6/14. President Obama issued a memorandum for the heads of executive departments and agencies titled "Expanding America's Leadership in Wireless Innovation".

It states that "Expanding the availability of spectrum for innovative and flexible commercial uses, including for broadband services, will further promote our Nation's economic development by providing citizens and businesses with greater speed and availability of coverage, encourage further development of cutting-edge wireless technologies, applications, and services, and help reduce usage charges for households and businesses."

This memorandum creates a "Spectrum Policy Team" that "shall monitor and support advances in spectrum sharing policies and technologies", and release a report within one year "describing how NTIA and FCC are incorporating spectrum sharing into their spectrum management practices".

This memorandum notes that the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) "has been facilitating discussions between agencies and nonfederal entities that have produced an unprecedented level of information-sharing and collaboration to identify opportunities for agencies to relinquish or share spectrum, currently focusing on the 1695-1710 MHz band, the 1755-1850 MHz band, and the 5350-5470 and 5850-5925 MHz bands."

The memorandum states that "The NTIA shall continue to facilitate these discussions and the sharing of data to expedite commercial entry into these bands where possible, provided that the mission capabilities of Federal systems designed to operate in these bands are maintained and protected, including through relocation, either to alternative spectrum or non-spectrum dependent systems, or through acceptable sharing arrangements. These discussions shall also be expanded to encompass more spectrum bands that may be candidates for shared access, specifically those in the range below 6 GHz, subject to the protection of the capabilities of Federal systems designed to operate in those bands."

Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) and Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) stated in a release that "We welcome today's announcement that the White House intends to focus more attention on the federal government's own use of spectrum. The nearly $80 billion a year that private sector cable, wireline and wireless companies have invested since 1996 spurred the remarkable broadband growth the administration also cataloged today in its report. But as the Internet goes mobile, further growth will require getting carriers more spectrum, an essential economic resource for the 21st century. Continuing its extensive work on spectrum reform and opportunities for job growth, the Energy and Commerce Committee is planning a hearing later this month to further its exploration of mutually beneficial methods to help agencies fulfill their missions while freeing spectrum to drive our country's prosperity."

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) also praised the memorandum in a release. He added that "I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to explore whether there may be additional incentives to encourage agencies to relinquish underutilized spectrum."

Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV) stated in a release that "Spectrum is the lifeblood of our Nation’s wireless economy. It is a scarce public resource that must be used wisely. That's why I applaud today’s Presidential Memorandum: it represents an innovative new strategy to help meet our Nation’s growing spectrum needs. Providing greater transparency; directing federal agencies to be more efficient and to provide data on their actual spectrum use; calling for incentives for federal users to share or relinquish spectrum are all critical to identifying more spectrum."

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Mignon Clyburn applauded the memorandum. See, release. FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel expressed her strong support for the memorandum. She stated that "Our traditional three-step process for reallocating federal spectrum -- clearing federal users, relocating them, and then auctioning the cleared spectrum for new use -- is reaching its limits." See, release.

Steve Largent, head of the CTIA, stated in a release that this memorandum "focuses on the need to make more efficient use of the spectrum currently assigned to federal government users by adopting a range of improvements in the processes that are used to investigate the repurposing of spectrum to commercial mobile broadband use."

AT&T's Jim Cicconi stated in a release that this memorandum "is important not just for the initiatives it lays out, but for the clear policy direction it sets. We commend the White House for recognizing the enormous progress in US broadband deployment, wireless in particular, and for their commitment to meet the need for more spectrum so these investments can continue."

The Public Knowledge's (PK) Harold Feld stated in a release that "Those who have constantly sought to politicize what should be an engineering issue by reflexively balking at the very idea of ``spectrum sharing´´ should consider that we cannot hope to clear more federal spectrum for auction unless we can accomodate more federal users in a smaller number of bands. That requires new sharing technologies. Those who care about supporting our growing wireless economy should recognize that all new spectrum access, whether open to a myriad of innovators and industries or exclusively auction to companies like AT&T and Verizon, is equally valuable. We need more of both."

6/11. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), formerly know as the BPAI, released its Final Written Decision [38 pages in PDF] in SAP v. Versata, holding that certain claims in the business method patent at issue are unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as abstract ideas.

This is a victory for SAP, a maker of business management software, which may be able to avoid having to pay a $345 Million jury verdict.

However, the main significance of this opinion is that it is the first of the PTAB under the new interim business methods patent post grant review process. It is the first PTAB opinion to discuss and construe this new process.

This is a post grant review brought under Section 18 of the "Leahy-Smith America Invents Act", or AIA. This act was HR 1249 [LOC | WW] in the 112th Congress. President Obama signed it into law on September 16, 2011. It is Public Law No. 112-29.

Versata is the rights holder of U.S. Patent No. 6,553,350, which is titled "Method and apparatus for pricing products in multi-level product and organizational groups". It is a business method patent that merely states a method of pricing products and services.

Versata brought a patent infringement action in the District Court in 2007. After two trials it largely prevailed. Both sides appealed, the month after enactment of the AIA. Claim construction and patentability are not at issue in the appeals proceeding. Section 18 provides an alternative means for challenging patents. SAP filed a complaint with the PTAB in 2012 on the very day that the Section 18 process became effective.

In this opinion the PTAB holds that the relevant claims of the 350 patent are unpatentable.

However, the opinion also provides a thorough review of the history of, and an analysis of, inter partes reexamination provided by the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999, and Section 18 of the AIA and post grant reviews. It also describes the USPTO's promulgation of Section 18 rules.

This opinion then holds that the broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI) standard is the one correct standard for post grant reviews.

It also holds that the District Court's claim construction is not binding upon the PTAB under the doctrine of stare decisis.

Article III Court Proceedings. Versata filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court (EDTex) against SAP in 2007 alleging infringement of this patent. Following a jury trial, the District Court entered judgment of infringement against SAP, but held a new trial on the issue of damages. Following a second jury trial, the Court entered judgment awarding Versata lost profits and reasonable royalty damages.

Both SAP and Versata filed appeals with the U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir). However, the District Court's claim construction and judgment of validity of the patent in suit are not issues before the Court of Appeals.

The Court of Appeals issued its opinion [24 pages in PDF] on May 1, 2013, affirming the jury's infringement verdict and damages award but vacating and remanding a permanent injunction as overbroad.

A petition for en banc rehearing is pending. Microsoft, SAS, HTC, Xilinx, Altera, the Application Developers Association, and others filed an amicus curiae brief on June 12, 2013 in support of the petition for rehearing.

That case is Versata Software Inc., et al.  v. SAP America Inc. and SAP AG, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, App. Ct. Nos. 2012-1029 and 2012-1049, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, D.C. No. 07-CV-0153. Judge Randall Rader wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Sharon Prost and Kimberly Moore joined.

PTAB Proceedings. SAP filed a complaint with the USPTO's PTAB on September 16, 2012 under Section 18 of the AIA alleging that certain claims in the 350 patent are not patentable under 35 U.S.C. § 101.

This case is SAP America, Inc. v. Versata Development Group, Inc., Case No. CBM2012-00001 (MPT). Administrative Patent Judge Michael Tierney wrote the opinion of the PTAB, in which Judges Sally Medley and Rama Elluru joined.

Section 18 Proceedings. Section 18 of the America Invents Act created a temporary post grant review process at the USPTO for certain business methods patents.

The Act provides that a "covered business method patent" means "a patent that claims a method or corresponding apparatus for performing data processing or other operations used in the practice, administration, or management of a financial product or service, except that the term does not include patents for technological inventions".

This program remains in effect for eight years after the promulgation of implementing regulations. The effective date of the program is September 16, 2012. The sunset date is September 16, 2020.

Appeals from the USPTO's PTAB lie in the Federal Circuit.

See also, the USPTO web page for this program.

6/14. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released an Order on Reconsideration and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking [46 pages in PDF] regarding closed captioning mandates for video programming delivered using internet protocol.

This OR & FNPRM pertains to implementation Section 203 of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, also known as the CVAA. Section 203 is titled "Closed Captioning Decoder and Video Description Capability". The CVAA was enacted by the 111th Congress by S 3828 [LOC | WW], the CVAA, which incorporates the text of S 3304 [LOC | WW], wherein Section 203 is found.

This OR and FNPRM relate to one subset of the many issues that have arisen out of imposition of disability access mandates on new information technologies by the CVAA.

The two major contenders in this present matter are makers of consumer electronic devices and disability groups. Both sides have advanced arguments regarding what is in the consumer interest. However, this OR & FNPRM describes the disability groups as "consumer groups".

That said, there are nevertheless many consumers who are not deaf, and many who are not blind. Moreover, many of the devices at issue are low price now, but would not be so cheap, or may not continue to be produced, if subjected to CVAA mandates. Therefore, imposing mandates on these devices would harm many consumers of these devices.

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) represents the companies that make the consumer devices, the design of which is now regulated by the FCC via the CVAA and CVAA rules. CVAA mandates raise the costs of making consumer devices, and hence, the prices charged to consumers.

The CEA was one of the few open critics of this legislation when it was being considered by the 111th Congress in 2010. One of the key issues back in 2010, which is now settled law, was whether the law should require that features that enhance accessibility by persons with various disabilities be readily available in numerous products on the market, or whether the law should require that every covered device be required to be accessible by every disability group. The CEA argued for the former. The Congress incorporated the latter into the CVAA, thereby making compliance particularly costly for producers and consumers of regulated technologies.

The disability access groups now want the FCC to impose mandates upon a broader range of devices. The CEA argues for less burdensome mandates on a narrower range of devices.

There is much room for argument because the CVAA was not a well drafted piece of legislation. The House Commerce Committee (HCC) and Senate Commerce Committee (SCC), and the full House and Senate, spent very little time in hearings, mark ups and debate on this legislation. Moreover, no one from the FCC testified at any public hearing on this legislation in 2010.

The FCC adopted a Report and Order (R&O) [111 pages in PDF] on January 12, 2012 regarding closed captioning of IP delivered video programming. That R&O also listed the devices subject to Section 203 mandates. It listed smart phones, tablets, personal computers, television set top boxes, integrated software in covered devices, all recording devices, and removable media players.

Order on Reconsideration. The FCC received three petitions for reconsideration of that R&O, from the CEA, various interest groups that advocate on behalf of persons with different disabilities, and TVGuardian.

The CEA filed its petition for reconsideration [22 pages in PDF] on April 30, 2012. It requested that the FCC limit the reach of its rules to only those devices intended by the manufacturer to receive, play back, or record video programming, rather than broadly applying these rules to any device with a video player.

It also requested that the FCC exclude removable media players from the apparatus closed captioning rules. Finally, it requested that the FCC clarify that the January 1, 2014 compliance deadline for apparatus closed captioning requirements refers to the date of manufacture, and not the date of importation of apparatus.

Section 203 reaches any "apparatus designed to receive or play back video programming".

The OR portion of this item denies the main request of the CEA regarding what devices are covered, but grants a narrow class of waivers.

The OR also denies the CEA's request that removable media players are not subject to the closed captioning requirements. However, it temporarily extends the compliance deadlines for Blu-ray players as well as for those DVD players that do not currently render or pass through captions, pending consideration of the FNPRM.

The OR grants the CEA's request to modify the January 1, 2014 deadline applicable to apparatus to refer only to the date of manufacture, and not to the date of importation, shipment, or sale.

The disability groups filed a petition asking the FCC to reconsider its decision to exclude video clips from the scope of the IP closed captioning rules.

The OR states that "we defer a final decision on whether to reconsider the issue of whether ``video clips´´ should be covered by the IP closed captioning rules, and we will keep the record open pending the development of additional information regarding the availability of captioned video clips."

The FCC denied TVGuardian's petition.

FNPRM. The FNPRM portion of this item proposes that the FCC's rules regarding "Closed caption decoder requirements for all apparatus", which are codified at 47 C.F.R. § 79.103, add the requirement that "All apparatus that render closed captions must do so consistent with the timing data included with the video programming the apparatus receives."

The FNPRM asks for "comment on whether the Commission should require apparatus manufacturers to ensure that their apparatus synchronize the appearance of closed captions with the display of the corresponding video."

The FNPRM also asks for "comment on the closed captioning requirements that we should impose on DVD players that do not render or pass through closed captions, and on Blu-ray players with regard to Blu-ray discs and DVDs."

The FCC adopted this item on June 13, 2013, and released it on June 14. It is FCC 13-84 in MB Docket No. 11-154. Comments will be due with 60 days of publication of a notice in the Federal Register (FR). Reply comments will be due within 90 days of such publication. This FR notice has not yet been published.

6/6. Federal Reserve Board (FRB) Governor Sarah Raskin gave a speech in Columbus, Ohio in which she discussed the FRB's regulation of banking, which has been focused, for six years, on the "financial crisis".

Raskin (at right) also discussed the "questions that we must shift our full focus to once the post-crisis work is near completion". These include mobile payments, cyber security, and regulating to promote innovation and growth.

In the meantime, the FRB, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and other federal regulators remain focused on Basil III implementation, Dodd Frank rulemakings, and other "post-crisis" regulatory matters.

She stated that one question to be addressed by the FRB, in its post financial crisis mode, is "Should new technologies that permit mobile payments and mobile banking be fostered through federal policy?"

Another question to be addressed by the FRB is "To what extent should we be concerned about cyber threats, and are there features of a financial system that can mitigate or thwart such threats?"

Finally, how might the FRB regulate "without stifling innovation that might benefit customers and the public and foster economic growth"?

In this long speech, this was her only reference to either growth or innovation. She did not mention unemployment.

6/11. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report [22 pages in PDF] titled "Information Technology: OMB and Agencies Need to Focus Continued Attention on Eliminating Duplicative Investments".

This report finds that "the reduction or elimination of duplication, overlap, or fragmentation could potentially save billions of tax dollars annually and help agencies provide more efficient and effective services. Many of the government programs or activities with opportunities to reduce duplication and the cost of government operations are related to critical IT areas, including" overlapping and duplicative "federal data centers".

The report also states that "agencies have reported saving millions of dollars from implementing cloud-based solutions".

The GAO prepared this report for a hearing on June 11 of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (SHSGAC) titled "Reducing Duplication and Improving Outcomes in Federal Information Technology". See also, opening statement of Sen. Tom Caper (D-DE), prepared testimony of Steven Van Roekel (Office of Management and Budget), prepared testimony of Simon Szykman (Department of Commerce), and prepared testimony of Frank Baitman (Department of Health and Human Services).

The OMB's VanRoekel wrote that "In shifting to the cloud, organizations no longer need to incur upfront capital costs to stand up new solutions, but can instead procure technology ``as-a-service,´´ only paying for what they need, when they need it."

He also addressed how the Department of Agriculture (DOA) is using cloud based services "to achieve cost reductions, improve agility, reduce energy use, improve security, achieve economies of scale, and reduce overall complexity". He wrote that it will thereby save "$46 million in FY 2013".

6/14. The American Cable Association (ACA) issued a release condemning Gannett's pending acquisition of Belo. Gannett and Belo announced in a release on June 13 that "they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Gannett will acquire all outstanding shares of Belo".

The ACA is concerned about the impact that this merger would have on matters such as retransmission consent negotiations. Another group, the Free Press, published its concerns about the impact that this merger would have upon journalism.

Matthew Polka, head of the ACA, stated that "The Gannett-Belo deal -- yet another example of the massive consolidation now happening in the TV station market -- will create a giant broadcasting unit with even greater ability to leverage outdated federal rules to bilk pay-TV providers and their customers through unseemly business practices, such as wide-scale signal blackouts just before NFL games, the World Series, the Oscars, and other marquee events."

He added that "Gannett and Belo have admitted that they will structure their deal in part by relying on so-called ``virtual duopolies´´ to skirt Federal Communications Commission rules that outright prohibit the ownership of more than one of the top-four rated stations in the same local market. This clear evasion of FCC rules is something ACA has identified in deals this year involving Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. and Sinclair Broadcasting Group, Inc."

He further asserted that "when there is a virtual duopoly, the broadcasters often coordinate their retransmission consent negotiations and engage in other practices that reduce competition. Despite the fact that available evidence shows that coordinating retransmission consent negotiations leads to higher retrans prices passed along to consumers, the FCC continues to permit broadcasters to collude in this manner."

Craig Aaron, head of the Free Press, stated in a release that "We've seen time and again that media consolidation means fewer journalists and less diversity on the public airwaves. Broadcasters are on a shopping spree, using cash from last year's political ad bonanza to buy each other. Very soon just a small handful of companies will control all of the affiliates in major markets and the swing states. This increasing concentration of ownership -- coupled with covert consolidation that combines formerly competing newsrooms -- is failing local communities. And yet the FCC continues to keep its head in the sand. We don’t need yet another media merger; we need strong ownership rules that protect and promote local journalism."

6/11. Four Republican members of the House Commerce Committee (HCC) sent at letter [PDF] to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regarding the HCC's investigation of whether the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) "improperly seized the personal medical records of millions of American citizens in possible violation of the Fourth Amendment".

The letter states that a health care provider has sued the IRS alleging that IRS "agents stole more than 60 million medical records from more than 10 million American patients". The letter continues that the IRS obtained a warrant that merely authorized it to seize financial records of a former employee of the company, but that it seized confidential electronic records of 10 Million people.

The letter also expresses concern that while the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) privacy rules regulate health care providers, they impose no limitations upon what the IRS can do with health care records that it seizes.

The letter asks the IRS what use it plans to make of health care records seized in this manner, and what policies and procedures it has to ensure that such information remains confidential and private.

The letter is signed by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA), Chairman of the HCC's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (SOI), Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX), Vice Chairman of the SOI, Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).

6/12. Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) was appointed to House Judiciary Committee (HJC). He won a special election on June 4, 2013 to fill the seat vacated by the resignation of former Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO), who resigned to become head of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. See, Rep. Smith's releaseand Rep. Bob Goodlatte's (R-MO) release. His background is farmer, lawyer, state legislator, and National Rifle Association (NRA) member.

6/14. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has six job listing for information technology specialists. See, list.

6/14. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released a document [4 pages in PDF] titled "Memorandum of Understanding" that states that the two entities intend "to cooperate toward the goal of establishing a proposed" Center for Advanced Communications, to be located in Boulder, Colorado. Its goals would include "Promoting interdisciplinary research, development, and testing in advanced communication-related areas such as radiofrequency technology, digital information processing, cybersecurity, interoperability, and useability". See also, NTIA release.

6/14. Ruth Milkman, Chief of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) gave a speech regarding FCC spectrum policy and proceedings at Georgetown University's Georgetown Center for Business & Public Policy (GCBPP) event titled "Optimal Coevolution of Mobile Broadband Technology and Spectrum Policy".

6/12. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report [78 pages in PDF] titled "Information Technology: HUD Needs to Improve Key Project Management Practices for Its Modernization Efforts".

6/5. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced in a release that the USPTO and the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) a pilot program under which KIPO will classify some of its patent documents using the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) system. The USPTO and European Patent Office initiated the development of CPC system in 2010 to develop a common classification system for patent documents.

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The House will meet at 12:00 NOON for morning hour, and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. It will consider several non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

The Senate will meet at 2:00 PM.

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law will host a teleconferenced panel discussion titled "A day with the French Data Protection Authority, the CNIL". The speakers will be Florence Raynal (head of the Commission Nationale de L'informatique et des Libertés' Department of European and International Affairs) and Marie-Andrée Weiss. Free. No CLE credits. See, notice.

12:00 NOON. The Tech Freedom and Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) will host a panel discussion titled "What Should Congress Do about Cell Phone Unlocking?" FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai will give opening remarks. The other speakers will be Berin Szoka (TF), Jerry Brito (GMU's Mercatus Center), Chris Lewis (Public Knowledge), Ryan Radia (Competitive Enterprise Institute), and Larry Spiwak (Phoenix Center). See, notice. Location: Methodist Building, 101 Maryland Ave., NE.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Intellectual Property and Video Programming and Distribution Committees will host a brown bag lunch titled "Copyright, Technology, and Media Litigation: A Mid-Year Review". The speakers will be James Burger (Thompson Coburn), Robert Garrett (Arnold & Porter), and Troy Dow (Walt Disney). Reporters are barred. Location: Wiley Rein, 1776 K St., NW.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [55 pages in PDF] regarding equipment authorization processes. The FCC adopted this NPRM on February 12, 2013, and released the text on February 15, 2013. It is FCC 13-19 in ET Docket No. 13-44. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 86, May 3, 2013, at Pages 25916-25938.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Public Notice (PN) requesting input and data on mobile wireless competition to assist the FCC in preparing a report titled "Seventeenth Annual Report on the State of Competition in Mobile Wireless". This PN is DA 13-1139 in WT Docket No. 13-135.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) in response to its May 16 Public Notice (PN) regarding promoting the availability of voice and broadband capable networks in rural areas served by rate of return carriers. This PN is DA 13-1112 in WC Docket No. 10-90. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 109, June 6, 2013, at Pages 34016-34020.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) in its proceeding titled "U.S. Trans Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement Including Japan: Advice on the Probable Economic Effect of Providing Duty-Free Treatment for Imports". See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 94, May 15, 2013, at Pages 28623-28625.

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

8:00 - 10:00 AM. Broadband Census News LLC will host an event titled "Advanced Energy, Smart Grid and Fiber to the Home: Using Advanced Energy to Jumpstart Fiber Builds". The speakers will include James Salter (CEO of Atlantic Engineering Group). Breakfast will be served. This event is open to the public. The price to attend is $47.12. See, notice and registration page. This event is also sponsored by Comcast NBCUniversal, Google, and US Telecom. Location: Clyde's of Gallery Place, 707 7th St., NW.

8:30 - 10:00 AM. The CTIA and Georgetown University's Center for Business and Public Policy will host an event titled "Spectrum Supply and Demand". The speakers will be Ajit Pai (FCC Commissioner), Blair Levin (Aspen Institute), Larry Irving, James Cicconi (AT&T), Patrick Butler (Association of Public Television Stations), Mary Brown (Cisco), Michael Catalano (PMT Americas), Rick Kaplan (NAB), Karl Nebbia (NTIA), Tom Sugrue (T-Mobile), and Matt Wood (Free Press). See, notice. Location: Washington Post, 1150 15th St., NW.

9:00 AM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed meeting titled "Ongoing Intelligence Activities". See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304, House Visitor Center.

9:00 - 10:15 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "The Next Digital Crossroads: Regulating Competition in the Internet Ecosystem". The speakers will be Jonathan Nuechterlein (Wilmer Hale), Philip Weiser (University of Colorado Law School) and Jeffrey Eisenach (Navigant Economics). Free. Open to the public. Breakfast will be served. Webcast. See, notice. Location: AEI, 1150 17th St., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will meet to mark up HR 2278 [LOC | WW | PDF], the "Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act", an immigration bill. See also, manager's amendment. The HJC will also mark up HR 1773 [LOC | WW], an untitled bill that would create a nonimmigrant H-2C work visa program for agricultural workers. Webcast. See, HJC notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:15 AM. The House Science Committee (HSC) will hold a hearing titled "Department of Energy Science and Technology Priorities". The witness will be Ernest Moniz (Secretary of Energy). See, notice. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Big Bang Theory: Does Section 5 of the FTC Act Have Limits or Can It Achieve Infinite Expansion?". The speakers will be Susan Creighton (Wilson Sonsini), Robert Lande (University of Baltimore School of Law), Tom Rosch (Latham & Watkins), Joe Sims (Jones Day), and Carter Simpson (Dentons US). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Ethics for Trademark Attorneys Practicing Before the USPTO". The speakers will be Stephanie Bald (Kelly IP) and Christina Hieber (USPTO). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing on the nomination of Tom Wheeler to be Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Webcast. See, SCC notice, and story titled "Obama to Nominate Tom Wheeler to Be FCC Chairman" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,556, May 1, 2013. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

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

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host an event titled "Summer Kick-Off Happy Hour & Welcome to Interns". For more information, contact Jessica Elder at jessica dot elder3 at gmail dot com or Justin Faulb (Eckert Seamans) at Jfaulb at eckertseamans dot com. Location: Iron Horse Tap Room, 507 7th St., NW.

EXTENDED TO JULY 18. Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Office of General Counsel (OGC) and Enforcement Bureau (EB) in response to the Public Notice regarding whether the full Commission should make changes to its broadcast indecency policies, and especially, policies regarding isolated expletives, and isolated non-sexual nudity. The FCC released that PN on April 1, 2013. It is DA 13-581 in GN Docket No. 13-86. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 76, April 19, 2013, at Pages 23563-23564, setting comment deadlines. And see, May 10, 2013 Public Notice, DA 13-1071, extending comment deadlines.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) in response to its Public Notice regarding Version 3.1.2 of the Connect America Fund Phase II Cost Model. This item is DA 13-1136 in WC Docket No. 10-90. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 103, May 29, 2013, at Pages 32224-32225.

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

Day one of a three day event titled hosted by the American Bar Association (ABA) titled "8th Annual Homeland Security Law Institute". Prices vary. CLE credits. See, conference web site. Location: Capital Hilton Hotel, 1001 16th St., NW.

8:30 AM - 1:30 PM. The Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) Program Management Committee (PMC) will meet. The agenda includes discussions of drone standards, air traffic data communications, systems security, and surveillance. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 106, June 3, 2013, at Pages 33144-33145. Location: RTCA, Inc., Suite 910, 1150 18th St., NW.

9:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The Department of Health and Human Services' (DHHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's (ONCHIT) HIT Standards Committee will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 96, May 17, 2013, at Page 29135. Location: __.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC) will meet via telephone conference call. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 103, May 29, 2013, at Pages 32306-32307.

9:30 AM. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's (HOGRC) Subcommittee on Government Operations will hold a hearing titled "Federal Government Approaches to Issuing Biometrics IDs: Part II". The witnesses will include Colleen Manaher (DHS's Customs and Border Patrol). See, notice. Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

9:30 - 10:45 AM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "International Licensing Issues in the US, India, and Japan". The speakers will be Jonathan Gleklen (Arnold & Porter), Andrew Heimert ( FTC), Samir Gandhi (AZB & Partners), and Nobu Mukai (Momo-o, Matsuo & Namba). Free. No CLE credits. See, notice.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation". The witness will be Robert Mueller, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 106, Dirksen Building.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Making a Public Interest Case at the International Trade Commission". The speakers will be Pallavi Seth (Brattle Group), Vaishali Udupa (Hewlett-Packard), Mark Whitaker (Baker Botts), and Kimberly Parke (Dickstein Shapiro). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing on five judicial nominees: Todd Hughes (to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir)), Colin Bruce (USDC/CDIll), Sara Lee Ellis (USDC/NDIll), Andrea Wood (USDC/NDIll), and Madeline Haikala (USDC/NDAlab). Live and archived webcast. See, notice. Location Room 226, Dirksen Building.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FBCA) will host an event titled "Solicitor General Don Verrilli and the FCC Year in Review". The speakers will be Jack Goodman, Richard Welch (FCC), Jake Lewis (FCC), Paul Verkuil (Administrative Conference of the United States), Donald Verrilli (Solicitor General of the U.S.), Tom Goldstein (Goldstein & Howe), Jon Nuechterlein (Wilmer Hale), and Chris Wright (Wiltshire & Grannis). Registrations and cancellations due by 12:00 NOON on Tuesday, June 18. Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice. Location: Wilmer Hale, 1875 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

Extended deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Office of General Counsel (OGC) and Enforcement Bureau (EB) in response to the Public Notice regarding whether the full Commission should make changes to its broadcast indecency policies, and especially, policies regarding isolated expletives, and isolated non-sexual nudity. The FCC released that PN on April 1, 2013. It is DA 13-581 in GN Docket No. 13-86. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 76, April 19, 2013, at Pages 23563-23564, setting comment deadlines. And see, May 10, 2013 Public Notice, DA 13-1071, and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 109, June 6, 2013, at Pages 34099-34100, extending comment deadlines.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the assessment and collection of regulatory fees. This NPRM is FCC 13-74 in MD Docket Nos. 12-201, 13-140, and 08-6. The FCC adopted it on May 22, 2013, and released it on May 23. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 111, June 10, 2013, at Pages 34612-34634.

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

Supreme Court conference day. See, Supreme Court calendar.

Day two of a three day event titled hosted by the American Bar Association (ABA) titled "8th Annual Homeland Security Law Institute". At 3:15 - 4:15 PM there will be a panel titled "Cyber Security for the Private Sector: What Companies and Their Lawyers Need to Know". Prices vary. CLE credits. See, conference web site. Location: Capital Hilton Hotel, 1001 16th St., NW.

8:00 AM - 6:00 PM. The Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) will host an event titled "DC Emerging Technologies Symposium". See, notice. Location: Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert St., NW.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day conference hosted by the Utilities Telecom Council (UTC) titled "2013 Critical Infrastructure Communications Policy Summit & 700 MHz Workshop". See, notice. Location: Washington Court Hotel, 525 New Jersey Ave., NW.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) RTCA Special Committee 224, Airport Security Access Control Systems will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 101, May 24, 2013, at Pages 31627-31628. Location: RTCA, Inc., Suite 910, 1150 18th St., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. Live and archived webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building

10:00 AM - 2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) North American Numbering Council (NANC) will meet. See, FCC Public Notice and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 111, June 10, 2013, at Pages 34660-34661. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

12:00 NOON - 2:30 PM. The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) and American Antitrust Institute (AAI) will host a panel discussion titled "Competition Law & Patent Assertion Entities: What Antitrust Enforcers Can Do". The speakers will be Ed Black (head of the CCIA), Michael Carrier (Rutgers School of Law), Bert Foer (head of the AAI), Lisa Kimmel (Attorney Advisor to FTC Chairman Edith Ramirez), Frances Marshall (DOJ Antitrust Division), and Paul Saraceni (RPX Corporation). Free. Lunch will be served. See, CCIA notice and registration page. Location: National Press Club, 529 14th St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Negotiating an Electronic Health Record (EHR) Agreement: A Marriage Between Healthcare and Technology". The speakers will be John Christiansen (Christiansen IT Law), Lee Kim (Tucker Arensberg), Wendi Wright (Allscripts), and Clinton Mikel (Health Law Partners). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

1:00 PM. The US Telecom will host a webcast seminar titled "Gigabit Service Delivery -- How Can We Get There?". The speaker will be Craig Goodwin of ADTRAN. Free. See, notice.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Moving Your Practice to the Cloud, Safely and Ethically". The speakers will be Brett Burney (Burney Consultants) and Daniel Siegel (Integrated Technology Services). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

2:00 - 3:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "The ABCs of Intellectual Property in Government Contracts". The speakers will be Jacinta Alves, Jonathan Baker, and John McCarthy (all of Crowell & Moring). See, notice.

2:15 PM. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) will hold a hearing on the nomination of Daniel Russel to be Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. See, notice. Location: Room 419, Dirksen Building.

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

4:00 - 7:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host an event titled "Antitrust Investigations: Tactical and Ethical Issues". The speakers will be Ann O'Brien (DOJ Antitrust Division), Douglas Kenyon (Hunton & Williams), Donald Klawiter (Sheppard Mullin), and Ryan Thomas (Jones Day). The price to attend ranges from $89 to $129. CLE credits. For more information, call 202-626-3488. The DC Bar has a history of barring reporters from its events. See, notice. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "Spring Reception". See, notice and registration form. Prices vary. Location: Microsoft, 901 K St., NW.

6:00 PM. The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) will host an event titled "Annual Dinner". The speakers will include Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY). The reception will begin at 6:00 PM. The dinner will begin at 7:15 PM. The after dinner party will begin at 9:30 PM. Location: J.W. Marriot Hotel, 1331 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) regarding the 45 day public trial of Google's TV bands database system that was completed on April 17, 2013. See, FCC's May 29, 2013 Public Notice, DA 13-1220 in ET Docket No. 04-186.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) regarding the 45 day public trial of Keybridge's TV bands database system that was completed on April 24, 2013. See, FCC's May 29, 2013 Public Notice, DA 13-1222 in ET Docket No. 04-186.

Rep. Cantor's schedule states that "no votes are expected" in the House.

Day three of a three day event titled hosted by the American Bar Association (ABA) titled "8th Annual Homeland Security Law Institute". At 9:30 - 10:30 AM there will be a panel titled "Protecting Our Nation's Cyber Critical Infrastructure". Prices vary. CLE credits. See, conference web site. Location: Capital Hilton Hotel, 1001 16th St., NW.

8:30 AM - 12:30 PM. Day two of a two day conference hosted by the Utilities Telecom Council (UTC) titled "2013 Critical Infrastructure Communications Policy Summit & 700 MHz Workshop". See, notice. Location: PEPCO Headquarters.

10:30 AM - 3:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Emergency Access Advisory Committee (EAAC) will meet. See, notice. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, TW-C305, 445 12th St., SW.

8:30 AM - 4:00 PM. The Department of Labor's (DOL) Bureau of Labor Statistic's (BLS) Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) will meet. At 9:00 AM the TAC will discuss "How to take account of Internet job search in measuring unemployment in the CPS". Open to the public. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 102, May 28, 2013, at Pages 31976-31977. Location: Rooms 1 and 2, Postal Square Building, 2 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The Internet Caucus will host an event titled "Privacy, the NSA, and Your Constituents' Phone and Internet Records: An Experts' Primer on the Law, the Technology and the History". The speakers will be __. Some box lunches will be served. No webcast. Free. Register at rsvp at netcaucus dot org. See, notice. Location: Room 2237, Rayburn Building.

Extended deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding elevating the allocation status of Earth Stations Aboard Aircraft (ESAA) in the 14.0-14.5 GHz band from secondary to primary and whether giving ESAA licensees primary status in the 14.0-14.5 GHz band would require a change to the technical rules. The FCC adopted this NPRM on December 20, 2012, and released it on December 28, 2012. It is FCC 12-161 in IB Docket No. 12-376. See, original notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 46, March 8, 2013, at Pages 14952-14957. See also, second notice in the FR, Vol. 78, No. 61, March 29, 2013, at Page 19172.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Public Notice [5 pages in PDF] regarding improving receiver performance. This PN is DA 13-801 in ET Docket No. 13-101. The FCC released it on April 22, 2013. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 89, May 8, 2013, at Pages 26777-26779.

Deadline to submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) oppositions to the petition for reconsideration of the FCC's booster order filed by Wilson Electronics and V-COMM. The FCC adopted and released that Report and Order [106 pages in PDF] on February 20, 2013. It is FCC 13-21 in WT Docket No. 10-4. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 109, June 6, 2013, at Page 34015.

Day one of a three day conference hosted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) titled "Increasing Market and Planning Efficiency Through Improved Software". See, conference web site. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 60, March 28, 2013, at Pages 18974-18975. Location: FERC, Rooms 3M-2, 3M-3, and 3M-4, 888 First St., NE.

Day one of a two day conference hosted by the ASAN Institute for Policy Studies titled "The Enduring Alliance: Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of ROK-US Relations". Registration required. The deadline to register is June 21. See, notice. Location: Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) will host a panel discussion regarding the book [Amazon] titled "Black Code: Inside the Battle for Cyberspace". The speakers will be Ronald Deibert (author), Leslie Harris (Center for Democracy and Technology), Harvey Rishikof, and Rebecca MacKinnon (New America Foundation). Free. See, notice and registration page. Location: NED, 8th Floor, 1025 F St., NW.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit cell phone detector devices for consideration for use by the Department of Justice (DOJ). The DOJ is soliciting devices for use by the DOJ in detecting contraband use by prisoners in federal prisons. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 91, May 10, 2013, at Pages 27441-27442.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit reply comments to the Copyright Office (CO) regarding its proposed rules regarding verification of statements of account submitted by cable operators and satellite carriers. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 90, May 9, 2013, at Pages 27137-27153.

Deadline to submit comments to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that proposes to amend its rules regarding use of body imaging technology at airports. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 58, March 26, 2013, at Pages 18287-18302, and July 15, 2011 opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) in EPIC v. DHS.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Energy (DOE) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the Version 5 Critical Infrastructure Protection Reliability Standards, CIP-002-5 through CIP-011-1, submitted by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, which pertain to the cyber security of the bulk electric system. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 79, April 24, 2013, at Pages 24107-24124.

Deadline to submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) oppositions to the January 28, 2013 petition for reconsideration of Boeing of the FCC's rules regarding the use of earth stations aboard aircraft communicating with fixed-satellite service geostationary-orbit space stations operating in the 10.95-11.2 GHz, 11.45-11.7 GHz, 11.7-12.2 GHz and 14.0-14.5 GHz Bands. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 110, June 7, 2013, at Page 34309.