| FCC, FTC and Commerce
Nominees Approved by Committee |
| 5/24. The Senate
Commerce Committee approved several nominations to the FCC (Michael Powell, Michael
Copps, Kevin Martin, and Kathleen Abernathy), the FTC (Timothy Muris), and the Department of Commerce (Bruce
Mehlman, Kathleen Cooper, and Mari Cino). See, release. |
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| Olson Confirmed |
| 5/24. The Senate confirmed Ted Olson to be Solicitor General
by a vote of 51 to 47. It was a straight party line vote,
except that Sen. Zell
Miller (D-GA) and Sen.
Ben Nelson (D-NE) voted for confirmation. |
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| Trade Promotion Authority |
5/24. The New Democratic
Coalition released a set of principles for granting the
President trade promotion authority (also know as fast track)
which include consideration for labor and environmental
standards. Trade promotion authority would enhance the
President's ability to negotiate trade agreements by allowing
the Congress to approve or reject, but not amend, trade
agreements negotiated by the President. See, release.
See also, report
written by the Progressive Policy Institute, a think tank
operated by the New Democrats
Republicans welcomed the qualified support of the New
Democrats for trade promotion authority. Sen. Charles Grassley
(R-IA) stated, "I welcome the principles for building a
bipartisan consensus for trade promotion authority advanced by
the New Democrat coalition. These principles are a
constructive contribution to the critically important goal of
rebuilding a bipartisan accord on trade. Democrats as well as
Republicans recognize that we have to come together to restore
America's leadership in international trade. ... Without trade
promotion authority, our negotiators will lack the credibility
they need to fight for, and conclude, trade agreements that
benefit all Americans." USTR Robert Zoellick
stated "I am encouraged by their constructive proposal to
move the trade agenda forward. Their trade principles reflect
a pragmatic approach to trade and an understanding of the
challenges we face in opening foreign markets." See, USTR
release. |
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| New Documents |
| EU:
report on
Echelon, 5/4(HTML, Cryptome). |
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| Rogan to Head USPTO |
5/24. President Bush picked former Rep. James Rogan (R-CA)
to be head of the USPTO. Formally,
Bush nominated him to be Under Secretary of Commerce for
Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Trademark
Office. See, White House release
announcing Bush's intent to nominate Rogan, and release
announcing the nomination.
Rogan is a former member of the House Judiciary
Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, Internet and
Intellectual Property (CIIP). He also sat on the House Commerce Committee,
and its Telecom Subcommittee. He lost his bid for reelection
last November. Rep.
Adam Schiff (D-CA), who defeated Rogan, was named to the
CIIP Subcommittee yesterday. Rogan is currently a partner in
the Washington DC office of the law firm of Venable Baetjer and Howard.
See, Tech
Law Journal biography of Rogan (written in 1999), and Venable
biography. The acting head of the USPTO is Nicholas Godici.
The previous head of the USPTO was Todd Dickenson.
Legislation Sponsored by Rogan. Rogan sponsored HR
1761, the Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1999, which
became law. It increased damages for copyright infringement.
Rogan also cosponsored legislation in the 106th Congress that
addressed cyber squatting.
Diversion of USPTO User Fees. Rogan missed the one roll
call vote in the House on the issue of diversion of USPTO user
fees to fund other government programs. Rep. Howard Coble
(R-NC) offered an amendment in June of 2000 to the funding
bill which covered the USPTO which would have reduced the size
of the diversion. It failed by a vote of 145 to 223. See, Roll
Call No. 321. See also, TLJ
news story and analysis
of the vote. Nor did Rogan cosponsor HR
4034, which would have ended the diversion. It was adopted
by the subcommittee and full committee without roll call
votes.
Database Protection. In the 106th Congress, Rogan
cosponsored neither HR
354, the Collections of Information Anti-Piracy Act,
sponsored by Rep. Coble, nor HR
1858, the Consumer and Investor Access to Information Act,
sponsored by former Rep. Bliley. Although, he spoke critically
of HR 1858 during debate in the House Commerce Committee. HR
354 offered significant legal protection to databases. HR 1858
did not. Neither became law.
Rogan voted against the Kaptur amendment to HR 400 (105th
Congress, 1997), a patent reform bill that was later revised
and enacted into law in the 106th Congress. See, Roll
Call No. 88. |
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| Patent Hearing |
| 5/24. The Senate
Judiciary Committee held a hearing on competition in the
pharmaceutical marketplace, focusing on the antitrust
implications of patent settlements. See, prepared
testimony of witness: Gary
Beuhler (Food and Drug Administration), Molly
Boast (Director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition), James
Griffin (Antitrust Division), and Mark
Shurtleff (Attorney General of Utah). |
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| Notice |
| Tech Law Journal will not publish an E-Mail Alert on Monday,
May 28, Memorial Day. |
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| TiVo Awarded Patent |
| 5/24. TiVo announced that
the USPTO issued U.S.
Patent No. 6,233,389 to it for a "Multimedia
Timewarping System." The invention allows the user to
store selected television broadcast programs while the user is
simultaneously watching or reviewing another program. See
also, TiVo
release. |
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| Today |
11:00 AM. Rep. Phil
English (R-PA), Rep.
Ben Cardin (D-MD), and others will announce the
introduction of a bill to amend U.S. trade laws. It is a
revised version of HR
1505 (106th Congress). Location: Room 210, Cannon House
Office Building.
Deadline to file reply comments with the FCC in
response to its request for comments regarding the cable
ownership limits imposed upon AT&T by the FCC in its
AT&T Time Warner merger review proceeding, in light of the
March 2, 2001, opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Time
Warner v. FCC, 249 F.3d 1126 (D.C. Cir. 2001). (CS Docket
No. 99-251.) See, FCC notice.
Deadline to file comments with the SEC in
response to its web
based survey concerning investor use of electronic media
in making investment decisions. See original
notice setting deadline of July 1, and May 21 notice
moving the deadline up to May 25. |
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| Monday, May 28 |
Memorial Day.
The House and Senate will be in recess for the Memorial Day
District Work Period. |
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| More News |
5/24. WebLink
Wireless filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in the
U.S. District Court (NDTex). WebLink
Wireless is a Dallas, Texas, based provider of wireless data
and paging services.
5/24. The ICANN
published in its web site a memorandum
titled "Criteria for Establishment of New Regional
Internet Registries." The ICANN's next round of meetings
will be held on June 1-4, 2001, in Stockholm, Sweden. See, Stockholm meetings page.
5/24. The FCC's Advisory Committee for the 2003 World
Radiocommunication Conference held a meeting. |
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| About Tech Law Journal |
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