5/4. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) held a hearing titled "Oversight of the Department of Justice". The witness was Attorney General Eric Holder.

Most of Holder's prepared testimony [16 pages in PDF] for this hearing was identical to his prepared testimony [16 pages in PDF] for the House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) hearing on May 3, 2011. See, story titled "AG Holder Addresses Surveillance, IPR and Antitrust" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,232, May 4, 2011.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the Chairman of the SJC, read an opening statement. Also, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), the ranking Republican on the SJC, read parts of an longer opening statement. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI), Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Sen. Christopher Coons (D-DE), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and others also participated.

Extension of Expiring Provisions of Surveillance Law. Holder requested that the Congress extend the sunsets on certain provisions of surveillance law.

Three provisions are set to expire on May 27, 2011. See, story titled "Obama Signs Three Month Extension of Surveillance Provisions" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,198, February 25, 2011. For a more on the surveillance provisions at issue, and the history of extension of their sunset dates, see story titled "House and Senate Extend Expiring Surveillance Provisions" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,054, March 3, 2010.

Sen. Leahy stated in opening that "I appreciate Attorney General Holder's consistent support of our efforts to reauthorize the expiring provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act and to improve them by increasing oversight and accountability. He has said repeatedly that legislation before the Senate, which we negotiated with the administration, poses no operational concerns."

Sen. Leahy asked Holder about his bill, S 193 [LOC | WW], the "USA PATRIOT Act Sunset Extension Act of 2011". Sen. Leahy was also the sponsor of a similar bill in the 111th Congress, S 1692 [LOC | WW], the "USA PATRIOT ACT Sunshine Extension Act".

Sen. Leahy's bills would extend the sunsets on several provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, and address standards, accountability, and oversight, for the purpose of limiting government abuse of surveillance authority. However, many Senators and Representatives would support instead simple extensions, without addition provisions.

The SJC approved S 193 on March 10, 2011.

Holder stated, about S 193, that it is "critical that that bill become law as quickly as possible".

For more on Sen. Leahy's bills, see story titled "Senate Judiciary Committee to Consider Sen. Leahy's Surveillance Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,197, February 16, 2011, and story titled "Holder Writes Sen. Leahy Regarding Surveillance" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,177, December 13, 2010.

Privacy, ECPA, and Cellphone Collection of Location Information. Sen. Leahy stated in opening that "Americans' privacy is another matter in which we are vitally interested. This year I established a Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law. The collection, use and storage of Americans' sensitive personal information, including by mobile technologies, is an important privacy issue."

He also stated that "Congress failed to enact the bipartisan Personal Data Privacy and Security Act, legislation I introduced the past several Congresses, and that was been approved by this Committee three times." See, S 1490 [LOC | WW] (111th Congress).

He added that "As we move forward to update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and other Federal laws implicating Americans' privacy, I hope that the Justice Department will work with us on these important issues."

Sen. Leahy asked about Apple's location information collection. Holder noted that the SJC will hold a hearing on this matter on May 10, and "it is something that we will follow", and "determine whether there is appropriate action" for the DOJ to take.

Sen. Leahy asked the DOJ to work with the SJC on ECPA reform. Holder said "yeah, we want to make sure that we strike an appropriate balance" between privacy protection and enabling law enforcement access to information.

Sen. Franken referenced his April 12, 2011, letter to Lanny Breuer, the DOJ's Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division, regarding the Epsilon data breach. Sen. Franken asked in that letter whether the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), which is codified at 18 U.S.C. S 1030, requires updating.

Sen. Franken asked Holder if any anti-hacking laws, including the CFAA, need to be updated.

Holder said that he would make inquiries at the DOJ, and get back to Sen. Franken in writing.

Holder also said that the Epsilon and Sony matters are under investigation.

Sen. Franken asked, "should those who have this data be required to protect that data?", and  "shouldn't Esilon and Sony have some requirement?"

He also asked, "is there possibly a role to require ... them to have a protocol to secure this data in a way that can't be hacked, or is state of the art?" He added that if there is no requirement, then it seems like we are inviting hacking.

Holder said that "the focus has to be on prevention", and pledged to work with Sen. Franken.

Sen. Franken responded, I will take you up on that."

Actually, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which is overseen by the Senate Commerce Committee (SCC), rather than the SJC, has already used its authority under Section 5(a) of the FTC Act, which is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 45, and other statutes, to bring dozens of administrative actions against companies that fail to adequately protect consumer data.

See for example, May 3, 2011, complaint against Ceridian Corporation.

In addition, the FTC submitted prepared testimony for a House Commerce Committee (HCC) hearing on May 4 on data security. It wrote that the FTC "has used its authority under these laws to bring 34 cases against businesses that allegedly failed to protect consumers’ personal information appropriately".

Sony Hack. Sen. Klobuchar asked whether the DOJ looking into recent hacking incidents, such as those directed at Sony.

Holder said that "we are looking at that", and that "we have open investigations" related to Sony.

He also referenced "potential enhancement" of relevant statutes, with offering any specifics.

Intellectual Property. Sen. Leahy also discussed and asked about intellectual property. He said to Holder that "I applaud the work that you have done ... on IP enforcement", and asked "can you work with us?" However, he did not expressly reference his yet to be reintroduced "Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act" or "COICA" bill. See also, S 3804 [LOC | WW] (111th Congress).

Holder said only that he would work with the SJC, and that "this is a very very substantial problem".

Sen. Coons expressed concerns about counterfeit pharmaceuticals and online pharmacies.

He also asked what more could be done regarding industrial espionage and protection of trade secrets. Holder said he would get back to the Senator.

On March 30, 2011, Sen. Kohl, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Sen. Coons introduce S 678 [LOC | WW], the "Economic Espionage Penalty Enhancement Act". It would increase the maximum penalty for economic espionage, which is codified at 18 U.S.C. § 1831, from 15 to 20 years.

Confirmations. Holder requested that the Senate confirm Jim Cole as DAG, and all outstanding federal judicial nominees. Cole received a recess appointment in December.

Sen. Leahy also urged Senate confirmation of Jim Cole as well as Lisa Monaco to be Assistant Attorney General in charge of the DOJ's National Security Division (NSD).

Sen. Schumer also urged confirmation of Cole.

Internet Gambling. Sen. Kyl briefly discussed internet gambling. He stated that he wants longer maximum prison sentences.

Holder said that the DOJ would be glad to "engage" with Sen. Kyl on this issue.

Adult Porn. Sen. Hatch said that he wants more enforcement directed at "hard core adult pornography".

He said that it "is really terrible", and "a big deal".

Holder said that the DOJ is "vigilant" in bringing cases.

Interoperable Communications. Sen. Grassley addressed law enforcement communications in his opening statement.

He stated that "The integrated wireless network program (IWN) was recently suspended by the Department of Justice and it appears that the project will end without completing its original goal to integrate the wireless radios for all federal law enforcement agencies."

He stated that "I am concerned that this program is starting to look a lot like other failed IT programs at the department -- hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars spent with nothing to show for it."

His longer written statement also states that "The IWN program was designed to implement a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission and create a single interoperable communication system between federal law enforcement agencies. However, the Inspector General, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the Office of Management and Budget have all expressed concerns with the program and labeled it as high risk. To date, hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent, and there is no part of the country where all federal law enforcement radios are interoperable. The contractors have argued, as expected, that they just need more money and time and there are rumors that the department now wants to issue sole source contracts to companies just to buy equipment. I want to know more about this stop work order and whether the stop work order will simply be used to sole source a contract for radios to vendors outside the original IWN program."

Sen. Grassley's opening statement also references the importance of "the new State Secrets Policy ... the reauthorization of the USA PATRIOT Act, and efforts to reform critical laws such as the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act."

5/4. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Report and Order [20 pages in PDF] that extends until June 30, 2012 the existing freeze of the FCC's rules regarding jurisdictional separations.

This item states that "We extend until June 30, 2012, the freeze on Part 36 category relationships and jurisdictional cost allocation factors that the Commission adopted in the 2001 Separations Freeze Order."

Jurisdictional separations is the process by which incumbent local exchange carriers (ILEC) apportion regulated costs between the intrastate and interstate jurisdictions. There is an order in effect, which the FCC keeps extending, that freezes category relationships and jurisdictional cost allocation factors, pending some hypothetical future comprehensive reform.

This item is FCC 11-71 in CC Docket No. 80-286. The FCC adopted it on May 3, and released it on May 4.

5/2. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) submitted a comment [27 pages in PDF] to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding the consent agreement that settles the FTC's complaint against Google regarding Buzz.

On March 30, 2011, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued an administrative complaint [8 pages in PDF] against Google alleging that it violated FTC Act, and the US-EU Safe Harbor Framework, in connection with the initial launch of its Buzz social networking service.

The FTC and Google simultaneously entered into an Agreement Containing Consent Order [9 pages in PDF] which mandates a privacy program for Google. The FTC also requested public comment on the agreement before making it final. See, story titled "FTC Issues and Settles Complaint Against Google" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,213, March 31, 2011.

The EPIC requests that the FTC impose further privacy related mandates upon Google, that affect, not only its Buzz service, but also a wide range of other Google operations.

For example, the EPIC wants the FTC to require Google to "Encrypt Encrypt all of its cloud computing services". It also wants the FTC to require Google to "Protect the privacy and anonymity of Google Books users".

The EPIC also wants Google to "Build a Do Not Track mechanism into the company’s Chrome web browser".

It also wants Google to "Cease tracking mobile phone users’ locations or web-browsing habits without explicit opt-in permission".

See also, story titled "EPIC Launches Campaign Regarding FTC Settlement with Google on Buzz" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,218, April 6, 2011.

5/4. President Obama nominated Judge Christopher Droney to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (2ndCir). See, White House news office release and release. He has been a Judge of the U.S. District Court (DConn) since 1997. Before that, he was a federal prosecutor.

Judge Droney, sitting by designation, joined in the opinion of a three judge panel of the Second Circuit in Arista Records v. Launch Media, holding that a webcasting service is not an interactive service within the meaning of 17 U.S.C. § 114(j)(7).

Judge Richard Wesley, who wrote the opinion, explained that the issue was "whether a webcasting service that provides users with individualized internet radio stations -- the content of which can be affected by users' ratings of songs, artists, and albums -- is an interactive service within the meaning of 17 U.S.C. § 114(j)(7). If it is an interactive service, the webcasting service would be required to pay individual licensing fees to those copyright holders of the sound recordings of songs the webcasting service plays for its users. If it is not an interactive service, the webcasting service must only pay a statutory licensing fee set by the Copyright Royalty Board."

The Court of Appeals held that it is not. Thus, President Obama has made a nomination of a Judge who has joined in an opinion that went against the interests of the record industry.

See also, story titled "2nd Circuit Rules Webcasting Service is Not an Interactive Service Under Section 114" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,979, August 24, 2009. That opinion is also reported at 578 F.3d 148.

5/4. President Obama nominated Katherine Forrest to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court (SDNY). See, White House news office release.

She has served briefly as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division. A spokesman for the DOJ told TLJ that she handles "civil matters" and "operations matters".

Before that, she worked for two decades for the law firm of Cravath Swaine handling intellectual property matters. She represented Time Warner companies, and companies in which they hold an interest, on copyright matters.

For example, she worked on the successful litigation against MP3.com, UMG v. MP3.com, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, D.C. No. 00-CV-0472 (JSR).

This was a landmark case, to the extent that it resulted in a reasoned opinion that rejected a fair use defense in the context of internet services.

MP3.com provided a music storage service that allowed subscribers to copy and store online the content of purchased CDs, and then play them back via the internet. However, the service was broad. The District Court found that MP3.com "purchased tens of thousands of popular CDs in which plaintiffs held the copyrights, and, without authorization, copied their recordings onto its computer servers so as to be able to replay the recordings for its subscribers." The Court thus concluded that "although defendant seeks to portray its service as the ``functional equivalent´´ of storing its subscribers' CDs, in actuality defendant is re-playing for the subscribers converted versions of the recordings it copied, without authorization, from plaintiffs' copyrighted CDs."

On January 21, 2000, five recording companies, including Universal Music Group (UMG) and Warner Bros. Records, Inc., filed a complaint [10 pages in PDF] in the District Court against MP3.com. The Court granted the plaintiffs' partial summary judgment on April 28, 2000. It issued its opinion on May 4, 2000. That opinion is also reported at 92 F. Supp. 2d 349.

More recently, Forrest worked on the Google Books class action litigation.

5/5. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) was scheduled to hold an executive business meeting, but failed to obtain a quorum. Hence, it held over consideration of the nominations of Bernice Donald (to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (6thCir)), Henry Floyd (USCA/4thCir), Kathleen Williams (USDC/SDFl), Nelva Ramos (USDC/SDTex), Richard Jackson (USDC/DColo), and Sara Darrow (USDC/CDIll).

5/4. The Senate confirmed John McConnell to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court (DRI) by a vote of 50-44. See, Roll Call No. 66. It was a straight party line vote. No Democrats voted no. No Republicans voted yes. However, some Republicans first voted to end a Republican filibuster. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) praised the Senate for "restoring a longstanding tradition of deference to home state Senators with regard to Federal District Court nominations". He also said that McConnell is an "outstanding litigator in private practice". See, statement and statement. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a statement expressing opposition. One source of opposition has been McConnell's hefty contributions over the years to politicians who outsource litigation on a contingency fee basis. The Federal Election Commission's (FEC) individual contributor database also show that some of the Senators who voted for confirmation have received campaign contributions from McConnell.

5/4. President Obama nominated Yvonne Rogers to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court (NDCal). See, White House news office release. She has been a California state trial court judge, in Alameda County, since 2008. She previously worked for the law firm of Cooley Godward.

5/4. President Obama nominated Edgardo Ramos to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court (SDNY). See, White House news office release.

5/4. President Obama nominated Dana Christensen to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court (DMont). See, White House news office release.

5/4. President Obama nominated John Gerrard to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court (DNeb). See, White House news office release.

5/4. President Obama nominated Robert Scola to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court (SDFl). See, White House news office release.

5/5. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) was scheduled to hold an executive business meeting, but failed to obtain a quorum. Hence, it held over consideration of the nominations of Virginia Seitz (to be Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel), Donald Verrilli (DOJ Solicitor General), and Lisa Monaco (AAG in charge of the DOJ's National Security Division).

5/5. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Mignon Clyburn released a statement regarding the departure of Lori Kenyon from the Regulatory Commission of Alaska.

4/26. Patrick McCormick was named Republican Special Counsel on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. He previously worked for the law firm of Hunton & Williams. This Committee has jurisdiction over several technology related matters, including cyber security for systems that support the generation, transmission, or distribution of electricity, and promoting the development of a domestic supply chain for rare earth materials, which are used in computer chips, smart phones, fiber optic cable, and other technology related products. See, Sen. Lisa Murkowski's (R-AK) release.

5/5. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) was scheduled to hold an executive business meeting, but failed to obtain a quorum. Hence, it held over consideration of S 623 [LOC | WW], the "Sunshine in Litigation Act".

5/4. Ron Kirk, the U.S. Trade Representative, sent a letters to Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) regarding pending U.S. Columbia free trade agreement (FTA), and a letter regarding the pending U.S. Korea FTA. See also, OUSTR release.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. It will consider non-technology related items, including HR 1230, the "Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act". See, Rep. Cantor's schedule for the week.

The Senate will meet at 10:00 AM.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Video Programming and Accessibility Advisory Committee will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 7, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 67, at Pages 19356-19357. Location: FCC, 445 12th St., SW.

9:30 AM. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (SENRC) will hold a hearing on a discussion draft [12 pages in PDF] of a bill pertaining to cyber security for systems that support the generation, transmission, or distribution of electricity. See, notice. The SENRC will webcast this hearing. Location: Room 366, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "Ensuring Competition on the Internet: Net Neutrality and Antitrust". The witnesses will include FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell. 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 the nominations of Virginia Seitz (to be Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel), Donald Verrilli (DOJ Solicitor General), Lisa Monaco (AAG in charge of the DOJ's National Security Division), Bernice Donald (Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (6thCir)), Henry Floyd (USCA/4thCir), Kathleen Williams (USDC/SDFl), Nelva Ramos (USDC/SDTex), Richard Jackson (USDC/DColo), and Sara Darrow (USDC/CDIll). The agenda also again includes consideration of 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 Commerce Committee (SCC) will meet to mark up numerous bill. None are technology related. See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee's (SHSGAC) Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery and Intergovernmental Affairs will hold a hearing titled "Understanding the Power of Social Media as a Communications Tool in the Aftermath of Disasters". See, notice. Location: Room 349, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Spread Spectrum Screening LLC v. Eastman Kodak Company, App. Ct. No. 2011-1019, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (WDNY) in a patent infringement case involving printing technology. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 - 11:30 AM. The Brookings Institution will host a panel discussion titled "Bridging the Digital Divide: Spectrum Policy, Program Diversity and Consumer Rights". The speakers will be Darrell West (Brookings), Matthew Hussey (office of Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)), Uzoma Unyeije, and Christopher Ornelas (National Association of Broadcasters). See, notice. Location: Brookings, 1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

1:00 - 5:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Mass Media Committee will host an event titled "Focus on the First Amendment". CLE credits. The price to attend ranges from $50 to $350. The deadline to register is 12:00 NOON on May 3. Location: Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

2:30 PM. The Senate Intelligence Committee (SIC) will hold a closed hearing. Location: Room 219, Hart Building.

4:00 - 6:30 PM. There will be an event titled "Celebration of World Intellectual Property Day". The speakers will include Ron Kirk (U.S. Trade Representative), Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), David Kappos (head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office), Teresa Rea (Deputy Director of the USPTO), James Pooley (WIPO Deputy Director General), and Todd Dickinson (AIPLA Executive Director). See, notice. Location: Room 2226, Rayburn Building.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) in response to its Public Notice (PN) [13 pages in PDF] requesting comment on draft rules and interim procedures regarding the environmental effects of proposed communications towers on migratory birds. This PN is DA 11-558 in WT Docket Nos. 08-61 and 03-187. The FCC released it on March 25, 2011. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 5, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 65, at Pages 18679-18684.

Deadline for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to respond to the April 20, 2011, letter [PDF] from the House Commerce Committee (HCC) regarding the public safety equipment and device market. See, story titled "Representatives Write FCC Re Motorola Dominance in Public Safety Market" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,226, April 26, 2011.

The House will not meet. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule for the week.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advisory Committee for Computer and Information Science and Engineering will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 11, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 69, at Pages 20051-20052. Location: 4201 Wilson Blvd., Room 1235, Arlington, VA.

9:30 - 10:30 AM. The Washington International Trade Association (WITA) will host a panel discussion titled "Trade 101: Free Trade Agreements". The speakers will be from the Congressional Research Service: Bill Cooper (speaking on the Korea FTA), Angeles Villareal (Colombia FTA), and Jeff Hornbeck (Panama FTA). See, notice. Breakfast will be served. Location: Room B-354, Rayburn Building.

10:30 AM - 4:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Emergency Access Advisory Committee (EAAC) will hold a meeting regarding access to 911 emergency services by individuals with disabilities. See, April 13, 2011, Public Notice and notice in the Federal Register, April 20, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 76, at Pages 22102-22103. Location: FCC, 1st Floor, 1-South Conference Room, 445 12th St., SW.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will host a panel discussion titled "The FCC’s Revised Ex Parte and Procedural Rules". The speakers will be Austin Schlick (FCC General Counsel), Julie Veach (FCC Deputy General Counsel), Bill Cline (FCC's Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau), David Solomon (Wilkinson Barker Knauer), and Howard Weiss (Fletcher Heald & Hildreth). Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding revising the patent term adjustment and extension provisions of the rules of practice in patent cases. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 6, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 66, at Pages 18990-18995.

Deadline to submit written comments pertaining to, and deadline to submit requests to attend, the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Office of Law Enforcement Standards (OLES) and the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office for Interoperability and Compatibility (OIC) May 13, 2011, meeting regarding testing for conformity with interoperability standards for public safety communications. This meeting pertains to Project 25 (P25). These agencies state that "An initial goal of P25 is to specify formal standards for interfaces between the components of a land mobile radio (LMR) system. LMR systems are commonly used by emergency responders in portable handheld and mobile vehicle-mounted devices. Although formal standards are being developed, no process is currently in place to confirm that LMR equipment advertised as P25-compliant meets all aspects of P25 standards." See, notice in the Federal Register, April 29, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 83, at Pages 23992-23993.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) will host a panel discussion titled "Copyright & Commerce: Guarantees or Promises?". The speakers will include Marybeth Peters, Jon Baumgarten (Proskauer Rose), and Katharine Weymouth (Publisher of the Washington Post). See, notice. Location: Newseum, Knight Studio, 555 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host a brown bag lunch for planning and elections. For more information contact Micah Caldwell at mcaldwell at eapdlaw dot com or Mark Brennan at mark dot brennan at hoganlovells dot com. Location: Hogan Lovells, 555 13th St., NW.

Deadline for Apple and other companies to respond to the April 25, 2011, letter [PDF] from Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) and other House Commerce Committee (HCC) members regarding location data collection by cell phones and tablets. See also, letter to Google, letter to Microsoft, letter to Nokia, letter to Research in Motion, and letter to Hewlett Packard (HP). And see, story titled "House Republicans Write Apple and Others Re Cell Phone and Tablet Location Data Collection" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,225, April 25, 2011.

8:00 -10:00 AM. Broadband Census News LLC will host a panel discussion titled "Digital Video Recorders, the Cablevision Decision, and Industry Licensing Agreements". Breakfast will be served. 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 Feature Group IP West v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 10-1257, a petition for review of orders of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) denying a petition for forbearance from applying certain FCC rules regarding intercarrier compensation. See, FCC's brief [70 pages in PDF]. Judges Tatel, Griffith, and Randolph will preside. Location: Courtroom 11, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law will hold a hearing titled "Protecting Mobile Privacy: Your Smartphones, Tablets, Cell Phones and Your Privacy". The SJC will webcast this hearing. See, SJC notice. See also, April 20 letter from Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, and story titled "Sen. Franken Writes Steve Jobs Regarding Location Data Retention by iPhones and 3G iPads" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,224, April 20, 2011. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

11:00 AM - 1:00 PM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Competition in the Internet Ecosystem". The speakers will be Robert Atkinson (ITIF), Jeffrey Eisenach (Navigant Economics), Michael Calabrese (New America Foundation), and Jonathan Sallet (O'Melveny and Meyers). See, notice and registration page. Location: Room 1539, Longworth Building, Capitol Hill.

Deadline to submit reply 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.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to some portions of its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [139 pages in PDF] regarding changes to the two universal service tax and subsidy programs titled "Lifeline" and "Link Up". The FCC adopted this NPRM on March 3, 2011, and released the text on March 4, 2011. It is FCC 11-32 in WC Docket Nos. 11-42 and 03-109, and CC Docket No. 96-45. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 23, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 56, at Pages 16481-16519.

Deadline to submit requests to participate in the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Intelligent Transportation Systems Program Advisory Committee's (ITS/PAC) web conference on ITS. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 25, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 79, at Page 22940.

8:55 AM - 3:00 PM. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission will hold a hearing titled "The Implications of China's Military and Civil Space Programs". See, notice in the Federal Register, May 2, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 84, at Pages 24565-24566. Location: Room H-309, Capitol Building.

9:00 AM - 4:15 PM. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will host an event titled "Examining Phone Bill Cramming: A Discussion". See, notice and agenda. Location: FTC Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security will hold a hearing titled "The USA PATRIOT Act: Dispelling the Myths". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Finance Committee (SFC) will hold a hearing titled "The U.S.- Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement". See, notice. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

10:15 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights will hold a hearing titled "The AT&T/T-Mobile Merger: Is Humpty Dumpty Being Put Back Together Again?". See, notice. The SJC will webcast this hearing. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) will preside. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Ethical Traps in E-Discovery". Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice and registration page.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit requests to testify at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) June 1, 2011, hearing regarding its ex parte and inter partes reexamination proceedings. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 25, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 79, at Pages 22854-22861. See also, story titled "USPTO to Hold Hearing on Inter Partes Reexamination Proceedings" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,226, April 26, 2011.

6:00 - 7:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event. The speaker will be Geoffrey Stone (University of Chicago law school). The deadline to register is 12:00 NOON on May 9. Prices vary. Location: Davis Wright Tremaine, 1919 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

EXTENDED TO JULY 11. Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to the December 3, 2010, petition for declaratory ruling (PDR) filed by the CTIA regarding the scope of the federal ban on state and local entry regulation, codified at 47 U.S.C. § 332(c)(3)(A), and the state of Connecticut's new regulatory regime for wireless service provides. See, CTIA's PDR part 1 and part 2. This proceeding is WT Docket No. 11-35.. See, CTIA's request to extend comment deadlines, and FCC's extension notice in the Federal Register, April 18, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 74, at Pages 21742-21743.

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

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed hearing titled "FY 2012 Budget Overview". Location: Room HVC-304, Capitol Visitor Center.

10:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold an event titled "open meeting". See, tentative agenda and story titled "FCC Releases Tentative Agenda for May 12 Meeting" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,225, April 25, 2011. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

12:00 NOON - 1:45 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a panel discussion titled "Can the FCC Convert Satellite Spectrum into Wireless Competition?". The speakers will be Sanjiv Ahuja (Ch/CEO of LightSquared), Reed Hundt (REH Advisors LLP), Parul Desai (Consumers Union), Bill Ingram (Cricket/Leap), Larry Krevor (Sprint Nextel), Michael Calabrese (NAF), and Sascha Meinrath (NAF). See, notice. Location: National Press Club, Holeman Lounge, 529 14th St., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its draft FIPS-180-4 [35 pages in PDF] titled "Secure Hash Standard (SHS)". See also, notice in the Federal Register, February 11, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 29, at Pages 7817-7818.

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