12/6. President elect Obama gave a speech in text and audio formats for distribution over the internet and via broadcast radio. It was short, vague, and in the nature of campaign speeches and ads.

However, he also made several technology related statements. For example, he said that "we'll also renew our information superhighway".

He also said that "We will ... put new computers in our classrooms".

"In addition to connecting our libraries and schools to the internet, we must also ensure that our hospitals are connected to each other through the internet." He added that "We will make sure that every doctor's office and hospital in this country is using cutting edge technology and electronic medical records".

Members Congress and the Bush administration have been making similar statements regarding electronic medical records for years. Outgoing President Bush has given speeches on the subject. See for example, story titled "Bush Promotes Electronic Medical Records in TJL Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,065, January 28, 2005; and stories "President Bush Advocates Conversion to Electronic Medical Records" and "Bush Addresses Privacy of Electronic Medical Records" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 886, April 28, 2004.

Obama did not discuss network neutrality mandates.

12/3. The Open Internet Coalition (OIC) sent a letter [PDF] to the Obama transition team that offers advice regarding appointments and other Presidential acts related to achieving network neutrality. See also, OIC release.

First, the OIC wants President Obama to "Appoint a new Chairman and a new Commissioner for the Federal Communications Commission who support strong enforcement and promotion of open Internet principles".

Second, the OIC wants Obama to "Appoint leaders at the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice who understand the importance of promoting an open Internet through vigorous use of procompetition and consumer protection laws".

The OIC argued in this letter that "policymakers have neglected antitrust law as a tool for promoting the open Internet". It specifically identified the importance of the positions of FTC Chairman, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition, and Assistant Attorney General in charge of the DOJ's Antitrust Division.

Third, the OIC wants Obama to "Require the Chief Technology Officer and the United States Trade Representative to promote open Internet policies at home and abroad".

Finally, the OIC wants Obama to "Support legislation in Congress that protects the Open Internet by prohibiting unreasonable discrimination by network operators".

The OIC supporters include the New America Foundation (NAF), Public Knowledge (PK), Free Press (FP), Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), American Library Association (ALA) and other groups.

Its supporters also include Google, Earthlink, PayPal, Skype, TiVo, YouTube, and other businesses.

12/5. Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson released a statement on the conclusion of talks between the U.S. and the People's Republic of China (PRC) under the rubric of the "Strategic Economic Dialogue". The Department of the Treasury (DOT) issued a longer release. Also, the US and PRC issued a joint release.

None of these items addresses intellectual property rights (IPR), enforcement of IPR, telecommunications access, internet services, or electronic commerce.

Paulson's statement provides that "Protectionist sentiments grow during periods of economic downturn. We recognized this, and reiterated our commitment to fight protectionism, because open trade and investment are in the best interest of our people. Both nations reiterated the importance of completing a successful Doha round and meaningful progress toward that goal by the end of this year."

The DOT release states that "At the second U.S.-China Conference on Innovation and Commercialization, held on December 2, 2008, the United States and China brought together government, industry, and university leaders to address key challenges and opportunities for fostering innovation and commercialization. The two sides discussed ways in which to develop human talent for innovation, attract financial investment for entrepreneurial enterprises, adapt policies and regulatory frameworks to promote and protect innovation, commercialize technologies, and recognize the importance of market-driven standards."

12/4. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil complaint [PDF] in U.S. District Court (NDCal) against William J. Del Biaggio III alleging securities fraud. Simultaneously, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a criminal complaint in the same court alleging criminal violations arising out of the same conduct.

The SEC complaint states that Del Biaggio is a "Silicon Valley venture capitalist".

It alleges that "Between 2003 and 2008, Del Biaggio defrauded various investors and lenders out of approximately $65 million, using the proceeds to purchase an interest in a professional hockey team and to finance a luxurious lifestyle."

Del Biaggio is a part owner of the Nashville Predators, a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL).

The complaint continues that "Del Biaggio fraudulently obtained $45 million in loans by pledging as collateral securities owned by unknowing customers of a San Francisco brokerage firm. Beginning in August 2007, the managing director of the brokerage firm (a friend of Del Biaggio) supplied Del Biaggio with the account statements of innocent customers. Del Biaggio falsified the account statements to make it appear that they belonged to him, and provided the bogus documents to various banks and private lenders. Del Biaggio used part of the loan proceeds to buy an interest in the Nashville Predators professional hockey team." (Parentheses in original.)

The complaint also alleges that he "raised over $19 million from investors in a series of fraudulent offerings by capitalizing on his reputation as a prominent venture capitalist and founder and CEO of an established venture capital firm. He then misappropriated his clients' money for personal use or pledged the securities bought with the investors' money as collateral for personal loans. Among other things, Del Biaggio used his clients' money as his personal checkbook to pay home mortgage and decorating expenses, gambling debts, credit card bills and other personal and unrelated business expenses."

The SEC complaint asserts that "Del Biaggio violated the federal securities laws, including the antifraud statutes, through his fraudulent pledging of securities that did not belong to him, his misappropriation of his advisory clients' assets, his false representations to his clients about how he would use their investment funds, and his failure to inform his clients that he intended to pledge and margin their assets to obtain personal loans."

See also, SEC release.

William J. Biaggio III and others founded the Heritage Bank of Commerce (HBC) in San Jose, California in 1994. The HBC is owned by Heritage Commerce Corp (HCC).

On November 21, 2008, HCC filed a Form 8-K with the SEC that discloses that HCC, "the Company", "entered into a Letter Agreement ... with the ... Department of the Treasury ... pursuant to which the Company issued and sold (i) 40,000 shares of the Company's Fixed Rate Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series A ... and (ii) a warrant .. to purchase 462,963 shares of the Company's common stock, no par value ..., for an aggregate purchase price of $40,000,000 in cash." See also, HCC release.

This transaction was pursuant to the DOT's Capital Purchase Program (CPP), which is part of the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), which was established by HR 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. See, DOT release.

12/8. Federal Reserve Board (FRB) Governor Randall Kroszner gave a speech in Geneva, Switzerland titled "Assessing the Potential for Instability in Financial Markets", in which he discussed, among other things, the role of information technologies in financial markets.

He said that "In the simplified world of an introductory economics class, a market brings together the potential buyers and sellers of a product to negotiate prices and quantities. In this paradigm, the invisible hand of the market matches all willing buyers and sellers at a single, market-clearing price. Transactions occur instantaneously and costlessly."

But, he continued, "Any real-world market must deal with at least two fundamental questions: first, how do the buyers and sellers find one another? And second, how can buyers be assured that sellers will deliver as promised, and that the goods will be of the quality and value that the buyer expects?"

He said that technology now comes into play on the first question. He said "The introduction of new technology can change the institutional structure of markets.  Improved telecommunications has made it possible to relax coordination on the physical location of markets. Once a building, the exchange is now a network of screens. Furthermore, by dramatically reducing the cost of locating counterparties and comparing prices, technology has increased the scope for decentralized markets such as OTC derivative markets. Decentralized markets excel at providing variety and thus at accommodating the idiosyncratic needs of investors and consumers."

He did not offer any examples of how technology helps in financial markets with the second set of questions.

Before the recent turmoil in financial markets, some FRB members were wont to discuss how information and communication technologies improved risk measurement and risk assessment.

12/2. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Public Citizen (PC), and Public Knowledge (PK) filed an amicus curiae brief [35 pages in PDF] with the U.S. Court of Appeals (2ndCir) in Tiffany v. eBay.

Tiffany sued eBay asserting that it is liable for the sale of counterfeit Tiffany products by eBay users. The U.S. District Court (SDNY) held, in its July 14, 2008, opinion [66 pages in PDF], that "eBay is not liable for contributory trademark infringement."

Tiffany brought the present appeal. See also, story titled "Tiffany Appeals in Case Regarding eBay Auctions of Counterfeits" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,812, August 13, 2008.

These amici wrote that they are "concerned that requiring intermediaries to take a greater role in policing trademark uses online than the law currently requires will inevitably cause intermediaries to over-police those uses (including clear fair uses), drastically impeding the continuing growth of the Internet as a vibrant forum for commerce and speech." (Parentheses in original.)

12/5. Harold Kim joined the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) as the SVP of Legal Reform Initiatives. He was previously a Special Assistant to the President in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs. His portfolio included intellectual property, judiciary, law enforcement, and other issues. Before that, he worked for Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) on the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) staff. See, U.S. Chamber of Commerce release.

12/4. Qi Lu joined Microsoft as President of the Online Services Group. He was previously Yahoo's EVP of Engineering for the Search and Advertising Technology Group. See, Microsoft release.

12/2. Donald Hoerl was named Regional Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Denver Regional Office. See, SEC release.

12/5. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it will host a two day conference titled "Securing Personal Data in the Global Economy" on March 16-17, 2009, in Washington DC. This will be co-hosted by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The FTC has not yet released a list of issues to be covered. The FTC has not yet announced deadlines to submit papers or comments, or to request to participate on panels. See, FTC release.

12/5. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) published a notice in the Federal Register that announces, explains, and sets the application deadline for, a grant for the Pan-Pacific Education and Communications
Experiments by Satellite (PEACESAT) Program. Applications must be received on by 5:00 PM EST, January 15, 2009. See, Federal Register, December 5, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 235, at Pages 74146-74148.

12/5. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced in a release the House Homeland Security Committee hosted a series of roundtable discussions on December 5, 2008, with groups, scholars and experts to consider the future of privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

12/4. The Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF) released another paper [7 pages in PDF] regarding Capitol Records v. Thomas, a music copyright infringement case involving use of the Kazaa peer to peer (P2P) network. On September 25, 2008, the U.S. District Court (DMinn) granted a new trial. See, opinion [44 pages in PDF]. The author is the PFF's Thomas Sydnor. He criticizes this opinion of the court. See also, stories titled "Update on Capitol Records v. Thomas" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,857, November 17, 2008, and "District Court Grants New Trial to P2P Infringer" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,833, September 26, 2008. This case is Capitol Records, Inc., et al. v. Jammie Thomas, U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, D.C. No. 06-1497 (MJD/RLE), Judge Michael Davis presiding.

12/4. Patrick Ross, head of the Copyright Alliance, released an essay in five parts titled "Critiquing Copyright Canards". See, parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. The ten "canards" that he lists, analyzes, and refutes are as follows:

• Artists are being empowered by the Internet and digital technology, and copyright is stifling them.
• Purchasers of creative works have a right to use those works in any way they please.
• Copyright stifles innovation.
• Copyright owners need to change their business models to recognize consumer demand. They should stop trying to make money on intangible goods and focus on revenue streams from tangible goods.
• In the digital age, the marginal cost of reproduction and distribution of a creative work is zero, so that is the value of the work and should be its cost.
• In the digital age, creative works should be part of a collective licensing regime. Everyone would pay a token amount, we could download all of the creative works that we want, and those creators and copyright owners would be paid proportionately from those funds.
• Copyright is a monopoly.
• Copyright is not a property right.
• The government shouldn't be the big cop for copyright owners.
• Copyright is really just a vehicle for corporate greed.

12/3. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) extended the deadline to submit nominations for six different positions on the Board of Directors of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). See, original FCC notice [PDF] and FCC notice of extension. These items are DA 08-2487 and DA 08-2651 in CC Docket Nos. 96-45 and 97-21.

12/2. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein gave a speech in Washington DC titled "DTV Transition: It is Not too Late to Get it Right". He also said that "The FCC is now considering how to use the spectrum we reclaimed to create a nationwide interoperable broadband wireless network for public safety entities. I look forward to working with state and local governments to devise a plan that would help us achieve this important goal."

12/1. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) submitted a request for records [PDF] to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The EPIC seeks the FBI's guidelines on domestic surveillance. The EPIC's request asks for the "complete and unredacted final version of the Attorney General's Guidelines for Domestic FBI Operations" which took effect on December 1, 2008. This request states that these "guidelines grant the FBI broad authority to conduct domestic surveillance of many individuals suspected of no crime". The FBI released draft document [46 pages in PDF] on October 3, 2008. See, story titled "DOJ Releases Guidelines for FBI Operations" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,838, October 6.

11/26. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) extended the deadline to submit comments regarding the Rural Cellular Association's (RCA) May 20, 2008, petition for rulemaking [25 pages in PDF] regarding "the widespread use and anticompetitive effects of exclusivity arrangements between commercial wireless carriers and handset manufacturers" and "rules that prohibit such arrangements". See, notice in the Federal Register, October 23, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 206, at Pages 63127-63128, and notice of extension [PDF]. This proceeding is RM No. 11497. Reply comments are now due by February 20, 2009.

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This issue contains the following items:
 • Obama Discusses Technology at Schools and Hospitals
 • Open Internet Coalition Writes Obama on Appointments Related to Network Neutrality
 • US and PRC Hold SED Meetings
 • SEC and DOJ Pursue Del Biaggio III
 • FRB Governor Discusses IT and Financial Markets
 • EFF, PC and PK File Amicus Brief in Support of eBay in Tiffany Trademark Case

The House will not meet.

The Senate will meet at 3:00 PM for morning business.

9:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's (OUSTR) Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Small and Minority Business (ITAC-11) will meet. The meeting will be closed to the public from 9:00 AM through 12:30 PM. It will be open from 1:00 through 3:00 PM. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 20, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 225, at Page 70388. Location: Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Ave., NW.

11:00 AM. The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Pacific Bell Telephone v. Linkline Communications, Sup. Ct. No. 07-512. This is a petition for writ of certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) in a case involving application of Section 2 of the Sherman Act to telecommunications. See, September 11, 2007, divided opinion [22 pages in PDF] of the Court of Appeals, and story titled "Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in Pacific Bell v. Linkline" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,786, June 25, 2008.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The Heritage Foundation will host a panel discussion titled "Under Attack: Today's Cyber Threat". The speakers will be Heli Tiirmaa-Klaar (Estonian Ministry of Defense), John Tkacik (Heritage), Frank Garcia (House Intelligence Committee staff), Steve Bucci (IBM), and Peter Brookes (Heritage). See, notice. Location: Heritage, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Homeland Security and Emergency Communications Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Meet the FCC's Homeland Security & Public Safety Bureau". The speakers will be Derek Poarch (Chief of the FCC's Homeland Security & Public Safety Bureau) and others. Location: Holland & Knight, 2099 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

1:30 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Emerging Technology and Research Advisory Committee (ETRAC) will hold a partially closed meeting. The agenda for the open portion of the meeting includes "Communications, advanced computing and software" and "Nanotechnologies and microelectronics". See, notice in the Federal Register, November 26, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 229, at Page 72025. Location: DOC, Hoover Building, Room 3884, 14th St. between Pennsylvania and Constitution Aves., NW.

Effective date of the Copyright Office's (CO) interim regulation to clarify the scope and application of the Section 115 compulsory license to make and distribute phonorecords of a musical work by means of digital phonorecord deliveries (DPDs). See, notice in the Federal Register, November 7, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 217, at Pages 66173-66182. See also, story titled "Copyright Office Releases Interim Section 115 Digital Phonorecord Delivery Regulation" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,854, November 10, 2008.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in response to its request for comments regarding its collection of information in statutory invention registrations. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 7, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 195, at Pages 58572-58573.

The House will meet at 11:00 AM. It may take up legislation to protect GM, Ford and Chrysler from competition and failure. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of December 8. Rep. Hoyer stated in a December 5 release that "whether the House will consider legislation affecting the U.S. automotive industry or any other economic recovery legislation has not yet been determined".

8:00 AM - 4:30 PM. Day one of a two day partially closed meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) National Science Board (NSB). At 1:00 - 2:30 PM the NSB will meet in closed session to discuss the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network and DataNet. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 2, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 232, at Pages 73349-73350. Location: NSF, Room 1235, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA.

8:00 - 10:00 AM. The BroadbandCensus dot com [http colon slash slash broadbandcensus dot com] will host a breakfast event titled "How Applications and Broadband Mapping Harness Demand for High-Speed Internet" The speakers will be Susan Fox (Walt Disney), Neal Neuberger (Institute for e-Health Policy), Alan Shark (Public Technology Institute), and Geoff Daily (App-Rising.com). For more information, contact Drew Clark at drew at broadbandcensus dot com or 202-580-8196. Breakfast begins at 8:00 AM. The program begins at 8:40 AM. The price to attend these monthly events is $45. These events are open to the public. Location: Old Ebbitt Grill, 675 15th St., NW.

1:00 - 2:15 PM. The Broadcasting Board of Governors will meet in closed session. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 5, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 235, at Page 74138. Location: Cohen Building, Room 3321, 330 Independence Ave., SW.

Day one of a three day conference of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) on SEC and PCAOB developments. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Chris Cox will speak on December 8 at 9:00 AM. PCAOB Chairman Mark Olson will speak at 9:30 AM. Location: Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Mass Media Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Views from the Fourth Estate". The speakers will be Ted Hearn (Multichannel News), Amy Schatz (Wall Street Journal), Todd Shields (Bloomberg), Josh Wein (Communications Daily), Jeffrey Yorke (Radio & Records Magazine), and Dennis Wharton (National Association of Broadcasters). Location: NAB, 1771 N St., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding requiring devices capable of receiving Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service (SDARS) to include digital audio broadcast (DAB), HD Radio, or other technologies capable of providing audio entertainment services. This is a part of the FCC's proceeding on the merger of XM and Sirius. See, story titled "FCC Approves XM Sirius Merger" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,800, July 25, 2008. The FCC adopted this NOI on August 22, 2008, and released the text [9 pages in PDF] on August 25, 2008. It is FCC 08-196 in MB Docket No. 08-172. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 10, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 176, at Pages 52657-52660.

Deadline for Federal Communications Commission (FCC) administrative law judge to resolve all factual disputes and submit a recommended decision and remedy with respect to six program carriage complaints. See, FCC Public Notice DA 08-2269, and notice in the Federal Register, November 3, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 213, at Pages 65312-65329. See also, story titled "FCC Releases Order On Program Carriage Complaints" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,844, October 17, 2008. This proceeding is MB Docket No. 08-214.

The House may meet at 10:00 AM. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of December 8.

8:00 AM - 4:30 PM. Day two of a two day partially closed meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) National Science Board (NSB). The agenda for the 8:00 - 10:30 AM open session includes "Update on the Next Generation of STEM Innovators Workshop". See, notice in the Federal Register, December 2, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 232, at Pages 73349-73350. Location: NSF, Room 1235, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA.

10:00 AM. The House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) will hold a hearing titled "Oversight Concerns Regarding Treasury Department Conduct of the Troubled Assets Relief Program". Location: 2128 Rayburn Building.

1:30 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee (ETRAC) will hold a partially closed meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 26, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 229, at Pages 72025-72026. Location: DOC, Hoover Building, Room 4830, 14th St. between Pennsylvania and Constitution Aves., NW.

11:00 AM. The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in AT&T v. Hulteen, Sup. Ct. No. 07-543. This is a petition for writ of certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) in a case involving Title VII, calculation of retirement benefits, and pregnancy leave. See, March 8, 2006, divided opinion [30 pages in PDF] of the Court of Appeals.

12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute will host an event titled "Just Give Us the Data! Prospects for Putting Government Information to Revolutionary New Uses". The speakers will be Ed Felten (Princeton University), Gary Bass (OMB Watch), Jerry Brito (Mercatus Center at George Mason University), and Jim Harper (Cato). See, notice. Lunch will follow the program. This event is free and open to the public. Cato will web cast this event. Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

2:45 - 3:30 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "Regulation and Oversight: Advice for the New Administration". The speakers will be Cary Coglianese (University of Pennsylvania Law School), Susan Dudley (Office of Management and Budget), John Graham (Indiana University), Sally Katzen (George Mason University School of Law), Richard Morgenstern (Resources for the Future), and Robert Hahn (AEI). See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association (DCBA) will host part one of a two part event titled "2008 IP Law Year in Review Series". The speakers will be Terence Ross (Gibson Dunn & Crutcher), Becky Burr (Wilmer Hale), and Brian Banner (Rothwell Figg Ernst & Manbeck). The price to attend ranges from $80 to $115. For more information, contact 202-626-3488. See, notice. The event qualifies for continuing legal education credits. The DCBA has a record of excluding persons from its events. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

6:30 - 8:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Diversity and Young Lawyers Committees will host an event titled "Holiday Happy Hour". RSVP to Edgar Class, eclass at wileyrein dot com. Location: Spezie Restaurant, 1736 L St.,  NW.

Effective date of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) rules changes governing practice before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences in ex parte patent appeals. See, notice in the Federal Register, June 10, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 112, at Pages 32937-32977.

The House may meet at 10:00 AM. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of December 8.

8:30 AM - 3:00 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Board of Overseers will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 28, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 230, at Page 72451. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Lecture Room B, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host an event to release and discuss a report titled "A Policymaker's Guide to Network Management". The speakers will be Robert Atkinson (ITIF), David Sohn (Center for Democracy and Technology), and George Ou (ITIF). A light breakfast will be served. Location: ITIF, Suite 200, 1250 Eye St., NW.

9:00 AM. The American Antitrust Institute (AAI) will host an event titled "Private Antitrust Enforcement Symposium". For more information, contact Sarah Frey at 202-408-7442. Location: Holeman Lounge, National Press Club,13th Floor, 529 14th St. NW.

9:30 AM. The Park City Center for Public Policy will hold a news conference titled "Defending Cyberspace: Recommendations for Action". For more information, contact Jim Souby at 435-649-6980 x100 or jsouby at parkcitycenter dot org. Location: Lisagor Room, National Press Club,13th Floor, 529 14th St. NW.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Engineering and Technical Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "The Harmful Interference Standard". The speakers will be Michael Marcus (Marcus Spectrum Solutions), Mitchell Lazarus (Fletcher Heald & Hildreth), Rick Engelman (Sprint Nextel), and Dean Brenner (Qualcomm). RSVP to Tami Smith at tsmith07 at sidley dot com or 202-736-8257. Location: Sidley Austin, 1501 K St., NW.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The DC Bar Association (DCBA) will host part two of a two part event titled "2008 IP Law Year in Review Series". The speakers will be Bradley Wright (Banner & Witcoff) and Eric Wright (Morgan & Finnegan). The price to attend ranges from $80 to $115. For more information, contact 202-626-3488. See, notice. The DCBA has a record of excluding persons from its events. The event qualifies for continuing legal education credits. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

Deadline for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) to submit its annual report to the Congress on the People's Republic of China's compliance with the commitments made in connection with its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). This annual report is required by 22 U.S.C. § 6951.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) regarding the operation, effectiveness, and implementation of and compliance with trade agreements regarding telecommunications products and services, including the World Trade Organization (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), free trade agreements (FTAs) with Australia, Bahrain, Chile, Morocco, and Singapore, the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States FTAs. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 25, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 228, at Page 71707-71708.

The House may meet at 9:00 AM. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of December 8.

Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) regarding the People's Republic of China's (PRC) complaint to the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding Department of Commerce (DOC) anti-dumping and countervailing duty determinations and orders affecting imports from the PRC of steel pipe, tires, and other products. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 13, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 220, at Pages 67214-67215. In other WTO proceedings, the U.S., Japan, Taiwan, and other nations have complained to the WTO about the PRC's failure to protect intellectual property rights. See, story titled "US to Complain to WTO Regarding PR China's Failure to Protect IPR" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,562, April 9, 2007, and story titled "US Requests WTO Dispute Settlement Panel Re PRC Failure to Protect IPR" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,623, August 15, 2008. See also, the WTO's web page for DS362 and web page for DS363.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding draft FIPS-186-3 [125 pages in PDF] titled "Digital Signature Standard (DSS)". See also, notice in the Federal Register, November 12, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 219, at Pages 66842-66844.

Deadline to submit nominations to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for members of the NTIA's Online Safety and Technology Working Group (OSTWG) for a fifteen month term to commence in January of 2009. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 21, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 226, at Pages 70624-70625. See also, story titled "NTIA Seeks Members for Online Safety and Technology Working Group" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,863, November 25, 2008.

9:00 AM - 1:00 PM. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) National Medal of Technology and Innovation Nomination Evaluation Committee will hold a closed meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 28, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 230, at Page 72453. Location: USPTO, 600 Dulany St., Alexandria, VA.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Science Foundation's (NSF) National Coordination Office for Networking Information Technology Research and Development in response to its Request for Information (RFI) regarding "promising game-changing ideas with the potential to reduce vulnerabilities to cyber exploitations by altering the cybersecurity landscape". See, notice in the Federal Register, October 14, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 199, at Pages 60724-60726.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding management and oversight of the Universal Service Fund (USF). The FCC adopted this NOI on August 15, 2008 and released the text [17 pages in PDF] on September 12, 2008. It is FCC 08-189 in WC Docket No. 05-195. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 14, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 199, at Pages 60689-60695.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) portion of its Memorandum Opinion and Order (MO&O) and NPRM regarding collecting and reporting of carrier service quality, customer satisfaction, and infrastructure and operating data. The FCC adopted and released this MO&O and NPRM [57 pages in PDF] on September 6, 2008. It is FCC 08-203 in WC Docket No. 08-190. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 15, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 200, at Pages 60997-61006. See also, story titled "FCC Grants Carriers Forbearance From ARMIS Reporting Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,822, September 8, 2008.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) petition for rulemaking [16 pages in PDF] requesting amendments to Part 87 of the FCC's Rules to allow use of the frequency 1090 MHz for runway vehicle identification and collision avoidance. See, Public Notice [3 pages in PDF]. This item is DA 08-2502 in RM 11503.