Sept. 27, 2000
9:00 AM ET.
Alert No. 29. |
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| News Briefs |
9/26. The Supreme Court
of the U.S. declined to hear a direct appeal of the Final
Judgment in the Microsoft antitrust case. The appeal will
instead go first to the U.S.
Court of Appeals (DCCir). The Department of Justice had
sought a direct appeal, pursuant to 15
U.S.C. § 29(b). Also, U.S. District Court Judge Jackson issued
an Order
certifying the Microsoft case for direct consideration by the
Supreme Court. (See, S.C.U.S. Nos. 00-139 and 00-261.)
9/26. The U.S. Court of
Appeals (DCCir) issued a
per curiam order
[PDF] on its own motion, promptly after the Supreme Court's order,
that Microsoft "file a motion to govern further proceedings
herein, including a proposed briefing schedule and format, by 4:00
p.m. on Monday, October 2, 2000. Any responses are to be filed by
4:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 5, and any reply by 4:00 p.m. on
Tuesday, October 10." The Order also consolidated the appeals
of the judgments in the Department of Justice and state cases (which
were consolidated in the trial court). (See, U.S.C.A. Case No.
00-5212.)
9/26. The House Judiciary
Committee approved HR 5018, the Electronic Communications
Privacy Act of 2000, after a lengthy mark up session. The bill, as
adopted, would amend the criminal code in several ways. (1) It would
extend the statutory exclusionary rule for wiretaps (18 U.S.C. §
2515) to also include electronic communications and "any stored
electronic communication that has been disclosed." (2) It would
also require judges to make certain reports to the Administrative
Office (AO) of the U.S. Courts regarding "disclosure of stored
electronic communications", and further require the AO to make
annual reports to the Congress. (3) It would require that pen
register and trap and trace orders not be issued for e-mail
addresses, "unless the court finds that specific and
articulable facts reasonably indicate that a crime has been, is
being, or will be committed, and information likely to be obtained
by such installation and use is relevant to an investigation of that
crime ..." (4) It would prohibit the government from using cell
phones as tracking devices without probable cause. (5) It would add
several provisions regarding computer crimes. See, Tech
Law Journal Summary of HR 5018.
9/26. It is unlikely that HR 5018 will be enacted into law in the
106th Congress, which could adjourn as early as its target
adjournment date of Oct. 6. Two other House Judiciary Committee
bills long thought to be stalled may yet be amended and passed by
the full House: HR 3125, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act, and
HR 2100, the Antitampering Act.
9/26. The FCC's Office of Plans
and Policy (OPP) released a paper titled "The Digital
Handshake: Connecting Internet Backbones." [See, Text,
MS
Word, and PDF
versions.] The paper, authored by Michael Kende, Director of
Internet Policy Analysis in the Office of Plans and Policy, examines
the interconnection arrangements between Internet backbone
providers. It concludes that "competition, governed by
antitrust laws and competition enforcement that can prevent the
emergence of a dominant firm, can act to restrain the actions of
larger backbones in place of any industry-specific regulations, such
as interconnection obligations. If a dominant backbone provider
should emerge through unforeseen circumstances, however, regulation
may be necessary, as it has been in other network industries."
See also, FCC
release and summary.
9/26. The FTC closed its
investigation of Intel. Richard
Parker, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition
sent a letter to Intel which stated: "Upon further review of
this matter, it now appears that no further action is warranted by
the Commission at this time. Accordingly, pursuant to authority
delegated by the Commission, the investigation has been
closed." See, Intel
release. See also, Tech
Law Journal Summary of FTC Antitrust Action Against Intel. (In
the Matter of Intel Corporation, FTC Docket No. 9288.)
9/26. The USPTO issued a release
regarding its recent rule changes, known as the Changes
to Implement the Patent Business Goals: Final Rule [PDF], which
were published in the Federal Register on Sept. 8. (See, Vol. 65,
No. 175.) According to the USPTO, the purposes of the rule changes
are "to increase the level of service to the public by raising
the efficiency and effectiveness of the Office’s business
processes. In furtherance of the Patent Business Goals, the Office
is changing the rules of practice to eliminate unnecessary formal
requirements, streamline the patent application process, and
simplify and clarify the provisions of the rules of practice."
9/26. The FCC released its
annual summary titled Telecommunications
Industry Revenues: 1999 [31 pages in PDF]. It reports that
telecommunications industry revenues were $269 Billion in 1999, up
9% from 1998. Wireless revenues increased 30%, from $37 Billion in
1998 to $48 Billion in 1999. Competive local phone companies'
revenues increased 60%, to more than $5 Billion. See also, release.
9/26. The Telecommunications
Industry Association (TIA) named Bill Belt to be its
Director of Technical and Regulatory Affairs. He will coordinate
activities for TIA's Wireless Communications Division. See, release.
9/26. The House Ways and
Means Committee's Oversight Subcommittee held a hearing on the tax
code and the New Economy. See, Tech Law
Journal story.
Editor's Note: This column includes all News Briefs added to
Tech Law Journal since the last Daily E-Mail Alert. The dates
indicate when the event occurred, not the date of posting to Tech
Law Journal. |
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| New TLJ Stories |
House
Subcommittee Holds Hearing on the Tax Code and the New Economy.
(9/26) The House Ways and Means Committee's Oversight Subcommittee
held a hearing on the tax code and the New Economy on September 26.
Depreciation periods, tax incentives for worker training, and the
R&D tax credit were discussed.
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| New Documents |
USCA: Order
re further proceeding in the Microsoft antitrust case, 9/26 (PDF,
USCA).
FCC:
The
Digital Handshake: Connecting Internet Backbones, 9/26 (PDF,
FCC).
FCC:
Telecommunications
Industry Revenues: 1999, 9/26 (PDF, FCC).
Verizon: Address
by Ivan Seidenburg at National Press Club, 9/25 (HTML, Verizon).
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| New and Updated Sections |
Calendar
(updated daily).
News
from Around the Web (updated daily).
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| Quote of the Day |
"Rather than being boundary-less, the regulatory view of
communications is based on geography - specifically, close to 200
artificially defined "local calling areas" not found in
any atlas - and governed by 50 different state regulatory
commissions, countless municipalities, and an alphabet soup of
federal agencies. Rather than being seamless, the industry as viewed
by regulation is a collection of separate services. Local is
separate from long distance -- not because they're really two
different businesses, but because the Telecom Act says they are.
Cable, telephony, satellite, wireless - each has its own bureau at
the FCC. And the vast bulk of regulatory effort is focused on one
ever-shrinking segment of the business: local voice communications.
Rather than being market-driven, competition in communications is
managed by regulatory bodies who today dictate the terms of
competitive entry, establish prices on retail and wholesale
services, oversee our operations, and maintain an elaborate system
of subsidies. To put it more simply, they're trying to pick winners
and losers. The result of this approach is that the communications
industry in this country has not been able to develop along natural
lines. However unintended, regulation has stifled progress in the
deployment of new technology." Ivan Seidenberg,
9/25 (source)
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