4/24. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a tentative agenda for its event titled "open meeting" scheduled for May 15, 2014. This agenda includes an NPRM regarding open internet rules, two orders related to the upcoming incentive auction, and an order regarding wireless microphones. See, FCC release.

Incentive Auction. The FCC is scheduled to adopt one Report and Order (R&O) that adopts rules and policies for the upcoming broadcast television spectrum incentive auction, and a second R&O that adopts rules and policies regarding the aggregation of spectrum for mobile wireless services through initial licensing and secondary market transactions. The proceedings are WT Docket Nos. 12-268 and 12-269, respectively.

The FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding incentive auctions on September 28, 2012. It released it on October 2, 2012. It is FCC 12-118 in WT Docket Nos. 12-268. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts NPRM on Incentive Auctions" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,455, October 1, 2012

The FCC released a statement by Chairman Tom Wheeler regarding the contents of this NPRM on April 24.

The FCC also adopted and released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [50 pages in PDF] on September 28, 2012 regarding spectrum aggregation. It is FCC 12-119 in WT Docket No. 12-269. See, story titled "FCC Adopts Spectrum Aggregation NPRM" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,455, October 1, 2012.

FCC released a statement by Chairman Tom Wheeler, and a release, regarding the contents of this NPRM on April 25.

See also, related story in this issue titled "FCC Commissioner Pai Addressess Upcoming Incentive Auction".

Wireless Microphones. The FCC is scheduled to adopt a R&O that provides a limited expansion to the class of wireless microphone users eligible for a license.

Open Internet NPRM. The FCC is scheduled to adopt a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NRM) that proposes rules that regulate the business practices of broadband internet access service (BIAS) providers.

See also, story titled "FCC to Consider Open Internet NPRM" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,645, April 23, 2014.

This event is scheduled for Thursday, May 15, 2014 at 10:30 AM at the FCC headquarters, Room TW-C305, 445 12th Street, SW. It is open to the public. It will be webcast.

4/24. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Ajit Pai gave a speech in Washington DC in which he discussed the upcoming incentive auction, and how forthcoming FCC rules may impede the success of that auction by limiting participation.

Pai (at right) said that "In order for the incentive auctions to succeed, we must have robust competition among wireless carriers for licenses in the forward auction."

"But unfortunately, the plan reportedly on the table appears to go in the opposite direction. It restricts competition. Certain companies selected by the government will be shielded from competing against other companies. Instead of good, old-fashioned competition, the chosen few would have spectrum set aside especially for them."

He continued that "My position on the forward auction is simple: The FCC should not limit carriers’ ability to participate. We should not pick winners and losers. The inevitable effect of a policy that limits participation will be less spectrum for mobile broadband, less funding for national priorities, a higher budget deficit, and an increased chance of a failed auction."

4/25. President Obama is currently traveling to Japan, Korea, Malaysia and the Philipines. He concluded his visit to Japan on Friday, April 25.

While President Obama and Japan President Abe reached agreement on some matters, they reached no agreement regarding ongoing Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) negotiations.

The obstacles included issues such as agriculture and cars. But, successful conclusion of a TPPA would benefit producers and consumers of information and communications technology (ICT) goods and services.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) maintains a web section on the TPPA.

Background on TPP and FTAs. The US, Japan, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam are negotiating a multilateral free trade agreement (FTA) to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers that would likely have significant overall benefits for the economies and consumers in the participating nations.

Although, some businesses and sectors would be adversely impacted. There is organized opposition to the TPPA in the US and elsewhere. Moreover, US based opponents of the TPPA, and free trade generally, are key members of President Obama's electoral coalition.

There are also other ongoing regional multilateral free trade agreement negotiations, such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The People's Republic of China (PRC), Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand, but not the US, are a parties to RCEP. The PRC is not a party to TPPA.

Economic analysis suggests that successful conclusion of any Asian Pacific FTA would likely benefit the economies of participating nations (measured by national income gains). But, due to trade diversion effects, an FTA could harm the economy of a non-participating nation. Thus, successful conclusion of RCEP but not TPPA could harm the US economy. See, for example, January 2014 paper [37 pages in PDF] titled "The Relative Significance of EPAs in Asia-Pacific" by Kenichi Kawasaki, of the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).

US Japan TPP Negotiations. The US and Japan released a joint statement at the conclusion of President Obama's visit. It announces no agreement regarding TPPA. Rather, it states, in diplomatic terms, that the two nations are committed to reaching agreement in the future.

It states that "The United States and Japan also coordinate closely in multilateral financial and economic fora to advance trade liberalization and promote economic growth. Our joint efforts are grounded in support for an international economic system that is free, open, and transparent, and embraces innovation. In order to further enhance economic growth, expand regional trade and investment, and strengthen the rules-based trading system, the United States and Japan are committed to taking the bold steps necessary to complete a high-standard, ambitious, comprehensive Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. Today, we have identified a path forward on important bilateral TPP issues. This marks a key milestone in the TPP negotiations and will inject fresh momentum into the broader talks. We now call upon all TPP partners to move as soon as possible to take the necessary steps to conclude the agreement. Even with this step forward, there is still much work to be done to conclude TPP."

President Obama and President Abe also made statements at a joint public appearance when President Obama arrived in Japan in which they did not mention the TPPA.

President Abe (at right) said that "My administration intends to contribute to regional peace and prosperity more practically than ever, in line with the policy of what I call practical contribution to peace based on the principle on international cooperation. And together with the United States, Japan would like to realize our leading role of the alliance in ensuring a peaceful and prosperous Asia Pacific." See, transcript.

President Obama said that "We represent two of the three largest economies in the world, and we have the opportunity by working together to help shape an open and innovative and dynamic economy throughout the Asia Pacific region." The third member of this trio is the PRC.

He added that "a strong U.S.-Japan relationship is not only good for our countries but good for the world."

Prior to the meeting of Presidents Obama and Abe, the OUSTR released a statement regarding talks between USTR Michael Froman and Japanese Minister of Economic and Fiscal Policy Akira Amari.

It states that "We have spent the past several weeks working to narrow gaps with Japan. The round we just completed was focused but difficult. After more than 20 hours of negotiations, we continue to make progress, and we are now faced with a reasonable number of outstanding issues. These issues are important to both sides and considerable differences remain."

"We have worked to be as creative as possible to address Japan's political sensitivities, while pursuing the overall objective of achieving meaningful access to its market – a goal that all TPP partners share. We look to Japan to make similar efforts."

The OUSTR statement adds that "The economic and strategic importance of TPP is greater now than it has ever been. We stand stronger when we stand together -- on global issues, regional issues, and economic issues."

See also,

• stories titled "Japan May Join TPPA Negotiations" and "Abe Advocates Rules for Trade, Investment and IP" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,527, February 25, 2013.
• stories titled "Congressional Democrats Express Concern About Japanese Participation In TPP Negotiations", "Acting USTR Marantis Welcomes Japan's Interest in TPP Negotiations", "Donilon Addresses TPP" and "More TPP News" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,535, March 18, 2013.
• stories titled "Japan Joins TPP Negotiations" and "David Dreier Recommends that PRC Join TPP Negotiations" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,551, April 17, 2013.
• story titled "OUSTR Seeks Comments on Japan's TPP Participation" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,560, May 13, 2013.

Supporters of TPP. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S-Japan Business Council, Keidanren, and Japan-U.S. Business Council released a joint statement on April 21 in which they urged the US and Japan to pursue to conclusion the TPPA "with renewed focus, vigor and purpose".

The BSA Software Association urged President Obama to negotiate "a forward-looking" TPPA "to expand trade in data and information services".

Victoria Espinel (at left), the new head of the BSA, stated in a release that "Software-enabled innovations like cloud computing and data analytics are the new drivers of growth and competitiveness. This trip gives the President an opportunity to modernize trade rules accordingly".

"We need information to flow freely across borders and we can’t have arbitrary requirements on things like where servers must be located", said Espinel. "The TPP brings together countries that account for more than 40 percent of global trade. If they craft a forward-looking agreement that prevents new forms of digital protectionism, they will send a strong signal for the rest of the world to follow."

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) stated in an April 23 release that "manufacturers are hopeful that the President and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will make meaningful progress towards achieving ambitious and market-opening outcomes in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, and that work will continue during the President’s visit to Malaysia to meet Prime Minister Najib Razak later this week."

The NAM urged "immediate and comprehensive elimination of tariffs and non-tariff barriers, strong protections consistent with U.S. practice on intellectual property and investment for all products, new provisions to permit the movement of data cross border and new disciplines to ensure fair commercial competition with state-owned enterprises. These provisions all must be backed up by state-of-the-art enforcement provisions from state-to-state to investor-state mechanisms. Ultimately a successful, growth-producing TPP agreement will be one that ensure that manufacturers in the United States will be put on a fair and competitive footing in each of the TPP markets."

4/24. The Obama administration's commitment to free trade is limited, and this diminishes the likelihood of its successful negotiation of free trade agreements (FTAs) such as the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).

First, it should not go unnoticed that the Obama administration has not concluded a single bilateral FTA.

Second, trade agreements require Congressional approval. A Congressional grant of trade promotion authority (TPA) would enhance the President's ability to obtain Congressional approval, and hence, to negotiate FTAs. Under TPA, Congress can approve or reject, but not amend, FTAs. The Congress gave former President Bush TPA.

Yet, the Congress has not given President Obama this authority, and President Obama has not made a serious effort to obtain it. (He did say in his speech to the Congress on January 28, 2014, "We need to work together on tools like bipartisan trade promotion authority ...")

Third, support for free trade is far stronger among Congressional Republicans than Democrats. President Obama would be heavily dependent upon Republicans in winning approval of any FTA, or TPA. Yet, President Obama has been governing as if there were no Republican majority in the House, and no Republicans in the Senate. This undermines his ability to pursue free trade policy.

Agriculture state members of Congress would be reluctant to back any FTA that includes Japan that does not include significant concessions by Japan on agriculture issues. This is a big block in the Senate. Moreover, agriculture state Democrats are among the few free trade Democrats in the Congress.

Fourth, the Obama administration's analysis of trade is basically that US exports are good, but imports are often bad. Under this analysis, US companies stand to loose sales, US unions stand to loose members and dues, and US workers stand to loose jobs, when things are imported.

The Obama administration's analysis does not consider the considerable benefits of imports on consumption. That is, US consumers buy imported things because they are better and/or cost less. Consumers benefit from this. They also have more disposable income left to spend on other things, which in turn benefits those who make those other things.

But then, industry sectors and labor unions are better organized than consumers. Moreover, consumer groups fail to represent the interests of consumers in trade matters. The Obama administration, like many politicians everywhere, is more responsive to organized interests than consumer welfare.

So, the US protects certain interests that are well organized politically. And, these interests oppose FTAs that threaten to end their protection. For example, US sugar producing, clothing making, car making, and ship building interests do not want to face increased import competition.

President Obama has twice been elected with the support of groups that are fundamentally opposed to free trade. He is responsive to these groups.

The Cato Institute, a group that advocates free trade, has released papers recently that suggest that the Obama administration is failing, and will continue to fail, to promote free trade, in part because of his base of support.

The Cato Institute released a paper by Daniel Pearson on March 17 titled "The Obama Administration's Trade Agenda Is Crumbling".

It states that "The nation has been living with the Obama administration's trade policy for five years, with relatively little to show for it. In the remaining three years, is the executive branch likely to obtain Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and successfully conclude the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)? Although free traders very much want all of this to happen, hard-headed experience indicates it's most likely that the administration will accomplish none of this."

This paper also notes that "groups that normally support the Obama presidency -- labor, environment, and various other NGOs -- have been doing a great deal of ``community organizing´´ in opposition to the trade agenda".

Another Cato Institute paper by Daniel Ikenson elaborated that the TPP, TTIP and "obtaining fast-track trade negotiating authority from Congress, have run into a buzz saw of opposition, which has derailed prospects for U.S. trade liberalization for the time being."

That paper states that "What began as the usual objections from the usual suspects -- labor unions blaming trade for manufacturing decline and job loss; environmental groups blaming trade for climate change; anti-globalization activists sparing the developing world from development -- has grown into a populist backlash against the TPP, which is portrayed as a secretive, corporatist plot to circumvent democratic processes and usurp national sovereignty. The nascent TTIP negotiations have been smeared with a similar taint."

4/24. The Department of Justice (DOJ) named Joseph Klimavicz its new Chief Information Officer (CIO), effective in late May. He will replace Luke McCormack, who left in November of 2013. Kevin Deeley, the DOJ's Deputy CIO, is the acting CIO. He will remain as Deputy CIO. Klimavicz was previously CIO of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

4/5. Michael Spierto joined the Tech America as the Director of Cybersecurity Policy. He previously worked on the staff of the House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies. See, release.

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Notices & Disclaimers
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The House will not meet the week of April 21-25. It will next meet at 2:00 PM on Monday, April 28. See, 2014 House calendar, and SConRes 35.

The Senate will not meet the week of April 21-25. It will next meet at 2:00 PM on Monday, April 28. See, SConRes 35.

8:00 AM - 4:15 PM. Informatica Corporation will host an event titled "2014 Informatica Government Summit". At 8:35 AM Mark Weatherford (Chertoff Group) will give a speech titled "Competing Priorities? Cloud Computing, Big Data, and Cyber Security. At 3:15 PM there will be a panel titled "Government Panel Presentation: Data Management Best Practices". The speakers will include Ann DiCamillo (DHS NPPD Office of Cybersecurity and Communications). See, notice. Location: Greater Washington Society of Association Executives Suite, Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

8:15 AM - 1:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) and the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) will host an event titled "FCC Bankruptcy Mini Conference: The Intersection of the FCC and Bankruptcy Law". The price to attend is $125. CLE credits. See, notice. (The ABI is holding its annual meeting on April 24-27.) Location: JW Marriot, 1331 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

9:00 AM. Day two of a two day meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee (ISTAC). The April 24 session is closed the public, and its agenda is secret. No webcast. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 66, April 7, 2014, at Pages 19051-19052. Location: Hoover Building, Room 3884, 14th Street between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, NW.

9:00 AM - 1:00 PM. The Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) will host an event titled "9th Annual World Intellectual Property Day Forum". The speakers will include Geoffrey Manne (International Center for Law and Economics), Sandra Aistars (Copyright Alliance), Grant Aldonas (Center for Strategic & International Studies), Joe Damond (Biotech Industry Organization), Dana Colarulli (USPTO), and Stevan Mitchell (Globalview Strategies). Free. Open to the public. Lunch wil be served. See, notice. Location: Reserve Officers Association, One Constitution Ave., NE.

9:00 AM - 12:30 PM. The Brookings Institution (BI) will host an event titled "How China's Youth are Transforming Chinese Society: New Research Findings from the PRC". See, notice. Location: BI, 1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

9:30 AM - 3:00 PM. The Department of Health and Human Services' (DHHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's (ONC/HIT) HIT Standards Committee will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 243, December 18, 2013, at Page 76627-76628.

11:00 AM. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) officials will host a teleconferenced event titled "Background media briefing on draft Open Internet NPRM". See, story titled "FCC to Consider Open Internet NPRM" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,645, April 23, 2014.

2:00 - 3:30 PM. The Heritage Foundation (HF) will host a panel discussion titled "Protecting American Interests in the South China Sea". The speakers will be Ely Ratner (Center for a New American Security), Steven Groves (HF), Dean Cheng (HF), Jonathan Odom (U.S. Navy), and Walter Lohman (HF). Free. Open to the public. Webcast. See, notice. Location: HF, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

2:30 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a teleconferenced event to discuss the FCC's forthcoming open internet NPRM. The speakers will be James Glassman (AEI), Richard Bennett (AEI), Roslyn Layton (AEI), and Bret Swanson AEI). The call in number is 1-877-511-0169; the conference code is 202-862-5823.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host an event titled "Happy Hour". For more information, contact Lindsey Tonsager at ltonsager at cov dot com or Justin Faulb at jfaulb at nab dot org. Location: Co Co Sala, 929 F St., NW.

Supreme Court conference day. See, October Term 2013 calendar.

9:00 AM - 1:15 PM. The U.S. China Economic Security and Review Commission (USCESRC) will hold a hearing. This is one of a series of hearings to assist the USCESRC in preparing its 2014 report to the Congress. This hearing is titled "U.S.-China Clean Energy Cooperation: Status, Challenges, and Opportunities". See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 73, April 16, 2014, at Pages 21516-21517. Location: Room 608, Dirksen Building.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics' (RTCA) Special Committee 222, Inmarsat AMS(R)S, will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 68, April 9, 2014, at Page 19706. Location: RTCA, Suite 910, 1150 18th St., NW.

10:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) will host an event titled "Meeting for Software Developers on the Common Formats for Patient Safety Data Collection and Event Reporting". See, original notice in the Federal Register (FR), Vol. 79, No. 15, January 23, 2014, at Pages 3815-3816, and update notice in the FR, Vol. 79, No. 67, April 8, 2014, at Pages 19335-19336. Location: Eisenberg Conference Center, DHHS Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 540 Gaither Road, Rockville, MD.

10:30 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Heritage Foundation (HF) will host a panel discussion titled "U.S.-Japan Cooperation in Southeast Asia". The speakers will be Shigeo Yamada (Embassy of Japan), Satu Limaye (East-West Center in Washington), Yuki Tatsumi (Stimson Center), and Walter Lohman (HF). Free. Open to the public. Webcast. See, notice. Location: HF, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

12:00 NOON - 1:15 PM. The Internet Caucus will host a panel discussion titled "Revising The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA): Should Congress Require a Warrant?". The speakers will include James Dempsey ( Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, and Center for Democracy & Technology), Richard Downing (DOJ's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section), and Katie McAuliffe (Americans for Tax Reform). Box lunches will be served. Location: Room 2226, Rayburn Building.

1:00 - 2:00 PM. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) First Responder Network Authority Finance Committee will hold an event titled "Special Meeting". The Committee will meet by teleconference. The call in number is 1-800-369-1868; the passcode is FirstNet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 77, April 22, 2014, at Pages 22479-22480.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Intellectual Property Law will host a webcast panel discussion titled "What's the Use? A Comparative View of Trademark Use Requirements". The speakers will be Sharra Brockman, Matthew Hintz (Servilla Whitney), Chrissie Scelsi (Scelsi Entertainment and New Media Law), David Postolski (Day Pitney), and Krystle Brown (RKO Pictures). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

Deadline to submit requests to speak at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) May 9, 2014 hearing on its memorandum titled "Guidance For Determining Subject Matter Eligibility of Claims Reciting or Involving Laws of Nature, Natural Phenomena, and Natural Products (Laws of Nature/Natural Products Guidance)'', released on March 4, 2014. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 74, April 17, 2014, at Pages 21736-21738. See also, story titled "USPTO to Hold Hearing on Subject Matter Eligibility of Claims Reciting Laws of Nature" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,640, April 16, 2014.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) in response to its Public Notice (PN) regarding the FCC's attributable material relationship rule. This PN is DA 14-414 in GN Docket Nos. 12-268 and 13-185 and WT Docket No. 05-211. The FCC released it on March 27, 2014. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 71, April 14, 2014, at Pages 20854-20855.

Deadline to register to attend the Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) event titled "Annual Seminar" at the Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Virginia. See, registration form and agenda.

World Intellectual Property Day. See, World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO) notice.

The House will meet the week of April 28-May 2. The House will meet at 2:00 PM. See, 2014 House calendar, and SConRes 35.

10:00 AM. The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Nautilus v. Biosig Instruments, Sup. Ct. No. 13-369, an appeal from the U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) . The questions presented are "Does the Federal Circuit's acceptance of ambiguous patent claims with multiple reasonable interpretations -- so long as the ambiguity is not ``insoluble´´ by a court -- defeat the statutory requirement of particular and distinct patent claiming?" and "Does the presumption of validity dilute the requirement of particular and distinct patent claiming?". See also, April 26, 2013, opinion of the Court of Appeals. Location: 1 First St., NW.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Intellectual Property Committee will host a panel discussion titled "Patent Reform Legislation". The speakers may include Alexandra Givens (Senior Counsel, Senate Judiciary Committee), Russ Merbeth (General Counsel, Intellectual Ventures), and Ken Salomon (Thompson Coburn). Free. Bring your own lunch. Location: Wilkinson Barker Knauer, Suite 700, 2300 N St., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the General Services Administration (GSA) regarding "how to implement" the "recommendations" contained in the GSA and Department of Defense (DOD) document titled "Final Report of the Joint Working Group on Improving Cybersecurity and Resilience Through Acquisition". This document pertains to both cyber security in products and services procured by the federal government, and leverage of the federal government procurement process to regulate private sector cyber security practices. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 48, March 12, 2014, Page 14042.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to Part VI(A) of its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding closed captioning of video programming. Part VI(A) pertains to "Responsibilities for Meeting the Closed Captioning Obligations". The FCC adopted this FNPRM on February 20, 2014, and released it on February 24, 2014. It is FCC 14-12 in CG Docket No. 05-231. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 59, March 27, 2014, at Pages 17093-17106.

Deadline to submit written comments in advance of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology's (PCAST) April 30 public conference call on the PCAST's big data and privacy report. Although, other written comments will be accepted through April 30. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 73, April 16, 2014, at Pages 21453-21454.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Public Notice (PN) that requests comments to refresh the record regarding the ability of non-English speakers to access emergency information. This PN is DA 14-336 in EB Docket No. 04-296. The FCC released it on March 11, 2014. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 60, March 28, 2014, at Pages 17490-17493.

10:00 AM. The House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) will hold a hearing titled "Oversight of the SEC's Agenda, Operations, and FY 2015 Budget Request". The witnesses will be __. See, notice. Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Riley v. California, Sup. Ct. No. 13-132, an appeal from the Court of Appeal of California in a case involving whether or under what circumstances the Fourth Amendment permits police officers to conduct a warrantless search of the digital contents of an individual's cell phone seized from the person at the time of arrest. See also, February 8, 2013, opinion of the lower court. Location: 1 First St., NW.

11:00 AM. The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in U.S. v. Wurie, Sup. Ct. No. 13-212, an appeal from the U.S. Court of Appeals (1stCir) in a case involving whether the Fourth Amendment permits the police, without obtaining a warrant, to review the call log of a cell phone found on a person who has been lawfully arrested. See also, May 17, 2013, opinion of the Court of Appeals. Location: 1 First St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will host a panel discussion regarding "what it means to be a legal advisor at the FCC". The speakers will be Daniel Alvarez and Renee Gregory (Legal Advisors to Chairman Tom Wheeler), Amy Bender (Commissioner Michael O'Rielly), David Goldman (Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel), and Louis Peraertz (Commissioner Mignon Clyburn). Justin Faulb (National Association of Broadcasters) will moderate. For more information, contact Lindsey Tonsager at ltonsager at cov dot com or Justin Faulb at jfaulb at nab dot org. Bring your own lunch. Free. The FCBA states that this is an event of its Young Lawyers Committee. Location: FCC, 7 South, 445 12th St., SW.

12:15 - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Protection of Pre-1972 Sound Recordings: The Sirius/XM Lawsuits and Other Issues". The speakers will be Gary Greenstein (WSGR), Kenneth Kaufman (Manatt Phelps & Phillips), John Simson (American University), and Lita Rosario. Free. No CLE credits. No webcast. Bring your own lunch. For more information, call 202-626-3463. The DC Bar has a history of barring reporters from its events. See, notice. Location: SoundExchange, 10th floor, 733 10th St., NW.

1:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will hold a hearing on HR 1129 [LOC | WW], the "Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act of 2013". The witnesses will be __. Webcast. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

1:00 - 5:00 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will host one of its series of meetings regarding privacy and facial recognition technology. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 235, December 6, 2013, at Pages 73502-73503. Location: American Institute of Architects, 1735 New York Ave., NW.

5:30 - 7:00 PM. The Brookings Institution (BI) will host a panel discussion titled "The Future of Longform Publishing". The speakers will be Sarah Sampsel (Washington Post, Director of Digital Strategy), Hannah Wallander (New York Times), John Dickerson (Slate), Chad Millman (ESPN The Magazine), and David Nassar (BI). See, notice. Location: BI, 1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

6:30 PM. The National Press Club (NPC) will host an event titled "Copyright and Social Media". The speaker will be Mickey Osterreicher, General Counsel of the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA). The NPC notice states this: "How can photographers protect the millions of images and recordings produced every day and posted on traditional websites and social media such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram?" Free. Tickets required. No webcast. Location: NPC, First Amendment Lounge, 13th Floor, 529 14th St., NW.

8:45 AM - 12:15 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host an event titled "Hacking the University: Will Tech Fix Higher Education?". Free. Open to the public. Webcast. See, notice. Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) will meet to mark up several bills, including HR __, the "United States International Communications Reform Act of 2014". See, notice. Location: Room 2172, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Financial Services Committee's (HFSC) Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit will hold a hearing titled "Examining How Technology Can Promote Consumer Financial Literacy". The witnesses will be __. See, notice. Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Finance Committee (SFC) will hold a hearing titled "President Obama's 2014 Trade Policy Agenda". The witness will be Michael Froman (U.S. Trade Representative). See, notice. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Limelight Networks v. Akamai Technologies, Sup. Ct. No. 12-786, an appeal from the U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) in a case involving whether a defendant may be held liable for inducing patent infringement under 35 U.S.C. § 271(b) even though no one has committed direct infringement under 35 U.S.C. § 271(a). See also, August 31, 2012 opinion of the Court of Appeals. Location: 1 First St., NW.

11:00 - 11:30 AM. The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) will hold a public conference call to discuss the PCAST's big data and privacy report. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 73, April 16, 2014, at Pages 21453-21454.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Bitcoin and other Virtual Currencies: Emerging Issues in Regulation and Enforcement". The speakers will be Brian Klein (Baker Marquart), Deborah Peden (Pillsbury Winthrop), Ronald Rowe (U.S. Secret Service), Luke Sully (PWC), and Nina Marino (Kaplan Marino). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit to the Department of Transportation (DOT) applications for prizes in its program titled "DOT Data Innovation Challenge". The DOT states that entries should be a "web-based tool, data visualization, mobile app, or other innovative use of technology to address systemic challenges by accessing publicly-available Federal and/or local DOT datasets". See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 46, March 10, 2014, at Pages 13370-13373.

6:30 - 7:30 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF), Center for Media Justice (CMJ) and Consumers Union will host a panel discussion titled "InSecurity: Race, Surveillance and Privacy in the Digital Age". The speakers will be Seeta Peña Gangadharan (NAF), Chris Calabrese (ACLU), Hamid Khan (Stop LAPD Spying), Grace Sheedy (United Food and Commercial Workers International Union), and Malkia Cyril (CMJ). Free. Open to the public. Webcast. See, notice. Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.

EXTENDED TO NOVEMBER 17. Extended deadline to submit reply comments in response to Section IV.B of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding special access. Section IV.B pertains to "Possible Changes to Pricing Flexibility Rules after Proposed One-Time, Multi-Faceted Market Analysis". The FCC adopted this item on December 11, 2012, and released it on December 18, 2012. It is FCC 12-153 in WC Docket No. 05-25 and RM-10593. See, original notice in the Federal Register (FR), Vol. 78, No. 8 January 11, 2013, at Pages 2600-2614, setting deadlines. See also, July 2013 Public Notice extending deadlines. See, notice in FR, Vol. 79, No. 52, March 18, 2014, at Pages 15092-15093, and March 5, 2014 Public Notice (DA 14-302), further extending deadlines.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its third draft of SP 800-16 Rev. 1 [163 pages in PDF] titled "A Role-Based Model for Federal Information Technology / Cyber Security Training".

9:00 AM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed hearing titled "Ongoing Intelligence Activities". No webcast. See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304.

12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute will host a panel discussion titled "Tumblr for Non-Profits: Finding and Engaging your Audience". The speakers will be Liba Rubenstein (Tumblr) and Kat Murti (Cato). Free. Open to the public. Webcast. See, notice. Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Private Enforcement: Charting International Waters between the US and China". The speakers will be Heather Tewksbury (Wilmer Hale), William Isaacson (Boies Schiller & Flexner), and Daniel Mason (Zelle Hofmann). Prices vary. No CLE credits. See, notice.

Effective date of the Copyright Office's (CO) changes to its fees schedule. See, CO notice.

Deadline to submit written comments to the National Foundation on Arts and the Humanities' (NFAH) Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) in connection with its April 17 hearing titled "Libraries and Broadband: Urgency and Impact". The purpose of this hearing is "establishing a public record specifically focused on the need for and impact of high speed broadband connectivity in America's libraries". See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 47, March 11, 2014, at Pages 13679-13680. See also, the FCC's 2013 NPRM and March 2014 Public Notice (PN) regarding expanding the FCC's e-rate tax and subsidy program.

Deadline to submit nominations to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) for membership on its Intergovernmental Policy Advisory Committee on Trade (IGPAC). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 62, April 1, 2014, at Pages 18382-18384.