| 107th Congress |
1/24. The Senate confirmed by unanimous votes Tommy
Thompson (Sec. of Health and Human Services) and Norman
Mineta (Sec. of Transportation). Democrats on the Senate Judiciary
Committee delayed consideration of the nomination of John
Ashcroft (Attorney General). Democrats want answers to 260
written interrogatories before the Committee votes. Also, Sen. Dianne Feinstein
(D-CA), a member of the Committee, released a statement
in which she announced her opposition.
1/20. Rep. Anna Eshoo
(D-CA) and Rep. Chris
Cannon (R-UT) introduced HR
237, the Consumer Internet Privacy Enhancement Act.
The bill prevents commercial web site operators from
collecting personally identifiable information (PII) from
users of their web sites unless they first give notice of what
information is collected and how it will be used, and give the
users the opportunity to limit the use of that information.
The bill gives civil enforcement authority to the FTC, and
provides for "safe harbor" self-regulatory plans
that are approved by the FTC. See also, Cannon
release and TLJ
story.
1/22. Sen. Orrin Hatch
(R-UT) and Sen. Max
Baucus (D-MT) introduced S 41, a bill to make permanent
the R&D tax credit. Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-CT) and
Rep. Robert Matsui (D-CA) have introduced a similar bill in
the House. The 106th Congress passed another in a series of
temporary extensions of the R&D tax credit. |
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| New TLJ Story |
| Reps.
Eshoo and Cannon Introduce Online Privacy Bill. Reps.
Eshoo and Cannon introduced a privacy bill in the House. It
would prevent a commercial web site operator from collecting
personally identifiable information from users of the web site
unless it first gives notice of what information is collected
and how it will be used, and gives the users the opportunity
to limit the use of that information. |
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| New Documents |
Enzi:
S 149,
the Export Administration Act, 1/23 (167 pages in PDF, Enzi).
Eshoo:
HR
237, the Consumer Internet Privacy Enhancement Act,
1/20 (HTML, TLJ).
USCA:
opinion
in Matthew Bender and Hyperlaw v. West re attorneys fees in
copyright infringement cases, 1/23 (HTML, USCA).
USCA:
opinion
in Peel v. Rug Market re access and similarity in copyright
infringement claims, 1/24 (HTML, USCA).
FCC: order
re SBC long distance service in Okla. and Kansas, 1/24 (154
pages in PDF, FCC). |
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| Intellectual Property |
1/24. Microtune
filed a complaint in U.S. District Court (EDTex)
against Broadcom
alleging patent infringement. Microtune, based in Plano,
Texas, makes RF
broadband chips for use in cable modems, set-top boxes, PC/TV
multimedia, TV/digital TV and other consumer appliances. It
alleges that Broadcom's BCM 3415 microchip infringes its U.S.
Patent No. 5,737,035, titled "Highly Integrated
Television Tuner on a Single Microcircuit." Microtune
seeks monetary damages resulting from the alleged
infringement, and an injunction against further infringement.
Microtune is represented by the law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski.
See, Microtune
release.
1/23. The U.S.
District Court (2ndCir) issued its opinion
in Matthew
Bender and Hyperlaw v. West Publishing Co., an
appeal of an attorneys fees award following the long
legal battle over West's claim that it is entitled to copyright
protection with respect to judicial opinions that it publishes
in its case reporters. The U.S. District Court awarded
$813,724.25 in attorneys fees to Hyperlaw based upon its
finding that West violated 17 U.S.C. § 403 by failing to
delineate the portion of its works for which copyright
protection was claimed, and its finding that West conducted
the litigation in bad faith. The Appeals Court reversed and
remanded. (The copyright issues were addressed previously.
See, Matthew Bender & Co. v. West Publishing Co., 158 F.3d
674 (2d Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 526 U.S. 1154 (1999) (HyperLaw
I), and Matthew Bender & Co. v. West Publishing Co., 158
F.3d 693 (2d Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 526 U.S. 1154 (1999) (HyperLaw
II).)
1/24. The U.S. Court of
Appeals (5thCir) issued its opinion
in Peel v. Rug Market, a copyright infringement case.
Peel copyrighted a rug design. Rug Market, a rug wholesaler,
carried rugs made in India that Peel alleged infringed its
design. Peel filed a complaint in U.S. District Court (EDLa).
The Court granted Rug Market's motion for summary judgment, on
the grounds that Peel would not be able to meet its burden of
proof that the rug producer had access to the design,
and that the designs had sufficient similarity. The
Appeals Court found material issues of fact, and reversed. |
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| More News |
1/24. The FCC published in
its web site its Memorandum
Opinion and Order [154 pages in PDF] granting SBC's Section
271 application to provide long distance service in
Oklahoma and Kansas. The FCC announced this order on Jan. 19.
(CC Docket No. 00-217.)
1/24. Hewlett-Packard hired Phil
Bond to head its Washington DC lobbying office, effective
Feb. 26. He will replace Gary Fazzino, who was
appointed VP of HP Government and Public Affairs. Bond has
held many jobs in Washington DC, including Chief of Staff to
Rep. Jennifer Dunn
(R-WA), and Principal Dep. Asst. Secretary of Defense for
Legislative Affairs under Defense Secretary Dick Cheney. See, release. |
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| Today |
| 10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The American
Enterprise Institute will host an event titled "The
Presidential Appointments Process: Computer Software to Help
Appointees." The speakers are Terry Sullivan (software
presenter), Norman Ornstein (AEI), Thomas Mann (Brookings),
Paul Light (Brookings), Richard Thornburg, and Donna Shalala.
Location: AEI, 1150 17th Street, NW, Washington DC,
Wohlstetter Conference Center, 12th Floor. |
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| About Tech Law Journal |
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legislation, litigation, and regulation affecting the computer
and Internet industry.
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