Nov. 2, 2000
8:00 AM ET.
Alert No. 55. |
TLJ Home Page
News from
the Web
Calendar
Search
Tech Law Journal is a free access online publication that
provides news, records, and analysis of legislation, litigation, and
regulation affecting the computer and Internet industry.
This email service is offered free of charge to anyone who requests
it.
Contact TLJ:
202-364-8882.
E-mail.
P.O. Box 15186, Washington DC, 20003.
Notices
& Disclaimers
Privacy
Policy
Copyright 1998 - 2000 David Carney, dba Tech Law Journal. All rights
reserved. |
|
|
| News Briefs |
11/1. Listen.com and Scour.com filed an agreement in
U.S. Bankruptcy Court (CDCa)
under which Listen.com agrees to purchase assets of Scour.com.
On July 20 a collection of motion picture studios, record companies,
and music publishers (which are members of the MPAA and RIAA) filed
a complaint [HTML
| PDF] in
U.S. District Court (SDNY)
alleging that "Scour enables and encourages its users to find
and download digital files of plaintiffs' copyrighted motion
pictures, sound recordings, and musical compositions from the
computer hard drives of other users". All plaintiffs alleged copyright
infringement. Record company plaintiffs also alleged unfair
competition and misappropriation under state law. On Oct. 12,
Scour.com filed its Chapter 11 petition for bankruptcy in Los
Angeles. Hillary Rosen, CEO of the RIAA, said in a release that
"I have been assured by Listen.com's management that prior to
the acquisition of Scour.com that the file exchange service and
search engine service will be shut down and any resolution of the
lawsuit will depend upon Scour and Listen.com following through on
this commitment."
11/1. Clinton and Congressional leaders appear to have put off
until after the Nov. 7 election resolution of their disputes over
legislation. Several appropriations bills have yet to be signed
into law, one month into the new fiscal year. Most of the agencies
which deal with technology related matters are affected, including
the FCC, FTC, SEC, Justice Department, and Commerce Department
(which includes the USPTO, NTIA, NIST, and BXA). Other pending
matters include the FSC replacement bill, repeal of the 3% tax on
telephones, and a provision mandating Internet porn filtering by
schools and libraries receiving e-rate subsidies. The House recessed
until Nov. 2. The Senate recessed until Nov. 14. Most Members of
Congress, as well as Clinton, are out campaigning.
11/1. The Senate approved by unanimous consent HR 4986, the FSC
Repeal and Extraterritorial Income Exclusion Act of 2000.
Another version of this bill was included in HR 5542, a large tax
reform package which has been passed by both the House and Senate,
but which Clinton has said he would veto. See, Senate Finance
Committee release.
11/1. WorldCom announced a
realignment of its businesses; it will create two separately traded
tracking stocks: WorldCom for data, Internet, hosting and
international businesses, and MCI for consumer, small
business, wholesale long-distance voice and dial-up Internet access
operations. See, WC
release. Gary Lytle, CEO of the USTA, seized the occasion to
plead the case for RBOCs being
allowed to offer long distance services. He said that "Today's
announcement from WorldCom, coupled with AT&T's apparent retreat
from the residential long distance market last week, provides
further compelling evidence that more competition is needed in the
long distance segment." See, release. Several RBOC Section
271 applications are pending before the FCC.
11/1. SEC Enforcement
Division chief Richard Walker gave a speech to
the Securities Industry Association
in NYC in which he defended Regulation FD,
the selective disclosure rule, which went into effect on Oct. 23.
"Although I've heard industry spokespersons continue to claim
that the rule has caused a 'chilling effect' on communications, I
personally believe that any such effect being observed is largely
due to an over-abundance of caution, fed by the dire predictions of
numerous law firms and others opposed to the rule." He also
reiterated that "Regulation FD was not designed as a trap for
the unwary, as many law firms are counseling. ... there is no
liability under Rule 10b-5 for failure to make a public disclosure
required by FD ... there is no exposure to private liability
..."
11/1. ICANN
published an update
on the status of TLD
applications. The public comment forum on the applications will
remain open until 4:00 PM California time, Sunday, Nov. 5.
11/1. The Department of Defense, General Services Administration
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
published a notice
of proposed rule making regarding the use of electronic
signatures in procurement. Public comments are due by Jan. 2,
2001. See, Federal Register, Nov. 1, 2000, Vol. 65, No. 212, pages
65697 - 65698.
11/1. The Copyright Office
published in the Federal Register the schedule
for the 180-day arbitration period for the Phase II distribution of
the 1997 cable royalty funds for the syndicated programming
category. (Nov. 1, 2000, Vol. 65, No. 212, pages 65335 - 65336.)
11/1. NTIA
chief Greg Rohde held a demonstration of a new Internet based system
intended to warn the public of dangerous weather conditions or other
events. See, release.
11/1. BellSouth named Jonathan
Banks General Counsel of its Washington DC office. See, release.
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. |
|
|
| Today |
The NTIA
will hold a public meeting on obtaining more spectrum for use by 3G
wireless communications. Third Generation wireless technology
currently being developed will bring broadband Internet access to
hand-held devices. See, NTIA
release and notice
in Federal Register.
|
| New Documents |
FCC:
report
titled "High- Speed Services for Internet Access:
Subscribership as of June 30, 2000", 11/1 (PDF, FCC).
DOD:
notice
of proposed rule making regarding the use of electronic
signatures in procurement, 11/1 (TXT, FedReg).
CO: schedule
for the 180-day arbitration period for the Phase II distribution of
the 1997 cable royalty funds for the syndicated programming
category11/1 (TXT, FedReg).
|
| New and Updated Sections |
Calendar
(updated daily).
News
from Around the Web (updated daily).
|
| Quotes of the Day |
"I oppose H.R. 4986, the FSC Repeal and Extraterritorial Income
Exclusion Act of 2000. Unfortunately, this legislation is an example
of corporate welfare. Further, it does not adequately change the old
Foreign Sales Corporation (FSC) program to prevent disputes with the
European Union. I am concerned that this legislation is an example
of the costly corporate welfare that cripples our ability to respond
to truly urgent social needs such as health care, education, and
national security. The FSC benefits many major U.S. corporations,
including ... Cisco Systems."
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)
"European companies did not beat a path to EU headquarters in
Brussels insisting that they take us on over the FSC. Trade
ministers in European capitals did not rush to Brussels with demands
to file this case against us. Rather, the EU bureaucrats, angry at
having lost two important cases to the United States, were going to
fight back. So, we end up with the FSC case, and another example of
the EU undermining the global trade system."
Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)
|
|