "2008 Policy Forum & Susan G. Hadden Pioneer Awards". The speakers will include FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein and Robert Atkinson (head of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation). Location: National Press Club, 13th Floor, 529 14th St. NW.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Intelligence Committee will hold a closed hearing titled "Cyber Initiative". See, notice. Location: Room H-405, Capitol Building.

TIME? The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing titled "Preservation of White House E-mails". Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a panel discussion titled "Countdown to DTV: Making the 2009 Deadline Work". The speakers will be Ken Feree (PFF), Meredith Baker (acting head of the NTIA), Debra Berlyn (AARP), Rick Chesson (legal advisor to FCC Commissioner Michael Copps), and David Donovan (head of the Association for Maximum Service Television). Lunch will be served. See, notice and registration page. Location: Room B-369, Rayburn Building.

CANCELLED. 12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Cable Practice, Engineering and Technical Practice, and Mass Media Committees will host a brown bag lunch. The topic will be "Understanding Technical Issues Involved in the DTV Transition". The speakers will include Bill Check (NCTA). See, notice and registration page. This event is free. Location: Wiley Rein, 1776 K St., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in response to its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding its mid-term review of the Joint Project Agreement (JPA) between the DOC and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). See, NTIA release and notice in the Federal Register, November 2, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 212, at Pages 62220-62222.

Expiration of the temporary amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) enacted by S 1927 [LOC | WW], the "Protect America Act", as amended by HR 5104 [LOC | WW].

Day one of a four day event hosted by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) titled "Winter Committee Meetings". See, notice and registration form [PDF]. Location: Renaissance Washington Hotel.

Washington's Birthday. See, Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) list of 2008 federal holidays.

The House will begin its President's Day Recess. See, Rep. Hoyer's 2008 calendar [4.25 MB PDF].

Day two of a four day event hosted by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) titled "Winter Committee Meetings". See, notice and registration form [PDF]. Location: Renaissance Washington Hotel.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division regarding the Complaint, proposed Final Judgment, Hold Separate Stipulation and Order, and Competitive Impact Statement in U.S. v. Commscope, Inc. and Andrew Corporation, U.S. District Court (DC), D.C. No. 07-02200. See, notice in the Federal Register: December 20, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 244, at Pages 72376-72388.

The House will not meet. See, Rep. Hoyer's 2008 calendar [4.25 MB PDF].

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will hold a public meeting regarding the conformity assessment scheme proposed for the evaluation of Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) products to be purchased by federal agencies. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 7, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 26, at Pages 7259-7260. Location: NIST, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

10:30 AM - 12:00 NOON. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "U.S.-South Korean Relations: A New Era of Cooperation?". The speakers will be Michael Auslin (AEI), Bruce Bechtol (Marine Corps Command and Staff College), Marcus Noland (Peterson Institute for International Economics), Charles Pritchard (Korea Economic Institute), and Nicholas Eberstadt (AEI). See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a panel discussion titled "DTV Transition". The speakers will be Meredith Baker (acting head of the NTIA), Kyle McSlarrow (head of the NCTA), David Rehr (head of the NAB), Andrew Schwartzman (head of the Media Access Project), Gary Shapiro (head of the Consumer Electronics Association), and Diane Cornell. Lunch will be served. The price to attend ranges from $35-$70. See, online registration page. Registrations are due by 12:00 NOON on February 13. Location: Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Ave., NW.

1:00 - 4:00 PM. The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board's (ATBCB) Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee (TEITAC) will meet by conference call. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 24, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 16, at Page 4132.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will hold one of a series of meetings to discuss the U.S. positions for the March and April 2008 meeting of the ITU-T Study Group 3 and related issues of the international telecommunication regulations. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 4, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 23, at Page 6547. Location?

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 Danielle Benoit at dbenoit at wcsr dot com or 202-857-4537, Davina Sashkin at sashkin at fhhlaw dot com or 703-812-0458, or Tarah Grant at tsgrant at hhlaw dot com. Location: Le Bar in the Sofitel Hotel, 806 15th St., NW.

Day three of a four day event hosted by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) titled "Winter Committee Meetings". See, notice and registration form [PDF]. Location: Renaissance Washington Hotel.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 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.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding Hawk Relay's petition for clarification regarding the Deaf Blind Relay Service (DBRS). See, notice in the Federal Register, January 4, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 3, at Pages 863-864. The relevant FCC proceeding is numbered CG Docket No. 03-123.

The House will not meet. See, Rep. Hoyer's 2008 calendar [4.25 MB PDF].

11:30 AM - 1:30 PM. The Heritage Foundation will host an event titled "Technology Leadership, Economic Power and National Security: Dual-Use Export Controls to China". Mario Mancuso (head of the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security), Peter Leitner (former trade advisor at Department of State), John Tkacik (Heritage), Edmund Rice (President, Coalition of Employment Through Exports), Mark Groombridge (BIS), and Walter Lohman (Heritage). See, notice. Location: Heritage, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Intellectual Property Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Cable and Satellite Content Protection Technologies". The speakers will be Seth Greenstein (Constantine Cannon), Paul Glist (Davis Wright Tremaine), and John Card (Echostar). See, notice and registration page. Location: Dow Lohnes, 1200 New Hampshire Ave., NW.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Pro Bono and Community Service Activities for Young Lawyers". RSVP to Mark Brennan at mwbrennan at hhlaw dot com. For more information, contact Mark Brennan, Chris Fedeli at chrisfedeli at dwt dot com or Tarah Grant at tsgrant at hhlaw dot com. Location: Hogan & Hartson, 555 13th St., NW.

Day four of a four day event hosted by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) titled "Winter Committee Meetings". See, notice and registration form [PDF]. Location: Renaissance Washington Hotel.

The House will not meet. See, Rep. Hoyer's 2008 calendar [4.25 MB PDF].

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing on the nomination of Catherina Haynes to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (5thCir). Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Transactional Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Negotiating Carrier-Carrier and Carrier-Enterprise Agreements". The speakers will be Andrew Brown (Levine Blaszak) and Eric Branfman (Bingham McCutchen). See, notice and registration page. Location: Arnold & Porter, 555 12th St., NW.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to discuss the U.S. positions for the April 2008 meeting of the Organization of American States Inter-American Telecommunication Commission Permanent Consultative Committee I (Telecommunication) (OAS/CITEL/PCC.I). See, notice in the Federal Register, February 4, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 23, at Page 6547. Location?

4:00 - 6:00 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and the Federalist Society will host a panel discussion titled "Federal Preemption and the Supreme Court". The speakers will be Michael Greve (AEI), Catherine Sharkey (New York University School of Law), Daniel Troy (Sidley Austin), and Theodore Frank (AEI). See, notice. Location: AEI, 11th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

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.

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