4/29. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler released another public statement regarding the draft NPRM, which he has not yet released to the public, regarding reviving FCC regulation of the business practices of broadband internet access service (BIAS) providers.

The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) overturned most of the key rules in the FCC's December 2010 open internet Report and Order (R&O) in its January 14, 2014 opinion in Verizon v. FCC.

Wheeler (at right) wrote that "all options for protecting and promoting an Open Internet are on the table", including reclassification of BIAS as a Title II service.

Although, notwithstanding this statement, it is highly unlikely that the FCC would reclassify BIAS.

He wrote that "At the heart of the proposed NPRM is the assurance that it won't be possible for an Internet provider to degrade the service available to all. Let me re-emphasize that: the Internet will remain like it is today, an open pathway. If a broadband provider (ISP) acts in a manner that keeps users from effectively taking advantage of that pathway then it should be a violation of the Open Internet rules."

He also said "There has been a great deal of discussion about how our proposal to follow the court’s roadmap will result in a so-called ``fast lane´´ and Internet ``haves´´ and ``have-nots.´´ This misses the point. The proposed rule is built to ensure that everyone has access to an Internet that is sufficiently robust to enable consumers to access the content, services and applications they demand, as well as an Internet that offers innovators and edge providers the ability to offer new products and services."

Commercially Reasonable Standard. Wheeler said that the forthcoming notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) "proposes that the best way to accomplish this is by exercising the FCC's authority as delineated by the D.C. Circuit under the ``commercially reasonable´´ standard that the Commission has already implemented (and the court approved) in the Data Roaming Order." (Parentheses in original.)

See, the DC Circuit's December 4, 2012 opinion [30 pages in PDF] in Cellco Partnership v. FCC, and story titled "DC Circuit Upholds FCC's Data Roaming Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,482, December 4, 2012.)

He also made four statements regarding what might constitute "commercially unreasonable" conduct.

First, "Something that harms consumers is not commercially reasonable. For instance, degrading service in order to create a new “fast lane” would be shut down."

Second, "Something that harms competition is not commercially reasonable. For instance, degrading overall service so as to force consumers and content companies to a higher priced tier would be shut down."

Third, "Providing exclusive, prioritized service to an affiliate is not commercially reasonable. For instance, a broadband provider that also owns a sports network should not be able to give a commercial advantage to that network over another competitive sports network wishing to reach viewers over the Internet."

Fourth, "Something that curbs the free exercise of speech and civic engagement is not commercially reasonable. For instance, if the creators of new Internet content or services had to seek permission from ISPs or pay special fees to be seen online such action should be shut down."

BIAS Transparency. Wheeler wrote that the Court of Appeals January 2014 opinion "affirmed the requirement that ISPs provide information to consumers and edge providers about their service. The proposed NPRM expands that transparency requirement".

The transparency clause in the FCC's 2010 order provides that "A person engaged in the provision of broadband Internet access service shall publicly disclose accurate information regarding the network management practices, performance, and commercial terms of its broadband Internet access services sufficient for consumers to make informed choices regarding use of such services and for content, application, service, and device providers to develop, market, and maintain Internet offering."

Wireless Broadband. Wheeler wrote nothing about wireless or mobile broadband.

The transparency provision of the 2010 order applies to all BIAS providers, both fixed and wireless. The "No Unreasonable Discrimination" provision of the 2010 order only applies to fixed BIAS providers. The "No Blocking" provisions of the 2010 order provide that fixed BIAS providers "shall not block lawful content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices", while wireless BIAS providers "shall not block consumers from accessing lawful website".

Internet Peering. Finally, Wheeler addressed internet peering. The 2010 order did not address this. Wheeler said that the forthcoming NPRM will contain no proposed rules, but will seek comment.

See also, related story in this issue titled "Wheeler Says NPRM Will Seek Comments But Not Propose Rules on Internet Peering".

4/29. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler wrote in his April 29, 2014 statement that "The question of how networks exchange Internet traffic, such as through peering, was outside of the scope of our 2010 Open Internet Order and thus is outside of the proposed scope of the Open Internet NPRM."

However, he added that the NPRM "will seek comment on this question, in order to hear from those who may disagree with this suggested treatment of peering/traffic exchange."

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings argued in a recent piece that "Strong net neutrality additionally prevents ISPs from charging a toll for interconnection to services like Netflix, YouTube, or Skype, or intermediaries such as Cogent, Akamai or Level 3, to deliver the services and data requested by ISP residential subscribers. Instead, they must provide sufficient access to their network without charge."

See, story titled "Netflix's Hastings Complains About Lack of Interconnectivity" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,635, March 24, 2014.

The New America Foundation (NAF) released a paper by Sarah Morris on March 6, 2014 titled "Peering into the Risks to the Internet's Future". She urged the FCC "not only to revive the Open Internet Rules but also to deal with the Internet as an ecosystem".

She argued that each BIAS provider is a "terminating access monopoly". She suggested that this monopoly allows BIAS providers to charge the movie delivery networks like Netflix "a fee that has no basis in market realities".

There is now no statutory regime affecting the negotiation of peering or interconnection agreements. Thus, if the FCC did decide to regulate peering, the manner most likely to survive judicial review would be via reclassification of BIAS as a Title I service.

In telecommunications, interconnection is a government mandate, enforced by government agencies. Moreover, once the government has removed interconnection from the market, and mandated interconnection, it follows that it will necessarily become involved in mandating the terms and prices of interconnection transactions. Governments are good at mandating interconnection, but incapable of efficiently handling the regulation of prices.

The originators of the internet developed interconnection of networks without any statutory mandate or heavy handed regulatory regime. It was accomplished by cooperation and free markets. The internet is made up of networks, with different owners, which exchange traffic pursuant to peering and transit agreements. In a peering agreement the parties agree to exchange traffic at no charge. A telecommunications lawyer might call this "bill and keep". Some refer to this as "settlement free peering". Companies like Netflix would be better off if they had a settlement free peering agreements with companies like Comcast and Verizon. But, they do not. Instead, there are transit agreements in which the BIAS provider sells access to its network.

Netflix sells its customers streaming of movies, which is bandwidth intensive, and puts a considerable strain on Comcast's network. Moreover, this is one way traffic. That is, Comcast does not stream movies to the BIAS subscribers of Netflix, because Netflix does not provide BIAS. Hence, BIAS providers like Comcast charge companies like Netflix for interconnection.

4/28. Comcast announced in a release that "we will divest approximately 3.9 million residential video customers following the close of the Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger, which will reduce our post-transaction managed residential customer total to less than 30 percent of the total number of MVPD customers in the United States, while maintaining the compelling strategic and financial rationale of the merger with Time Warner Cable."

Comcast and Time Warner Cable announced merger plans on February 13, 2014. They filed their Applications and Public Interest Statement with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on April 8, 2014.

The FCC released its Protective Order on April 4, 2014.

This proceeding is described by the FCC as a license transfer proceeding. However, it bears many attributes of an antitrust merger review proceeding. It is styled "In the Matter of Applications of Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable Inc. For Consent To Transfer Control of Licenses and Authorizations". It is MB Docket No. 14-57.

Comcast wrote in its April 28 release that "We believe today's announcement will facilitate the regulatory review process, as there is now a firm commitment regarding divestitures, relatively early in the process, and the divestiture transactions can be reviewed at the same time as our merger with Time Warner Cable."

"We understand that whenever big mergers are presented they raise questions. We of course will continue to work with regulators and legislators to address their questions and we expect a thorough review of all of these transactions. We continue to believe the Comcast-Time Warner Cable transaction is, and will be determined to be, pro-consumer, pro-competitive, and strongly in the public interest."

4/25. James Francis, a Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court (SDNY), issued a Memorandum and Order in the matter styled "In the Matter of a Warrant to Search a Certain E-Mail Account Controlled and Maintained by Microsoft Corporation".

This Magistrate Judge, at the request of the U.S. government, issued a search and seizure warrant that directs Microsoft to produce the contents of one of its customer's e-mail accounts. Microsoft argued that the account data is stored on a server located in Dublin, Ireland, that the U.S. cannot issue extraterritorial search and seizure warrants, and therefore the warrant must be quashed.

The Magistrate Judge, relying upon his interpretation of the Stored Communications Act (SCA), at 18 U.S.C. § 2703, rejected Microsoft's argument, and order it to produce the contents of the e-mail account.

Microsoft released a statement by David Howard, its Deputy General Counsel, announcing that Microsoft will continue to argue this issue before the District Court judge, and if it loses there, it will appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals (2ndCir).

Howard wrote that "the issue is straightforward. It's generally accepted that a U.S. search warrant in the physical world can only be used to obtain materials that are within the territory of the United States. A U.S. prosecutor cannot obtain a U.S. warrant to search someone's home located in another country, just as another country's prosecutor cannot obtain a court order in her home country to conduct a search in the United States. That's why the U.S. has entered into many bilateral agreements establishing specific procedures for obtaining evidence in another country. We think the same rules should apply in the online world".

The SCA is part of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), which is codified at 18 U.S.C. §§ 2701-2712. The Congress enacted it in 1986. With advances in information technology, it is now hopelessly out of date. Although, law enforcement and intelligence agencies benefit from its obsolescence.

This case involves a SCA Section 2703(a) warrant for both content of e-mail and account information, such as credit card information. Section 2703 also provides for warrantless procedure, but the selection of procedure also affects what may be acquired, and whether the target is entitled to notice.

Section 2703(a) provides in part that "A governmental entity may require the disclosure by a provider of electronic communication service of the contents of a wire or electronic communication, that is in electronic storage in an electronic communications system for one hundred and eighty days or less, only pursuant to a warrant issued using the procedures described in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (or, in the case of a State court, issued using State warrant procedures) by a court of competent jurisdiction." (Parentheses in original.)

Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (FRCrP) covers "Search and Seizure". Rule 41(b) provides in part that "At the request of a federal law enforcement officer or an attorney for the government ... a magistrate judge with authority in the district ... has authority to issue a warrant to search for and seize a person or property located within the district". Other parts of Rule 41(b) allow the magistrate judge, under specified circumstances, to issue a warrant for property located in other districts, in a United States territory, possession, or commonwealth, or in U.S. diplomatic facilities abroad.

Dublin, Ireland is not located in the Southern District of New York, or any other U.S. district or jurisdiction.

The Magistrate Judge concluded that the phrase "using the procedures described in" Rule 41 includes some, but not all, of the procedures described in Rule 41. In particular, he concluded that it does not include to those parts that limit warrants to searches and seizures conducted within a U.S. jurisdiction.

This opinion does not disclose which U.S. government agency sought the warrant, who signed the application for the warrant, who was the target, or why the U.S. government wants his e-mail. This opinion only analyzes the legal issue of extraterritorial search warrants, and discloses only those procedural facts necessary to that analysis.

4/29. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it host an event titled "E-Rate Modernization Workshop" on Tuesday, May 6, from 9:30 AM - 3:00 PM in the FCC's Commission Meeting Room. See, Public Notice (DA 14-563 in WC Docket No. 13-184) with agenda.

4/29. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fined one Jason Humphreys, a distracted driver vigilante, $48,000 for operating a radio communications jamming device in his motor vehicle during his daily commutes in the Tampa, Florida area. FCC agents tracked him down using "directional finding techniques". Although, the FCC waited before acting. It disclosed that Humphreys has been using the jammer on the same route every work day for 16 to 24 months. The FCC document adds that "Humphreys stated that he had been operating the jammer to keep people from talking on their cell phones while driving". See, Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (FCC 14-55.)

4/28. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced in a release that it has relocated its Premerger Notification Office (PNO) from the FTC headquarters building on Pennsylvania Avenue NW to the Constitution Center building on the corner of 7th and D Streets SW. The FTC also released a notice, to be published in the Federal Register, that announces changes to its Hart Scott Rodino (HSR) rules.

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

8:45 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.

9:30 AM. The House Appropriations Committee (HAC) will meet to mark up the FY 2015 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Bill. See, notice. Location: Room H-140, Capitol Building.

9:30 AM. The House Homeland Security Committee (HHSC) will meet to mark up several bills, including HR 3283 [LOC | WW], the "Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Modernization Act of 2013". See, notice. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will meet to mark up several bills. The third item on the agenda is HR 4225 [LOC | WW], the "Stop Advertising Victims of Exploitation Act of 2014" or "SAVE Act". The HJC is scheduled to consider an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

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 Alicia Cackley (Government Accountability Office), Gabriel Krajicek (BancVue), Stephen Kehoe (Visa), Barry Saik (Intuit), and Sabrina Lamb (WorldofMoney.org). 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.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) will host an event titled "CES on the Hill". Invitation only. See, notice. Location: Cafeteria, Room B-357, Rayburn Building.

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".

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

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.

9:30 AM. The House Financial Services Committee's (HFSC) Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises will hold a hearing titled "Legislative Proposals to Enhance Capital Formation for Small and Emerging Growth Companies, Part II". The witnesses will be __. See, notice. Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing titled "Telehealth to Digital Medicine: How 21st Century Technology Can Benefit Patients". Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda once again includes consideration of S 1720 [LOC | WW], the "Patent Transparency and Improvements Act of 2013". See, stories titled "Patent Legislation Update" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,637, April 7, 2014, and "Senate Judiciary Committee Members Still Working on Patent Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,641, April 17, 2014. The agenda also includes consideration of four District Court nominees: Carlos Mendoza (MDFl), Darren Gayles (SDFl), Paul Byron (MDFl), and Beth Bloom (SDFl). Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

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.

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

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.

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

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

10:00 - 11:30 PM. The Brookings Institution (BI) will host a panel discussion titled "The Evolution of Video Streaming and Digital Content Delivery". The speakers will be John Donovan (AT&T), Jeremy Legg (Turner Broadcasting System), Derek Aberle (Qualcomm), and Darrell West (BI). See, notice. Location: BI, 1775 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 "Data Privacy Basics". The focus will be data privacy in the health care industry. The speakers will be Joshua James (Bryan Cave), Cora Tung Han (FTC's Division of Privacy and Identity Protection), and Adam Green (Davis Wright Tremaine). Prices vary. No CLE credits. See, notice.

Deadline to submit comments to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with its March 26, 2014 event titled "Cybersecurity Roundtable". See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 56, March 24, 2014, at Page 16071.

Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) regarding the complaint (request for consultations) submitted to the World Trade Organization (WTO) by the People's Republic of China (PRC) against the U.S. regarding U.S. antidumping measures against the PRC. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 67, April 8, 2014, at Pages 19409-19411.

TIME? Day one of a six day event hosted by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program (NITRDP), DARPA, NSA, and others titled "High Confidence Software and Systems Conference". Location: Annapolis, MD.

The House will not meet the week of April 21-25. See, 2014 House calendar.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The Copyright Office (CO) will hold a hearing to assist it in preparing a study of U.S. law recognizing and protecting "making available" and "communication to the public" rights for copyright holders. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 37, February 25, 2014, at Pages 10571-10573. The deadline to submit comments in advance of this hearing is April 4, 2014.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Technology Policy Institute (TPI) will host a panel discussion titled "Internet Economics in a Changing Video and Data Environment". The speakers will include Stanley Besen (Charles River Associates), Joseph Cavender (Level 3 Communications), David Clark (MIT's Communications Futures Program), Bob Crandall (TPI and Brookings Institution), and Scott Wallsten (TPI). Breakfast will be served from 8:30 AM. Free. Open to the public. See, notice. Location: City Club, 555 13th St., NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in H-W Technology v. Overstock.com, App. Ct. No. 14-1054. Panel B. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in CEATS v. Continental Airlines, App. Ct. No. 13-1529. Panel B. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

TIME? Day two of a six day event hosted by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program (NITRDP), DARPA, NSA, and others titled "High Confidence Software and Systems Conference". Location: Annapolis, MD.

2:00 - 3:00 PM. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law will host an on site and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Recent Antitrust Developments: March and April 2014". The focus will be developments in the health care and pharmaceuticals markets. The speakers will be Kellie Kemp (WSGR) and Megan Browdie, Jacqueline Grise, Tanisha James, and Howard Morse (all of Cooley). Prices vary. No CLE credits. See, notice. Location: Cooley, Suite 700, 1299 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Networking and Information Technology Research and Development(NITRD) Program's Middleware and Grid Interagency Cooridination (MAGIC) Team meets the first Wednesday of each month. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 226, November 22, 2013, at Page 70076. Location: NSF, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "NSA Telephonic and Electronic Surveillance: The Executive, Legislative and Judicial Drivers of Reform and Likely Outcomes". The speakers will be David Valdez (FCC), Allan Friedman (George Washington University), Amie Stepanovich (Access), Kevin Bankston (New America Foundation), Douglas Bonner (Drinker Biddle & Reath), Michael Sussman (Perkins Coie), Marc Zwillinger (ZwillGen). Prices vary. CLE credits. No webcast. The deadline for registrations and cancellations is 5:00 PM on May 2. See, notice. Location: Drinker Biddle & Reath, Conference Room 2B, 1500 K St., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding text to 911 service. The FCC adopted this item on January 30, 2014, and released it on January 31, 2014. It is FCC 14-6 in PS Docket Nos. 10-255 and 11-153. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 43, March 5, 2014, at Pages 12442-12458.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Auction 84, which is for certain AM broadcast construction permits, is scheduled to begin. See, November 18, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-2168 in AU Docket No. 13-268) and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 231, December 2, 2013, at Pages 72081-72086.

9:30 AM - 3:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will host an event titled "E-Rate Modernization Workshop". See, Public Notice (DA 14-563 in WC Docket No. 13-184) with agenda. Webcast. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, TW-C305, 445 12th St., SW.

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 Policy Committee will meet. See, DHHS notice and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 243, December 18, 2013, at Page 76627. Location: __.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in DDR Holdings v. Hotels.com, App. Ct. No. 13-1504. Panel D. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in I/P Engine. v. AOL, App. Ct. No. 13-1307. Panel D. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Essociate v. Azoogle.com, App. Ct. No. 13-1446. Panel F. Location: Courtroom 203, 717 Madison Place, NW.

TIME? Day three of a six day event hosted by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program (NITRDP), DARPA, NSA, and others titled "High Confidence Software and Systems Conference". Location: Annapolis, MD.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Public Notice (PN) regarding Widelity Inc.'s report regarding the post-incentive auction transition. This PN is DA 14-389 in GN Docket No. 12-268. The FCC released it on March 20, 2014. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 61, March 31, 2014, at Pages 18026-18027.

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 63, April 2, 2014, at Page 18605. Location: National Transportation Safety Board Conference Center, 429 L'Enfant Plaza, SW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Samsung Electronics v. USITC, App. Ct. No. 13-1519. Panel H. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute will host a discussion of the book titled "Intellectual Privilege: Copyright, Common Law and the Common Good". The speakers will be the author, Tom Bell (Chapman University School of Law), Chirstopher Newman (George Mason University School of Law), and and Jim Harper (Cato). Free. Open to the public. Webcast. See, notice. Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Privacy and Social Media". The speakers will be Richard Santalesa (The Sm@rtEdgeLaw Group), Christopher Hearsey (Bigelow Aerospace), Adrian Fontecilla (Proskauer Rose), Peter Gillespie (Fisher & Phillips), and Jessica Flanigan (Monument Policy Group). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

TIME? Day four of a six day event hosted by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program (NITRDP), DARPA, NSA, and others titled "High Confidence Software and Systems Conference". Location: Annapolis, MD.