9/12. The House passed HR 5949 [LOC | WW], the "FISA Amendments Act Reauthorization Act of 2012", without amendment, by a vote of 301-118. See, Roll Call No. 569.

Republicans voted 227-7. Democrats voted 74-111. President Obama publicly supported this bill. See, story titled "Obama Backs FISA Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,446, September 12, 2012.

The Senate has not yet passed its version of the bill, S 3276 [LOC | WW]. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), who opposed the bill in the Senate Intelligence Committee (HIC), has placed a hold on the bill.

This bill would extend for five years government authority to conduct surveillance related to persons "outside" the US, without individualized court approval. Surveillance of persons "outside of the United States" is a term of art that also enables surveillance of persons inside of the US who fall within the protection of the 4th Amendment.

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) stated in the House that "America and its allies continue to face national security threats from foreign nations, spies, and terrorist organizations. Our national security agencies must be able to conduct surveillance of foreign terrorists and others so we can stop them before they disable our defenses, carry out a plot against our country, or kill innocent Americans." See, Congressional Record, September 26, 2012, at Page H5891.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) stated that the 2008 Act "raises several serious constitutional and civil liberties issues that Congress needs to address and has not addressed in this bill".

Rep. Lofgren argued that "Congress should prohibit the Federal Government from intentionally searching for information on a U.S. person in a data pool amassed lawfully under section 702 of FISA -- should such a data ever be amassed--unless the searching official has a warrant."

Section 702 of the FISA, which is codified at 50 U.S.C. § 1881a, contains the "outside" the US surveillance authority.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) also spoke in opposition. He said that Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) "had an amendment that would have shortened the sunset by 2 years, but we won't even have a chance to consider it, perhaps because some of our Republican colleagues might also want to support such an amendment. As a result, we will not revisit the law until after the end of the next presidential term."

Rep. Nadler (at right) also said that "I had an amendment that would have required the Attorney General to make publicly available a summary of each decision of the FISA court and the FISA court of review that includes a significant construction of section 702, which allows warrantless surveillance, with appropriate security redactions and editing."

Rep. Nadler said that "the Republican majority has, once again, told the Members of this House and the American people that it's ``my way or the highway.''"

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and Director of National Intelligence (DNI) have not been forthcoming in reports to Congress, or in testimony before the House Judiciary Committee (HJC) and Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC), regarding how this program is being implemented, and in particular, how many US citizens have had their communications intercepted or accessed.

Ed Black, head of the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), stated in a release that "CCIA joins members of Congress, privacy advocates and others calling for more information about the scope and operation of the FISA program. It’s important for Congress and citizens to understand how these government surveillance powers are being used and how well the DOJ is following measures within the law to protect basic rights and freedoms. It makes little sense to rubber stamp a program ahead of having the information needed to review it -- that’s why we have this review and renewal period."

He added that "The protests over the SOPA bill showed that people deeply care about their privacy and freedom online. Both parties put Internet freedom in their platforms and Republicans even added that personal data should receive full constitutional protection from government overreach. No one will know if we have overreach or not as the implementation of this law has remained so shrouded in secrecy."

The ACLU stated in a release that the program is "unconstitutional" for violating the 4th Amendment. Indeed, the ACLU has brought a judicial challenge to the 2008 Act.

The ACLU's Michelle Richardson stated in this release that the 2008 Act "authorizes the National Security Agency to conduct dragnet surveillance of Americans’ international emails and phone calls".

9/13. While bills to extend the 2008 FISA Act for five years are moving through the Congress, a challenge to the Constitutionality of the Act is moving through the federal courts. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral argument on October 29, 2012, although only on a preliminary issue.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) brought this action in 2008 immediately after enactment of the 2008 Act. Nominally, the plaintiffs are Amnesty International USA and other groups and individuals. See, July 10, 2008 complaint in Amnesty International USA, et al. v. John McConnell, et al., (the lead defendant is now James Clapper), U.S. District Court (SDNY), D.C. No. 08-DV-6259.

On August 20, 2009, the District Court issued its opinion holding that the plaintiffs lack standing to bring this challenge.

The plaintiffs appealed. The U.S. Court of Appeals (2ndCir) issued its opinion on March 21, 2011, reversing and reinstating the case. See, Amnesty International USA, et al. v. James Clapper, et al., U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, App. Ct. No. 09-4112-cv. See also, story titled "2nd Circuit Reinstates Challenge to FISA Powers" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,209, March 25, 2011.

The government petitioned for writ of certiorari, which the Supreme Court granted. See, July 26, 2012, government merits brief in Clapper v. Amnesty, Supreme Court, Sup. Ct. No. 11-1025.

The ACLU has not yet filed its merits brief. However, see its brief in opposition to the petition for writ of certiorari.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral argument on October 29, 2012. See, docket.

The only question presented to the Supreme Court at this time is whether the plaintiffs have standing. The Supreme Court will not decide whether or not the 2008 statute is constitutional. The question is "Whether respondents lack Article III standing to seek prospective relief because they proffered no evidence that the United States would imminently acquire their international communications using Section 1881a-authorized surveillance and did not show that an injunction prohibiting Section 1881aauthorized surveillance would likely redress their purported injuries."

If the Supreme Court were to hold that the plaintiffs have standing, the case would return to the District Court for resolution on the merits.

9/12. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division (AD) filed a sentencing memorandum with the U.S. District Court (NDCal) in one of its cases regarding a price fixing conspiracy by manufacturers of thin film transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCD).

This memorandum pertains to defendants AU Optronics Corporation (AUO), H.B. Chen and Hui Hsiung, who were all convicted following trial in the District Court.

The DOJ wants the District Court to sentence AUO to pay a fine of $1 Billion. It wants H.B. Chen and Hui Hsiung to be sentenced to serve ten years in prison and pay $1 Million fines.

This would be very steep punishment. However, the DOJ argues that this would be justified, because of the brazenness of the price fixing conspiracy, the scope of the economic harm, and these defendants' refusals to admit guilt and cooperate with DOJ investigators. Other defendants who cooperated received much lighter penalties.

This is one of several related cases against numerous defendants. See, for example, stories titled:

• "DOJ Brings and Settles Criminal Price Fixing Actions Against LCD Makers" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,855, November 11, 2008.
• "DOJ Obtains TFT-LCD Price Fixing Indictment" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,890, February 3, 2009.
• "DOJ Brings Another LCD Price Fixing Action" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,913, March 16, 2009.

See also, "More News" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,921, April 1, 2009, and TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,931, April 27, 2009, and "Tech Crime Report" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,982, September 10, 2009, and TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,080, May 14, 2010.

There are also parallel civil and state enforcement actions. See, story titled "New York Files State LCD Price Fixing Complaint" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,122, August 10, 2010.

The federal cases allege conspiracy to fix prices in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1. It provides that "Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is declared to be illegal. Every person who shall make any contract or engage in any combination or conspiracy hereby declared to be illegal shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding $100,000,000 if a corporation, or, if any other person, $1,000,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the court."

This memorandum states that these "Defendants’ offense was no regulatory violation, nor a momentary lapse soon regretted. Rather, fully conscious of the wrongfulness of their actions, AUO and its executives conspired with the other major makers of TFT-LCD panels to systematically fix prices. The conspiracy lasted five years, ending only when the FBI raided their offices and a federal grand jury subpoenaed the conspirators’ records. And unlike their coconspirators, defendants have refused to cooperate, assist the investigation, or accept responsibility after the government discovered the cartel or even after the jury convicted them."

It adds that "The conspiracy’s breadth and its pernicious effect can hardly be overstated. The conspirators sold $71.9 billion in price-fixed panels worldwide. Even conservatively estimated, the conspirators sold $23.5 billion -- AUO alone sold $2.34 billion -- in price-fixed panels destined for the United States. The conspiracy particularly targeted the United States and its hi-tech companies: Apple, HP, and Dell."

The District Court is scheduled to hold a hearing on September 20, 2012, at 10:00 AM.

This case is USA v. AU Optronics Corporation, et al., U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, D.C. No. 3:09-cr-00110-SI, Judge Susan Illston presiding.

9/12. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division (AD) filed a sentencing memorandum with the U.S. District Court (NDCal) in USA v. AU Optronics Corporation, one of its LCD price fixing cases.

This memorandum argues that the main harm resulting from the price fixing conspiracy was the high prices paid by companies like Apple, HP and Dell. The memorandum also argues that the conspiracy harmed businesses and individual consumers who paid more for their laptops and desktops because of the price fixing conspiracy.

However, the memorandum also adds the argument that other individuals were harmed, and there was social harm, because the increased prices caused some people not to buy and use laptops and desktops.

This DOJ memorandum is a rare instance of the federal government admitting that raising the price of access to IT decreases consumption, harms individuals who do not buy the higher priced items, and creates a social loss. Other government entities rarely acknowledge this when they tax IT products or services.

The memorandum states that "The conspiracy affected every family, school, business, charity, and government agency that paid more to purchase notebook computers, computer monitors, and LCD televisions during the conspiracy. Yet, even the overcharges they paid do not fully reflect the conspiracy’s harm."

"Because of the increased prices, notebook computers, computer monitors, and LCD televisions were not purchased by American consumers, causing further personal and social loss."

This memorandum does not estimate either the price elasticity of demand for laptops or desktops, or the number of purchases not made as a result increased prices caused by the price fixing conspiracy. It merely identifies the harm.

This memorandum identifies a harm that is indistinguishable from the harm caused by local, state, and federal taxes on IT services, including state and local taxes on wireless service and internet access, and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) taxes on phone service. The FCC does not concede that its USF taxes are taxes. They are portrayed as a fee for services -- universal service.

Whenever prices are artificially raised, whether by collusion among competitors to fix prices, by monopoly pricing, or by taxation, there is, in economic terms, a deadweight loss or allocative inefficiency.

However, in the case of IT products and services, there is also interference with the attainment of numerous social policy goals. There is decreased use of telemedicine services, less access to information about government activities, less online political participation, less distance learning, less access to online textbooks, and less participation in online religious and social communities.

9/12. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski regarding "the exorbitant rates that the families of prisoners pay to communicate with an incarcerated family member".

They urge the FCC to "move expeditiously" on "lowering prison telephone rates".

They wrote that "Research shows that regular contact between prisoners and family members during incarceration reduces recidivism. Phone calls are the primary means for families to maintain contact with incarcerated relatives. Experts across the political spectrum have recommended minimizing the cost of prison phone calls as a way to support strong family relationships with inmates. Yet under current policies and practices, prisoners and their families pay unusually high rates for phone service that discourage regular contact. In fact, a one hour call from prison often costs as much as a month of unlimited home phone service." (Footnotes omitted.)

Prison systems that provide phone services to inmates generally do so on a sole provider basis. Moreover, in the U.S. such arrangements are exempt from federal antitrust liability. See, the U.S. Court of Appeals (6thCir) April 23, 2002 opinion in Michigan Paytel v. City of Detroit.

However, some prisoners use wireless services, with devices smuggled into prisons, because they are a lower cost alternative to the monopoly service provider.

Meanwhile, prison authorities seek to stop this practice, citing use of such phones for illegal purposes, rather than the effect upon monopoly service providers.

This issue has also been the subject of much debate in Congress and federal agencies. See for example, TLJ stories:

• "Senate Commerce Committee Approves Bill to Allow Cell Phone Jamming by State Prisons" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,976, August 5, 2009.
• "Sen. Feinstein Introduces Bill to Criminalize Cell Phones in Federal Prisons" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,002, October 13, 2009.
• "NTIA Releases Report on Cell Phones in Prison" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,191, January 3, 2011.

9/11. President Obama nominated Joshua Wright to be a member of the Federal Trade Commissioner (FTC) for the term of seven years from September 26, 2012. This nomination is for the position now held by Thomas Rosch. See, White House news office release and release.

Wright obtained a law degree, and an economics doctorate, from UCLA. He is now a professor of law at George Mason University's law school.

He has published numerous books and articles on antitrust law. See, list of publications, with hyperlinks.

He has also been a frequent participant in Washington DC area panel discussions and conferences on antitrust and technology issues. See, for example, story titled "Technology Policy Institute Event Addresses Antitrust and Tech" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,170, December 6, 2010.

Last year, when Google announced that it is being investigated by the FTC, he stated in a joint release (with Geoffrey Manne) that "The focus of any antitrust inquiry must always be on consumer harm -- not harm to certain competitors. We are skeptical that any such harm can be proven here. Google today is not the Microsoft of 1998, and even if it were, subsequent history has demonstrated that consumers are better served by letting rapid technological change play out in digital markets than by heavy-handed antitrust remedies."

The two added that "We are also troubled by statements by FTC Commissioners suggesting that the agency intends to pursue this case as a so-called "Section 5" case rather than the more traditional "Section 2" case. Commissioner Rosch has claimed that a Section 5 "unfair competition" claim could address conduct that has the effect of "reducing consumer choice"--even absent evidence that the conduct actually reduces consumer welfare."

See also, story titled "FTC Investigates Google" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,252, June 30, 2011.

9/11. President Obama nominated Scott Kieff to be a member of the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) for the term expiring June 16, 2020. See, White House news office release and release.

9/13. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) held an executive business meeting at which it held over consideration of all of the technology related items on its agenda: HR 2471 [LOC | WW], a bill to amend 18 U.S.C. § 2710, S 3486 [LOC | WW], the "Patent Law Treaties Implementation Act", S 3523 [LOC | WW], the "Innovative Design Protection Act of 2012", and consideration of the nomination of William Baer to be Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division. Each of these items is again on the agenda for the SJC's executive business meeting on Thursday, September 20, 2012. See also, story titled "Senate Judiciary Committee to Take Up Tech Bills and Baer Nomination" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,445, September 11, 2012.

9/12. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Civil Rights Division (CRD) released a report titled "Section 508 Report to the President and Congress: Accessibility of Federal Electronic and Information Technology".

9/11. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it approved a final order [6 pages in PDF] in its administrative action against MySpace, in which the FTC alleged unfair or deceptive acts or practices violation of the FTC Act in connection with MySpace's misrepresentation of protection of users' personal information. See also, FTC release.

The story in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,446, September 12, 2012, titled "House Rules Committee Permits Democrats to Offer Amendments to FISA Surveillance Bill" incorrectly stated that the House Rules Committee (HRC) made in order three amendments to HR 5949 [LOC | WW]. In fact, House Democrats submitted three amendments to the HRC, but the HRC adopted a closed rule that did not allow these three amendments to be offered on the floor.

The House will meet a 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule for the week, and story titled "House to Take Up Tech Bills" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,443, September 7, 2012.

8:30 - 10:30 AM. FairSearch, a group organized around the proposition that "Google is abusing its search monopoly to thwart competition", will host an event titled "Searching for Innovation and Competition in the Online Marketplace". The speakers will be Susan Athey (Harvard University), Robert Birge (KAYAK), Mark Corallo, Albert Foer (American Antitrust Institute), Rodman Forter (Skyhook Wireless), Pamela Harbour (Fulbright & Jaworski), Patrick Lynch, Nathan Newman, Jim O’Connell (Covington & Burlington), and Dan Savage (TradeComet.com). See, notice. Location: Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission will meet to consider drafts of material for its 2012 annual report to Congress. See, original notice in the Federal Register (FR), Vol. 77, No. 143, July 25, 2012, at Pages 43662-43663, and second notice in the FR, Vol. 77, No. 171, September 4, 2012, at Pages 53965-53966. Location: Hall of the States, Conference Room 231, 444 North Capitol St., NW.

9:00 - 11:00 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a discussion of the book titled "Innovation Economics: The Race for Global Advantage". The speakers will include the authors, Robert Atkinson (ITIF) and Stephen Ezell (ITIF). See, notice. Location: Holeman Lounge, National Press Club, 529 14th St., NW.

9:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day three of a three day meeting of the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) RTCA Special Committee 222, Inmarsat Aeronautical Mobile Satellite (Route) Services. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 157, August 14, 2012, at Pages 48584-48585. Location: RTCA, Inc., Suite 910, 1150 18th St., NW.

10:00 AM - 1:00 PM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a hearing titled "National Security Threats Posed by Chinese Telecom Companies Working in the U.S." This hearing is open to the public. See, notice. Location: Room HVC-210, Capitol Visitor Center.

10:00 AM. The House Financial Services Committee's (HFSC) Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (HOGRC) will hold a joint hearing titled "The JOBS ACT: Importance of Prompt Implementation for Entrepreneurs, Capital Formation, and Job Creation". In March of this year the Congress enacted HR 3606 [LOC | WW], the "Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act" or JOBS Act", a bill that reduces securities regulation for small and start up companies. See, stories titled "House Passes Securities Regulation Bill" and "Summary of HR 3606" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,350, March 19, 2012. It is now Public Law No. 112-106. See, notice. Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of HR 2471 [LOC | WW], a bill to amend 18 U.S.C. § 2710, S 3486 [LOC | WW], the "Patent Law Treaties Implementation Act", and S 3523 [LOC | WW], the "Innovative Design Protection Act of 2012". The agenda also includes consideration of the nomination of William Baer to be Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division. See, SJC notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:15 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will hold a hearing titled "Creating Opportunities through Improved Government Spectrum Efficiency". The witnesses will be Douglas Smith (P/CEO of Oceus Networks), Mark Goldstein (Government Accountability Office), Karl Nebbia (NTIA's Office of Spectrum Management), Steve Sharkey (T-Mobile USA), Preston Marshall (University of Southern California), and Robert Wheeler (USAF, Deputy Chief Information Officer for Command, Control, Communications and Computers and Information Infrastructure). See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Privacy and Data Security Committee will hold a brown bag lunch and planning meeting. Location: Kelley Drye & Warren, Suite 400, 3050 K St., NW.

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

5:30 - 9:00 PM. The Public Knowledge (PK) will host a fundraising event titled "9th Annual IP3 Awards". The price to attend is $50. See, registration page. Location: Ronald Regan Building and International Trade Center.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "Meet and greet new FCC Commissioners Reception". Prices vary. See, notice and registration form. Location: Capital Hilton, 1001 16th St., NW.

8:00 - 9:00 PM. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Cartel Enforcement Around the World: Chapter 5: Korea". The speakers will be Douglas Tween (Baker & McKenzie), Cholsoo Han (Secretary General, Korea Fair Trade Commission), Hoil Yoon (Yoon & Yang), and Stephen Harris (Baker & McKenzie). No CLE credits. Free. See, notice and notice.

11:59 PM. Deadline to submit annual license and regulatory fees to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). See, notice.

The House will meet a 9:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule for the week, and story titled "House to Take Up Tech Bills" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,443, September 7, 2012.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The US Telecom will host an on site and teleconferenced event titled "Broadband Internet Competition in the Digital Age Breakfast Briefing". The speakers will be Jonathan Salet (O'Melveny & Myers), Rob Atkinson (Information Technology and Innovation Foundation), and Jeffrey Eisenach (Navigant Economics). This event is free, but registration is required. See, notice. Location: US Telecom Executive Conference Center, Suite 400, 607 14th St., NW.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in EchoStar Satellite v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 04-1033. This case pertains to FCC rules, adopted in 2003, regarding digital plug and play compatibility. See, story titled "FCC Adopts Digital Plug and Play Cable Compatibility Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 737, September 11, 2003. See also, FCC brief filed on March 30, 2012. Judges Brown, Edwards, and Randolph will preside. This is the third item on the Court's agenda. Location: Courtroom 11, 4th floor, Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM - 4:00 PM. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will host an event titled "Technology and Trading: Promoting Stability in Today's Markets". See, notice and agenda. Location?

10:30 AM - 3:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Emergency Access Advisory Committee (EAAC) will hold a meeting regarding next generation 911 accessibility by persons with disabilities. See, Public Notice (DA 12-1372) and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 175, September 10, 2012, at Page 55473. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its draft SP 800-147 B [31 pages in PDF] titled "BIOS Protection Guidelines for Servers".

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to the National Cable & Telecommunications Association's (NCTA) Petition for Partial Reconsideration [7 pages in PDF] of the FCC's Report and Order implementing the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act, or CALM Act, which is codified at 47 U.S.C. § 621. The FCC adopted and released this R&O on December 13, 2011. It is FCC 11-182 in MB Docket No. 11-93. The NCTA argues, among other things, that the FCC confused promotion of television programming for commercial advertisements. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 161, Monday, August 20, 2012, at Page 50071. See also, story titled "NCTA Petitions FCC for Reconsideration of CALM Act Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,432, August 20, 2012.

Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) in response to its notice in the Federal Register (FR) requesting comments to assist it in preparing its 2012 Notorious Markets List, which identifies internet and physical notorious markets located outside of the US that make available intellectual property infringing products. See, FR, Vol. 77, No. 157, August 14, 2012, at Pages 48583-48584. See also, story titled "USTR Seeks Comments on Notorious Markets" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,431, August 17, 2012.

Rosh Hoshanah begins at sundown.

Deadline to submit post hearing briefs and statements to the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) regarding the probable economic effect of providing duty free treatment for imports under the U.S.-Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 155, August 10, 2012, at Pages 47880-47882.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law will host a teleconferenced panel discussion titled "July-August 2012 Antitrust Update". The speakers will be Dorothy Raymond and Francis Fryscak, Jackie Grise, Howard Morse, and Marc Schildkraut (all of Cooley). No CLE credits. Free. See, notice.

12:00 - 1:15 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Locked Down: Keeping Confidential Information Confidential". CLE credits. Prices vary. See, notice.

1:30 - 5:00 PM. Melbourne IT will host a panel discussion titled "Trademarks and New gTLDs: Minimizing the Need for Defensive Registrations and the Second Level of New Generic Top Level Domains". The speakers will be Andrew Abrams (Google), James Bikoff (Silverberg Goldman & Bikoff), Steve DelBianco (NetChoice), Dan Jaffe (Association of National Advertisers), Jon Nevett (Donuts), Russell Pangborn (Microsoft), Craig Schwartz (fTLD Registry Services), and Brian Winterfeldt (Steptoe & Johnston). See, notice. Location: Capitol Hilton, 1001 16th St., NW.

12:00 MIDNIGHT - 1:30 AM ET. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host an on site and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Migration and People Movement: Front-line Insights on Business Practices for India, China and the US". No CLE credits. Prices vary. See, notice. On site location: K&L Gates, Suite 3708, 1601 Nanjing Road West, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.

9:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The Department of Health and Human Services' (DHHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's (NCOHIT) HIT Standards Committee will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 163, August 22, 2012, at Page 50690. Location: Washington Marriott, 1221 22nd St., NW.

CANCELLED. 9:30 AM - 4:00 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will hold one in a series of meetings regarding consumer data privacy in the context of mobile applications. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 149, Thursday, August 2, 2012, Pages 46067-46068. Location: Auditorium, DOC, Hoover Building, 14th Street and Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to discuss preparations for the World Conference on International Telecommunication (WCIT-12) to be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on December 3-14, 2012, and the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-12), to be held in Dubai on November 20-29, 2012. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 170, August 31, 2012, at Page 53249. Location: DOS, 10th floor, 1120 20th St., NW.

12:00 NOON. The World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Tracking Protection Working Group will meet by teleconference. The call in number is 1-617-761-6200. The passcode is TRACK (87225).

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold an event titled "Inside the Wireline Competition Bureau". The speaker will be Julie Veach, Chief of the FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau. The FCBA states that this is an FCBA event. Location: Kelley Drye & Warren, Suite 400, 3050 K St., NW.

12:00 NOON. Deadline to submit requests to testify at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's (OUSTR) October 3 hearing regarding preparation of its annual report to the Congress on the People's Republic of China's (PRC) compliance with its World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 161, August 20, 2012, at Pages 50206-50207. See also, story titled "OUSTR to Receive Comments and Hold Hearing on PRC Compliance with WTO Obligations" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,431, August 17, 2012.

RESCHEDULED FROM SEPTEMBER 11. 2:15 PM. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes numerous items, including consideration of SConRes 50, a resolution "Expressing the sense of Congress regarding actions to preserve and advance the multistakeholder governance model under which the Internet has thrived". See, notice. Location: Room S-116, Capitol Building.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host an event titled "Happy Hour". For more information, contact Justin Faulb at JFaulb at eckertseamans dot com or Brendan Carr at Brendan dot Carr at fcc dot gov. Location: District Chophouse, 509 7th St., NW.

9:00 - 11:00 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Unveiling an Advanced Manufacturing & Traded Sector Competitiveness Strategy for the United States". The speakers will be Rob Atkinson (ITIF), Roger Kilmer (NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership), Theresa Kotanchek (Dow Chemical), and Martin Schmidt (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). See, notice. Location: Room 485, Russell Building, Capitol Hill.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Cellco Partnership v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 11-1135. This is a petition for review of the FCC's data roaming order. See, FCC's Second Report and Order [79 pages in PDF], and story titled "FCC Adopts Data Roaming Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,219, April 7, 2011. See also, FCC brief [136 pages in PDF], and story titled "FCC Files Brief with Court of Appeals in Challenge to Its Data Roaming Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,329, January 16, 2012. Judges Tatel, Garland, and Griffith will preside. This is the third item on the Court's agenda. Location: Courtroom 11, 4th floor, Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

9:30 AM - 2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) North American Numbering Council (NANC) will meet. Location: FCC, 445 12th St., SW.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "US Trade Policy and the Presidential Election". The speakers will be Grant Aldonas (Center for Strategic and International Studies), Jared Bernstein (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities), and Claude Barfield (AEI). See, notice. Location: AEI, 1150 17th St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:15 PM. Ruth Milkman, Chief of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WCT) will speak, answer questions, and receive comments regarding wireless issues. The FCBA states that this is a brown bag lunch hosted by its Wireless Telecommunications Committee. Location: Arnold & Porter, Conference Room 213, 555 12th St., NW.

5:30 - 7:30 PM. The 463 Communications will host a book event for Robert Atkinson (head of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation) and Stephen Ezell (ITIF) to talk about their just published book titled "The Race for Global Advantage". Location: 300 New Jersey Ave., NW.

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