8/28. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released a document [36 pages in PDF] titled "Discussion Draft of the Preliminary Cybersecurity Framework".

The Congress has not enacted legislation giving the President general authority to regulate cyber security related business practices. Nevertheless, President Obama is pursuing regulation absent legislative authority. He issued an Executive Order (EO) titled "Improving Critical Cybersecurity Infrastructure" on February 13, 2013. It is cloaked in the terminology of voluntary conduct and partnerships. Nevertheless, government compulsion underlies the regime created by the EO.

See, story titled "Obama Signs Cyber Security Order and Policy Directive" and related stories in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,525, February 19, 2013.

This EO relies upon the NIST for implementation, and particularly for writing cyber security standards for the private sector. The NIST issued a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) on March 28, 2013. See, notice in the FR, Vol. 78, No. 60, March 28, 2013, at Pages 18954-18955, and story titled "NIST Issues Cyber Security NOI" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,542, March 27, 2013.

The just released document is part of the NIST's effort to implement the President's EO.

It states that "An organization should use the Framework as the basis for establishing a new cybersecurity program or improving an existing cybersecurity program."

The NIST may ultimately issue standards, compliance with which will effectively be mandatory. Such standards may be onerous, costly, intrusive, and in some cases, counterproductive. However, this relatively short document is general, and does not include standards with specificity or granularity.

The NIST will host a meeting pertaining to the just released document in Dallas, Texas on September 11-13, 2013. It is titled "4th Cybersecurity Framework Workshop". See, notice.

The NIST's Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB) will host a meeting in Washington DC, the agenda of which includes this matter, on October 9-11, 2013. See, related story in this issue titled "NIST ISPAB to Hold Three Day Meeting".

9/4. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB) announced that it will hold a three day meeting on October 9-11, 2013, to address cyber security and other matters. See, notice in the Federal Register (FR), Vol. 78, No. 171, September 4, 2013, at Page 54454.

This event is open to the public. It will be held at the U.S. Access Board, Suite 800, Conference Room, 1331 F St., NW.

The just released NIST FR notice contains a preliminary agenda for the meeting in October. Most of the items relate to cyber security, and especially, the President's Executive Order (EO) titled "Improving Critical Cybersecurity Infrastructure" of February 12, 2013, and the NIST's Notice of Inquiry (NOI) of March 28, 2013. See, notice in the FR, Vol. 78, No. 60, March 28, 2013, at Pages 18954-18955.

The agenda also lists "Development of New Cybersecurity Framework". The NIST released a document [36 pages in PDF] titled "Discussion Draft of the Preliminary Cybersecurity Framework" on August 28, 2013. See also, related story in this issue titled "NIST Releases Cyber Security Standards Document".

This agenda also states that the White House Cybersecurity Coordinator will speak.

The agenda also states that there will be updates on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) and the NIST's Computer Security Division (CSD).

The agenda also lists several topics related to cyber security at federal agencies.

The agenda also lists "Information Sharing Update".

President Obama and the House have taken widely different approaches to increasing cyber security in the private sector. The President is pursuing a regulatory approach. The House passed bills in both the 112th and 113th Congresses that are designed to increase incentives for companies to share information related to cyber security with the government, and to increase private sector access to cyber threat information.

For the 112th Congress, see HR 3523 [LOC | WW], the "Cyber Intelligence and Sharing Protection Act" or "CISPA", and stories titled "House Passes CISPA" and "Amendment by Amendment Summary of House Consideration of CISPA" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,380, April 25, 2012. President Obama opposed that bill. See, story titled "Obama EOP Opposes CISPA" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,379, April 24, 2012. The Senate twice took up a bill supported by the President, but failed to pass it both times.

For the current 113th Congress, see HR 624 [LOC | WW], also titled the "CISPA". The House passed it on April 18, 2013, by a vote of 288-127. Once again, the Senate has not taken it up.

The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) approved S 1353 [ LOC | WW], the "Cybersecurity Act of 2013", on July 30, 2013. It would amend the NIST Act to give the NIST authority to "facilitate and support the development of a voluntary, industry-led set of standards, guidelines, best practices, methodologies, procedures, and processes to reduce cyber risks to critical infrastructure".

The agenda for the NIST/ISPAB meeting in October also states that there will be an "Update on Legislative proposals relating to information security and privacy".

9/4. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced that it will host a three day event on October 1-3, 2013 titled "Intersection of Cloud and Mobility Forum and Workshop". See, notice in the Federal Register (FR), Vol. 78, No. 171, September 4, 2013, at Page 54453.

The agenda states that on Tuesday, October 1 there will be presentations "on the future of Cloud Computing, Mobility and where the two intersect", and "a status update on NIST efforts to develop or support development of security, interoperability and portability open standards, cloud service metrics and service level agreement guidance".

On Wednesday, October 2, "the workshop will focus on current Cloud Computing and Mobility challenges and how these challenges could be alleviated or exacerbated at the intersection of Cloud and Mobility".

On the half day session on Thursday, October 3, "the workshop will focus on the path forward to achieve full integration and harmonization of Cloud Computing and Mobility and to explore possibilities for harmonizing the two in ways that unleash their complementing power and augment their inter-correlation to promote progress and prosperity".

The NIST will also provide exhibition space for up to "25 academic, industry, and standards developing organizations to exhibit their respective Cloud Computing or Mobility work at an exhibit table or with a poster".

This event is open to the public. However, registration required. It will be held in the NIST's Red Auditorium, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

Neither the FR notice, nor the event web site or brochure [PDF], requests written comments.

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The House will not meet the week of September 2 through September 6. It will return from its August recess on Monday, September 9. See, House calendar for the 113th Congress, 1st Session.

The Senate will not meet the week of September 2 through September 6. It will return from its August recess on Monday, September 9. See, Senate calendar for the 113th Congress, 1st Session.

1:00 - 3:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee for the 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference's Informal Working Group 3 (Space Services) will meet by teleconference. See, FCC's August 22, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1790 in IB Docket No. 04-286). The call in numbers are 888-858-2144 or 646-746-3008. The access code is 8672480.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Media Bureau (MB) in response to its June 25, 2013 Public Notice (PN) [6 pages in PDF] regarding video description of video programming that is delivered via both television and the internet. This PN is DA 13-1438 in MB Docket No. 11-43. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 129, July 5, 2013, at Pages 40421-40424.

Deadline to submit all comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on matters raised by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) petition for rulemaking [4 pages in PDF] regarding the First Responder Network Authority, aka FirstNet. The FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) released a Public Notice (PN) [4 pages in PDF] on August 19 requesting comments. It is DA 13-1775 in PS Docket Nos. 12-94 and 06-229, and WT Docket No. 06-150. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 167, August 28, 2013, at Pages 53124-53126, which sets the deadline to submit comments to the FCC. See, story titled "FCC Seeks Comments on FirstNet Matters Raised by NTIA" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,591, August 28, 2013.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law will host a webcast and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Risk Factors for Second Request Merger Investigations by the DOJ and FTC". The speakers will be Margaret Calvert (Compass Lexecon), Mike Cowie (Dechert), Michael Knight (Jones Day), Darren Tucker (Bingham McCutchen), and Robert Davis (Venable). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

3:00 - 4:30 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) and the Free Press (FP) will host a panel discussion regarding Verizon v. FCC. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument on September 9. The speakers will be Susan Crawford (Cardozo School of Law), Angie Kronenberg (Comptel), Marti Doneghy (AARP), Matt Wood (FP) and Sarah Morris (NAF). See, notice. Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.

4:00 - 5:00 PM. The Board of the First Responder Network Authority, which is also known as FirstNet, will hold an event titled "Special Meeting". There will be no public access to an on site meeting. There will be public listen only teleconferencing. The call in number is 1-888-469-3306. The access code is FirstNet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 170, September 3, 2013, at Pages 54241-54242.

4:30 - 5:30 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Can the FCC Regulate the Internet? The Open Internet Order on Trial". The speakers will be Rob Atkinson (Information Technology and Innovation Foundation), Babette Boliek (Pepperdine Law School), Ev Ehrlich, Randolph May (Free State Foundation), Robert McDowell (Hudson Institute), and Jeffrey Eisenach (Navigant Economics). See, notice.

Deadline to submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) statements supporting or opposing the Administrative Council for Terminal Attachments' (ACTA) June 25, 2013 Petition for Rulemaking [7 pages in PDF]. See, FCC notice (Report No. 2989) and ACTA release of June 28.

8:30 AM. The Department of Labor's (DOL) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is scheduled to release its August 2013 unemployment data.

9:00 - 10:00 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee for the 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference's Informal Working Group 1 (Maritime, Aeronautical and Radar Services) will meet by teleconference. See, FCC's August 22, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1790 in IB Docket No. 04-286). The call in numbers are 888-858-2144 or 646-746-3008. The access code is 8672480.

10:00 - 11:30 AM. The Brookings Institution (BI) will host a panel discussion titled "Securing a More Sustainable Growth Path for China". The speakers will be Eswar Prasad (BI), Marcus Rodlauer (International Monetary Fund), David Dollar (BI) and Stephen Roach (Yale University). See, notice. Location: BI, 1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:15 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host an on site and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Does Aspen Skiing Apply to Intellectual Property Rights?". See, Supreme Court's 1985 opinion in Aspen Skiing v. Aspen Highlands, 472 U.S. 585, and amicus curiae brief [25 pages in PDF] filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with the U.S. District Court (DNJ) in Actelion Pharmaceuticals v. Apotex. The speakers will be Koren Ervin (FTC), Jonathan Gleklen (Arnold & Porter), Markus Meier (FTC), and Ali Stoeppelwerth (Wilmer Hale). Prices vary. No CLE credits. See, ABA notice. Location: Arnold & Porter, 555 12th St., NW.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) regarding proposed revisions to the sample reseller certification language and accompanying sections of the FCC Form 499-A instructions. See, Public Notice, DA 13-1700 in WC Docket No. 06-122. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 160, August 19, 2013, at Pages 50415-50416.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding Time Warner Cable's (TWC) August 8, 2013 Petition for Preemption [30 pages in PDF] of the North Carolina Rural Electrification Authority (NCREA) with respect to the arbitration of an interconnection agreement between TWC and Star Telephone Membership Corporation. See, FCC's August 16, 2013 Public Notice, DA 13-1772 in WC Docket No. 13-204.

Deadline for AT&T, Leap Wireless and others to submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) oppositions to the FCC's order that they disclose their Numbering Resource Utilization and Forecast (NRUF) and local number portability (LNP) data for inclusion in the FCC's record in its review of AT&T's planned acquisition of Leap. See, FCC's August 29, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1842 in WT Docket No. 13-193 and CC Docket No. 99-200). AT&T filed its request for FCC approval of this transaction on August 1, 2013. The deadline to submit petitions to deny and comments is September 27. The deadline to submit oppositions is October 7. The deadline to submit replies is October 15. See, FCC August 28, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1831). See also, the FCC's Office of General Counsel's (OGC) web page for this merger review.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the July 15, 2013 ex parte presentation [91 pages in PDF] of LightSquared regarding GPS, and particularly its terrestrial wireless handsets in the 1626.5-1660.5 MHz Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) uplink portion of the L-band. See, FCC's August 7, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1717 in IB Docket Nos. 12-340, 11-109, etc.)

The House will return from its August recess. See, House calendar for the 113th Congress, 1st Session.

The Senate will return from its August recess. See, Senate calendar for the 113th Congress, 1st Session.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Verizon v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 11-1355, the challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) December 2010 Report and Order (R&O) [194 pages in PDF] that adopted rules regulating broadband internet access service (BIAS) providers. The order is FCC 10-201 in GN Docket No. 09-191 and WC Docket No. 07-52. See, stories in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,186, December 22, 2010, and TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,188, December 24, 2010. Verizon filed its brief on July 2, 2012. The FCC filed its brief [121 pages in PDF] on September 10, 2012. See, story titled "FCC Files Brief with DC Circuit in Challenge to BIAS Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,445, September 11, 2012. See also, FCC's surreply brief [15 pages in PDF] filed on January 15, 2013. Judges Rogers, Tatel, and Silberman will preside. This is the first item on the Court's agenda. Location: USCA Courtroom, 4th floor, Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Mondis Technology Ltd. v. Innolux Corporation, App. Ct. No. 13-1178. Panel C. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:30 AM. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) will hold a hearing in its Section 301 investigation of the intellectual property related actions of government of Ukraine. Section 301 is the statutory means by which the U.S. asserts its international trade rights, including its rights under World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements. In particular, under the "Special 301" provisions of the Trade Act of 1974, the OUSTR identifies trading partners that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. artists and industries that rely upon intellectual property protection. See, 19 U.S.C. § 2242. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 143, July 25, 2013, at Page 45011. Location: OUSTR, 1724 F St., NW.

12:00 NOON. The Tech Freedom (TF) will host a panel discussion titled "Recap Luncheon After Net Neutrality Appellate Arguments". The speakers will be Matt Brill (Latham & Watkins), Sherwin Siy (Public Knowledge), Markham Erickson (Steptoe & Johnson), Fred Campbell (Competitive Enterprise Institute), and Berin Szoka (TF). Free. Open to the public. See, registration page. Lunch will be served. Location: TF, 110 Maryland Ave., NE.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) regarding its proposed changes to its Export Administration Regulations covering military electronics and other technologies. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 143, July 25, 2013.

8:30 AM - 6:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the Executive Office of the President's (EOP) Office of Science and Technology Policy's (OSTP) Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 146, July 30, 2013, at Pages 45992-45993. Location: Department of Agriculture Conference & Training Center, Patriots Plaza III, 355 E St., SW.

9:00 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee (RPTAC) will hold a partially closed meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 166, August 27, 2013, at Page 52904. Location: DOC, Room 3884, Hoover Building, 14th Street between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, NW.

? POSTPONED SEVERAL TIMES. 9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host an event titled "Is Technology Responsible for American Job Loss?". The speakers will be Robert Atkinson (ITIF), Andrew McAfee (MIT business school), and Edward Luce (Financial Times). McAffee is a co-author of the book [Amazon Kindle edition] titled "Race Against The Machine: How the Digital Revolution is Accelerating Innovation, Driving Productivity, and Irreversibly Transforming Employment and the Economy". See, notice. Location: ITIF/ITIC, Suite 610A, 1101 K St., NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Vederi v. Google, App. Ct. No. 13-1057, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (CDCal) in a patent infringement case involving Google's Street View. Panel E. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

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 In-House Counsel Antitrust Update". The speakers will be Lisa Fales, Bill Coston, Tom Gilbertsen, David Conway, and Paul Feinstein (all of the Washington DC office of Venable). Free. No CLE credits. See, notice.

2:00 PM. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to initiate preparations for the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference 2014 (PP14). The agenda also includes an "update on the preparations for the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-2014) in light of the Regional Preparatory Meeting (RPM) for the Americas region; as well as the World Summit on the Information Society+10 high level event in conjunction with WTDC-2014". See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 154, August 9, 2013, at Page 48765. Location: 1200 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA.

2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on Bankruptcy and the Courts will hold a hearing on S 1385 [LOC | WW], the "Federal Judgeship Act of 2013". The bill would increase the number of judgeships on the U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) from 29 to 33. It would also increase the size of the 6th Circuit by one judge. It would not divide the 9th Circuit, or reduce the size of the DC Circuit. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

8:30 AM - 3:00 PM. Day two of a two day meeting of the Executive Office of the President's (EOP) Office of Science and Technology Policy's (OSTP) Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 146, July 30, 2013, at Pages 45992-45993. Location: Department of Agriculture Conference & Training Center, Patriots Plaza III, 355 E St., SW.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Engineering 2.0: Rekindling American Ingenuity". The speakers will be Robert Atkinson (ITIF), Pramod Khargonekar (National Science Foundation), Sridhar Kota (University of Michigan -- Ann Arbor), Helmuth Ludwig (Siemens Industrial), and Dan Mote (National Academy of Engineering). Free. Open to the public. See, notice. Location: ITIF/ITIC, Suite 610A, 1101 K St., NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Apple v. Motorola, App. Ct. No. 12-1548. Panel G. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in CBT Flint Partners v. Cisco Ironport Systems, App. Ct. No. 13-1036, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (NDGa) in a patent infringement case. At issue is the award of discovery costs. See, Business Software Alliance's (BSA) amicus curiae brief. Panel H. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:30 AM. The Senate Appropriations Committee's (SAC) Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government will hold a hearing on the FY 2014 appropriation for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The witnesses will be Mignon Clyburn, Ajit Pai and Jessica Rosenworcel. See, notice. Location: Room 138, Dirksen Building.

2:00 PM. The House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies will hold a hearing titled "The Threat to Americans’ Personal Information: A Look into the Security and Reliability of the Health Exchange Data Hub". See, notice. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a program titled "How to Litigate a Patent Infringement Case 2013". The speaker will be Patrick Coyne (Finnegan Henderson). 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.

Deadline to submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) oppositions to the petition for reconsideration [21 pages in PDF] filed by the American Association for Justice (an interest group that represents plaintiffs' trial lawyers) of the FCC's order [202 pages in PDF] regarding human exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields. The FCC adopted this order on March 27, 2013, and released its on March 29. It is FCC 13-39 in ET Docket No. 03-137. See, FCC Public Notice, and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 166, August 27, 2013, at Page 52893.

? Deadline to submit initial statements supporting or opposing the Fiber to the Home Council Americas' (FTTHCA) July 23, 2013 petition for rulemaking [57 pages in PDF] regarding creating a new universal service subsidy program which it titles "Universal Service Gigabit Communities Race-to-the-Top Program". The FTTHCA wants subsidies to "support the deployment of ultra-high-speed networks with symmetrical gigabit services for community anchor institutions and their surrounding related neighborhoods in Tier II and Tier III markets". See, FCC's August 12, 2013 Public Notice, which sets no deadline. (47 CFR § 1.405(a) sets 30 days from Public Notice as the deadline for initial statements in support of or in opposition to a petition for rule making.)