| Sen. Torricelli Introduces
Bill to Criminalize Hacking School Computers |
| 7/26. Sen. Robert
Torricelli (D-NJ) introduced S
1252, the School Website Protection Act of 2001. It would
criminalize tampering with computers of schools and
institutions of higher education. The bill provides, in part,
that 18
U.S.C. 1030(a) is amended by adding the following clause
to the list of prohibited acts: "knowingly causes the
transmission of a program, information, code, or command, and
as a result of such conduct, intentionally affects or impairs
without authorization a computer of an elementary school or
secondary school or institution of higher education". The
bill was referred to the Senate Judiciary
Committee, of which Sen. Torricelli is a member. |
|
|
| Rep. Paul Introduces
Privacy Bill to Ban Certain Medical Databases |
| 7/24. Rep. Ron Paul
(R-TX) and others introduced HR
2615, the Patient Privacy Act of 2001. The bill provides
that, subject to certain enumerated exceptions, "no
Federal funds may be spent to develop or implement any
database or other system of records containing personal
medical information of any United States citizen, or to
collect medical records for the purpose of storing them in a
database or other system of records." The bill was
referred to the House
Ways and Means Committee. |
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|
| Wiretapping Legislation |
7/25. Sen. Orrin Hatch
(R-UT), Sen. Charles
Schumer (D-NY), and Sen.
Mike DeWine (R-OH), introduced S 1234,
a bill to provide that certain sexual crimes against children
are predicate crimes for the interception of communications.
The bill was referred to the Senate Judiciary
Committee.
Sen. Hatch said in the Senate that "The Anti-Sexual
Predator Act of 2001 will add three predicate offenses to the
Federal wiretap statute. This addition will enable law
enforcement to intercept wire and oral communications relating
to child pornography materials, the coercion and enticement of
individuals to travel interstate to engage in sexual activity,
the transportation of minors for the purpose of engaging in
sexual activity." He elaborated that "Although in
many cases much of the initial relationship between these
sexual predators and their child victims takes place online,
the predators will ultimately seek to have personal contact
with the child. Thus, the communications will move first to
the telephone, and then to face to face meetings. .. As the
laws stand today, investigators do not have access to the
Federal wiretap statutes to investigate these predators."
See also, HR
1877, the Child Sex Crimes Wiretapping Act of 2001,
introduced by Rep.
Nancy Johnson (R-CT) and others on May 16. HR 1877
was marked up by the House Crime Subcommittee on June 21. |
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|
| Bill Would Create Telework
Tax Credits |
7/23. Rep. Scott
McGinnis (R-CO) and others introduced HR
2597, the Broadband Deployment and Telework Incentive Act
of 2001. The bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to
provide an employer telework tax credit, and a telework
equipment tax credit. The bill was referred to the House Ways and Means
Committee.
Employer Telework Tax Credit. The bill provides that
"the employer telework tax credit for any taxable year is
equal to $500 for each employee who participates in an
employer sponsored telework arrangement during the taxable
year."
Telework Equipment Tax Credit. The bill provides that
the "telework equipment tax credit for any taxable year
is equal to 10% of qualified telework expenses paid or
incurred during the taxable year by either the employer on
behalf of the employee, or directly by the employee, pursuant
to an employer sponsored telework arrangement."
To qualify, the employee must "telework for a minimum of
25 days per taxable year." Qualified expenses include
"expenses paid or incurred for computers, computer-
related hardware and software, modems, data processing
equipment, telecommunications equipment, and access to
Internet or broadband technologies, including applicable taxes
and other expenses for the delivery, installation, or
maintenance of such equipment." Finally, telework is
defined as "work functions at locations other than the
traditional work place of the employer thereby eliminating or
substantially reducing the physical commute to and from that
traditional work place." |
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|
| Dow v. Sumotomo |
7/27. The U.S.
Court of Appeals (FedCir) issued its opinion in Dow
v. Sumitomo, a patent infringement
action. The District Court entered summary judgment of
noninfringement for Sumitomo. The Appeals Court vacated and
remanded.
Dow Chemical is the assignee
of U.S. Patent No. 4,499,255 which is directed to a process
for making high purity epoxy resins. Dow filed a complaint in
U.S. District Court (EDMich)
against Sumitomo alleging that certain processes used by
Sumitomo infringe this patent. The District Court determined
that certain limitations required by claim 1 of the patent are
not present in Sumitomo's processes either literally or under
the doctrine of equivalents, and granted Sumitomo's motion for
summary judgment of noninfringement. |
|
|
| Antitrust Law News |
7/27. The U.S.
Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it would file a
complaint to block United
Airlines from acquiring US Airways. The DOJ
asserted that the merger "would reduce competition, raise
fares, and harm consumers on airline routes throughout the
United States." See, DOJ
release. United then announced that the two companies
"have terminated their merger agreement." See, United
release. See also, US
Airways release.
7/26. The U.S.
Court of Appeals (2ndCir) issued its opinion
in Virgin
Atlantic Airways v. British Airways, an
antitrust action. Virgin
filed a complaint in U.S. District Court (SDNY)
against British
Airways (BA) alleging violation of §§ 1 and 2 of the
Sherman Act. It alleged that BA engaged in predatory business
practices, including the use of incentive agreements with
corporate clients and travel agencies. Virgin argued that
these agreements offered below cost pricing and thus attracted
passengers to BA's transatlantic flights, and that losses from
pricing tickets below cost were recouped by coupling these
flights with other routes on which BA exercised monopoly power
and could charge higher fares. The District Court granted
summary judgment to BA. The Appeals Court affirmed. John
Warden, a partner in the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell,
is lead counsel for British Airways in this case. He is also
lead counsel for Microsoft in the government's antitrust case
in Washington DC. |
|
|
| New Documents |
HRC: report
on P2P networks and pormography, 7/27 (PDF, HRC).
McGinnis:
HR
2597 re telework tax credits, 7/23 (HTML, LibCong).
Torricelli: S
1252, the School Website Protection Act, 7/26 (HTML,
LibCong).
Paul:
HR
2615, the Patient Privacy Act, 7/24 (HTML, LibCong).
Hatch:
S
1234, re wiretapping, 7/26 (HTML, LibCong).
USCA:
opinion
in Virgin v. British Airways re antitrust, 7/27 (HTML, USCA). |
|
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|
| House Report Concludes P2P
Networks Endanger Children |
7/27. The Minority Staff of the Special Investigations
Division of the House
Committee on Government Reform released a report
[PDF] titled "Children's Access to Pormography Through
Internet File-Sharing Programs". The report, which was
prepared at the request of Rep. Steve Largent
(R-OK) and Rep. Henry
Waxman (D-CA), examined peer to peer networks, including
Music City Morpheus, BearShare, and Aimster.
The report found that peer to peer (P2P) file copying networks
other than Napster are growing rapidly in popularity. It also
found that one of the major categories of content on these
networks is pormography, including videos. Moreover, innocent
search terms, such as "Britney Spears", return as
results pormographic files, thereby endangering children.
Finally, the report found that use of these peer to peer
networks is free, and unaffected by the filtering software.
The report contains no recommendations for government action.
Rep. Waxman stated that he wants to "draw attention"
to the problem. He added that "As legislators, we can try
to pass laws to address these issues. But sometimes
legislation can’t solve the entire problem by itself. In
this case, parental awareness and parental involvement matter
more than legislation. And that's the whole point of the
report Mr. Largent and I are releasing today." He also
said that in comparison, the debate over the V-Chip is
"trivial." See, statement.
Editor's Note: Tech Law Journal intentionally misspells words
that have caused e-mail filters to block the TLJ Daily E-Mail
Alert. |
|
|
| V-Chip Debate |
7/24. The Kaiser Family
Foundation (KFF) announced that it conducted a public
opinion poll on the V-Chip. It found that 40% of American
parents now own a TV equipped with a V-Chip. However, only 17%
of parents who own a V-Chip – or 7% of all parents – are
using it to block programs with sexual or violent content.
See, KFF
release.
7/25. Rep. Clifford
Stearns (R-FL) spoke in the House about the KFF report. He
stated that "Some of my colleagues are quick to rely on
government as a panacea for all of our problems. Yesterday's
report reveals that the long arm of government regulation is
no substitute for good parenting." |
|
|
| House Holds Hearing on
Market Data |
7/26. The House
Financial Services Committee's Capital Markets
Subcommittee held its second hearing on market data, titled
"Implications to investors and market transparency of
granting ownership rights over stock quotes." Rep. Richard Baker
(R-LA), Chairman of the subcommittee, said in his opening
statement [PDF] that the purpose of the hearing was to
discuss "the question of whether there should be
legislation to explicitly establish a proprietary right over
market databases or to give protection to the operators of the
databases through new private causes of action."
Congress amended the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 in
1975 to put in place the current market data regime. Rep. Mike Oxley (R-OH),
the Chairman of the full Committee, said in his opening
statement [PDF] that "New communications technology,
like the Internet, have transformed the markets so
significantly that the rules that were put in place in 1975
are now outdated." Brokerages are required to provide
quotation and trading data immediately and without
compensation to the self regulatory organizations (SROs), such
as the NASDAQ, which consolidate the data, and sell it to
information vendors and brokerage firms.
The House Commerce
Committee passed a broad database bill in the last
Congress that included a title on market data. However, that
bill never made it to the House floor. See, HR 1858
(106th Congress). That bill would have amended the Securities
and Exchange Act to provide a civil remedy for certain
misappropriation of market data. The jurisdiction of the House
Financial Services Committee (previously called the House
Banking Committee) was expanded at the beginning of the 107th
Congress to include securities regulation. This had previously
been handled by a subcommittee of the Commerce Committee that
had been chaired by Rep. Oxley.
Richard Ketchum, President of the NASDAQ, said in his prepared
testimony [PDF] that the NASDAQ supported HR 1858, but
also believes "There may be circumstances in which
copyright, trade secret, and unfair competition and/or
misappropriation rights and remedies, in addition to those
that would have been available under H.R. 1858, may properly
need to be asserted by market information processors." He
added that all SROs should be able to protect its market data,
and establish prices.
In contrast, Hardy Callcott, General Counsel of Charles Schwab, said in his prepared
testimony [PDF] that "Database protection legislation
should not give the securities markets a property right over
market information. Market data is made up of the facts that
are the most critical feature of our capital markets. No one
can own this, or any, set of facts. Granting ownership or
copyright protection to any one party would simply be contrary
to the goal of ensuring broad access to market
information." He also said that the SEC should
"continue to play a critical role in enforcing the non-
discrimination requirements, as well as setting and enforcing
general standards for such issues as capacity, sequencing, and
synchronization." |
|
|
| Rep. DeLauro Attacks PR
China's Record on Intellectual Property |
| 7/25. Rep. Rosa
DeLauro (D-CT) addressed trade with China in the House.
She stated that "China has engaged in unfair trade
practices, pirated intellectual property, spread weapons and
dangerous technology to rogue nations, suppressed democracy,
denied its citizens religious freedom, and engaged in human
rights abuses." She continued that "The United
States should use our trade laws with China to pressure for
greater access for American companies and goods. I oppose NTR
for China because we need to let China know that more of the
same is not acceptable. It is vital that we insist on fair and
equal standards in compliance with all aspects of our trade
laws. Until this happens, I cannot support NTR." |
|
|
| Denial of Trademark
Application Upheld |
7/27. The U.S.
Court of Appeals (FedCir) issued its opinion in In Re Save Venice New
York, Inc., a appeal from the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. The Board
denied Save Venice's application for a composite mark
consisting of the phrases "THE VENICE COLLECTION"
and "SAVE VENICE INC." and an image of the winged
Lion of St. Mark on the grounds that it was geographically
deceptively misdescriptive. The Appeals Court affirmed.
Statute. § 2(e)(3) of the Lanham Act provides in
relevant part that: "No trademark by which the goods of
the applicant may be distinguished from the goods of others
shall be refused registration on the principal register on
account of its nature unless it ... (e) Consists of a mark
which ... (3) when used on or in connection with the goods of
the applicant is primarily geographically deceptively
misdescriptive of them."
Background. Save Venice is
a not-for-profit New York corporation devoted to preserving
and restoring some of the cultural treasures of Venice, Italy.
However, almost none of the goods that it sells are made in
Venice. The PTO refused the registration because the mark was
geographically deceptively misdescriptive. The Board affirmed. |
|
|
|
| People and Appointments |
7/27. Greg Abbott joined the Austin office of the law
firm of Bracewell &
Patterson in its Appellate Group, effective August 1,
2001. He was previously a Justice of the Texas Supreme Court.
See, release.
7/25. Alan
Mendelson and Ora
Fisher were appointed Co-Chairs of Venture and
Technology Practice Group at the law firm of Latham & Watkins. Mendelson
replaces Ted
Sonnenschein, who will joining Coastview Capital, a
venture capital firm focusing on life science investments.
Sonnenschein will remain of Counsel to the firm. See, LW
release.
7/23. Charlene Barshefsky joined the law firm of Wilmer Cutler & Pickering.
She was previously the U.S.
Trade Representative. She will focus on global business,
investment, regulatory, and negotiating advice. See, WCP
release [PDF].
7/23. Robert Novick joined the law firm of Wilmer Cutler & Pickering
as a partner in the Washington DC office. He was previously
General Counsel in the Office of the USTR. See, WCP
release [PDF].
7/27. FCC Commissioner Kathleen
Abernathy named Stacy Robinson to be her Legal
Advisor for mass media issues. Robinson has previously worked
at the law firms of Skadden
Arps, Alston & Bird,
and Wiley, Rein & Fielding,
and at Discovery
Communications, Inc. She will start in mid August.
7/26. FRB Vice Chairman Roger
Ferguson was sworn in for a new term on the Board of Governors of
the Federal Reserve System. See, FRB
release. |
|
|
| Monday, July 30 |
The House will meet at 12:30 PM for morning hour and at 2:00
PM for legislative business. The House will likely consider
several items under suspension of the rules, and complete its
consideration of HR 2620, the VA/ HUD Appropriations Act for
FY 2002.
1:00 PM. The Senate
Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination
of Robert Mueller to be Director of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation. Sen.
Patrick Leahy (D-VT) will preside. Location: Room 216,
Hart Building.
1:00 PM. Opening statements in the Copyright Office's
(CO) arbitration proceeding regarding webcasting of digital
sound recordings. The CO has scheduled a "180-day
arbitration period to set the rates and terms for two
compulsory licenses. One license allows certain eligible
nonsubscription services to perform sound recordings publicly
by means of digital audio transmissions and the other allows a
transmitting organization to make an ephemeral recording of a
sound recording for the purpose of making a permitted public
performance." Presentation of direct cases is scheduled
for July 31 through September 13. See, notice
published in Federal Register, July 23, 2001, Vol. 66, No.
141, at Pages 38324 - 38326.
1:30 PM. The President's Advisory Committee on Trade Policy
and Negotiations will hold a meeting on 1:30 to 4:30 PM. The
meeting will be closed to the public from 1:30 to 4:00 PM, and
open to the public from 4:00 to 4:30 PM. See, notice
in Federal Register. For more information, contact Heather
Wingate (Office of the USTR) at 202-395-6120. Location: USTR
ANNEX Building in Conference Rooms 1 and 2, located at 1724 F
Street, NW, Washington DC. |
|
|
| Tuesday, July 31 |
10:00 AM. The House
Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and
Investigations will hold a hearing for titled "How Secure
is Sensitive Commerce Department Data and Operations? A Review
of the Department's Computer Security Policies and
Practices." Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.
10:00 AM. The House
Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and
Consumer Protection will hold a hearing titled Current
Issues Before the Financial Accounting Standards Board.
Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.
10:00 AM. The House
Transportation Committee's Highways and Transit
Subcommittee will hold a hearing on red light cameras.
Location: Room 2167, Rayburn Building.
10:00 AM. The Senate
Finance Committee will hold a hearing on several pending
nominations, including Rosario Marin to be Treasurer of
the United States and Jon Huntsman to be a Deputy U.S.
Trade Representative. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.
10:00 AM. Ronald Dick, Director of the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection
Center, will speak on the NIPC's efforts to detect, deter,
warn of, respond to and investigate malicious acts, both
physical and cyber, that threaten critical infrastructures.
For more information, contact Debbie Weierman, FBI's National
Press Office, 202-324-8055. Location: Zenger Room, National Press Club, 529 14th
St. NW, 13th Floor, Washington DC.
2:00 PM. The House
Science Committee's Research Subcommittee will hold a
hearing titled "Innovation in Information Technology:
Beyond Faster Computers and Higher Bandwidth." Location:
Room 2318, Rayburn Building.
2:30 PM. The Senate
Commerce Committee's Communications Subcommittee will hold
a hearing on spectrum management and third generation
wireless systems. Location: Room 253, Rayburn Building.
The scheduled witnesses are William Hatch (NTIA), Julius Knapp
(FCC), Linton Wells (Department of Defense), Denny Strigl (Verizon
Wireless), Carroll McHenry (Nucentrix Broadband Networks),
Mark Kelly (Leap Wireless), Martin Cooper (ArrayComm), and
Thomas Wheeler (CTIA). |
|
|
| More News |
7/27. Microsoft announced the filing seven complaints in
U.S. District Courts in Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio alleging copyright
infringement. Each complaint alleges distribution of
counterfeit copies of components of Office 97 and/or Windows
95/98/2000 software. See, release.
7/27. Rep. Jerry
Moran (R-KS) and others introduced HR 2669, a bill to
improve access to telecommunications and Internet services in
rural areas, by providing government loans and grants. The
bill was referred to the House Agriculture
Committee and the House
Commerce Committee. See, Moran
release.
7/25. The Senate
Judiciary Committee issued its Report
No. 107-46 on S 407, the Madrid Protocol Implementation
Act. This bill amends the Trademark Act of 1946 to provide
for the registration and protection of trademarks used in
commerce, in order to carry out provisions of certain
international conventions. |
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