10/22. The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Transportation Security Administration (TSA) released a notice of rules changes [195 pages in PDF; 10 MB] regarding the program that it titles "Secure Flight".

Also on October 22, 2008, Michael Chertoff (Secretary of Homeland Security) and Kip Hawley (Administrator of the TSA) spoke and answered questions. See, transcript.

The government maintains electronic databases containing a selectee list, and a no-fly list. Under the new rules, airlines will submit their passenger manifests to the government, for a comparison of names on the manifests to names on the lists. Currently, the government provides its lists to the airlines.

Also, currently, because many persons have identical names, persons not intended to be kept off flights are kept off of flights. These are sometimes referred to as called false positives. Under the new rules the airlines will collect, and submit to the government, passenger gender and date of birth information, to reduce the number of false positives.

Chertoff (at left) said that "Our current system takes a certain number of names that are on a watch list, a no-fly list, or a selectee list, and it sends them to the airlines. The airlines then compare the passenger names with the manifest of who is flying on their airplanes to determine whether people need additional screening or are going to be barred from flying."

One change, said Chertoff, is "keeping the list ourselves now and simply getting the manifests" from the airlines. He said "that'll give us better security over the information on the list".

He said that the system currently has problems. For example, said Chertoff, "because we have false positives, people with similar names to individuals on the watch list or misspellings or variant spellings, it's often the case that passengers can't check-in online or they have to go to the ticket counter and deal with the airline in order to establish that they are not the person on the list. So that takes times and is inconvenient."

He explained how the new rules will address this. He said that "the solution to the problem of misidentification or false positive is to add a small amount of additional data so that we can differentiate between the individual whose name is X who belongs on the watch list, and the individual whose name is X who doesn't belong on the watch list. Under Secure Flight, when travelers make their reservation, they'll submit their name, their sex, their gender, and their date of birth, and then the aircraft operator will submit the itinerary. These additional data elements will allow us to separate the vast majority of false positives from the real people that we're concerned about."

Chertoff also said that there are "16,000 unique individuals who are selectees in TSA's database". They are subject to extra scrutiny, but not necessarily barred from flying. He said that the "no-fly list" has "less than 2,500" people on it, and less than 10 percent a U.S. citizens.

Privacy Related Provisions. He stated that "the data that's going to be transmitted will be encrypted and transmitted using secure systems" and "For the vast majority of passengers, this data will not be retained for more than seven days."

He also said that "Secure Flight doesn't operate by giving you a numerical score or doing the kind of data mining where we look at a large number of behavior instances and try to predict whether you're a bad person. It's based on a process in which people are put on the list based on some specific intelligence about them."

The notice of rules changes states that data will be shared with other government agencies.

Redress. Chertoff also asserted that "We do have a redress system".

Redress is discussed at pages 102-105 of the above hyperlinked copy of the notice of rules changes. Basically, it discloses that people can request redress, and that the TSA might provide them redress.

However, there is no judicial or administration right, privilege or formal process to obtain information about oneself, to contest its accuracy, to have one's selectee or no-fly status changed, or to seek judicial review of administrative actions. Nor is there a cause of action for damages for, for example, wrongful inclusion on a no-fly list. There is nothing that approaches due process of law.

Barry Steinhardt of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) stated in a release that the DHS "has made substantial changes to the Secure Flight program in response to the concerns expressed by the civil liberties community ... DHS will neither use commercial data to conduct background checks on travelers nor create a risk score for passengers through Secure Flight. DHS also is minimizing data collection to only necessary data elements and greatly reducing the length of data retention by expunging information on most travelers after seven days."

However, this ACLU release adds that "significant, unanswered questions still persist for Secure Flight’s implementation. One problem is the lack of adequate redress for individuals who are mistakenly matched to the secret government watch lists."

These rule changes are effective 60 days after publication of a notice in the Federal Register. As of the October 23, 2008, issue of the Federal Register, this notice had not yet been published.

10/22. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA) sent a letter [3 pages in PDF] to Kevin Martin, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the other FCC Commissioners, and Meredith Baker, acting head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), regarding transitioning to digital television, and a retransmission consent quiet period.

Rep. Eshoo (at right) and Rep. Deal stated that they previously proposed a quiet period that would "begin before the end of this year and extend for a reasonable period after the digital television transition, during which neither broadcasters nor subscription TV operators could pull over-the-air signals from the channel lineups of cable and satellite customers."

They continued that the NTIA has recently disclosed that there is an increase in consumer demand for converter box coupons in markets affected by the retransmission consent dispute between LIN TV and both Time Warner and Bright House.

They suggested that some of these requests could have come from confused cable customers who might not need converter boxes. Moreover, they wrote, this is "putting needless strain on the NTIA's coupon program, and should be taken into account when the Commission is considering what an effective ``quiet period´´ should be".

They argued that for a quiet period to be effective "it must begin prior to December 31st, when a substantial number of retransmission consent agreements will expire and extend through March 1st."

The two also requested coupon demand data from the NTIA for the markets affected by the retransmission consent dispute, and corresponding national demand data.

The National Association of Broadcaster's (NAB) Dennis Wharton stated in a release that "Broadcasters have embraced a voluntary, pro-consumer quiet period that will ensure no cable subscriber loses access to broadcast programming in the weeks leading up to and following the transition to digital TV. If policymakers are truly concerned about confusion that could arise from the DTV transition, they should investigate claims raised by Consumer Reports magazine alleging cable operators' use of the transition as a subterfuge for deceptively upselling consumers into higher programming tiers."

Kyle McSlarrow, head of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), stated in a release that "We applaud Representative Eshoo and Deal's continued efforts to urge the FCC to adopt a meaningful retransmission consent quiet period to ensure that no consumer loses a broadcast signal in the critical months before the broadcasters' February 17 digital TV transition. Many retransmission consent agreements expire at the end of 2008; the NAB's proposal to commence a quiet period only in early February 2009 therefore is nothing more than a hollow gesture. The digital transition will be challenging enough without burdening consumers with ill-timed retransmission consent disputes."

10/22. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) released a report [10 pages in PDF; 10MB] titled "Browser Privacy Features: A Work In Progress".

This report compares the privacy features of four web browsers -- Mozilla's Firefox 3, Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2, Google's Chrome, and Apple's Safari 3. It offers no ranking.

This report states that "Several of the largest Internet companies have recently released new Web browsers or browser features aimed at giving Internet users greater control over their privacy as they surf the Web. That browser makers are competing to provide the best privacy protections is great news for Internet users".

The CDT's Ari Schwartz stated in a release that "Industry plays a key role, but we still need a robust national privacy law to fully protect Americans".

10/21. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) published a notice in the Federal Register that announces the appointment of persons to be members of the NTIA's Performance Review Board (PRB). The NTIA PRB is responsible for reviewing performance ratings, pay adjustments and bonuses of Senior Executive Service (SES) members, and Presidential Rank Awards. The persons are Daniel Hurley, Bernadette Rivera, Renee Macklin, Alan Vincent, Michael Crison, and Karl Nebbia. See, Federal Register, October 21, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 204, at Page 62465.

10/21. The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a notice in the Federal Register that announces the appointment of persons to be members of the BIS's Performance Review Board (PRB). The persons are Daniel Hill, Matthew Borman, Kevin Delli-Colli, Gay Shrum, and John Phelan. See, Federal Register, October 20, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 203, at Page 62248.

10/23. The Copyright Office (CO) published a notice in the Federal Register that provides corrections to the proposed fees changes previously published in its October 14 notice. These corrections pertain to special services and Licensing Division services. Proposed changes to registration fees remain the same. See, original notice in the Federal Register, October 14, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 199, at Pages 60658-60662, and correction notice in the Federal Register, October 23, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 206, at Pages 63111-63112. See also, story titled "Copyright Office Proposes to Raise Registration Fees" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,843, October 15, 2008.

10/23. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published a notice in the Federal Register that sets comment deadlines regarding the Rural Telecommunications Group's (RTG) July 16, 2008, petition for rulemaking [22 pages in PDF] regarding imposing a spectrum cap for commercial terrestrial spectrum. The RTG requests that the FCC write rules that provide that no licensee of commercial terrestrial wireless spectrum below 2.3 GHz, including all parties under common control, should be permitted to have an attributable interest in more than 110 megahertz of licensed spectrum with any significant overlap in any county. Initial comments are due by December 2, 2008. Reply comments are due by December 22, 2008. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 23, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 206, at Pages 63128-63129. This proceeding is RM No. 11498.

10/23. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published a notice in the Federal Register that sets comment deadlines regarding the Rural Cellular Association's (RCA) May 20, 2008, petition for rulemaking [25 pages in PDF] regarding alleged "widespread use and anticompetitive effects" of exclusivity arrangements between commercial wireless carriers and handset manufacturers, and rules to prohibit such arrangements. Initial comments are due by December 2, 2008. Reply comments are due by December 22, 2008. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 23, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 206, at Pages 63127-63128. This proceeding is RM No. 11497.

10/22. The Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF) announced in a release the creation of a Center for Internet Freedom, to be headed by Berin Szoka. Szoka stated that "We offer an alternative to the proliferation of advocacy groups calling for government intervention online by offering timely analyses and critiques of proposals that diminish the vital role of free markets, free speech and property rights". He did not identify any of these other groups.

10/21. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) sent a letter [2 pages in PDF] to legal counsel for the McCain and Obama presidential campaigns regarding political debate and the abuse of the notice and take down procedures of 17 U.S.C. § 512(c). The CDT asked the campaigns to "help shine light on the extent to which overaggressive copyright claims may have stifled political expression during this campaign cycle." The CDT asked that after the election that "each of your respective campaigns should make the effort to disclose the details of any incidents it encountered regarding takedown that ignored fair use", including "which media companies issued such requests, how often, and in response to what kind of videos". See also, October 13, 2008, letter [PDF] from the McCain campaign to YouTube, and story titled "McCain Palin Campaign Writes YouTube Regarding Video Take Down Procedure" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,843, October 15, 2008.

10/21. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) issued its divided opinion [76 pages in PDF] in Abbott Laboratories v. Sandoz, a patent infringement case regarding extended release formulations of the antibiotic drug clarithromycin. Sandoz asserted invalidity based on anticipation and obviousness, unenforceability based on inequitable conduct, and noninfringement. The District Court granted Abbott a preliminary injunction. The Court of Appeals affirmed. This case is Abbott Laboratories v. Sandoz, Inc., U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, App. Ct. No. 2007-1300, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, D.C. No. 05-CV-5373, Judge David Coar presiding. Judge Pauline Newman wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals. Judge Archer concurred with most of the opinion. Judge Gajarza wrote a dissent.

Tech Law Journal publishes a free access web site and a subscription e-mail alert. The basic rate for a subscription to the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert is $250 per year for a single recipient. 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 two months after writing.

For information about subscriptions, see subscription information page.

TLJ is published by David Carney
Contact: 202-364-8882.
carney at techlawjournal dot com
P.O. Box 4851, Washington DC, 20008.

Privacy Policy
Notices & Disclaimers
Copyright 1998-2008 David Carney. All rights reserved.

The House will not meet. Its next scheduled meeting is at 11:00 AM on January 3, 2009. See, HConRes 440.

The Senate will meet in pro forma session.

8:30 AM - 5:30 PM. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission will hold a public meeting to work on its 2008 Annual Report to Congress, "if necessary". See, notice in the Federal Register, July 29, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 146, at Pages 43978-43979, and notice in the Federal Register, September 18, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 182, at Page 54205. Location: Conference Room 231, Hall of the States, 444 North Capitol St., NW.

1:45 - 3:30 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled the "Beyond November -- Trade Policy". See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

Day one of a three day conference hosted by the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) titled "2008 Annual Meeting". Location: Marriott Wardman Park, 2660 Woodley Park Road, NW.

TIME? The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Bureau of Competition's Premerger Notification Office will host a half day workshop on the basics of the premerger notification program. See, FTC release. Location: FTC, satellite building conference center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in connection with its event titled "Transatlantic RFID Workshop on Consumer Privacy and Data Security". See, FTC release.

Day two of a three day conference hosted by the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) titled "2008 Annual Meeting". Location: Marriott Wardman Park, 2660 Woodley Park Road, NW.

8:30 AM - 2:30 PM. The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) will host a one day conference titled "Antitrust Summit on Innovation and Competition Policy in High-Tech Markets". Prices vary. Breakfast and lunch will be served. See, CCIA notice. RSVP to Danielle Yates at dyates at ccianet dot org or 202-783-0070 ext. 122. Location: Knight Conference Center, Room 705/706, Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

8:30 AM - 5:30 PM. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission will hold a public meeting to work on its 2008 Annual Report to Congress, "if necessary". See, notice in the Federal Register, July 29, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 146, at Pages 43978-43979, and notice in the Federal Register, September 18, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 182, at Page 54205. Location: Conference Room 231, Hall of the States, 444 North Capitol St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Free State Foundation (FSF) will host a panel discussion titled "Archaic Intercarrier Compensation and Universal Service Regimes: Proposals for Reform". The speakers will be Gerald Brock (George Washington University), John Mayo (Georgetown University business school), and Deborah Tate (FCC Commissioner). Lunch will be served. This event is free and open to the public. RSVP to Susan Reichbart at sreichbart at freestatefoundation dot org. Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building, Capitol Hill.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Legislative Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Major Issues in Telecommunications in the 111th Congress". The speakers may include Gregg Rothschild (Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief Counsel of the House Commerce Committee), Perry Apelbaum (Chief Counsel, Staff Director, House Judiciary Committee), Neil Fried (Senior Minority Counsel, House Commerce Committee; and David Whitney (Minority Counsel, Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property). This event is free. See, registration page. Location: Sidley Austin, 1501 K Street, NW, 6th Floor.

12:30 PM. Dan Hesse, CEO of Sprint Nextel, will give a speech. Location: Ballroom, National Press Club, 13th Floor, 529 14th St., NW.

12:30 - 1:45 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) HLS/Emergency Communications, Wireless and Wireline Practice Committees will host a brown bag lunch titled "From Katrina to Ike and Beyond: Hurricane Responses of Emergency Communications Providers". The speakers will be Jennifer Manner (Satellite Industry Association), Robert Mayer (USTelecom), and Christopher Guttman-McCabe (CTIA). This event is free. See, notice and registration page. Location: Wilmer Hale, 1875 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in connection with its October 17 public workshop titled "Prohibition of Unfair Methods of Competition In Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act". See, notice in the Federal Register, August 28, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 168, at Pages 50818-50819.

Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) regarding the request of the U.S., Japan, and Taiwan to the World Trade Organization (WTO) for the establishment of a dispute settlement panel regarding European Union tariff treatment of set-top boxes with a communication function, flat panel displays, and certain multifunctional digital machines. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 22, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 184, at Pages 54640-54642.

Day three of a three day conference hosted by the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) titled "2008 Annual Meeting". Location: Marriott Wardman Park, 2660 Woodley Park Road, NW.

8:30 AM - 1:30 PM. The National Science Foundation's (NSF) President's Committee on the National Medal of Science will hold a closed meeting to consider nominations. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 12, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 178, at Pages 53051-53052. Location: NSF, Room 375, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA.

9:00 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) will hold a public meeting to explain its proposed Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) rule. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 22, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 205, at Pages 62951-62952. November 17, 2008, is the deadline to submit comments to the BIS regarding its proposed rules changes. See, notice Federal Register, October 3, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 193, at Pages 57554-57564. Location: Location: Room 4830, Hoover Building, 14th St., between Constitution and Pennsylvania Aves., NW.

4:30 - 6:30 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a review titled the "Supreme Court's 2007 and 2008 Terms". See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding assessment and collection of regulatory fees for Fiscal Year 2008. This item is FCC 08-182 in MD Docket No. 08-65. This FCC adopted this item on on August 1, 2008 and released the text [90 pages in PDF] on August 8, 2008. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 26, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 166, at Pages 50285-50296.

9:00 AM - 5:15 PM. The Department of Energy's (DOE) Advanced Scientific Computing Advisory Committee (ASCAC) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 16, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 201, at Page 61412. Location: Hilton Washington DC North, 620 Perry Parkway, Gaithersburg, MD.

10:00 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee on Diversity for Communications in the Digital Age will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 16, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 201, at Pages 61419-61420. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Mass Media and Engineering and Technical Practice Committees will host a seminar titled "The Final 100 Days Until the DTV Transition: Ready? Set? Go!!!". The speakers will be David O'Connor (Wilkinson Barker Knauer), John Burgett (Wiley Rein), Jack Goodman (Wilmer Hale), Eloise Gore (FCC), Dianne Smith (Fox Television Stations), Parul Desai (Media Access Project), Jonathan Collegio (National Association of Broadcasters), Mark Lloyd (Leadership Conference on Civil Rights), Cathy Seidel (FCC), and Dennis Wallace (Meintel Sgrignoli & Wallace). This event qualifies for continuing legal education credits. Prices vary. See, notice. Location: Wilmer Hale, 1875 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

9:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Department of Energy's (DOE) Advanced Scientific Computing Advisory Committee (ASCAC) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 16, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 201, at Page 61412. Location: Hilton Washington DC North, 620 Perry Parkway, Gaithersburg, MD.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) FCBA Foundation Scholarship Committee will host a brown bag lunch to plan. For more information, contact Erin Dozier at edozier at nab dot org or 202-775-4970. Location: National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), 1771 N St., NW.

8:00 AM. The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 16, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 180, at Page 53477. Location: FAA headquarters building, Bessie Coleman Conference Center, 2nd floor, 800 Independence Ave., SW.

12:30 - 2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) International Telecommunications Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "International Undersea Cables -- A Global Market Update/Overview (What’s Behind the New Wave of Planned Construction?)". The speaker will be Timothy Stronge (TeleGeography). For more information, contact Susan O'Connell at susan dot oconnell at fcc dot gov or 202-418-1484. RSVP by October 24 to Jennifer Ullman at Jennifer dot ullman at verizon dot com or 202-515-2432. Location: Verizon, 5th floor, Suite 400 West, 1300 I St., NW.

Monday, November 3.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The Santa Clara University (SCU) law school's High Tech Law Institute will host a preview of cases in which the U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument at the SCU law school on November 4, 2008. The speakers will be attorneys from the law firms of Blakely Sokoloff Taylor & Zafman, McDermott Will & Emery, and Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe. Lunch will be served. Location: Bannan 127, SCU law school, Santa Clara, California.

5:00 - 7:00 PM. Judge Kimberly Moore, U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir), will give a speech and meet with law students. See, notice. For more information, contact Roman Swoopes at swoopes at stanford dot edu. Location: Stanford University law school, Palo Alto, California.

Tuesday, November 4.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Mathworks v. Comsol, App. Ct. No. 2008-1283, a patent infringement case involving mathematical computing. This case is The Mathworks, Inc. v. COMSOL AB, et al., an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, D.C. No. 6:06-cv-334. See, Mathworks' brief [139 pages in PDF], Comsol's opposition brief [PDF], and Mathworks' reply brief [PDF]. See, Federal Circuit oral argument calendar. This is an invitation only event. Location: Moot Court Room, Santa Clara University law school, Santa Clara, California.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. Judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will speak and answer questions at a lunch hosted by Santa Clara University law school's High Tech Law Institute and the Silicon Valley Intellectual Property Association. The price to attend is $50. See, registration page. Location: Mission Room, Benson Center, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California.

2:00 PM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Acumed v. Stryker, App. Ct. No. 2008-1124, a long running patent infringement case involving technology for orthopedic surgery. See, Federal Circuit oral argument calendar. Location: Stanford University, Palo Alto, California.

2:00 PM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Dippin' Dots v. Mosey, App. Ct. No. 2008-1125, a patent infringement and antitrust case involving ice cream technology. See, Federal Circuit oral argument calendar. Location: Stanford University, Palo Alto, California.

Wednesday, November 5.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Takeda Pharmaceutical v. Teva Pharmaceuticals, App. Ct. No. 2008-1314. See, Federal Circuit oral argument calendar. Location: San Jose, California.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Boston Scientific v. Cordis, App. Ct. No. 2008-1073, a patent infringement cases involving stents used in the treatment of coronary artery disease. See, Federal Circuit oral argument calendar. Location: San Jose, California.

2:00 - 9:00 PM. The Santa Clara University law school's High Tech Law Institute, the Stanford Program in Law, Science and Technology, and the Federal Circuit Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "The Federal Circuit Visits the Valley -- Discourse and Dinner". This event has sold out. Location: Four Seasons Hotel, East Palo Alto, California.

Thursday, November 6.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Lacks Industries v. Mckechnie Vehicle, App. Ct. No. 2008-1167, a patent infringement case involving automobile wheels. See, Federal Circuit oral argument calendar. Location: San Francisco, California.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Informatica Corp v. Business Objects Data Integration, App. Ct. No. 2008-1123, a patent infringement case. See, Federal Circuit oral argument calendar. Location: San Francisco, California.

12:45 - 2:00 PM. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Pam Harbour will give a speech titled "How Competition Law Promotes Technological Innovation: The Role of the Federal Trade Commission". This event is free and open to the public. See, notice. For more information, contact Amanda Smith at asmith at law dot stanford dot edu. Location: Room 280A, Stanford University law school, Palo Alto, California.