9/13. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a document [84 pages in PDF] titled "Notice and Filing Requirements, Reserve Price, Minimum Opening Bids, Upfront Payments, and other Procedures for Auction 96".

This auction pertains to the advanced wireless service (AWS) H block licenses in the 1915-1920 MHz and 1995-2000 Mhz bands. This notice sets a commencement date of January 14, 2014.

The 2012 spectrum bill, which was part of HR 3630 [LOC | WW], the "Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012", enacted by the 112th Congress, required the FCC, within three years, to auction the 1915-1920 MHz and 1995-2000 MHz bands. See, Section 6401(b) of that Act, which is codified at 47 U.S.C. § 1451(b).

The FCC issued its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking [60 pages in PDF] in December of 2012. The NPRM is FCC 12-152 in WT Docket No. 12-357. The FCC adopted it on December 11, 2012, and released it on December 17, 2012.

This just released notice states that "The H Block frequencies will be licensed as paired 5 megahertz blocks, with each license having a total bandwidth of 10 megahertz; 1915-1920 MHz for mobile and low power fixed (i.e., uplink) operations and 1995-2000 MHz for base station and fixed (i.e., downlink) operations." (Parentheses in original. Footnote omitted.)

It sets a reserve price of $1.56 Billion.

FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai (at left) wrote in a statement that this auction "will help deliver bandwidth-intensive mobile services and applications" and "provide much-needed revenue for the First Responder Network Authority to build out a nationwide, interoperable broadband public safety network".

FCC Chairman Mignon Clyburn also wrote positively about this notice in her statement. However, Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel lamented that Section 6401 of the 2012 spectrum bill provided for auctioning a total of 65 MHz, but the upcoming auction only pertains to 10 MHz.

Rosenworcel (at right) wrote in her statement that "I fear this approach fails that test. That is because holding a single auction of all 65 megahertz at once is bound to yield more interest, more bidders, and more revenue than dividing this spectrum up and holding an auction of the 10 megahertz H block alone."

She added that "splitting this spectrum up for auction will likely limit interest in the H block to only one, or possibly two bidders. If that is true, we will have a retail sale -- not an auction. Moreover, it will mean reduced revenue from this spectrum -- and less support for our nation’s first responders."

This is notice is DA 13-1885 in AU Docket No. 13-178.

9/18. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a notice in the Federal Register (FR) seeking public comments regarding a proposed COPPA safe harbor program.

On August 15, 2013 Samet Privacy, LLC, operator of the kidSAFE Seal Program, submitted a filing [38 pages in PDF, redacted] titled "kidSAFE Seal Program's Application for COPPA Safe Harbor Approval".

The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which is codified at 15 U.S.C. §§ 6501-6506, bans operators of web sites and online services that are directed to children from collecting information from children under thirteen without parental consent.

The FTC has promulgated, and amended, rules that implement the COPPA. The FTC stated in a release that "The Rule includes a ``safe harbor´´ provision designed to encourage increased industry self-regulation in this area. Under this provision, industry groups and others may ask the Commission to approve self-regulatory guidelines that implement the protections of the Rule. Companies that comply with the FTC-approved guidelines receive safe harbor from agency enforcement action under the Rule."

Samet's filing proposes self regulatory guidelines pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the FTC's COPPA rules. If approved by the FTC, this would become the sixth such program.

The deadline to submit comments to the FTC is October 18, 2013. See, FR, Vol. 78, No. 181, September 18, 2013, at Pages 57319-57320.

9/6. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published a notice in the Federal Register (FR) that announces, describes, and recites proposed changes to rules that would, among other things, revise 26 C.F.R. § 1.174-2 regarding the "Definition of research and experimental expenditures".

This FR notice sets December 5, 2013 as the deadline to submit comments. This FR notice also announces that the IRS will hold a public hearing on these proposed rules changes on January 8, 2014 at the IRS headquarters in Washington DC.

Large incumbent technology companies, and technology groups, state that the research and development tax credit is fundamentally important for incenting R&D activities. The R&D tax credit is codified at 26 U.S.C. § 41. The Congress has a long history of passing short term extensions. See, story titled "R&D Tax Credit Extended" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,504, January 7, 2013.

The current credit is set to expire on December 31, 2013. Bills are pending that would extend it. See, story titled "R&D Tax Credit Bills Introduced" and related stories in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,521, February 7, 2013.

Subsection 41(a) provides a credit for "qualified research expenses".

Subsection 41(d) provides that "The term ``qualified research´´ means research -- (A) with respect to which expenditures may be treated as expenses under section 174, (B) which is undertaken for the purpose of discovering information -- (i) which is technological in nature, and (ii) the application of which is intended to be useful in the development of a new or improved business component of the taxpayer, and (C) substantially all of the activities of which constitute elements of a process of experimentation for a purpose described in paragraph (3)." Subsections 4(d)(2)-(3) elaborate.

26 U.S.C. § 174 elaborates further on the meaning of "Research and experimental expenditures".

The IRS has promulgated regulations that provide further definition and examples of "Research and experimental expenditures". It is these rules that the IRS now proposes to revise.

The IRS's FR notice offers this summary of the proposed changes:

"First, these proposed regulations provide that if expenditures qualify as research or experimental expenditures, it is irrelevant whether a resulting product is ultimately sold or used in the taxpayer's trade or business."

"Second, these proposed regulations provide that the Depreciable Property Rule contained in Sec.  1.174-2(b)(4) is an application of the general definition of research and experimental expenditures contained in Sec.  1.174-2(a)(1) to depreciable property."

"Third, these proposed regulations define the term ``pilot model.´´"

"Fourth, these proposed regulations clarify the general rule that the costs of producing a product after uncertainty concerning the development or improvement of a product is eliminated are not eligible expenses under section 174 because these costs are not for research or experimentation."

"Finally, these proposed regulations provide a ``shrinking-back´´ provision, similar to the rule provided for in Sec.  1.41-4(b)(2), to address situations in which the requirements of Sec.  1.174-2(a)(1) are met with respect to only a component part of a larger product and are not met with respect to the overall product itself."

See, FR, Vol. 78, No. 173, September 6, 2013, at Pages 54796-54800.

9/5. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCESRC) released an outsourced report [59 pages in PDF] titled "Red Cloud Rising: Cloud Computing in China".

The report states that the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) has prioritized the development of cloud computing within the PRC, and that this may affect the economic and security interests of U.S., and the interests of U.S. consumers.

It states that "The emergence of China-based cloud computing services and solutions may raise significant concerns for US consumers, particularly if their data is being stored or processed using infrastructure located within Mainland China."

It elaborates that "Any future growth in US consumer use of China-based cloud computing infrastructure would likely raise significant security concerns. Regulations requiring foreign firms to enter into joint cooperative arrangements with Chinese companies in order to offer cloud computing services may jeopardize the foreign firms’ information security arrangements. Furthermore, Chinese-language news sources indicate that China’s primary foreign intelligence collection organization, the Ministry of State Security, has taken an oversight role in projects aimed at bringing foreign cloud computing investment to China."

It also states that "Chinese cloud computing infrastructure could be used for offensive cyber operations, but the same is true of public cloud computing platforms globally."

It also states that "The security vulnerabilities of Chinese cloud infrastructure are not inherently different from those of other cloud infrastructure around the globe."

The authors of the report are Leigh Ann Ragland, Joseph McReynolds, Matthew Southerland, and James Mulvenon of the Center for Intelligence Research and Analysis (CIRA), which is a division of the Defense Group Inc. (DGI).

9/5. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), which regulates exports and related matters, published a notice in the Federal Register (FR) requesting comments regarding extension of its foreign policy based export control regulations.

The BIS's foreign policy based rules affect, among other things, certain microprocessors, encryption products, cameras, and communication intercepting devices, software and technology.

Section 6 of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (EAA), as expired, requires the BIS to extend these regulations annually.

The BIS asks, for example, what is the "likelihood that such controls will achieve their intended foreign policy purposes, in light of other factors, including the availability from other countries of the goods, software or technology proposed for such controls"?

The BIS also asks what are the "comparative benefits to U.S. foreign policy objectives versus the effect of the controls on the export performance of the United States, the competitive position of the United States in the international economy, the international reputation of the United States as a supplier of goods and technology"?

The BIS also asks for information about similar export controls, and licensing regimes, maintained by other countries.

The deadline to submit comments is October 7, 2013. See, FR, Vol. 78, No. 172, September 5, 2013, at Pages 54623-54625.

The provisions of the EAA remain in effect, notwithstanding expiration of the statute, by annual Presidential declarations. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 155, August 12, 2013, at Pages 49105-49107, and "More News" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,590, August 27, 2013. See also, stories titled "Obama Issues Annual Routine Emergency Export Regulation Declaration" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,429, August 15, 2012, and "President Issues Another Routine Emergency Declaration to Continue Export Regulation Regime" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,288, August 13, 2011.

9/11. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a notice in the Federal Register (FR) that announces, describes, recites, and sets the comment deadline for, proposed changes to its Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The proposed changes, among other things, would require exporters to file an Automated Export System (AES) record for all exports subject to the EAR involving a party or parties to the transaction who are listed on the Unverified List, aka UVL. The deadline to submit comments is October 11, 2013. See, FR, Vol. 78, No. 176, September 11, 2013, Pages 55664-55671.

9/9. U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman met via conference call with representatives of organized interests with a stake in the outcome of ongoing Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) negotiations. See, OUSTR release.

9/6. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a notice in the Federal Register (FR) that announces, describes, recites, and set the effective date (September 6, 2013) for, its changes to its Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to add an end-user, Intel Semiconductor (Dalian) Ltd., located in the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the list of Validated End-Users (VEUs). See, FR, Vol. 78, No. 173, September 6, 2013, at Pages 54752-54755.

9/17. President Obama nominated Leslie Caldwell to be the Assistant Attorney General (AAG) in charge of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Criminal Division. See, White House news office release and release. She is a partner in the New York City office of the law firm of Morgan Lewis & Bockius. She gave $2500 to the Obama campaign in the 2012 election cycle. See, FEC disclosure form. The acting AAG is Mythili Raman, a career DOJ attorney.

9/13. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a notice in the Federal Register (FR) that announces members of its Performance Review Board. They are David Robbins (Executive Director), Jonathan Nuechterlein (General Counsel), Deborah Feinstein (Director of the Bureau of Competition), Jessica Rich (Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection), and Pauline Ippolito (Deputy Director of the Bureau of Economics). See, FR, Vol. 78, No. 178, September 13, 2013, at Page 56703.

9/11. Jina Choi was named head of the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) San Francisco office. See, SEC release.

9/9. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice in the Federal Register (FR) that requests nominations for membership on its DHS Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee. The deadline to submit nominations is October 9, 2013. This committee provides advice regarding "programmatic, policy, operational, administrative, and technological issues within DHS that relate to personally identifiable information (PII), as well as data integrity and other privacy-related matters". See, FR, Vol. 78, No. 174, September 9, 2013, at Pages 55088-55089.

9/17. Microsoft announced in a release that its Board of Directors has increased its quarterly dividend to shareholders, and approved a new Microsoft share repurchase program "authorizing up to $40 billion in share repurchases. The new share repurchase program, which has no expiration date, replaces the previous $40 billion share repurchase program that was set to expire Sept. 30, 2013."

9/17. Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) adopted and released a Report and Order (R&O) [144 pages in PDF] regarding to its special access rules. This R&O pertains to the FCC's data and information collection efforts. This R&O is FCC 13-1909 in WC Docket No. 05-25.

9/17. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Mignon Clyburn announced in a statement that she has circulated an Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding rural call completion. See, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). It is FCC 13-18 in WC Docket No. 13-39. The FCC adopted this NPRM on February 4, 2013, and released it on February 7, 2013. See also, April 18, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-780). See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 88, May 7, 2013, at Pages 26572-26573. See also, May 22, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1196) extending the reply comment deadline.

Tech Law Journal publishes a free access web site and a subscription e-mail alert. The basic rate for a subscription to the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert is $250 per year for a single recipient. There are discounts for subscribers with multiple recipients.

Free one month trial subscriptions are available. Also, free subscriptions are available for federal elected officials, and employees of the Congress, courts, and executive branch. The TLJ web site is free access. However, copies of the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert are not published in the web site until two months after writing.

For information about subscriptions, see subscription information page.

Tech Law Journal now accepts credit card payments. See, TLJ credit card payments page.

TLJ is published by David Carney
Contact: 202-364-8882.
carney at techlawjournal dot com
3034 Newark St. NW, Washington DC, 20008.

Privacy Policy
Notices & Disclaimers
Copyright 1998-2013 David Carney. All rights reserved.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. The schedule for the week includes consideration of HR 761 [LOC | WW], the "National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2013", a bill to facilitate and incent domestic mining and extraction of rare earth materials, which are used in information and communications technology products. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

7:45 AM - 4:30 PM. The Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) will host a webcast event titled "Managing the Mobile Onslaught: Securing Endpoints to Apps". Free. See, event website.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a three day on site and webcast event hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division's (CSD) National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) titled "4th Annual NICE Workshop Navigating the National Security Education Interstate Highway". See, event website and agenda [PDF]. Location: NIST, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:30 AM. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (SHSGAC) will hold a hearing on the nominations of Stevan Bunnel to be General Counsel of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Suzanne Spaulding to be the DHS Under Secretary for National Protection and Programs. See, notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will hold a closed hearing titled "Oversight of the Administration’s Use of FISA Authorities". The witnesses will be __. No webcast. See, notice. Location: Room HVC-301, Capitol Visitor Center.

10:00 AM. The House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies will meet to mark up HR 2952 [LOC | WW], the "Critical Infrastructure Research and Development Advancement Act of 2013" or "CIRDA Act", and HR ___, the "Homeland Security Cybersecurity Boots on the Ground Act". Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

10:00 AM. The President's Export Council's (PEC) Subcommittee on Export Administration (SEA) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, Number 171, September 4, 2013, Page 54450. Location: Department of Commerce, Hoover Building, Room 3884, 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, NW.

10:00 AM - 2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) North American Numbering Council (NANC) will meet. See, FCC's August 26, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1804 in CC Docket No. 92-237). Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

2:00 PM. House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "The Role of Voluntary Agreements in the U.S. Intellectual Property System". The witnesses will be __. Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing on the nominations of Michael O’Rielly to be a Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Terrell McSweeny to be a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Fair Play? Competition in Sports Broadcasting and the Local Sports Fan". The speakers will be Jonathan Rubin (Rubin PLLC), John Schmidtlein (Williams & Connolly), John Wyss (Wiley Rein), and Steve Vieux. Free. No CLE credits. For more information, call 202-626-3463. 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 - 9:00 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a discussion of the book [Amazon] titled "Startup Rising: The Entrepreneurial Revolution Remaking the Middle East". The speakers will be Christopher Schroeder (the author), Yousef Al Otaiba (Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates), and Leila Hilal (NAF). For more information, contact Ariel Bogle at bogle at newamerica dot net. Location: Smith & Wollensky steak house, 1112 19th St., NW.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [102 pages in PDF] regarding making spectrum in the 1695-1710 MHz, 1755-1780 MHz, 2020-2025 MHz, and 2155-2180 MHz bands available for Advanced Wireless Services (AWS). The FCC adopted and released this NPRM on July 23, 2013. It is FCC 13-102 in GN Docket No. 13-185. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 161, August 20, 2013, at Pages 51559-51595.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) [160 pages in PDF] regarding the its waste, fraud and abuse plagued video relay service (VRS) program. This FNPRM is FCC 13-82 in CG Docket Nos. 10-51 and 03-123. The FCC adopted this FNPRM on June 7, 2013, and released it on June 10. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 129, July 5, 2013, at Pages 40407-40421. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts VRS R&O and FNPRM" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,576, June 12, 2013.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding its public safety Travelers' Information Stations (TIS) rules, under which Public Safety Pool (PSP) eligible entities transmit noncommercial travel related information over AM band frequencies to motorists on a localized basis. The FCC adopted this item on July 18, 2013, and released it on July 23. It is FCC 13-98 in PS Docket No. 09-19. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 160, August 19, 2013, at Pages 50370-50372. See also, August 20 Public Notice (DA 13-1784).

Deadline to submit comments to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in response to its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding its common format for transition plans to be developed by federal entities to facilitate the relocation of, and spectrum sharing with, U.S. government stations in spectrum bands reallocated from federal use to non-federal use, or to shared use, and auctioned by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 160, August 19, 2013, at Pages 50396-50399.

Deadline to file pre-hearing briefs and statements in advance of the U.S. International Trade Commission's (USITC) September 25, 2013 hearing titled "Digital Trade in the U.S. and Global Economies". See, USITC release, and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 162, August 21, 2013, at Pages 51744-51746. See also, story titled "USITC Releases First Report on Digital Trade" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,589, August 26, 2013.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding TW Telecom of Kentucky's August 16, 2013 application, pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 214 and 47 C.F.R. § 63.71, to discontinue certain services in Louisville, Kentucky. See, FCC's September 3, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1855 in WC Docket No. 13-210).

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) regarding the Section 337 complaint filed by Optical Devices seeking an exclusion order affected certain optical disc drives against Lenovo, LG Electronics, Nintendo, Panasonic, Samsung, Toshiba, and MediaTek. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 175, September 10, 2013, at Pages 55292-55293.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. The schedule for the week includes consideration of HR 761 [LOC | WW], the "National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2013", a bill to facilitate and incent domestic mining and extraction of rare earth materials. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

5:00 - 8:00 AM ET and 1:00 - 2:00 PM ET. The National Science Foundation's (NSF) National Science Board (NSB) will host an on site and webcast meeting. The agenda for the morning session includes a presentation and panel discussion titled "The Future of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure for Science and Engineering, Research and Education". The afternoon session is closed to the public. See, original notice in the Federal Register (FR), Vol. 78, No. 179, September 16, 2013, at Page 56944, and correction notice in the FR, Vol. 78, No. 181, September 18, 2013, at Page 57417. Location: University of Washington, Odegaard Undergraduate Library, Room 220, 4060 George Washington Lane, Seattle, Washington.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day three of a three day on site and webcast event hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division's (CSD) National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) titled "4th Annual NICE Workshop Navigating the National Security Education Interstate Highway". See, event website and agenda [PDF]. Location: NIST, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:00 AM. Day one of a two day event titled "Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure Protection Symposium". Prices vary. See, event website. Location: Holiday Inn Rosslyn at Key Bridge, 1900 North Fort Myer Drive, Arlington, VA.

9:30 AM. The President's Export Council will meet. The agenda for the meeting includes discussion of intellectual property provisions of the the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), expansion of the WTO Information Technology Agreement (ITA), reform of the U.S. export control regime, the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference to be held in Bali, Indonesia on December 3-6, 2013, forced localization policies, government procurement, and de minimis reform. Webcast. See, notice in the Federal Register Vol. 78, No. 170, September 3, 2013, at Pages 54238-54239. Location: __.

10:00 AM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed hearing titled "Ongoing Intelligence Activities". See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304.

10:00 AM. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) will hold a hearing on the nomination of Caroline Kennedy to be Ambassador to Japan. Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 216, Hart Building.

10:00 - 11:30 AM. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) will host an on site and teleconferenced event titled "CDT Health Privacy Press Briefing". The speakers will be __. The call in number is 877-366-0711. The participant code is 9566-8245#. A light breakfast will be served. See, notice. For more information, contact Brian Wesolowski at brian at cdt dot org or 202-407-8814. Location: CDT, Suite 1100, 1634 I St., NW (on Farragut Square).

11:00 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee for the 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference will meet. See, FCC's August 13, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1747 in IB Docket No. 04-286), and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 162, August 21, 2013, at Pages 51725-51726. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

12:45 - 2:45 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Impact of New SEC Rules on Private Offerings". The speakers will be Jonathan Ingram (SEC), Karen Wiedemann (SEC), John Coffee (Columbia Law School), David Weild, and Ford Ladd. The price to attend ranges from free to $30. No CLE credits. For more information, call 202-626-3463. The DC Bar has a history of barring reporters from its events. See, notice. Location: Jenner & Block, 9th floor, 1099 New York Ave., NW.

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

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its August 29, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1846 in WC Docket No. 10-90) that requests comments regarding its Version 3.2 of the Connect America Fund Phase II Cost Model, and especially model costs for undersea cable connecting non-contiguous areas to the contiguous U.S.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. The schedule for the week includes consideration of HR 761 [LOC | WW], the "National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2013", a bill to facilitate and incent domestic mining and extraction of rare earth materials. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

9:00 AM. Day one of a two day event titled "Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure Protection Symposium". Prices vary. See, event website. Location: Holiday Inn Rosslyn at Key Bridge, 1900 North Fort Myer Drive, Arlington, VA.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Blanca Telephone Company v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 12-1365. This is a petition for review of a final order of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding hearing aid compatibility. See also, FCC brief [70 pages in PDF] filed on March 1, 2013. Judges Garland, Ginsburg, and Sentelle will preside. This is the second item on the Court's agenda. Location: USCA Courtroom, 4th floor, Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The Heritage Foundation (HF) will host a panel discussion titled "Does Technology Lead to Tyranny? The Fourth Amendment and New Technologies in a Digitized World?". The speakers will be Miguel Estrada (Gibson Dunn & Crutcher), Susan Herman (ACLU), Orin Kerr (George Washington University Law School), and Paul Larkin (HF). Free. Open to the public. See, notice. Location: HF, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

12:00 NOON. Patient Privacy Rights (PPR) and Microsoft will host a panel discussion titled "What Lessons Can Health Care Take Away from the Revelation of NSA Surveillance?" The speakers will be Daniel Weitzner (MIT Decentralized Information Group), Deborah Peel (PPR), Sydney Brownstone (Fast Company), Adrian Gropper (PPR), and Andy Oram (O'Reilly Media). Box lunches will be served, starting at 11:30 AM. For more information, contact Ashley Hughes at ahughes at deweysquare dot com. Location: Microsoft, 901 K St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The DC Bar Association will host an webcast panel discussion titled "Understanding the Final HIPAA Rules". The speakers will be Susan McAndrew (DHHS) and Joy Pritts (DHHS). The price is $35. This is a replay of a previously recorded event. No CLE credits. For more information, call 202-626-3463. Reporters are barred. See, notice. The HIPAA rules are published in a notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 17, January 25, 2013, at Pages 5565-5702. They take effect on September 23.

11:59 PM. Deadline to deliver regulatory fees for FY 2013 to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). See, FCC Public Notice (DA 13-1796).

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding the proposed parental consent method [85 pages in PDF, redacted] submitted by AssertID on June 18, 2013 under the Voluntary Commission Approval Processes provision of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 162, August 21, 2013, at Pages 51677-51678. See also, FTC release.

Deadline to submit reply 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.

The House will not meet the week of September 23 through September 27. See, House calendar for the 113th Congress, 1st Session.

1:00 - 4:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Technological Advisory Council (TAC) will meet. See, August 19, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1774), and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 175, September 10, 2013, at Page 55255. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

Deadline to submit to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) post hearing written testimony and rebuttal testimony regarding the OUSTR's September 9 hearing in its Section 301 investigation of the intellectual property related actions of government of Ukraine. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 143, July 25, 2013, at Page 45011. Location: OUSTR, 1724 F St., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [57 pages in PDF] regarding broadband services onboard airplanes and the 14.0-14.5 GHz band. This NPRM is FCC 13-66 in GN Docket No. 13-114. The FCC adopted and released this NPRM on May 9, 2013. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 132, July 10, 2013, at Pages 41343-41351.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Media Bureau (MB) in response to its June 25, 2013 Public Notice (PN) regarding the FCC's requirement that broadcast television stations publish their political files online. This PN is DA 13-1440 in MB Docket No. 00-168. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 131, July 9, 2013, at Pages 41014-41016.

Deadline to submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) replies to 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 comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to AT&T's July 22, 2013 request for an interim waiver [30 pages in PDF] of FCC rules, pending disposition of AT&T's February 19, 2012 petition for rulemaking, to permit the use of Power Spectral Density (PSD) measurements for certain of its Florida station operations in the Cellular Radiotelephone Service. See, FCC's August 22, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1743 in WT Docket No. 13-202).

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) regarding the request of the Laboratory Accreditation Bureau (LAB) for accreditation by the FCC. See, FCC's August 23, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1795 in ET Docket No. 13-208).

Deadline to submit reply 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.)

Effective date of changes to HIPAA privacy, security, enforcement and breach notification rules promulgated pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 17, January 25, 2013, at Pages 5565-5702.

12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a lunch. The speaker will be Mignon Clyburn, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The deadline for registrations and cancellations is 12:00 NOON on September 18. Prices vary. No webcast. See, notice. Location: Grand Hyatt Hotel, 1000 H St., NW.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers and Legislative Committees will host an event titled "Happy Hour". For more information, contact Justin Faulb at JFaulb at eckertseamans dot com or Marc Paul (Lukas Nace) at Marc dot Paul at fcclaw dot com. Location: Johnny's Half Shell, 400 North Capitol St., NW.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Confronting Global Anti-Competitive Market Distortions". The speakers will be Stephen Ezell (ITIF), Robert Atkinson (ITIF), Edward Alden (Council on Foreign Relations), and Shanker Singham (Squire Sanders). Free. Open to the public. See, notice. Location: ITIF/ITIC, Suite 610A, 1101 K St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Venable law firm will host an on site and webcast panel discussion titled "Cyber Sticks and Carrots -- How the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, Incentives, and the SAFETY Act Affect You". The speakers will be Jamie Barnett (Venable), Jane Lute (Council on Cybersecurity), Dismas Locaria (Venable), and Jason Wool (Venable). Lunch will be served. See, notice. Location: Venable, 575 7th St., NW.

11:59 PM. Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) regarding the Interim Environmental Review [89 pages in PDF] of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 167, August 28, 2013, at Pages 53183-53184.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding mobile device location surveillance capabilities and precision in advance of its October 2, 2013 workshop. See, FCC Public Notice (DA 13-1873 in PS Docket No. 07-114) and stories titled "FCC Seeks Comments on Mobile Device Location Surveillance Capabilities" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,598, September 10, 2013, and "California House Democrats Urge FCC to Amend Phone Location Detection Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,600, September 12, 2013.