5/3. Microsoft withdrew it offer to acquire Yahoo. See, Microsoft release and attached letter to Yahoo.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer stated in this release that "Despite our best efforts, including raising our bid by roughly $5 billion, Yahoo! has not moved toward accepting our offer. After careful consideration, we believe the economics demanded by Yahoo! do not make sense for us, and it is in the best interests of Microsoft stockholders, employees and other stakeholders to withdraw our proposal."

Roy Bostock, Chairman of Yahoo, responded in a release that "Microsoft's offer undervalued the company".

Ballmer (at right) described in his letter to Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang some of the negotiations that transpired. He wrote that "I first called you with our offer on January 31 because I believed that a combination of our two companies would have created real value for our respective shareholders and would have provided consumers, publishers, and advertisers with greater innovation and choice in the marketplace. Our decision to offer a 62 percent premium at that time reflected the strength of these convictions."

Ballmer also wrote that "In our conversations this week, we conveyed our willingness to raise our offer to $33.00 per share, reflecting again our belief in this collective opportunity. This increase would have added approximately another $5 billion of value to your shareholders, compared to the current value of our initial offer. It also would have reflected a premium of over 70 percent compared to the price at which your stock closed on January 31. Yet it has proven insufficient, as your final position insisted on Microsoft paying yet another $5 billion or more, or at least another $4 per share above our $33.00 offer."

Ballmer explained that a reason for withdrawing the offer was that Yahoo was "pursuing a new arrangement that would involve or lead to the outsourcing to Google of key paid Internet search terms offered by Yahoo! today."

He elaborated that this "would fundamentally undermine Yahoo!’s own strategy and long-term viability by encouraging advertisers to use Google as opposed to your Panama paid search system. This would also fragment your search advertising and display advertising strategies and the ecosystem surrounding them. This would undermine the reliance on your display advertising business to fuel future growth."

He also wrote that "it would impair Yahoo’s ability to retain the talented engineers working on advertising systems" and "it would raise a host of regulatory and legal problems that no acquirer, including Microsoft, would want to inherit".

Yang stated in the Yahoo release that Microsoft's offer was a "distraction".

See also, stories titled:

• "Microsoft Makes Offer to Acquire Yahoo" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,710, February 4, 2008.
• "Yahoo Asserts Microsoft Offer Undervalues Yahoo" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,715, February 11, 2008.
• "Yahoo Writes Shareholders" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,717, February 13, 2008.
• "Microsoft Threatens Yahoo with Hostile Proxy Battle" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,742, April 7, 2008.

5/2. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) issued its opinion [10 pages in PDF] in Sprint Nextel v. FCC, petitions for review and appeals of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) orders regarding reconfiguration of the 800 MHz band. The Court of Appeals upheld the orders.

The Court of Appeals wrote that 47 U.S.C. § 405(a) "bars most of Nextel’s arguments because the Commission did not have an ``opportunity to pass´´ on them and Nextel failed to petition for reconsideration. On the merits, we reject Nextel’s argument that the Commission acted arbitrarily and capriciously. We therefore affirm."

This opinion may be significant for two reasons. First, it rejects Sprint Nextel challenges regarding the timing of 800 MHz rebanding process, and thereby impacts Sprint Nextel's operations. Second, aside from 800 MHz issues, it sets precedent for procedure for bringing petitions for review of FCC orders.

Background. The FCC adopted a report and order on July 8, 2004 that addressed the problem of interference to 800 MHz public safety communications systems from Commercial Mobile Radio Services (CMRS) providers operating systems on channels in close proximity. This order is FCC 04-168 in WT Docket No. 02-55, ET Docket No. 00-258, RM-9498, RM-10024, ET Docket No. 95-18, and IB Docket No. 01-185. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts Report and Order Regarding Interference in the 800 MHz Band" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 936, July 13, 2004. Although, R&O is not the subject of this petition for review.

On September 12, 2007, the FCC adopted and released a Third Memorandum Opinion and Order (MO&O) [18 pages in PDF] and a Public Notice (DA 07-168) [9 pages in PDF]. This MO&O is FCC 07-167 in WT Docket 02-55. See also, FCC release [PDF] and story titled "FCC Adopts MO&O Regarding 800 MHz Band Reconfiguration" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,640, September 13, 2007. These items are the subject of these petitions for review.

Impact on Sprint Nextel Operations. The 2004 R&O provided that Nextel (now Spring Nextel) will return its interference causing spectrum, and in return, will be given 10 megahertz of spectrum, located at 1910–1915 MHz and 1990-1995 MHz.

The Court of Appeals offered this summary. "The Initial Order gave Nextel a central role in the rebanding process. Nextel would (1) relinquish its 700 MHz spectrum, (2) vacate certain 800 MHz spectrum in the ``General Category´´ and ``Interleaved´´ areas of the band, and (3) fund the relocation of other licensees. ... For its part, the Commission would (1) allow Nextel to operate on other 800 MHz spectrum vacated by public safety licensees, (2) authorize commercial mobile service operations in the 900 MHz band, and (3) favorably modify Nextel’s 1.9 GHz spectrum licenses. ... Under the Initial Order, licensees would relocate to different blocks of the 800 MHz band. ``NPSPAC´´ public safety licensees would move from the current NPSPAC channels to General Category channels; Nextel would be responsible for moving itself and other General Category licensees from the General Category to other parts of the band; and Nextel would eventually move into channels vacated by the NPSPAC licensees. ... In addition, Nextel would vacate its Interleaved channels. ... The Commission ordered Nextel to complete band reconfiguration within 36 months of the starting date announced in a public notice." (Footnotes and citations omitted.)

NPSPAC is an acronym for National Public Safety Planning Advisory Committee.

The rebanding process described above is not at issue in this court proceeding. Rather, this court proceeding concerns the timing of this rebanding process. As of September 12, 2007, the Court of Appeals wrote, "only a small fraction of public agencies had relocated to their new 800 MHz spectrum. Here's the rub: many NPSPAC licensees will not be ready to vacate their spectrum by June 2008, and many will need until 2009 or 2010."

On September 12 the FCC determined that Sprint Nextel must comply with the FCC imposed June 26, 2008, deadline, regardless of whether NPSPAC licensees are ready to swap.

The Court of Appeals opinion upholds this determination.

Sprint Nextel stated in a release that it "is disappointed with the court's decision. Sprint has been and continues to be committed to working with public safety to eliminate the risk of interference for public-safety communications. However, more than 500 public-safety agencies have requested more time -- in many cases, years -- to complete their retuning activities. Sprint has agreed to provide spectrum to public-safety licensees within 60 days of when they are ready to retune. In addition, we have requested waivers to remain on these channels pending these retunes."

Sprint Nextel added, "We remain hopeful that we will be able to resolve this issue in a manner that balances the 800 MHz reconfiguration with the needs of our customers -- especially the 3 million public-safety customers who rely on our iDEN network."

Petition for Review Procedure. Section 405 provides in part that "The filing of a petition for reconsideration shall not be a condition precedent to judicial review of any such order, decision, report, or action, except where the party seeking such review ... relies on questions of fact or law upon which the Commission, or designated authority within the Commission, has been afforded no opportunity to pass ..."

Sprint Nextel did not file a petition for reconsideration. It did make oral presentations to the FCC, and submitted written ex parte communications.

The Court of Appeals wrote that "appellate briefs recounting oral statements purportedly made to the Commission cannot satisfy § 405."

In contrast, it concluded that "Ex parte notices can satisfy § 405." However, it added that "future litigants should note that relying on such notices to satisfy § 405 is a risky strategy."

The Court of Appeals concluded that Sprint Nextel did not argue all of its petition for review arguments in ex parte communications. Hence, it concluded that it need not consider any of Sprint Nextel's arguments, other than that the FCC unreasonably changed the rebanding process from a synchronized spectrum swap to an asynchronous exchange. It considered this under the arbitrary and capricious standard, and rejected it.

This case is Sprint Nextel Corporation v. FCC, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, App. Ct. Nos. 07-1416 and 07-1458, petitions for review and appeals of final orders of the FCC. Judge Brown wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Sentelle and Ginsburg joined.

5/1. Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) and Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) wrote in a  letter [PDF] to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that they want an open devices requirement to be imposed upon satellite radio services.

Rep. Dingell and Rep. Markey are the Chairmen of the House Commerce Committee (HCC) and the HCC's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, which write telecommunications legislation, and oversee the FCC's implementation of that legislation.

They did not propose to impose this requirement through legislation, or an FCC rule making proceeding implementing any existing statute. Instead, they seek to use their positions to induce the FCC to impose conditions upon the only two satellite radio companies, XM and Sirius, in a merger review proceeding. The two announced their merger on February 19, 2007. See, story titled "XM and Sirius Announce Plans to Merge" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,540, February 20, 2008.

Rep. Dingell and Rep. Markey stated that they have no position on approval of the merger, but that if the FCC approves the merger, the approval should be subject to FCC imposed conditions.

They wrote that they want the FCC to "require the merged company to permit any device manufacturer to develop equipment that can deliver the company's satellite radio service. Device manufacturers should also be permitted to incorporate in satellite radio receivers any other technology that would not result in harmful interference with the merged company's network, including hybrid digital (HD) radio technology, iPod ports, Internet connectivity, or other technology. This principle of openness would serve to promote competition, protect consumers, and spur technological innovation."

They also wrote that "it is not enough simply to require open development of satellite radio services. The Commission must also ensure that consumers have unfettered access to these devices. To that end, the merged company should be prohibited from preventing such devices, and any features such devices might contain, from reaching consumers, through exclusive contracts or otherwise. It would be contrary to the public interest, for example, to permit the merged company to bar HD radio chips or iPod compatibility from inclusion in a manufacturer's satellite radio device, whether that device is freestanding or installed in an automobile."

The Department of Justice (DOJ), which possesses statutory antitrust merger review authority, has already reviewed and approved this merger, without conditions. See, story titled "DOJ Won't Challenge XM Sirius Merger" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,736, March 25, 2008.

The FCC, which proceeds as though it possesses statutory antitrust merger review authority, rarely blocks mergers. Rather, in some cases, it withholds its approval of transfers of licenses associated with mergers and acquisitions, while it conducts lengthy antitrust reviews. This power to delay mergers enables the FCC to extract concessions from the merging entities. It does this to obtain policy objectives that it might not be able to attain through other administrative processes, such as rule making proceedings. Alternatively, it may impose conditions in response to requests from members of the legislative branch, who might be unable to attain their policy objectives through the legislative process.

Rep. Dingell and Rep. Markey also wrote that they want to FCC to "require the merged entity to adhere, at a minimum, to the pricing constraints that XM and Sirius have already submitted to the Commission. Such a condition would ensure that a combined entity does not take advantage of consumers by leveraging its position as sole provider of satellite radio services by raising prices."

The FCC's proceeding is numbered 07-57.

4/30. Paul Rubin has associated himself with the Technology Policy Institute (TPI). His title is "Senior Fellow". He is a professor of economics at Emory University. He is the author of the book [Amazon] titled "Darwinian Politics: The Evolutionary Origin of Freedom". He is a co-author with Tom Lenard of the book [Amazon] titled "Privacy and the Commercial Use of Personal Information". See, TPI release.

5/2. The U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) withdrew its November 9, 2007, opinion [27 pages in PDF] in Doran v. 7-Eleven, and replaced it with a new opinion [30 pages in PDF]. Both the majority opinion, and the dissenting opinion, are almost identical to the withdrawn opinions. This is an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) case that does not involve information technology. However, this case foreshadows some of what internet and technology companies may face if, or when, the federal judiciary extends the ADA to them. The new majority opinion, like the original, carves out an exception to the Constitutional case or controversy requirement for ADA cases. The opinion further provides that discovery is available in ADA cases, in the absence of any case or controversy, for the purpose of seeking evidence of an unknown violation of the ADA. The new opinion adds guidance to the District Court on evidence and arguments that 7-Eleven might assert on remand. See also, story titled "9th Circuit Rules on Standing and Discovery in ADA Cases" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,678, November 20, 2007.

5/2. The U.S. Court of Appeals (7thCir) issued an order in Chicago Lawyers v. Craigslist, a Section 230 interactive computer service immunity case. This order merely corrects a typographical error in a statutory citation in the March 14, 2008, opinion [10 pages in PDF]. The Court of Appeals affirmed the summary judgment of the District Court for Craigslist on Section 230 grounds. See also, story titled "Circuit Applies Section 230 Immunity in Craigslist Case" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,731, March 17, 2008.

5/1. The Social Security Administration (SSA) published a notice in the Federal Register that announces the creation of a Future Systems Technology Advisory Panel, to provide advise on future computer systems technology. See, Federal Register, May 1, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 85, at Pages 24102-24103.

The House will meet at 12:30 PM for morning hour debate, and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. The House will consider numerous non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of May 5, and schedule for May 5.

The Senate will not meet.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Stanford v. Motorola, App. Ct. No. 2007-1564. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

12:30 - 2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) International Telecommunications Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The topic will be "Understanding the Internet: An International Perspective". The speakers will include Irene Wu (FCC and Georgetown University). For more information, contact John Giusti at John dot Giusti at fcc dot gov. Location: Verizon, 5th floor, 1300 I St., NW.

Deadline to submit proposals to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in response to its April 21, 2008, Request for Proposals (RFP) regarding the appointment of an independent evaluator to undertake a review of the ICANN Board.

EXTENDED TO MAY 19. Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to it Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the Recommended Decision of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service, released on November 20, 2007, regarding comprehensive reform of high cost universal service taxes and subsidies. The FCC adopted this NPRM on January 15, 2008, and released the text on January 29, 2008. It is FCC 08-02 in WC Docket No. 05-337 and CC Docket No. 96-45. See, original notice in the Federal Register, March 4, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 43, at Pages 11587-11591. See also, notice [PDF] of extension (DA 08-674).

EXTENDED TO MAY 19. Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to it Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the use of reverse auctions to determine the amount of high cost universal service subsidies provided to eligible telecommunications carriers serving rural, insular, and high cost areas. The FCC adopted this NPRM on January 9, 2008, and released the text on January 29, 2008. It is FCC 08-05 in WC Docket No. 05-337 and CC Docket No. 96-45. See, original notice in the Federal Register, March 4, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 43, at Pages 11591-11602. See also, notice [PDF] of extension (DA 08-674).

EXTENDED TO MAY 19. Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to it Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the FCC's rules governing the amount of high cost universal service subsidies provided to competitive eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs). This NPRM also tentatively concludes that the FCC should eliminate the existing identical support rule, which is also known as the equal support rule. The FCC adopted this NPRM on January 9, 2008, and released the text on January 29, 2008. It is FCC 08-04 in WC Docket No. 05-337 and CC Docket No. 96-45. See, original notice in the Federal Register, March 4, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 43, at Pages 11580-11587. See also, notice [PDF] of extension (DA 08-674).

The House will meet at 10:30 AM for morning hour debate, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. The House is scheduled to consider HR 4279 [LOC | WW], the "Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2007" or "PRO IP Act". See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of May 5.

The Senate will meet at 10:00 AM. It will resume consideration of HR 2881 [LOC | WW], the "FAA Reauthorization Act of 2007".

9:30 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will hold a hearing on HR 5353 [LOC | WW], the "Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2008". This hearing will be webcast by the HCC. Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing titled "Do Federal Programs Ensure U.S. Workers Are Recruited First Before Employers Hire From Abroad?". Location: Room 2175, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Intelligence Committee's (HIC) Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence will hold a closed hearing on International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) regulations. See, notice. Location: Room H-405, Capitol Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in University of Texas v. Benq, App. Ct. No. 2007-1388, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (WDTex) in patent infringement case involving cell phone technology. See, web site with hyperlinks to District Court pleadings. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Technology Properties v. ARM, App. Ct. No. 2008-1020. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in AdvanceME v. RapidPay, App. Ct. No. 2007-1036, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (EDTex) in a patent infringement case involving the concept of joint infringement. Location: Courtroom 203, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Technology Licensing v. Videotek, App. Ct. No. 2007-1441, a patent infringement case involving video signal processing. Location: Courtroom 203, 717 Madison Place, NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a lecture by William Lewis titled "Unleashing the Power of Productivity at Home and Abroad". The other speaker will be Ike Brannon (Department of the Treasury). This event is free and open to the public. See, notice. Location: ITIF, Suite 200, 1250 Eye St., NW.

2:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law will hold a hearing titled "Hearing on the Rulemaking Process and the Unitary Executive Theory". See, notice. This hearing will be webcast by the HJC. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) will host an event titled "2008 Washington Caucus". Prices vary. Location: Willard Hotel.

Day one of a two day workshop hosted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) titled "Beyond Voice: Mapping the Mobile Marketplace". See, notice. Location: FTC Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. Day one of a two day conference hosted by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) titled "Defending Cyberspace 2008". On May 6 there will be a reception. See, ITAA notice and conference web site. For more information, contact Jennifer Kerber at jkerber at itaa dot org. Location: Ronald Reagan International Trade Center.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The House will consider non-technology related items. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of May 5.

8:30 - 10:00 AM. The Democratic members of the House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed meeting titled "FY09 Intelligence Authorization Mark-up Issues". Location: Room H-405, Capitol Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing on judicial nominations, including Helene White (to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit), Raymond Kethledge (6th Circuit), and Stephen Murphy (U.S.D.C., E.D. Michigan). See, SJC notice. See also, story titled "President Bush and Senate Democrats Reach Compromise on 6th Circuit Nominees" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,747, April 15, 2008. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Jacobsen v. Katzer, App. Ct. No. 2008-1001, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (NDCal) in a patent and copyright case involving open source software and model trains. See, hyperlinks to District Court pleadings in Robert Jacobsen's web site titled "Java Model Railroad Interface" or "JMRI". See also, amicus brief of Creative Commons and others. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

11:00 AM - 1:00 PM. The House Science Committee (HSC) will meet to mark up HR 5940 [LOC | WW], the "National Nanotechnology Initiative Amendments Act of 2008". See, notice. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute will host a panel discussion titled "The REAL ID Rebellion: Whither the National ID Law?". The speakers will be Mark Sanford (Governor of the state of South Carolina), Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), and Jim Harper (Cato). The event will be webcast by the Cato. See, notice and registration page. Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

2:00 PM. The House Small Business Committee's (HSBC) Subcommittee on Contracting and Technology will hold a hearing titled "The DTV Transition and Small Businesses: Small Firms Contributing to a Big Change". Location: Room 1539, Longworth Building.

Day two of a two day workshop hosted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) titled "Beyond Voice: Mapping the Mobile Marketplace". See, notice. Location: FTC Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

8:30 AM - 5:30 PM. Day two of a two day conference hosted by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) titled "Defending Cyberspace 2008". At 9:15 AM, Greg Garcia, Assistant Secretary for Cyber Security and Communication, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), will speak. See, ITAA notice and conference web site. For more information, contact Jennifer Kerber at jkerber at itaa dot org. Location: Ronald Reagan International Trade Center.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau in response to its Public Notice regarding the request for clarification filed by Hawk Relay that internet protocol speech to speech (IPSTS) is a form of Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS). This item is DA 08-292 in CG Docket No. 08-15. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 7, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 67, at Page 18796.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The House will consider non-technology related items. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of May 5.

9:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed meeting to mark up the FY 2009 Intelligence Authorization bill. See, notice. Location: Room H-405, Capitol Building.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in CTIA v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 07-1475. Judges Sentelle, Randolph and Rogers will preside. Location: 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

9:30 AM - 1:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a program titled "Essential Checklist for Electronic Discovery". The speakers will be John Facciola (Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia), Conrad Jacoby (efficientEDD), and Courtney Barton (LexisNexis Applied Discovery). This event qualifies for continuing legal education (CLE) credits. Prices vary from $80 to $115. See, notice. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of S 2913 [LOC | WW], the "Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act Of 2008", and S 1738 [LOC | WW], the "Combating Child Exploitation Act". S 2913 degrades the remedies available to copyright owners in civil actions for infringement of copyright. S 1738 would, among other things, provide for more Department of Justice (DOJ) regional computer forensic laboratories, and provide that "crimes against children" are predicate offenses for the issuance of wiretap orders to state law enforcement agencies. See, notice. The SJC rarely follows its published agendas. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Science Committee (HSC) will hold a hearing titled "Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Act of 2008".  See, notice. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Diversity Committee and Young Lawyers' Committee will host an event titled "Mentoring Luncheon". For more information, contact Contact Andrea Barbarin at abarbarin at loctw dot com or 202-479-4844. The price to attend is $20.00. See, notice and online registration page. Location: Arnold & Porter, 10th floor, 555 12th St., NW.

2:00 PM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument en banc in In Re Bilski, App. Ct. No. 07-1130, an appeal from the an appeal from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI), regarding patentable subject matter. See, story titled "Federal Circuit Receives Amicus Briefs Re Business Method Patents and Patentable Subject Matter" 1,743, April 8, 2008. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Education (DOE) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). See, notice in the Federal Register, March 24, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 57, at Pages 15573-15602.

Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of May 5 states that "no votes are expected in the House".

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in In Re Sealed Case, App. Ct. No. 07-3132, and Steven Hatfill v. Baltimore Sun Company, App. Ct. No. 08-5049. Location: Courtroom 22 Annex, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Praxair v. ATMI, App. Ct. No. 2007-1483, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (DDel) in patent infringement case involving the availability of injunctive relief in patent infringement cases following the Supreme Court's 2006, opinion [12 pages in PDF] in eBay v. MercExhange, which held that the traditional four factor framework that guides a court's decision whether to grant an injunction applies in patent cases. See also, story titled "Supreme Court Rules on Availability of Injunctive Relief in Patent Cases" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,371, May 16, 2006. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Scanner Technologies v. ICOS Vision Systems, App. Ct. No. 2007-1399, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (SDNY) in a patent infringement case involving technology and processes to inspect electronic components. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Fargo Electronics v. Iris, App. Ct. No. 2007-1523, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (DMinn) in a patent infringement case involving identification card printing technology. Location: Courtroom 203, 717 Madison Place, NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The DC Bar Association will host panel presentation titled "Patent Litigation in China and Japan". The speakers will be Kevin McCabe (Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox), Xiaoguang Cui (Beijing Sanyou Intellectual Property Agency, Ltd.), and Yasuhiro Ichiba (Judge, Tokyo District Court, Criminal Division). The price to attend ranges from $10 to $30. For more information, contact 202-626-3488. See, notice. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

TIME? The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) Patent Public Advisory Committee (TPAC) will meet. Location?

Mothers Day.

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