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Friday, May 29, 2015, Alert No. 2,733.
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Silk Road Founder Sentenced to Life in Prison

5/29. The U.S. District Court (SDNY) sentenced Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the Silk Road web site, to serve life in prison. See, release of the U.S. Attorneys Office (USAO) for the Southern District of New York.

The USAO stated that "Silk Road emerged as the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the Internet, serving as a sprawling black-market bazaar where unlawful goods and services, including illegal drugs of virtually all varieties, were bought and sold regularly by the site’s users. While in operation, Silk Road was used by thousands of drug dealers and other unlawful vendors to distribute hundreds of kilograms of illegal drugs and other unlawful goods and services to more than 100,000 buyers, and to launder hundreds of millions of dollars deriving from these unlawful transactions."

The Silk Road web site was in operation from January 2011 through October 2013, when it was closed by federal law enforcement agencies. See, October 25, 2013 USAO release.

The District Court unsealed the original indictment [12 pages in PDF] on February 4, 2014 that charged Ulbricht with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), engagin in a continuing criminal enterprise in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 848(a), unlawful access to protected computer systems in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1030, and money laundering in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h). A superseding indictment added more charges.

The Section 1030 count alleged that Ulbricht "provided a platform for the purchase and sale of malicious software designed for computer hacking, such as password stealers, keyloggers, and remote access tools".

A trial jury of the District Court found Ulbricht guilty of distributing controlled substances, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiracy to violate Section 1030, trafficking in false identity documents, and conspiring to commit money laundering. See, USAO release of February 5, 2015.

"Make no mistake: Ulbricht was a drug dealer", SDNY U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated in the USAO release.

Actually, the indictment did not allege that Ulbricht sold any drugs. Rather, he operated a web site that provided people the ability to conduct anonymous transactions online, using the Tor network and a Bitcoin based payment system. Buyers and sellers of drugs, and others, used his web site.

Despite the government's incarceration of Ulbricht, technologies for providing anonymous online transactions still exist, and continue to be provided from locations beyond the jurisdiction and reach of U.S. prosecutors.

Commerce in drugs, like commerce in sex and gambling, is both regulated under state and federal laws, and destructive to society. On the other hand, moving communications and transactions from the street to the internet reduces some of the violence and other risks associated with these activities.

This case is U.S. v. Ross Ulbricht, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, D.C. No. 14 CRIM 068, Judge Katherine Forrest presiding.

House Commerce Committee Investigates Cyber Security in Cars

5/28. Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), and eight other members of the House Commerce Committee (HCC) sent a letter to General Motors, and substantially identical letters to Ford, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and other major car makers regarding the "cyber threats" that are created when new "technologies are incorporated into automobiles". The bulk of the letter then propounds numerous written interrogatories.

We are entering a new era in cybersecurity. The explosion of new, connected devices and services is exacerbating existing cybersecurity challenges and has introduced another potential consequence -- the threat of physical harm -- as products responsible for public health and safety are integrated in the Internet ecosystem. This will be a significant challenge for the automobile industry."

"The integration and convergence of transportation and communications technologies in connected cares offers tremendous opportunity for innovation, improved performance, convenience (e.g. in-vehicle Wi-Fi, infotainment systems, smartphone interface and/or integration, etc.) and safety (e.g. Vehicle-To-Vehicle, Vehicle-To-Infrastructure, Autonomous Vehicles, etc.). All of these features, however, provide a gateway for potential threats."

The letter states that "Threats and vulnerabilities in vehicle systems may be inevitable, but we cannot allow this to undermine the potential benefits of these technologies."

The letter then asks questions. It sets no deadline for responses. It does not reference any future hearings.

The letter does not ask about any pending bills. It does not solicit legislative proposals.

The letter does, however, ask about how companies are "working with the federal government to address the challenge of cybersecurity", and whether companies "have confidence" in federal agencies' "knowledge, capabilities and/or actions associated" with this issue.

The HCC also sent a related letter, with interrogatories, to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Sen. Grassley Writes IRS Regarding Theft of Taxpayer Information

5/28. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) sent a letter to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner John Joskinen asking questions about the theft of taxpayer information by exploitation of the IRS online interactive service named "Get Transcript".

See, story titled "IRS Discloses Long Running Data Breach" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,731, May 27, 2015.

Sen. Grassley noted that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) wrote a report in April of 2013 titled "IRS WEBSITE: Long-Term Strategy Needed to Improve Interactive Services".

He said that "That report indicates the IRS goes through a process to assess security risks before a new online service is released for taxpayer use. According to the report, as of March 2013, the IRS did not have the capability to authenticate a taxpayer's identity with the level of security required for dynamic account access."

He asked questions regarding what the IRS did prior to putting the "Get Transcript" service in its web site. He asked when the IRS developed the "capability to authenticate a taxpayer's identity with the level of security required for dynamic account access". He also asked for copies of the IRS's "risk assessment documentation" and "mitigation plan".

Sen. Grassley is a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee (SFC), which oversees the IRS. He is also the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC).

Groups Criticize Sen. Feinstein's and Sen. Burr's Surveillance Bills

5/28. Numerous groups sent a letter to Senators urging them to oppose two legislative proposals regarding surveillance law recently put forth by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC).

The groups that joined in this letter include the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), American Library Association (ALA), Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Free Press, Tech Freedom and numerous other groups.

Neither the phone companies that are subject to FISC orders compelling the bulk production of phone records under the purported authority of Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, nor their trade groups, joined in the letter. Neither the internet companies which have provided internet metadata under the FISA's pen register and trap and trace (PRTT) provision, nor their trade groups, joined in this letter either.

Sen. Feinstein introduced S 1469 [LOC | WW | PDF], the "FISA Reform Act of 2015", on Saturday, May 23, 2014. See, story titled "Sen. Feinstein Introduces FISA Reform Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,732, May 28, 2015. (The above hyperlinked PDF copy of the bill does not have Sen. Feinstein's name on it. However, her staff sent it to TLJ.)

Sen. Burr has not introduced a bill. However, he has issued a release that describes its contents, and the CDT has released a draft bill that it attributes to Sen. Burr. The yet to be introduced bill would be titled the "FISA Improvements Act of 2015".

The May 28 letter states that "We strongly urge against consideration of the FISA Improvements Act or the FISA Restoration and Reform Act."

The letter states that "Both bills contain flaws and omissions that are incompatible with the goal of stopping domestic bulk collection. The bills require that collection be based on ``specific selection terms´´ but define these terms so broadly as to raise serious concern as to whether they would significantly curtail the government's ability to collect large amounts of information of individuals with no nexus to terrorism."

The letter also complains that "Furthermore, the bills do not require any public disclosure of critical Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court rulings that contain novel or significant interpretations of law. This would result in the establishment of even more secret law as the new requirements under these bills would be interpreted in classified settings, and surveillance programs implemented thereunder may again contravene to Congressional intent and public wishes."

The letter also complains that "both bills authorize the government to impose a data retention mandate on private businesses, a privacy-threatening measure that is unnecessary and unacceptable".

The letter also states that Sen. Burr's bill "would permit domestic bulk collection by leaving unchanged the FISA Pen Register/Trap and Trace law, which was used for years to collect Internet metadata in bulk."

Also, the letter states that that bill unnecessarily "leaves Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act unchanged for two years", weakens "whistleblower protections", expands "surveillance power by granting the FBI the authority to obtain electronic communication transaction records without a court order", and makes permanent, rather than extends, three sunsetted provisions of surveillance law.

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In This Issue
This issue contains the following items:
 • Silk Road Founder Sentenced to Life in Prison
 • House Commerce Committee Investigates Cyber Security in Cars
 • Sen. Grassley Writes IRS Regarding Theft of Taxpayer Information
 • Groups Criticize Sen. Feinstein's and Sen. Burr's Surveillance Bills
 • List of Bills Related to NSA Bulk Phone Records Program
Washington Tech Calendar
New items are highlighted in red.
Sunday, May 31

The Senate will meet on Sunday, May 31, 2015 to resume its consideration of legislative proposals related to the three provisions of surveillance law that sunset at the end of May 31 (Section 215, lone wolf FISA authority, and roving wiretap), and the NSA's bulk phone records collection program. See, table in this issue titled "List of Bills Related to NSA Bulk Phone Records Program". See also, story in this issue titled "Groups Criticize Sen. Feinstein's and Sen. Burr's Surveillance Bills". The Congressional Record (May 28, 2015, at Page S 3321) states that "the Senate stands adjourned until 4 p.m., Sunday, May 31, 2015". There will be no votes before 6:00 PM.

12:00 MIDNIGHT. Three provisions of surveillance law (Section 215, lone wolf FISA authority, and roving wiretap) sunset.

Monday, June 1

The House will return from its Memorial Day recess. It will meet at 12:00 NOON for morning hour, and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. The House will consider several non-technology related bills. See, Rep. McCarthy's schedule.

5:00 PM. The House Rules Committee (HRC) will meet to adopt a rule for consideration of HR 2578 [LOC | WW], the "Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016". See, notice. Location: Room H-313, Capitol Building.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its draft NIST IR 8058 [42 pages in PDF] titled "Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP) Version 1.2 Content Style Guide: Best Practices for Creating and Maintaining SCAP 1.2 Content".

Tuesday, June 2

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 2578 [LOC | WW], the "Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016". This bill contains appropriations for many ICT regulators, including the FCC, FTC, DOJ's Antitrust Division, and DOC's NTIA and NIST. See, Rep. McCarthy's schedule.

9:30 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Lifeline: Improving Accountability and Effectiveness". The witnesses will be Randolph May (Free State Foundation), Michael Clements (GAO), Scott Bergmann (CTIA Wireless Association), Ronald Brisé (Florida Public Service Commission, National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), Jessica Gonzalez (National Hispanic Media Coalition). Webcast. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law will hold a hearing on HR 2315 [LOC | WW], the "Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act of 2015", HR 1643 [LOC | WW], the "Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act of 2015", and HR __ the "Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2015". Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Finance Committee (SFC) will hold a hearing titled "Internal Revenue Service Data Theft Affecting Taxpayer Information". The witnesses will be John Koskinen (head of the IRS) and Russell George (Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration). See, notice. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Personalized User Model v. Google, App. Ct. No. 14-1841. Panel D. This is an appeal from the U.S. District Court (DDel) in a patent infringement case involving personal web portals.This case is the third of four on the schedule. See, oral arguments schedule. No live webcast. Archived audio webcast. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association and the Women's Bar Association will host an event at which Grace Koh (Counsel to the HCC's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology) will speak about working for Congressional Committees and Members of Congress. The price to attend ranges from $10 to $23. No CLE credits. No webcast. For more information, contact Elizabeth Mueller at 202-639-8880 . The DC Bar has a history of barring reporters from its events. See, notice. Location: Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox, Suite 800, 1100 New York Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON - 9:00 PM ET. Day one of a two day meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) First Responder Network Authority. This meeting is in California, but will be webcast. On Tuesday, June 2, there will be meetings of four committees: Governance and Personnel, Technology, Outreach, and Finance. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 94, May 15, 2015, at Pages 27928-27929. Free. Open to the public.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a closed event at which Jonathan Sallet (FCC General Counsel) will speak. The price to attend ranges from $10 to $20. No CLE credits. No webcast. No reporters. For more information, call 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: Hogan Lovells, 555 13th St., NW.

1:00 - 5:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "19th Annual FCBA Foundation Golf Tournament". See, notice. Location: Westfields Golf Club, 13940 Balmoral Greens Avenue, Clifton, VA.

5:00 PM. The House Commerce Committee (HCC) will begin its mark up of HR 2576 [LOC | WW], the "TSCA Modernization Act of 2015", and HR 2583 [LOC | WW], the "Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act of 2015". This session is for opening statements only. See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

Deadline to submit written submissions to the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) following its May 5, 2015 hearing titled "Trade and Investment Policies in India, 2014-2015". See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 38, February 26, 2015, at Page 10513.

Wednesday, June 3

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

9:00 - 11:45 AM. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) will host a panel discussion titled "Korea Going Forward". The speakers will be __. Webcast. See, notice. Location: CSIS, 1616 Rhode Island Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee (HCC) will meet to consider HR 2576 [LOC | WW], the "TSCA Modernization Act of 2015", and HR 2583 [LOC | WW], the "Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act of 2015". See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Syntest Technologies v. Cisco Systems, App. Ct. No. 14-1569. This is an appeal from the U.S. District Court (NDCal) in a patent infringement case involving technology for testing the logic of application specific integrated circuits. Panel H. This case is the second of four on the schedule. See, oral arguments schedule. No live webcast. Archived audio webcast. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

11:00 AM - 1:00 PM ET. Day two of a two day meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) First Responder Network Authority. This meeting is in California, but will be webcast. On Wednesday, June 3, the FirstNet Board will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 94, May 15, 2015, at Pages 27928-27929. Free. Open to the public.

2:30 - 3:30 PM. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) will host a panel discussion titled "Tsai Ing-wen 2016: Taiwan Faces the Future". The main speaker will be Tsai Ing-wen, Chair of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and the DPP's candidate in the Taiwan 2016 Presidential elections. The other speakers will be Bonnie Glaser (CSIS) and Kurt Campbell (The Asia Group). Webcast. See, notice. Location: CSIS, 1616 Rhode Island Ave., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Public Notice (PN) regarding the FCC Incentive Auction Task Force's announcement of results of staff simulations of the initial clearing target optimization procedure proposed in the Auction 1000 Comment PN. This PN is DA 15-606 in AU Docket No. 14-252 and GN Docket No. 12-268. The FCC released it on May 20, 2015. See also, appendix to this PN, and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 100, May 26, 2015, at Pages 30021-30030. Commissioner Pai wrote in a statement that this PN "presents misleading data". Commissioner O'Reilly also wrote a statement criticizing this PN.

Thursday, June 4

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

Supreme Court conference day. See, 2014-2015 calendar. Closed to the public.

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day event hosted by the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) titled "7th Annual Trademark Bootcamp". See, notice. Location: Hilton Alexandria Old Town, Alexandria, VA.

9:00 AM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed meeting to mark up the Intelligence Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2016. See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304, Capitol Underground.

9:00 - 11:00 AM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a panel discussion titled "Connecting Talent with Opportunity in the Digital Age". The speakers will be Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), Byron Auguste, Allen Blue (LinkedIn), Aneesh Chopra (Hunch Analytics), Thomas Friedman (New York Times), and Susan Lund (McKinsey Global Institute). Free. Open to the public. Webcast. See, notice. Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of S 1137 [LOC | WW], the "Protecting American Talent and Entrepreneurship Act of 2015", or "PATENT Act". See, stories titled "Senators Introduce PATENT Act " and "Summary of S 1137, the PATENT Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,722, May 4, 2015. The agenda also again includes consideration of four U.S. District Court nominees: Dale Drozd (USDC/EDCal), Ann Donnelly (USDC/EDNY), Lawrence Vilardo (USDC/WDNY), and LaShann Hall (USDC/EDNY). Live and archived webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Shukh v. Seagate Technology, App. Ct. Nos. 14-1406 and 15-1012. These are appeals from the U.S. District Court (DMinn) in a patent infringement case. Panel K. These cases are the first and second of four on the schedule. See, oral arguments schedule. No live webcast. Archived audio webcast. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) North American Numbering Council will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 91, May 12, 2015, at Pages 27169-27170. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, Room TW-C305, 445 12th St., SW.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "A Globally Neutral Net: A Discussion and Comparison of International Approaches and Global Norms for Net Neutrality". The speakers will be Matthew Del Nero (FCC), Erik Stallman (CDT), Nicolas Fetchko (Verizon), Carolina Rossini (Public Knowledge), Jeffrey Campbell (Cisco), and Praveen Goyal (Hogan Lovells). No webcast. No CLE credits. Bring your own lunch. Free. See, notice. Location: Wiley Rein, 1776 K St., NW.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a discussion of the book titled "Geek Heresy: Rescuing Social Change from the Cult of Technology". The speakers will be Kentaro Toyama (author) and Ryan Gerety (NAF). Free. Open to the public. See, notice. Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.

1:00 PM. The US Telecom will host a webcast presentation titled "DNSSEC – DNS with Authentication, Done Right". The speaker will be Olafur Gudmundsson. See, notice.

2:00 - 3:00 PM. Day one of a two day on site and teleconferenced meeting of the The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE). This meeting will also be listen only teleconferenced. The call in number is 1-800-988-9617. The passcode is 7649366. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 90, May 11, 2015, at Page 26895. Location: General Services Administration, 1800 F St., NW.

6:30 - 8:30 PM. The Arizona State University (ASU) will host an event titled "Rethinking Higher Education" The speaker will be Ben Nelson (Minerva Project). See, notice. Location: 1776, 12th floor, 1133 15th St., NW.

6:30 - 8:00 PM. The Arizona State University (ASU) and New America Foundation (NAF) will host a debate titled "Resolved: Technology Will Take All Our Jobs". Christine Rosen (The New Atlantis) and Gerry Canavan (Marquette University) will argue for, and James Kotecki (Automated Insights) and Ronald Bailey (Reason) will argue against. See, notice. Location: ASU in Washington DC, 1834 Connecticut Ave., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) First Responder Network Authority in response it its May 5, 2015 notice in the Federal Register (FR). See, FR, Vol. 80, No. 86, May 5, 2015, at Pages 25663-25668.

Deadline to submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) oppositions to three petitions for reconsideration of the FCC's Report and Order related to its universal service tax and subsidy program related to rural broadband services, titled "Connect America" by the FCC, and to the FCC's Connect America Challenge Process. The FCC adopted the R&O on July 11 , 2014, and released the text on July 14. It is FCC 14-98 in WC Docket Nos. 10-90 and 14-58. See, May 11, 2015 FCC Public Notice, and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 97, May 20, 2015, at Page 28928.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) in response to its Public Notice (PN) seeking to refresh the record on a petition for reconsideration filed by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), COMPTEL, and tw telecom regarding the FCC's 2011 pole attachments Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration [144 pages in PDF]. That order is FCC 11-50 in WC Docket No. 07-245 and GN Docket No. 09-51. The FCC adopted and released it on April 7, 2011. The FCC WCB released this latest PN on May 6, 2015. It is DA 15-542 in WC Docket No. 07-245 and GN Docket No. 09-51. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 93, May 14, 2015, at Pages 27626-27627.

Friday, June 5

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

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a two day event hosted by the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) titled "7th Annual Trademark Bootcamp". See, notice. Location: Hilton Alexandria Old Town, Alexandria, VA.

9:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics' (RTCA) NextGen Advisory Committee will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 99, May 22, 2015, at Pages 29789-29790. Location: RTCA, Suite 910, 1150 18th St., NW.

8:30 AM - 12:00 NOON. Day two of a two day on site and teleconferenced meeting of the The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE). This meeting will also be listen only teleconferenced. The call in number is 1-800-369-2154. The passcode is 8915613. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 90, May 11, 2015, at Page 26895. Location: DOC, 1401 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Illumina v. Ariosa Diagnostics, App. Ct. No. 14-1815. This is an appeal from the U.S. District Court (NDCal) in a patent infringement case involving digital analysis of multiple samples of DNA for prenatal detection of Downs Syndrome and other conditions. The patent in suit is U.S. Patent No. 7,955,794 titled "Multiplex nucleic acid reactions". Panel M. This case is the first of three on the schedule. See, oral arguments schedule. No live webcast. Archived audio webcast. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Circuit Check v. QXQ, App. Ct. No. 15-1155. This is an appeal from the U.S. District Court (EDWisc) in a patent infringement case involving circuit board testing devices. Panel N. This case is the third of four on the schedule. See, oral arguments schedule. No live webcast. Archived audio webcast. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The Internet Caucus will host a panel discussion titled "Internet Governance, ICANN and Congress.SUCKS: Where Is Control Of The Internet Going?". The speakers will be __. Free. Open to the public. Lunch will be served. Location: Room 2237, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "The Microsoft Cases: A Retrospective and Lessons Learned". The speakers will be Randall Weinsten (FTC), Harry First (NYU School of Law), Andrew Gavil (Howard University School of Law), MJ Moltenbrey (Paul Hastings), William Page (University of Florida law school), and Rick Boulton (MiCRA). Prices vary. No CLE credits. See, notice.

Deadline to submit written comments to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) International Trade Administration's (ITA) President's Export Council in advance of its June 10, 2015 meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 93, May 14, 2015, at Page 27632.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the FCC's rules that require commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) providers to transmit 911 calls from non-service initiated (NSI) devices. The FCC adopted and released this NPRM on April 1, 2015. It is FCC 15-43 in PS Docket No. 08-51. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 87, May 6, 2015, at Pages 25977-25989.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding eliminating certain common carrier rules from which the FCC has recent forborn. The FCC adopted this NPRM on February 2, 2015, and released it on February 6, 2015. It is FCC 15-33 in WC Docket No. 15-13. See also, notice in the Federal Register Volume 80, No. 87, May 6, 2015, at Pages 25989-25994.

List of Bills Related to NSA Bulk Phone Records Program

Sponsor Number Title Status Links New Sunset
Sensenbrenner HR 2048 USA FREEDOM Act of 2015 Passed by House on May 13; Senate cloture motion failed on May 23 by 57-42 LOC | WW | PDF December 15, 2019
Lee/Leahy S 1123 USA FREEDOM Act of 2015 Introduced on April 28 LOC | WW | PDF December 15, 2019
McConnell S 1357 no title Introduced on May 14; Senate cloture motion failed on May 23 by 45-54 LOC | WW | PDF July 31, 2015
Feinstein S 1469 FISA Reform Act of 2015 Introduced on May 23 LOC | WW | PDF December 15, 2019
Burr NA FISA Improvements Act of 2015 Not yet introduced LOC | WW | PDF Section 215, lone wolf and roving all made permanent