4/8. The House passed HJRes 37, a resolution disapproving the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) rules regulating broadband internet access service (BIAS) providers, by a vote of 240-179.

Republicans voted 234-2. Democrats voted 6-177. See, Roll Call No. 252. The Senate has not yet passed this resolution.

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), the House Majority Leader, stated in a release that "the House took an important step to bring down the FCC’s harmful and partisan plan to regulate the Internet. These regulations give the government unwarranted authority to control broadband networks which ultimately will hinder a thriving industry, harm competition and stifle innovation."

Cantor (at right) continued that "Under Republican leadership, the House is focusing on ending anti-growth government regulations, and I thank the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Chairmen Upton and Walden for leading the charge against the FCC's attempt to regulate our nation's broadband industry. Broadband networks are more critical than ever to the success and expansion of the private sector, and we will continue to pursue policies that encourage businessmen and women to innovate and expand to ensure their long-term success. The passage of this resolution is part of House Republicans' pro-growth agenda to give business people in this country the chance to grow, innovate and compete so that people can get back to work."

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the HCC, stated in a release that "If enacted, this bill would give big phone and cable companies control over what websites Americans can visit, what applications they can run, and what devices they can use. Consumer advocates, civil rights organizations, high-tech companies, religious groups, and labor unions all say H.J. Res. 37 should be rejected."

Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), Chairman of the House Commerce Committee (HCC), stated in a release that "Today the House gave voice to the American people by voting to ensure the Internet remains open and free from unwarranted and unwelcome government regulation. The FCC's rules threaten to chill the very investment and innovation we need to ensure the Internet keeps pace with the growing demands being placed on it. The House vote preserves the Internet and protects jobs and the economy by preventing an unelected and unaccountable bureaucracy from overstepping its authority. I strongly urge the Senate to follow the House's action and end the marketplace uncertainty created by the FCC’s power-grab."

Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV), the Chairman of the SCC, stated in a release that "Americans want the Internet to remain free and open and the FCC's net neutrality rules provided just that. I'm disappointed that House leadership wants to undo the integrity of the FCC’s process and unravel their good work."

Sen. Kay Hutchison (R-TX), the ranking Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee (SCC), introduced the companion resolution in the Senate, SJRes 6, on February 16, 2011.

She stated in a release that "It is clear that members of the House are just as concerned as I am about the FCC overstepping its legal authority and moving to regulate the Internet. As the cosponsor of an identical measure ... I am anxious to move this forward in the Senate".

Her release also states that the Congressional Review Act (CRA) "allows for the expedited consideration of a privileged resolution of disapproval to stop a federal agency from implementing a rule or regulation with the full force of law. It cannot be filibustered if acted upon within a specific 60-day window and needs only a simple majority in the Senate to pass."

4/9. House and Senate passed early on Saturday, April 9, and President Obama signed, HR 1363 [LOC | WW] a short bill that provides for funding of federal agencies through April 15, 2011. House and Senate leaders, and Obama, also announced broader agreement on spending cuts.

Jacob Lew, Director of the Executive Office of the President's (EOP) Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memorandum late on April 8, in anticipation of agreement. It states that "at this time agencies are instructed to continue their normal operations".

Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) and Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) (at right) stated in a joint release issued late on April 8 that "We have agreed to an historic amount of cuts for the remainder of this fiscal year, as well as a short-term bridge that will give us time to avoid a shutdown while we get that agreement through both houses and to the President. We will cut $78.5 billion below the President’s 2011 budget proposal, and we have reached an agreement on the policy riders. In the meantime, we will pass a short-term resolution to keep the government running through Thursday. That short-term bridge will cut the first $2 billion of the total savings."

President Obama stated in a radio address on April 9 that "Last night, after weeks of long and difficult negotiations over our national budget, leaders of both parties came together to avert a government shutdown".

Technology related agencies and committees took divergent positions regarding what would be the consequences of a lapse in funding for their activities and operations.

For example, a member of the staff of the House Judiciary Committee (HJC) wrote to TLJ to state that "If there is a shutdown, Committee hearings will be suspended until further notice." In contrast, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) staff wrote to TLJ on April 8 to state that no decision had been made on whether to continue to hold hearings, and that "During the shutdown in the 90s, the Committee, under Chairman Hatch, did hold some hearings".

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a release on April 7 in which it stated that in the event of a lapse in funding, the USPTO would maintain full operations for some time, and then "limited staff will be able to continue to work to accept new electronic applications and maintain IT infrastructure, among other functions". See, story titled "Consequences of a Lapse in Government Funding " in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,219, April 7, 2011.

The Copyright Office (CO) did not respond to a request from TLJ for information on the consequences of a lapse in funding for its copyright registration activities, the filing of comments, and comment deadlines.

In contrast, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) would aggressively suppress agency and personnel activities. The FCC's Alex Roytblat (Designated Federal Officer of the WRC-12 Advisory Committee) wrote in a release that "In the event of a shutdown, until FCC appropriations are resumed, no FCC-sponsored federal advisory committee meetings or activities can take place. This includes face-to-face meetings, teleconferences, electronic meetings, etc. This prohibition covers all meetings, whether of the parent advisory committee or any subcommittees or working groups."

Roytblat added that "Staff and committee members (including subcommittee members) may not volunteer to work. Thus, during any shut down, staff and committee members are not permitted to operate with respect to advisory committee work, including reviewing materials, writing reports or minutes, discussing advisory committee business, etc. This prohibition includes phone and email contacts." (Parentheses in original.)

Moreover, "the Federal Register will not be publishing notices during a government shutdown, and the FCC will not be maintaining its website."

4/8. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division filed a complaint [16 pages in PDF] in the U.S. District Court (DC) against Google, Inc. and ITA Software, Inc. alleging violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act, which is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 18.

The complaint alleges that Google's proposed acquisition of ITA, "provider of the leading independent airfare pricing and shopping system", named QPX, would "substantially lessen competition in interstate trade and commerce", and therefore, must be blocked.

However, the DOJ, Google and ITA simultaneously entered into a stipulation [5 pages in PDF] that provides for entry of a proposed final judgment [33 pages in PDF] that allows the acquisition, but requires Google to continue to license ITA's QPX.

The DOJ stated in a release that under this proposed settlement, Google will be required "to continue to license ITA's QPX software to airfare websites on commercially reasonable terms. QPX conducts searches for air travel fares, schedules and availability."

The DOJ continued that "Google will also be required to further develop and offer ITA’s next generation InstaSearch product to travel websites, which will provide near instantaneous results to certain types of flexible airfare search queries. InstaSearch is currently not commercially available, but is in development by ITA."

The DOJ also stated that "Google will be required to implement firewall restrictions within the company that prevent unauthorized use of competitively sensitive information and data gathered from ITA's customers. The proposed settlement delineates when and for what purpose that data may be used by Google."

"Google is also prohibited from entering into agreements with airlines that would inappropriately restrict the airlines' right to share seat and booking class information with Google’s competitors. Finally, the proposed settlement provides for a formal reporting mechanism for complainants if Google acts in an unfair manner."

Section 7 of the Clayton Act provides in part that "No person engaged in commerce or in any activity affecting commerce shall acquire, directly or indirectly, the whole or any part of the stock or other share capital and no person subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission shall acquire the whole or any part of the assets of another person engaged also in commerce or in any activity affecting commerce, where in any line of commerce or in any activity affecting commerce in any section of the country, the effect of such acquisition may be substantially to lessen competition, or to tend to create a monopoly."

Geoffrey Manne (Lewis and Clark law school and Tech Freedom) stated in a release that "The settlement is a big victory for Google, since Google probably would have done most of this anyway: ITA's licensing arrangements have been quite lucrative, and the whole point of the acquisition was to further develop ITA's software."

Manne continued, "Also notable is that DOJ essentially rejected arguments for so-called search neutrality regulation, as none of the settlements substantive remedies address such concerns. Although competitors hoped to constrain Google's ability to promote its own services, consumers would be harmed by such a limitation, and this settlement suggests that the DOJ agrees."

He concluded, "Unfortunately, this settlement doesn't put the ``search neutrality´´ issue to rest. So we'll have to see what more the DOJ and the FTC might have in store."

This case is U.S.A. v. Google, Inc. and ITA Software, Inc., U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, D.C. No. 1:11-cv-00688, Judge Ellen Huvelle presiding.

4/6. Scott Turow, head of the Authors Guild and an attorney at SNR Denton, wrote a piece published in the AG web site and in a New York Times (NYT) web page regarding the U.S. District Court's rejection of the proposed class action settlement in the Google books case.

He wrote, in response to a March 31, 2011 NYT editorial, that "The dream of a virtual library of out-of-print books is dead, for now. Perhaps a legislative route may be found instead; we hope that the settlement shows how it can be done."

There were serious, although unsuccessful, efforts to address orphan works by legislation in the 109th and 110th Congresses. (See, Legislative History, below.) However, no bills have yet been introduced in the 112th Congress that address orphan works.

Turow wrote that the amended settlement agreement (ASA) rejected by the Court "was crafted to bridge the broad divides among the stakeholders in the negotiations -- authors, publishers, research libraries and Google. It would have provided financial benefits to authors of out-of-print books and made available a vast virtual library of those books."

And, with respect to orphan works, "it would have collected and escrowed funds for authors (or their successors or estates). And it would have empowered any copyright holder to compel Google to remove or never scan his or her works without having to go to court." (Parentheses in original.)

See also, the AG's web page with hyperlinks to pleadings and other documents.

For more on the District Court's rejection of the ASA, see story titled "District Court Rejects Google Books Class Action Settlement" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,206, March 22, 2011, and story titled "Orphan Works and the Court's Rejection of the Google Book Deal" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,207, March 23, 2011.

Legislative History. For the 109th Congress, see HR 5439, the "Orphan Works Act of 2006". Another version of it was made a part of HR 6052, the "Copyright Modernization Act of 2006". However, neither bill became law.

See also, stories titled "House CIIP Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Orphan Works" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,326, March 9, 2006, "Rep. Smith Introduces Orphan Works Act of 2006" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,377, May 24, 2006, and "House CIIP Subcommittee Approves Orphan Works Act of 2006" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,378, May 25, 2006.

For the 110th Congress, see HR 5889 [LOC | WW], the "Orphan Works Act of 2008", and S 2913 [LOC | WW], the "Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act Of 2008". Neither bill became law.

See also, story titled "House IP Subcommittee Approves Orphan Works Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,762, May 7, 2008, "Senate Judiciary Committee Amends and Approves Orphan Works Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,767, May 15, 2008, and "Orphan Works Bills Discussed" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,798, July 23, 2008.

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The House will meet at 11:00 AM in pro forma session only. See, Rep. Cantor's weekly schedule.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Net Caucus will host an panel discussion titled "Congressional Policymaking in the Cloud: How the Internet is Evolving and What Congress Needs to Do About It". Lunch will be served. Free. Register by email to rsvp at netcaucus dot org or by phone to 202-407-8829. Location: Room SVC 209-08, Capitol Visitor Center, Capitol Hill.

3:30 - 5:00 PM. The Heritage Foundation (HF) will host an vent titled "Taiwan's Future in the Asian Economic Order". The speakers will be Rupert Hammond-Chambers (US-Taiwan Business Council), Rick Ruzicka (American Institute in Taiwan), Jay Eizenstat (Miller & Chevalier), and Derek Scissors (HF). See, notice. Free. Open to the public. Location: HF, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host an event titled "Software Development Contracts: Practical Advice on Drafting, Managing, and Litigating". The speaker will be David Temeles, Cornerstone Venture Law. See, notice. The price to attend ranges from $89 to $129. CLE credits. For more information, call 202-626-3488. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

Day one of a three day convention hosted by the American Cable Association (ACA). See, convention web site. Location: Hyatt Regency Hotel, 400 New Jersey Ave., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) regarding its supplementary guidelines for the examination of claims in patent applications for compliance with the second paragraph of 35 U.S.C. § 112, which requires that claims particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter that applicant regards as his or her invention. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 9, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 27, at Pages 7162-7175.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding spectrum use in the Experimental Radio Service (ERS). The FCC adopted and released this NPRM on November 30, 2010. It is FCC 10-197 in ET Docket No. 10-236. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 8, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 26, at Pages 6927-6956.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [58 pages in PDF] regarding development of a technical interoperability framework for a nationwide public safety broadband network in the 700 MHz band. The FCC adopted this NPRM on January 25, 2011, and released the text on January 26, 2011. It is FCC 11-6 in PS Docket No. 06-229, WT Docket 06-150, and WP Docket 07-100. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 24, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 37, at Pages 10295-10299.

The House will meet at 12:00 NOON for morning hour, and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. See, Rep. Cantor's weekly schedule.

8:00 -10:00 AM. Broadband Census News LLC will host a panel discussion titled "The Costs of Global Intellectual Property Piracy: How Can They Be Empirically Quantified?". The speakers will be Sean Flynn (American University law school), Bruce Lehman (International Intellectual Property Institute), Morgan Reed (Association for Competitive Technology), Stephen Siwek (Economists, Inc.), and Loren Yager (GAO). Breakfast will be served. This is open to the public. The price to attend is $47.12. 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.

11:45 AM - 2:00 PM. The Free State Foundation (FSF) will host a panel discussion titled "Regulatory Reform at the FCC: Why Not Now?" The speakers will be Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), Ed Lazarus (FCC Chief of Staff), James Assey (NCTA), Steve Largent (CTIA), Walter McCormack (US Telecom) and Gigi Sohn (Public Knowledge). This event is free and open tot the public. Lunch will be served. To register, contact Kathee Baker at kbaker at freestatefoundation dot org. Location: Congressional Meeting Room North, Capitol Visitor Center.

1:30 PM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will hold a hearing titled "Using Spectrum to Advance Public Safety, Promote Broadband, Create Jobs, and Reduce the Deficit". The witnesses will be former Sen. Slade Gorton (R-WA), Charles Dowd (New York Police Department), Coleman Bazelon (The Brattle Group), Mary Dillon (P/CEO of U.S. Cellular), Robert Good (WGAL-TV), Julius Knapp (Chief of the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology), and Peter Pitsch (Intel). See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will meet to mark up numerous bills. The agenda includes no communications of information technology related bills. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism will hold a hearing titled "Cyber Security: Responding to the Threat of Cyber Crime and Terrorism". The witnesses will be Jason Weinstein (Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the DOJ's Criminal Division), Gordon Snow (Assistant Director of the FBI's Cyber Division), Pablo Martinez (Secret Service's Cyber Crime Operations), Phyllis Schneck (McAfee), John Savage (Brown University), and Stewart Baker (Steptoe & Johnson). See, notice. The SJC will webcast this hearing. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

4:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on the Constitution will hold a hearing on HR __, the "Private Property Rights Protection Act". See, notice. This bill has not yet been introduced. There was an identically titled bill in the 111th Congress, HR 1885 [LOC | WW]. That bill was a reaction to abuse of the power of eminent domain, and the Supreme Court's 2005 opinion in Kelo v. New London, 545 U.S. 469. That bill did not expressly address state or local government seizure of patents, copyrights or trademarks. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

Day two of a three day convention hosted by the American Cable Association (ACA). FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn will speak at 10:30 AM. See, convention web site. Location: Hyatt Regency Hotel, 400 New Jersey Ave., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Science & Technology Directorate regarding its data collection forms for the CyberForensics Electronic Technology Clearinghouse (CyberFETCH) program. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 11, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 29, at Pages 7870-7871.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00&nsp;NOON for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's weekly schedule.

8:40 AM - 3:30 PM. The U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCESRC) will hold a hearing titled "China's Current and Emerging Foreign Policy Priorities". See, notice in the Federal Register, April 6, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 66, at Page 19188. Location: Room 216, Hart Building, Capitol Hill.

9:15 AM. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) will hold a news conference to announce the launch of a recycling program for consumer electronics. The speakers will be Gary Shapiro (head of the CEA), Walter Alcorn (CEA) George Sherman (Best Buy), David Thompson (Panasonic and head of the Electronic Manufacturers Recycling Management Company), Mark Small (Sony), Chris Harrington (Toshiba), and Lynn Rubinstein (head of the Northeast Recycling Council). For more information, or to RSVP, contact Rachel Wolf at 202-331-2120 or wolf at newpartners dot com. Location: Best Buy, Tenleytown, 4500 Wisconsin Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Science, Space and Technology Committee's (HSC) Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation will meet to mark up several bills, including HR 1425 [LOC | WW], the "Creating Jobs Through Small Business Innovation Act of 2011". Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

11:00 AM. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (SHSGAC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of S 191 [LOC | WW], the "Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act of 2011", a bill to require the DHS to conduct a study and write a report on the uses and capabilities of Amateur Radio Service (ARS) communications in emergencies and disaster relief. See, notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Phoenix Center for for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies will host an event titled "Regulatory Expenditures, Economic Growth and Jobs: An Empirical Study". The speakers will be George Ford (Phoenix), author of a paper with the same title, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Phil Kerpen (Americans for Prosperity), Jerry Ellig (Mercatus Center), former Rep. David McIntosh (Mayer Brown), and Grover Norquist (Americans for Tax Reform). See, notice. This event is free and open to the public. Lunch will be served. Register at 202-274-0235 or rsvp at phoenix-center dot org. Location: Room 210, Cannon Building.

1:30 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law will hold a hearing on HR __, a yet to be introduced bill titled the "Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2011". See, notice. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and former Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) tried over many Congresses to pass such a bill. See, for example, HR 1083 [LOC | WW] in the 111th Congress. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The House Ways and Means Committee's (HWMC) Subcommittee on Social Security will hold a hearing titled "Role of Social Security Numbers in Identity Theft and Options to Guard Their Privacy". See, notice. Location: Room B-318, Rayburn Building.

2:00 - 3:30 PM. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division will host a presentation titled "Ain't it "Suite?" Bundling in the PC Office Software Market". The speaker will be Neil Gandal, co-author of a paper [PDF] with this title. 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.

3:00 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Judicial and Executive Nominations". The witnesses will be Henry Floyd (nominated to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit), Lisa Monaco (nominated to be Assistant Attorney General in charge of the DOJ's National Security Division), Nelva Ramos (USDC/SDTex), Richard Jackson (USDC/DColo), and Sara Darrow (USDC/CDIll). See, notice. The SJC will webcast this event. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. There will be a book party for the book [Amazon] titled "The Comeback: How Innovation Will Restore the American Dream" by Gary Shapiro, head of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) will speak. For more information, contact please contact Krista Strum at krista dot strum at 463 dot com or 202-463-0013 x209.

Day three of a three day convention hosted by the American Cable Association (ACA). Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) will speak at 8:00 AM. See, convention web site. Location: Hyatt Regency Hotel, 400 New Jersey Ave., NW.

Further extended deadline to submit reply comments to the Library of Congress's (LOC) Copyright Office (CO) in response to its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding federal coverage of sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 3, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 212, at Pages 67777-67781. This notice states that the deadline to submit reply comments is December 3, 2010. The LOC web site corrected the reply comment deadline to January 19, 2011. See also, correction notice in the Federal Register, November 18, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 222, at Pages 70704-70705. See also, extension notice in the Federal Register, December 1, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 230, at Pages 74749-74750. See also, further extension notice in the Federal Register, February 24, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 37, at Pages 10405-10406. This proceeding is LOC Docket No. 2010-4. See also, story titled "Library of Congress Issues NOI on Extending Copyright Act to Pre 1972 Sound Recordings" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,150, November 8, 2010.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [152 pages in PDF] regarding disability access and S 3828 [LOC | WW], the "Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010" (CVAA), signed into law on October 8, 2010, and S 3304 [LOC | WW]. This NPRM proposes to adopt rules implementing the new Section 716 of the Communications Act. The CVAA, at S 3304, Title I, Section 104, gives the FCC sweeping direction and authority to regulate "user equipment, network equipment, and software" to ensure that it is "accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities". The FCC adopted this item on March 2, 20111, and released the text on March 3, 2011. It is FCC 11-37 in CG Docket No. 10-213, WT Docket No. 96-198, CG Docket No. 10-145. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 14, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 49, at Pages 13799-13849.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's weekly schedule.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will meet to mark up HR 1249 [LOC | WW], the "America Invents Act", the House version of the patent reform bill. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of Bernice Donald (to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th CircuitM), Virginia Seitz (to be Assistant Attorney General in charge of the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel), and S 623 [LOC | WW], the "Sunshine in Litigation Act". The SJC rarely follows its published agendas. The SJC will webcast this event. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Appropriations Committee's (SAC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies will hold a hearing on the FY 2012 budget request for the Department of Commerce (DOC). Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke will testify. Location: Room 192, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host an event titled "Iqbal/Twombly: The Current Trends and Implications for Federal Practice". The speakers will be Thomas Mugavero (Whiteford Taylor & Preston) and Claire Prestel (Public Justice Foundation). See, notice. The price to attend ranges from $15 to $25. For more information, call 202-626-3463. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The RTI International will host a panel discussion titled "Patients as Partners in Care: Engaging Patients Through Health IT". See, notice. For more information, contact Lisa Wolfe at 919-316-3596 or lbistreich at rti dot org. Location: National Press Club, Ballroom, 529 14th St., NW.

1:30 - 3:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee for the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference's (WRC-12) IWG-4 (Regulatory Issues) will meet. Location: Rooms TW-C438 and TW-C468.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The House Science, Space and Technology Committee's (HSC) Subcommittee on Research and Science Education will hold a hearing titled "Nanotechnology: Oversight of the National Nanotechnology Initiative and Priorities for the Future". The witnesses will be Clayton Teague (Director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office), Jeffrey Welser (Semiconductor Research Corporation), Seth Rudnick (Liquidia Technologies), James Tour (Rice University), and William Moffitt (P/CEO of Nanosphere, Inc.). Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The House Ways and Means Committee's (HWMC) Subcommittee on Subcommittee on Social Security will hold a hearing on the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) E-Verify program. See, notice. Location: B-318, Rayburn Building.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host an event titled "Preserving Intellectual Property Rights in Government Contracts: A Beginner’s Guide (Part 2)". The speakers will be David Bloch (Winston & Strawn), Richard Gray (Department of Defense, Office of General Counsel), John Lucas (Department of Energy), and James McEwen (Stein McEwen). See, notice. The price to attend ranges from $89 to $129. CLE credits. For more information, call 202-626-3488. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [71 pages in PDF] regarding changes to the Form 477 data program. The FCC adopted and released this NPRM on February 8, 2011. It is FCC 11-14 in WC Docket Nos. 07-38, 09-190, 10-132, 11-10. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 28, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 39, at Pages 10827-10852.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to the joint petition filed by Cellular South Licenses, Inc. and United States Cellular Corporation requesting that the FCC reconsider its decision amending a rule established by the Interim Cap Order to reclaim high-cost universal service support surrendered by a competitive eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) when it relinquishes ETC status in a particular state. See, DA 11-507 in WC Docket No. 05-337 and CC Docket No. 96-45, and notice in the Federal Register, March 30, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 61, at Pages 17652-17653.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's weekly schedule.

Supreme Court conference day (discussion of argued cases, and decision on cert petitions). Closed.

10:00 AM. The House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies will hold a hearing titled "The DHS Cybersecurity Mission: Promoting Innovation and Securing Critical Infrastructure". See, notice. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a panel discussion titled "Should the FCC Ensure Wireless Device Choice and Interoperability?" The speakers will be Michael Calabrese (NAF), Larry Krevor (Sprint Nextel), Joan Marsh (AT&T), Steven Berry (Rural Cellular Association), Parul Desai (Consumers Union), Rob Pegoraro (Washington Post). See, notice. Location: NAF, 4th floor, 1899 L St., NW.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its 2nd Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (2ndFNPRM), regarding broadcasting near tribal lands. This item is FCC 11-28 in MB Docket No. 09-52. The FCC adopted and released this item on March 3, 2011. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 16, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 51, at Pages 14362-14366.

Deadline to submit applications to the National Coordination Office for Networking and Information Technology Research and Development's (NCO/NITRD) to participate in the May 17, 2011, workshop on cyber security research titled "Distributed Data Schemes Provide Security". See, NITRD issue summary and notice in the Federal Register, March 28, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 59, at Page 17158-17159.

Deadline to submit comments to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers' (ICANN) WHOIS Review Team in response to its March 4, 2011, Call for Public Comment.

Passover begins at sundown.

The House will be in recess the week of Monday, April 18 through Friday, April 22, and the week of Monday, April 25 through Friday, April 29.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [46 pages in PDF] regarding TV band rules and incentive auctions. The FCC adopted and released this item on November 30, 2010. It is FCC 10-196 in ET Docket No. 10-235. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 1, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 21, at Pages 5521-5537. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts NPRM on TV Band Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,168, December 4, 2010.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [158 pages in PDF] regarding video description rules. This would reinstate and modify the video description rules adopted by the FCC in 2000, and subsequently vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals, pursuant to S 3828 [LOC | WW], the "Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010" (CVAA), signed into law on October 8, 2010, and S 3304 [LOC | WW], at Title II, Section 202. The FCC adopted this item on March 2, 20111, and released the text on March 3, 2011. It is FCC 11-36 in MB Docket No. 11-43. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 18, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 53, at Pages 14856-14871.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding implementation of S 30 [LOC | WW], the "Truth in Caller ID Act. This statute prohibits caller ID spoofing, but only if the purpose is to defraud or cause harm. See, stories titled "Obama Signs Truth in Caller ID Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,187, December 23, 2010, and "House Passes Truth in Caller ID Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,180, December 16, 2010. The FCC adopted and released this NPRM on March 9, 2011. It is FCC 11-41 in WC Docket No. 11-39. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 23, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 56, at Pages 16367-16375.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the payment of filing fees by winning bidders in auctions of construction permits in the broadcast services. The FCC adopted this NPRM on February 28, 2011, and released the text on March 3, 2011. It is FCC 11-21 in GEN Docket No. 86-285. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 1, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 63, at Pages 18137-18138.