Tech Law Journal Daily E-Mail Alert
November 2, 2010, Alert No. 2,149.
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Rep. Boucher Loses Election

11/2. Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) lost his bid for re-election to the House. He is currently the Chairman of the House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet.

He is one of the Congresses leading authorities on communications and internet technologies, laws and policies.

He was first elected to the Virginia 9th District in 1982. He is one of the most senior members of both the HCC and the House Judiciary Committee (HJC).

His district has always possessed demographic characteristics that would suggest vulnerability to a Republican challenger. However, until the November 2 election he held the seat through skillful and diligent representation of his constituents.

Rick BoucherRep. Boucher (at right) likely lost because he was compelled by the House Democratic leadership to vote for high profile initiatives that were unpopular in his District, such as the bills sometimes referred to as cap and trade, Obamacare, and stimulus.

At the same time, the leadership's and the Obama administration's incessant focus these issues left Rep. Boucher little opportunity to connect with his constituents on other issues where he shared their views and values.

In an earlier era, back in the 1990s, there was a group of Representatives and Senators who worked to enact laws, and promote government policies, that would advance the development and use of the internet and information technologies and the economic and social benefits that would flow therefrom. Efforts by these legislators, which were often directed at preventing harmful government regulation, were often bipartisan, bicameral, and productive. Rep. Boucher was one of the most knowledgeable and active members of this group.

For example, in the late 1990s, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) jointly organized opposition to Clinton administration encryption policies that threatened the tech sector. Similarly, former Rep. Chris Cox (R-CA) and former Rep. Ron Wyden (D-OR) jointly sponsored legislation to temporarily ban discriminatory state and local taxes on certain internet services.

That era is gone. Many of these technophiles have died, lost elections, or not sought re-election (such as Conrad Burns, Tom Campbell, Chris Cox, Bart Gordon, Robert Matsui, and Rick White). Others, such as Rep. Goodlatte and former Rep. and now Sen. Wyden remain in the Congress, but devote little attention to these issues. Also, Sen. Wyden long ago gave up his seat on the Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) for a seat on the Senate Finance Committee (SFC). Some other former tech proponents now focus on promoting the interests of one company, or one narrow sector, in intramural tech policy contests.

Rep. Boucher has sponsored many major bills in recent Congresses. However, the key bills have not become law. For example, he has worked to create a data privacy regulatory regime, reform the universal service tax and subsidy programs, and create an incentive spectrum auction process.

The 112th Congress may enact a data privacy bill. His partner in that effort, Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), won re-election with 71% of the vote. The next Congress may also provide for incentive auctions by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Rep. Stearns is also Rep. Boucher's cosponsor of that bill.

There has long been broad agreement in the Congress, in industry, and at the FCC that the universal service system is in need of reform. However, little progress has been made towards implementing reform. Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE), who has co-sponsored universal service reform bills with Rep. Boucher, won re-election with 61% of the vote.

Rep. Boucher has also been one of the House's leading opponents of content industry efforts to increase copyright protection and enforcement. A decade ago he successfully lead efforts to block legislation to create new proprietary interests in collections of data. In more recent Congresses, Rep. Boucher worked unsuccessfully to create a fair use exemption to the anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

House Commerce Committee

11/2. Senior Republicans on the House Commerce Committee (HCC) all won re-election. Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) won with 66% of the vote.

He is currently the ranking Republican. However, Republicans limit their Chairmen and ranking members to three terms. He has announced that he wants a waiver to serve a fourth term. See, story titled "Rep. Barton Seeks Chairmanship of House Commerce Committee" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,147, October 28, 2010.

Since the Republicans won a majority of the seats in the House, Committee and Subcommittee Chairman in the 112th Congress will be Republicans.

Listed in order of seniority, Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX), Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY), and Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) all easily won re-election.

Another senior member, Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO), did not run for re-election. Rather, he won election to the Senate.

Another member, Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE), who has long been involved in efforts to reform the universal service tax and subsidy programs, won re-election.

Also, Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), a former broadcaster, won re-election. He is a member of the HCC, but is on leave for the 111th Congress as a member of the House Republican leadership.

Many senior Democrats on the HCC will not return. Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, lost. Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN) and Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) did not seek re-election, and their districts both returned Republicans.

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), the Chairman of the HCC, won, as did Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL), and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA).

Two Democratic members lost: Rep. Baron Hill (D-IN), and Rep. Zach Space (D-OH). Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-LA) ran for the Senate, instead of the House, and lost.

Also, Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-CA) was 23 votes behind with 98% of precincts reporting.

Democrats will lose a few more seats on the HCC due to the Republican majority. Republicans will be able to appoint many new members.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and some other federal agencies within the jurisdiction of the HCC, may expect a stormier relationship with their House overseers in the 112th Congress.

House Judiciary Committee

11/2. Senior Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee (HCC) all won re-election. Since the Republicans won a majority of the seats in the House, Committee and Subcommittee Chairman in the 112th Congress will be Republicans.

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) has served as the ranking Republican during the 110th and 111th Congresses. He seeks the Chairmanship.

In order of seniority, Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC), Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA), Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA), and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) all won re-election.

It should also be noted that former Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH) won election to the House. He previously served in the House, and on the HJC. It is possible that he will once again be assigned to the HJC, and recover his seniority. In the event that the HJC takes up patent reform legislation, he may once again be active on that issue.

The HJC is made up in large part of members from opposite ends of the ideological spectrum. Hence, there were few moderate or Blue Dog Democrats to be defeated. Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) lost. Also, Rep. Steve Delahunt (D-MA) did not seek re-election.

Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), the current Chairman, won. So too did Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA). With Rep. Boucher's defeat, and Rep. Berman's recent elevation to the Chairmanship of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Nadler is next in line behind Rep. Conyers. Next come Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC), Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), and Rep. Sheila Lee (D-CA), all of whom won on November 2.

The constituent groups of the HJC include the copyright industries. Most of the HJC members advocate the interests of the content industries. Many of its members represent southern California districts. With the departure of Rep. Boucher, Rep. Lofgren may be the leading skeptic of enhancing copyright protection and enforcement for the movie and record industries.

However, numerous additional Republicans will be appointed to the HJC. Also, some Democrats will lose their seats on the Committee.

The HJC is likely to be turbulent on some issues during the 112th Congress, such as oversight and investigation of the Department of Justice (DOJ), and collegial on others, such as intellectual property issues, including patent law reform.

Another key issue will likely be updating the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA).

Senate Judiciary Committee

11/2. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) won re-election to the Senate, and since the Democrats retained a narrow majority, he will likely remain the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC).

Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA), who switched from Republican to Democrat to increase his chances of winning re-election, lost in the Democratic primary to Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA). Rep. Sestak then lost the general election on November 2 to Rep. Pat Toomey (R-PA).

Russ FeingoldSen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) (at left) also lost. He has been one of the Senate's leading advocates of privacy interests and 4th Amendment rights in the context of government wiretaps and other surveillance.

The one other Democrat who was in an election, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), won his race.

The other Democrats on the SJC were not in elections: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI), Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-DE).

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) both won.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC), and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) were not in elections.

Dan Coats is Back

11/2. Former Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN) won election to the Senate. He previously served for ten years in the Senate. He was appointed to fill the seat of former Sen. Dan Quayle (R-IN) after his election as Vice President. He then won a special election in 1990, and re-election in 1992. He did not seek re-election in 1998.

During the late 1990s he was one of the Senate's leading proponents of regulating content on the web.

He was one of the authors of the Child Online Protection Act (COPA). It was HR 3783 in the 105th Congress, which was made a part of the Omnibus Appropriations Act for FY 1999, which President Clinton signed into law on October 21, 1998. It is codified at 47 U.S.C. § 231, but adjudicated unconstitutional.

The basic prohibition of the bill is this: "Whoever knowingly and with knowledge of the character of the material, in interstate or foreign commerce by means of the World Wide Web, makes any communication for commercial purposes that is available to any minor and that includes any material that is harmful to minors shall be fined not more than $50,000, imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both."

The COPA further provides that "It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the defendant, in good faith, has restricted access by minors to material that is harmful to minors ... by requiring use of a credit card, debit account, adult access code, or adult personal identification number ..."

After protracted litigation, on July 22, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals (3rdCir) issued its opinion [57 pages in PDF] in ACLU v. Mukasey, in which it affirmed the judgment of the District Court, which held that the COPA facially violates the First and Fifth Amendments of the Constitution, and permanently enjoined enforcement of the COPA.

The Supreme Court later denied a petition for writ of certiorari. See, story titled "3rd Circuit Holds COPA Unconstitutional" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,798, July 23, 2008.

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In This Issue
This issue contains the following items:
 • Rep. Boucher Loses Election
 • House Commerce Committee
 • House Judiciary Committee
 • Senate Judiciary Committee
 • Dan Coats is Back
Washington Tech Calendar
New items are highlighted in red.
Tuesday, November 2

Election Day.

The House is in recess until November 15.

The Senate is in recess until November 12, except for pro forma sessions.

8:30 AM - 3:15 PM. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Technology Innovation Program (TIP) Advisory Board will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 8, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 195, at Page 62369. NIST, Advanced Measurement Laboratory, Building 215, Room C103, Gaithersburg, MD.

10:00 AM. The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Schwartzenegger v. Entertainment Merchants Association, Sup. Ct. No. 08-1448, a petition for writ of certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir). The question presented is whether a California state statute that prohibits the sale of violent video games to minors under 18 violates the First Amendment. See, Supreme Court docket, and 9th Circuit's February 20, 2009, opinion. See also, story titled "9th Circuit Holds California Video Games Statute Unconstitutional" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,902, February 23, 2009; story titled "Supreme Court Grants Cert in Video Game 1st Amendment Case" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,081, April 30, 2010; and, story titled "California Files Brief with Supreme Court in Video Games First Amendment Case" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,104, July 14, 2010.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Lawyer Websites: Ethical Traps and How to Avoid Them". See, notice. Prices vary. CLE credits.

Wednesday, November 3

7:30 AM - 1:30 PM. The National Journal will host a post election day conference titled "The Day After". See, notice and registration page. This event is free. Location: Grand Hyatt Washington, Independence Ballroom, 1000 H St., NW.

8:30 AM - 4:30 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the National Archives and Records Administration's (NARA) Advisory Committee on the Electronic Records Archives (ACERA). See, notice in the Federal Register, October 14, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 198, at Pages 63208-63209. Location: NARA, 700 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

9:00 AM - 4:30 PM. Day one of a three day meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB). See, notice in the Federal Register, September 23, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 184, at Pages 57904-57905. Location: Marriott Hotel Washington, 1221 22nd St., NW.

9:00 AM. Day one of a two day partially closed meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee. The agenda includes discussion of "Fault Tolerant Computer" and "Intel Technology Roadmap". See, notice in the Federal Register, October 19, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 201, at Pages 64258-64259. Location: DOC, Room 3884, 1401 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The Securities and Exchange Commission  (SEC) will hold an event titled "open meeting". See, agenda. Location: Room L-002, SEC, 100 F St., NE.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. Day one of a three day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 13, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 197, at Page 62891. Location: NSF, Room 1005, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Introduction to Export Controls". The speakers will be Thomas Scott (Ladner & Associates) and Carol Kalinoski. The price to attend ranges from $89 to $129. Reporters are barred from attending most DC Bar events. CLE credits. See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3488. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Copyright Office (CO) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding "whether a cable operator may receive refunds in situations where it has failed to pay for the carriage of distant signals on a system-wide basis under the Copyright Act, before it was amended to allow a cable system to calculate its royalty fees on a community-by-community basis." See, original notice in the Federal Register, October 4, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 191, at Pages 61116-61118, and correction notice in the Federal Register, October 12, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 196, at Page 62488. See also, story titled "Copyright Office Issues NPRM Regarding Refunds Under the Cable Statutory License" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,140, October 11, 2010.

Thursday, November 4

8:00 AM - 6:00 PM. Day two of a three day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 13, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 197, at Page 62891. Location: NSF, Room 1235, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a three day meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB). See, notice in the Federal Register, September 23, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 184, at Pages 57904-57905. Location: Marriott Hotel Washington, 1221 22nd St., NW.

9:00 AM - 4:30 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the National Archives and Records Administration's (NARA) Advisory Committee on the Electronic Records Archives (ACERA). See, notice in the Federal Register, October 14, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 198, at Pages 63208-63209. Location: NARA, 700 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

9:00 AM. Day two of a two day partially closed meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee. The agenda includes discussion of "Fault Tolerant Computer" and "Intel Technology Roadmap". See, notice in the Federal Register, October 19, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 201, at Pages 64258-64259. Location: DOC, Room 3884, 1401 Constitution Ave., NW.

9:30 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Transportation and Related Equipment Technical Advisory Committee will hold a partially closed meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 20, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 202, at Page 64700. Location: DOC, Room 6087B, 1401 Constitution Ave., NW.

9:30 AM - 5:00 PM. The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) will hold a partially closed meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 12, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 196, at Page 62612. Location: Keck Center of the National Academies, 500 5th St., NW.

RESCHEDULED FOR NOVEMBER 30. 10:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may hold an event titled "open meeting". Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The National Economists Club (NEC) will host a lunch. The speaker will be William Reinsch (National Foreign Trade Council). His topic is "Recreating a 21st Century Trade Policy". Prices vary. Location: Darlington House, 1610 20th St., NW.

1:00 - 4:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Technological Advisory Council will hold its first meeting. See, FCC release and story titled "FCC Creates Technological Advisory Council" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,145, October 22, 2010. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

TIME? Day one of a two day event hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) titled "Cloud Computing Forum & Workshop II". See, event web page, and notice in the Federal Register, October 19, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 201, at Page 64258. This event is free. The deadline to register is October 28, 2010. Location: NIST, Red Auditorium, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will host an event titled "The FCC's New Data Tools". The speakers will be Pat Rinn (Deputy Chief Information Officer in the FCC's Office of Managing Director), James Brown ( Deputy Division Chief in the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau's Spectrum Management Resources & Technologies Division), and Bill Cline (Associate Bureau Chief in the FCC's Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau). CLE credits. The price to attend ranges from $25 to $150. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) states that this is an FCBA event. See, notice. Location: Bingham McCutchen, 2020 K St., NW.

Day one of a two day event hosted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) titled "Independent Inventors Conference". Location: USPTO, Alexandria, VA.

Friday, November 5

8:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Day three of a three day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences Advisory  Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 13, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 197, at Page 62891. Location: NSF, Room 1235, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA.

8:00 AM - 12:30 PM. Day three of a three day meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB). See, notice in the Federal Register, September 23, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 184, at Pages 57904-57905. Location: Marriott Hotel Washington, 1221 22nd St., NW.

9:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) will hold a meeting "to discuss the development of a cybersecurity roadmap by the FCC". See, FCC release. The deadline to register is November 3, 2010. The FCC will webcast this event. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

12:00 NOON. There will be an event titled "2010 Midterms & the Future of American Politics". For more information, contact Nancy Osborn at 202-459-4931 or nosborn at washingtonexaminer dot com. Location: Ballroom, National Press Club, 13th Floor, 529 14th St., NW.

12:30 - 1:45 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Diversity and Young Lawyers Committees will host a brown bag lunch titled "Practical Mentoring". Location: Hogan Lovells, 555 13th St., NW.

Day two of a two day event hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) titled "Cloud Computing Forum & Workshop II". See, event web page, and notice in the Federal Register, October 19, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 201, at Page 64258. This event is free. The deadline to register is October 28, 2010. Location: Gaithersburg Holiday Inn, Gaithersburg, MD.

Day two of a two day event hosted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) titled "Independent Inventors Conference". Location: USPTO, Alexandria, VA.

Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) regarding "potential Internet and physical notorious markets that exist outside the United States". See, notice in the Federal Register, October 1, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 190, at Pages 60854-60855, and story titled "OUSTR Announces Separate Notorious Markets Process" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,138, October 4, 2010.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its draft NIST IR-7692 [38 pages in PDF] titled "Specification for the Open Checklist Interactive Language (OCIL) Version 2.0".

Sunday, November 7

Daylights savings time begins.

Monday, November 8

9:00 AM - 5:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will host an event titled "Open Developer Day". The FCC stated in a release that the purpose of this event is to "promote collaboration between web developers in the public and private sectors in furtherance of FCC goals to foster citizen participation in open government and further innovation in accessible technologies". Location: FCC, 445 12th St., SW.

10:00 AM. The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Costco Wholesale Corp. v. Omega S.A., Sup. Ct. No. 08-1423, a petition for writ of certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir). At issue is the application of the copyright first sale doctrine to imported items. See, Supreme Court docket.

10:00 AM - 1:00 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 20, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 202,  at Pages 64699-64700. Location: DOC, Room 4830, 1401 Constitution Ave., NW.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Copyright Law and Litigation". The speaker will be Kenneth Kaufman (Manatt Phelps & Phillips). The price to attend ranges from $89 to $129. Reporters are barred from attending most DC Bar events. CLE credits. See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3488. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

Tuesday, November 9

8:00 -10:00 AM. Broadband Census News LLC will host a panel discussion titled "Finding Solutions to Problems of Copyright Infringement". Breakfast will be served. This event is free and open to the public. See, notice and registration page. This event is also sponsored by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) and the Public Knowledge (PK). Location: Clyde's of Gallery Place, 707 7th St., NW.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Kristin Brooks Hope Center v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 09-1310. Judges Henderson, Williams and Randolph will preside. See, FCC's brief [42 pages in PDF]. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Vincent and Liza Concepcion, Sup. Ct. No. 09-893, a petition for writ of certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir). The question presented is "Whether the Federal Arbitration Act preempts States from conditioning the enforcement of an arbitration agreement on the availability of particular procedures-here, class-wide arbitration-when those procedures are not necessary to ensure that the parties to the arbitration agreement are able to vindicate their claims." See, Supreme Court docket.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument en banc in Therasense v. Bection, App. Ct. No. 2008-1511, a patent infringement case involving the issue of inequitable conduct. See, order granting en banc hearing. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument en banc in Tivo v. Echostar, App. Ct. No. 2009-1374, a patent infringement case. See, order granting rehearing en banc. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

2:00 - 3:30 PM. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division's (AD) Economic Analysis Group (EAG) will host a presentation titled "Cumulative Innovation and Competition Policy". The speaker will be Alex Raskovich (EAG). For more information, contact Thomas Jeitschko at 202-532-4826 or atr dot eag at usdoj dot gov. Location: Liberty Square Building, 450 5th St., NW.