2/22. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced in a release that it has sent letter to "almost 100 organizations" stating that "personal information, including sensitive data about customers and/or employees, has been shared from the organizations' computer networks and is available on peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing networks to any users of those networks, who could use it to commit identity theft or fraud".

FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz (at right) was previously a Vice President of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), a group whose members are harmed by the use of peer to peer systems to infringe their copyrighted works.

The MPAA promptly praised this action by the FTC.

The FTC released three sample letters. One letter [PDF] states that "at least one computer file containing sensitive personal information from or about your customers and/or employees has been shared from your computer network, or the network of one of your service providers, to a peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P) network".

This letter continues that the FTC has "not determined whether your company is violating laws" that it enforces, but that it has "brought a number of cases against companies that allegedly failed to implement reasonable and appropriate security measures to protect sensitive personal information".

Moreover, this letter states, "It is your responsibility to protect such information from unauthorized access, including taking steps to control the use of P2P software on your own networks and those of your service providers."

The letter also addresses notification to affected customers and employees. The letter concludes that the FTC "reserves the right to take action against you based on past or future law violations".

See also, second sample letter, and third sample letter. This third letter references "students", thus suggesting that the FTC has identified educational institutions whose data has been compromised on peer to peer networks.

Were the FTC to take action against any of these organizations, it might allege violation of the privacy provisions of Gramm Leach Bliley Act (GLB Act), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), or Section 5 of the FTC Act.

The privacy provisions of the GLB Act (titled the "Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999", Public Law No. 106-102) are codified at 15 U.S.C. §§ 6801-6809. See also, the FTC's Safeguarding Customer Information Rule, which is codified at 16 C.F.R. Part 314, and the FTC's Privacy of Consumer Financial Information Rule, which is codified at 16 C.F.R. Part 313.

Section 5 of the FTC Act is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 45(a). It is the general ban on unfair or deceptive acts or practices.

Daniel Mandil, General Counsel of the MPAA, stated in a release that "For the millions of men and women working in film, television, music, software and other creative industries, P2P networks have become a serious threat to their livelihoods by serving as a major platform for illegal trafficking in stolen copyrighted material".

He continued that "Today the FTC is also sending out a strong warning that using P2P networks increases the risk that sensitive personal information will fall into the hands of identity thieves. The dangers are real both for business and home users of P2P networks, and we welcome the FTC's efforts to spread the word about the risks."

Jon Leibowitz stated in the FTC release "companies and institutions of all sizes are vulnerable to serious P2P-related breaches, placing consumers' sensitive information at risk".

Leibowitz added that "Companies should take a hard look at their systems to ensure that there are no unauthorized P2P file-sharing programs and that authorized programs are properly configured and secure. Just as important, companies that distribute P2P programs, for their part, should ensure that their software design does not contribute to inadvertent file sharing."

2/22. The Department of Transportation's (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released model legislation [PDF] that it proposes that states use as a starting point in their drafting of statutes that ban texting while driving.

Ray LaHood, Secretary of Transportation, stated in a release that "Texting while driving, like talking on cell phones while driving, is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening practice ... This language, which we created with a variety of safety organizations, is another powerful tool in our arsenal to help the states combat this serious threat."

The draft legislation provides that for "all drivers during operation of a motor vehicle on the travel portion of public streets, roads and highways" it is unlawful to "manually type or enter multiple letters, numbers, symbols or other text in a wireless communication device, or send or read data in the device, for the purpose of non-voice interpersonal communication, including texting, emailing and instant messaging".

The draft legislation also provides numerous exemptions, for "law enforcement, fire service, or emergency medical services professional performing official duties", for anyone reporting "an emergency, or criminal or suspicious activity to law enforcement authorities", or receiving "messages related to the operation or navigation of a motor vehicle; safety-related information including emergency, traffic, or weather alerts ..."

The bill would also exempt "Conducting wireless interpersonal communication that does not require manual entry of multiple letters, numbers, or symbols or reading text messages, except to activate, deactivate, or initiate a feature or function".

The DOT recommends a fine of $75 for a first violation. It further recommends that "any offense that results in a death or serious injury" be classified a felony.

Steve Largent, head of the CTIA, stated in a release that the "CTIA and the wireless industry were pleased to collaborate with the Department of Transportation to develop the model legislation for states that would ban manual texting while driving. For more than twelve years, the wireless industry has been focused on educating consumers about the dangers of distracted driving and we remain committed to reminding drivers that safety should always be their number one priority."

On October 1, 2009, President Obama issued an Executive Order titled "Federal Leadership on Reducing Text Messaging While Driving". It provides that "Federal employees shall not engage in text messaging (a) when driving GOV, or when driving POV while on official Government business, or (b) when using electronic equipment supplied by the Government while driving." GOV is government owned vehicles. POV is privately owned vehicles.

The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) held a hearing titled "Combating Distracted Driving: Managing Behavioral and Technological Risks" on October 28, 2009. See, prepared testimony of Ray LaHood and prepared testimony of Julius Genachowski, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman. See also, SCC web page with hyperlink to video recording.

The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection and and Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet held a joint hearing on November 4, 2009, titled "Driven to Distraction: Technological Devices and Vehicle Safety". See, web page with hyperlinks to prepared testimony, transcript and audio recording.

The FCC hosted an event titled "Staff Workshop on Addressing Distracted Driving" on November 20, 2009.

2/22. Peter Hustinx, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), criticized the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which is currently being negotiated by trade representatives of nations that adhere to fundamental principles of copyright protection.

He stated in a release that he "regrets that he was not consulted by the European Commission on the content of an agreement which raises significant issues as regards individuals' fundamental rights, and in particular their right to privacy and data protection".

Hustinx elaborated that "he is concerned as regards a potential incompatibility between envisaged measures and data protection requirements. This would apply in particular to the legal framework that would be put in place to fight piracy on the Internet and which could include large scale monitoring of Internet users and the imposition of obligations on Internet Services Providers to adopt ``three strikes Internet disconnection policies´´".

This release also states that "three strikes approach policies are not necessary to achieve the purpose of enforcing intellectual property rights. Alternatively, less intrusive solutions should be considered or, at least, envisaged policies should be performed at a more limited scope, notably through targeted ad hoc monitoring".

Moreover, it states that "as far as ACTA involves international exchanges of personal data between authorities and/or private organisations located in the signatory countries, the EDPS calls on the EU to implement appropriate safeguards to all data transfers made in the context of ACTA. Such safeguards should take the form of binding agreements between EU senders and third country recipients".

The parties to the negotiations have not released any drafts of the proposed ACTA. However, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) released a document [6 pages in PDF] titled "The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement -- Summary of Key Elements Under Discussion" on April 6, 2009. See also, story titled "OUSTR Releases Summary of Proposed ACTA" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,925, April 13, 2009.

2/23. TLJ published a story titled "Seven Indicted for Exporting Sony PS2s to Paraguay" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,048, February 22, 2010. After publication, the Department of Justice (DOJ) provided TLJ with further information regarding the use of components of consumer electronics products for terrorist purposes.

The just announced indictment charges seven individuals with exporting Sony Playstation 2 consoles, and Sony digital cameras, to a shopping center in the nation of Paraguay that is on the Department of the Treasury's (DOT) Office of Foreign Assets Control's (OFAC) Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) list [PDF], because of its connections to Hizbollah.

A spokesman for the DOJ stated that "While I do not know whether the technology in any PS2s or PS3s has ever been used for military or terrorist purposes, it is a crime to knowingly export such technology to designated terrorist entities, nonetheless."

This spokesman also stated that "There have been cases in which U.S. technological components with a range of benign, civilian applications have been illegally exported to embargoed nations or entities and put to use for military and terrorist purposes. For example, there have been cases in which U.S. electronics with many civilian applications have been illegally exported to Iran and later found in Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in Iraq."

In addition, "There was another case in which triggered spark gaps, which have valid medical uses in breaking up kidney stones, were illegally exported from the U.S. to Pakistan. In the wrong hands, triggered spark gaps can be used to detonate nuclear weapons."

The DOJ spokesman added "The problem is not necessarily the technology itself, but the end-user of the technology. It is generally illegal to knowingly export any technology from the U.S. to designated terrorist entities."

2/20. Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), a senior member of the House Commerce Committee (HCC), announced that he will run for re-election. See, Dingell for Congress release.

2/18. Alexander Italianer was named Director-General for Competition at the European Competition Commission. He replaces Philip Lowe. See, release. Neelie Kroes remains the Competition Commissioner.

2/22. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) released a document [145 pages in PDF] titled "Compliance Guidelines: How to Develop an Effective Export Management and Compliance Program and Manual".

2/22. The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project released a report [74 pages in PDF] titled "The Future of the Internet IV". It presents results of an online opinion survey. The authors are Janna Anderson and Lee Rainie.

2/22. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) announced, released, and requested public comment on, its document [40 pages in PDF] titled "Networks & Exchanges Quality Assurance Guidelines". The deadline for public comments is March 26, 2010. This document states that "The current ad networks and ad exchanges marketplace is complex and confusing. Over 1 million web sites carry advertising, and there are reports of 300+ ad networks and ad exchanges. Web page content can change constantly and dynamically. The IAB Quality Assurance Guidelines are intended to demystify ad networks and ad exchanges. These guidelines are designed specifically for networks & exchanges who are principals in transactions with marketers and agencies. However, these guidelines do not apply to ad exchanges that are technology platforms only, providing tools to enable direct media buying and selling between participants." The IAB also released a document [21 pages in PDF] titled "Platform Status Report: An Interactive Television Advertising Overview". The IAB and the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A's) also released the latest version of their standard advertising contract [13 pages in PDF] titled "4A's/IAB Standard Terms and Conditions Version 3.0". See also, IAB release.

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The House will meet at 10:30 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. It will consider several non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of February 22.

The Senate will meet at 10:00 AM. It will resume consideration of HR 2847 [LOC | WW], an appropriations bill affecting numerous federal agencies.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Preserving the Open Internet: Is a Consensus Emerging?". The speakers will be Richard Bennett (ITIF), Link Hoewing (Verizon), Julius Knapp (FCC), Paul Misener (Amazon), Morgan Reed (Association for Competitive Technologies), and Rich Whitt (Google). See, notice. The ITIF will webcast this event. Location: ITIF, Suite 610A, 1101 K St., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Finance Committee (SFC) will hold a hearing titled "Trade and Tax Issues Relating to Small Business Job Creation". See, notice. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Are Foreign Libel Lawsuits Chilling Americans' First Amendment Rights?" The witnesses will be Kurt Wimmer (Covington & Burling) and Bruce Brown (Baker Hostetler). See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Improving Energy Efficiency Through Technology and Communications Innovation". The witnesses will be Aneesh Chopra (Executive Office of the President), Dan Heese (CEO of Sprint Nextel), Adrian Tuck (CEO of Tendril Networks), Kathrin Winkler (EMC2), and Lorie Wigle (Intel). Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

12:00 - 1:30 PM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Counterterrorism 2.0: Using IT to Connect the Dots". The speakers will be Robert Atkinson (ITIF), Paul Rosenzweig (Red Branch Law and Consulting) and Kim Taipale. Lunch will be served. The ITIF will webcast this event. See, notice. This event is free and open to the public. Location: ITIF, Suite 610A, 1101 K St., NW.

12:30 - 2:00 PM. The Property Rights Alliance (PRA) will release its 2010 International Property Rights Index. The speakers will include Rep. Bob Bishop (R-UT), Jonathan Zuck (Association for Competitive Technology), Karol Boudreaux (Enterprise Africa), Victoria Strokova (PRA), and Kelsey Zohourek (PRA). Lunch will be served. See also, story titled "Property Rights Alliance Argues that IPR Protection is Linked to Higher GDP Per Capita" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,904, February 25, 2009. Location: National Press Club, 13th floor, 529 14th St., NW.

12:30 - 1:30 PM. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law will host a panel discussion by webcast titled "Section 1 of the Sherman Act: Counseling and Litigation Update". The speakers will be Svetlana Gans (Kilpatrick Stockton), Jennifer Carmassi (Latham & Watkins), Katherine Britton, and Jeffery Cross (Freeborn & Peters). This event is free, but registration is required. See, notice.

2:00 PM. The House Appropriations Committee's (HAC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State and Related Agencies will hold a hearing on the FY 2011 budget for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The witness will be Patrick Gallagher (NIST Director). Location: Room H-310, Capitol Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Cybersecurity: Next Steps to Protect Our Critical Infrastructure". The witnesses will be Michael McConnell (Booz Allen Hamilton), James Lewis (Center for Strategic and International Studies), Scott Borg (U.S. Cyber Consequences Unit), James Barnett (Chief of the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau), and Mary Ann Davidson (Oracle). See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

TIME? The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Science and Technology Law will host a program titled "Dangerous Curves Ahead: When Legal Ethics and Technology Collide". The ABA will webcast and teleconference this event. See, notice for registration and call in information.

EXTENDED TO FEBRUARY 26. 5:00 PM. Deadline for foreign governments to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) to assist it in making determinations that identify countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection. The OUSTR is required to make these Special 301 determinations by Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974, which is codified at 19 U.S.C. § 2242. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 15, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 10, at Pages 2578-2580. See, notice of extension.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The schedule for the week includes consideration of HR 2701 [LOC | WW], the "Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010". See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of February 22.

8:30 AM - 5:15 PM. The Catholic University of America's (CUA) Columbus School of Law will host a one day conference titled "Implementing the National Broadband Plan: Perspectives from Government, Industry and Consumers". Prices vary. See, registration form. Location: Wiley Rein, 1776 K St., NW.

9:00 - 11:00 AM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed hearing titled "Google Hacking Incident". See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304, Capitol Building.

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. The The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's HIT Standards Committee will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 3, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 22, at Pages 5595-5596. Location: Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert St., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will hold a hearing titled "Recent Inspector General Reports Concerning the FBI". See, notice. See also, January 20, 2010 redacted report [PDF], and story titled "Another DOJ Inspector General Report Finds FBI Misconduct in Obtaining Phone Records" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,037, January 20, 2010. And see, March 13, 2008, report [PDF] titled "A Review of the FBI’s Use of National Security Letters: Assessment of Corrective Actions and Examination of NSL Usage in 2006", and story titled "DOJ Inspector General Releases Second Report on FBI Misuse of National Security Letters" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,730, March 12, 2008, and March 9, 2007, report [PDF] titled "A Review of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Use of National Security Letters", and story titled "DOJ IG Releases Reports on Use of NSLs and Section 215 Authority" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,551, March 13, 2007. The HJC will webcast this event. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection and Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet will hold a joint hearing titled "The Collection And Use Of Location Information For Commercial Purposes". See, notice. Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee (SHSGAC) will hold a hearing titled "Department of Homeland Security's Budget Submission for Fiscal Year 2011". The witness will be Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) will host a news conference to discuss "the global challenges to Internet freedom". The CDT will also teleconference this event. The call in number is 1-800-377-8846; the participant code is 92 87 41 58#. Location: CDT, 11th floor, 1634 I St., NW.

11:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host an event pertaining to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) drafting of a document titled "National Broadband Plan". The main speaker will be FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. The other speakers will be Steve Coll (NAF), Sacha Meinrath (NAF), Chris McCabe (CTIA), Julie Kearney (CEA), Ben Scott (Free Press), and Matt Wood (Media Access Project). This event is free and open to the public. See, notice and registration page. Location: NAF, 1899 L St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Annual Seminar Committee will host a brown bag lunch for planning purposes. Location: Wilkinson Barker Knauer, Suite 700, 2300 N St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a closed lunch. The speaker will be Marybeth Peters, Register of Copyright. The price to attend ranges from $55 to $65. Most DC Bar events are not open to the public. Reporters are barred from this event. See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3463. Location: City Club of Washington at Franklin Square, 1300 I St., NW.

2:00 PM. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's (HOGRC) Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census and National Archives will hold a hearing titled "The 2010 Census Communications Contract: The Media Plan in Hard to Count Areas". See, notice. Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing on the nominations of Josephine Tucker (to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California), Brian Jackson (USDC/MDLa), Elizabeth Foote (USDC/WDLa), and Marc Treadwell (USDC/MDGa). See, notice. The SJC will webcast this event. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a presentation titled "Protecting Content on the Internet". The speaker will be Jay Westermeier (Finnegan Henderson). The price to attend ranges from $89 to $129. Most DC Bar events are not open to the public. See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3488. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

Day one of a two day event hosted by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) titled "Homeland Security Conference". Howard Schmidt (nominee for Cyber Security Coordinator) may speak at 9:30 - 10:00 AM. There will be a panel at 10:00 AM titled "Cyber Security". The speakers may include Greg Shaffer (Assistant Secretary, DHS Office of Cyber Security and Communications), Bruce McConnell (DHS), Van Hitch (Department of Justice CIO), and/or Dave Wennergren (Department of Defense Deputy CIO). There will be a panel at 11:15 AM titled "Emerging Social Media & Transparency Gap". See, conference web site. Location: Ronald Reagan International Trade Center.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of February 22.

9:00 AM. The Senate Banking Committee (SBC) will hold a hearing titled "The Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress". The sole witness will be Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board (FRB). See, notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

9:00 - 11:00 AM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed hearing titled "Cyber Security Defense". See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304, Capitol Building.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of International Law will host a panel discussion by teleconference titled "Around the World in 90 Minutes: New Developments in Merger Review". The price ranges from $10 to $20. Registration is required. See, notice.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda once again lists consideration of the nomination of Dawn Johnsen to be Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). The agenda also includes consideration of Lucy Koh to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. See, story titled "Obama Picks Lucy Koh to Replace Ron Whyte on District Court" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,038, January 25, 2010. The agenda also includes consideration of several other judicial nominees: Gloria Navarro (USDC/DNev), Audrey Fleissig (USDC/EDMO), Jon Deguilio (USDC/NDInd), Tanya Pratt (USDC/SDInd), and Jane Stinson (USDC/SDInd). The SJC rarely follows its published agendas. The SJC will webcast this event. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will hold a hearing titled "Competition in the Media and Entertainment Distribution Market". See, notice. The HJC will webcast this event. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Appropriations Committee's (HAC) Subcommittee on Homeland Security will hold a hearing on the FY 2011 budget for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The witness will be Janet Napolitano (Secretary of Homeland Security). The HAC will webcast this event. Location: Room 2359, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's HIT Policy Committee's Adoption/Certification Workgroup will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 9, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 26, at Pages 6398-6399. Location: Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The Heritage Foundation will host an event titled "Telecosm Revisited: Why the Government Should Not Set Rules of the Road for the Internet". The speakers will be George Gilder, author of the book titled "Telecosm", and James Gattuso (Heritage). See, notice. Location: Heritage, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Engineering and Technical Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Spectrum Policy and Capital Formation For New Wireless Technologies". The speakers will include Bryan Tramont (Wilkinson Barker Knauer) and Toni Bush (Skadden Arps). For more information, contact Tami Smith at 202-736-8257 or tesmith at sidley dot com. Location: Sidley Austin, 1501 K St., NW.

1:30 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Intellectual Property Law will host a panel discussion by teleconference titled "What Companies Need to Know NOW About Social Networking, Privacy Protection, and the Latest Legal & Regulatory Developments". The speakers will by Andra Dallas (Children's Advertising Review Unit) and Liisa Thomas (Winston Strawn). Prices vary. Registration is required. See, notice.

RESCHEDULED FROM FEBRUARY 11. 2:00 PM. the House Homeland Security Committee (HHSC) will hold a hearing titled "The President’s FY 2011 Budget Request for the Department of Homeland Security". The witness will be Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

2:00 - 3:30 PM.  The New America Foundation (NAF) will host an event titled "Shaping Media Policy for the 21st Century: A Conversation with the FCC's Steve Waldman". The speakers will be Steve Waldman (FCC), Steve Coll (NAF), and Michael Kinsley (The Atlantic magazine). This event is free and open to the public. See, notice and registration page. Location: NAF, 1899 L St., NW.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) regarding "other matters" discussed at its January 20, 2010, public roundtable. The USPTO is considering revising its rules of practice before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) in ex parte patent appeals. Comments on the notice of proposed rulemaking are due by February 12, 2010. However, comments on "other matters discussed at the roundtable" are due by February 25, 2010. See also, story titled "USPTO Seeks Comments on Rules of Practice before the BPAI in Ex Parte Appeals" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,026, December 22, 2009.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host an event titled "Happy Hour". For more information, contact Cathy Hilke at chilke at wileyrein dot com or Micah Caldwell at mcaldwell at fh-law dot com. Location: James Hoban's Irish Restaurant & Bar, 1 Dupont Circle, NW.

Day two of a two day event hosted by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) titled "Homeland Security Conference". At 2:15 PM, there will be a panel titled "Information/Intelligence Sharing -- Balancing Privacy". See, conference web site. Location: Ronald Reagan International Trade Center.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of February 22.

9:30 - 11:00 AM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a panel discussion titled "Searching for Saddam: What Social Networks Mean for Modern Warfare". The speakers will include Chris Wilson (Slate magazine), Scott Helfstein (U.S. Military Academy), and Peter Bergen (NAF). This event is free and open to the public. See, notice and registration page. Location: NAF, 1899 L St., NW.

11:00 AM - 1:00 PM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed hearing titled "FY11 Intelligence Budget for Research and Development". See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304, Capitol Building.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Technology Policy Institute (TPI) will host a panel discussion titled "Increasing Spectrum For Broadband: What Are The Options?". The speakers will be Kathleen Ham (T-Mobile), Matthew Hussey (office of Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)), Evan Kwerel (FCC), John Leibovitz (FCC), Kevin Werbach (University of Pennsylvania business school), Lawrence White (NYU business school), and Thomas Lenard (TPI). This event is free and open to the public. Lunch will be served. Registration is requested. See, notice. Location: Room B-338, Rayburn Building.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit certain applications to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for planning and construction grants for public telecommunications facilities under the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PFFP) for FY 2010. This deadline applies to applications for new FM stations filed during the February 2010 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) FM Window. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 2, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 230, at Pages 63120-63122.

EXTENDED FROM FEBRUARY 23. 5:00 PM. Extended deadline for foreign governments to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) to assist it in making determinations that identify countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection. The OUSTR is required to make these Special 301 determinations by Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974, which is codified at 19 U.S.C. § 2242. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 15, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 10, at Pages 2578-2580. See, notice of extension.

EXTENDED FROM FEBRUARY 12. 5:00 PM. Extended deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) regarding its proposal to revise its rules of practice before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) in ex parte patent appeals. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 22, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 244, at Pages 67987-68004. See also, story titled "USPTO Seeks Comments on Rules of Practice before the BPAI in Ex Parte Appeals" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,026, December 22, 2009. And see, notice of extension in the Federal Register, February 1, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 20, at Pages 5012-5013.

Deadline to submit comments to the Copyright Royalty Judges (CRJ) regarding the motion of Phase I claimants for partial distribution in connection with the 2004 through 2007 satellite royalty funds. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 27, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 17, at Pages 4423-4424.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Dow Jones & Company v. Ablaise Ltd., App. Ct. No. 2009-1524, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (DC) in a patent infringement case regarding web page personalization. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Golden Hour Data Systems, Inc. v. emsCharts, Inc., App. Ct. No. 2009-1306, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (EDTex) in a patent infringement case. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding self-regulatory guidelines submitted by i-safe under the safe harbor provision of the Children's Online Privacy Protection rule. See, i-safe's application [22 pages in PDF], proposed guideline requirements [30 pages in PDF], and chart [10 pages in PDF] comparing sections of the rule to the proposed guidelines. See also, FTC release and notice [6 pages in PDF]. See, story titled "FTC Seeks Comments on Proposed COPPA Safe Harbor" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,033, January 6, 2010.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (2ndFNPRM) regarding the Emergency Alert System (EAS) The FCC adopted this item on January 12, 2010, and released the text [23 pages in PDF] on January 14. It is FCC 10-11 in EB Docket No. 04-296. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 29, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 19, at Pages 4760-4768.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Going Mobile: Technology and Policy Issues in the Mobile Internet". The speakers will be Robert Atkinson (ITIF), Richard Bennett (ITIF), Harold Feld (Public Knowledge), Morgan Reed (Association for Competitive Technology), and Barbara Esbin (Progress & Freedom Foundation). See, notice. This event is free and open to the public. The ITIF will webcast this event. Location: ITIF, Suite 610A, 1101 K St., NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in iLight Technologies, Inc. v. Fallon Luminous Corp., App. Ct. No. 2009-1342, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (MDTenn) in a patent infringement case involving LED lighting technology. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

RESCHEDULED FROM FEBRUARY 10. 11:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee for the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 14, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 9, at Page 2141. See also, FCC notice of postponement, FCC notice of rescheduling, and notice of rescheduling in the Federal Register, February 19, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 33, at Page 7480. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law will host a panel discussion by teleconference titled "Basics of Copyright, Trade Secrets and Trademarks". The speakers will by Gary Weiss (Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe), Randi Singer, Weil, Gotshal, & Manges), Pierre Davis (McGraw-Hill Companies), Arman Oruc (Simpson Thacher & Bartlett), and Andrea D’Ambra (Drinker Biddle & Reath). The event is free, but registration is required. See, notice.