| Judge Kotelly Assigned to
Microsoft Case |
| 8/24. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kotelly was randomly
selected by court computer to preside in the Microsoft
antitrust cases. She was appointed to the bench by former
President Clinton. Her primary experience is in criminal law.
She replaces Judge Thomas Jackson, who was removed for
improper conduct. See, U.S.D.C. notice
of assignment and bio of
Judge Kotelly. |
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| DC Circuit Returns
Microsoft Case to District Court |
| 8/24. The U.S. Court
of Appeals (DCCir) issued its mandate in the Microsoft
antitrust cases. It issued a certified copy of the court's
judgment, which is sent to the U.S. District Court (DCC)
in order to return jurisdiction to that court. |
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| FBI Invokes Classified
Information Procedures Act in Computer Intrusion Case |
8/23. The U.S. Attorney's Office (DNJ) filed a motion
[PDF] in the U.S.
District Court (D-NJ) in the case USA
v. Nicodemo Scarfo that invokes the Classified
Information Procedures Act, Title 18, U.S.C, Appendix III, to
avoid producing information about the FBI's "Key Logger
System" to a Scarfo, a criminal defendant. The System was
surreptitiously installed on Scarfo's personal computer to
record the keystroke entry of his encryption passphrase.
Scarfo seeks discovery regarding the FBI's "Key Logger
System" to support his motion to suppress evidence
gathered as a result of use of the system. Rather than comply
with the discovery request, the prosecution requests "to
file under seal with the Court and subsequently serve on
defense counsel (subject to an appropriate protective order)
an additional unclassified summary statement ... [and] to
provide the Court with an in camera, ex parte
submission ..."
Nicodemo Scarfo is an encryption savvy mobster involved in
illegal gambling and loan sharking operations. The FBI
obtained court authority to surreptitiously install on
Scarfo's computer "recovery methods" that could
capture password and encryption key information. The Court
order stated: "IT IS ORDERED ... that Special Agents of
the F.B.I. ... deploy recovery methods which will capture the
necessary key related information and encrypted file(s) ...
that Special Agents of the F.B.I. ... be authorized to enter
the TARGET LOCATION surreptitiously, covertly, and by breaking
and entering, if necessary, in order to deploy recovery
methods which will capture the necessary key related
information and encrypted file(s) whether they are stored on
Nicodemo S. Scarfo's computer hard drive in the TARGET
LOCATION or on removable media." The order further
permitted multiple entries. It also allowed the FBI "to
retrieve such key related information and encrypted file(s)
through electronic means."
This is case number Crim. No. 00-404(NHP). Judge Nicholas
Politan is presiding. The Assistant U.S. Attorney in charge of
this case is Ronald Wigler.
The Electronic Privacy
Information Center (EPIC) has collected and published case
documents from this proceeding. See, index. |
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| Rep. Hyde Defends Taiwan
and Urges Trade, Law and Internet for PRC |
8/24. Rep. Henry Hyde
(R-IL), Chairman of the House
International Relations Committee, gave a speech
to the Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce
in Taipei, Taiwan. He stated that "the United States must
publicly state that we will never allow Beijing to subvert or
destroy the world’s only functioning Chinese democracy and
thereby eliminate its subtle, yet powerful influence on the
Chinese people ..."
Rep. Hyde also said that "our hope and expectation that
the advent of democracy in China will be a peaceful one. We do
not seek conflict. China is not now our enemy, nor need she
ever be. Only tragedy could come from such a foolish mistake.
To avoid that fate, our efforts to encourage democracy must
include helping China become fully integrated into the world,
from enhanced trade and personal exchanges to the Internet and
the rule of law. The closer and more unconstrained the
connections between China and the outside world, the more
certain the advance of freedom." |
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| New Documents |
USAO:
motion
in USA v. Scarfo re FBI's Key Logger System, 8/23 (PDF, EPIC).
OMB:
report
re e-government and other issues, 8/25 (PDF, OMB).
Hyde:
speech
re Taiwan and PRC, 8/24 (HTML, HIRC). |
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| OMB Report Addresses
E-Government |
8/25. The Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) released a report
[PDF] titled "The President's Management Agenda".
The 64 page document contains 14 proposals for improving the
management and performance of the federal government. One of
the proposals pertains to electronic government.
The report states that the "Administration will advance
E-government strategy by supporting projects that offer
performance gains across agency boundaries, such as
e-procurement, e-grants, e-regulation, and e-signatures. It
will manage E-government projects more effectively by using
the budget process to insist on more effective planning of IT
investments by government agencies."
Among the proposals contained in the report are: (1) the www.firstgov.gov web site
will be expanded; (2) "Agencies will undertake a Federal
Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to promote digital signatures
for transactions within the federal government, between
government and businesses and between government and
citizens"; (3) "By the end of 2002, all agencies
will use a single e-procurement portal, www.FedBizOpps.gov, to
provide access to notices of solicitations over $25,000";
(4) "Agencies will allow applicants for federal grants to
apply for and ultimately manage grant funds online through a
common web site"; and (5) "Major regulatory agencies
will use the Web to inform citizens of the cases before them,
allow access to the development of rules, and make more
transparent the decisions they make".
Other proposals contained in the report include competitive
sourcing, faith based initiatives, privatization of military
housing, and criteria for allocating government spending on
research and development projects. |
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| Bush Addresses OMB Report |
8/25. President Bush discussed the OMB report in his regular
Saturday radio address. He stated that "Today, my Office
of Management and Budget is releasing a report identifying 14
long neglected management problems in the federal government,
and offering specific solutions to fix them. For example, the
United States government is the world's single largest
purchaser of computers and other technologies for gathering
and using information. In 2002, we will spend $45 billion on
information technology. That's more than we've budgeted for
highways and roads. Yet so far, and unlike private sector
companies, this large investment has not cut the government's
cost or improved people's lives in any way we can
measure." See, transcript.
The report makes three point on this topic. First, it states
that "Agencies typically evaluate their IT systems
according to how well they serve the agency's needs -- not the
citizens' needs." Second, it states that "Just as
private-sector companies in the 1980s tended to use computers
merely as souped-up typewriters and calculators, so government
agencies in the 1990s have used IT to automate pre-existing
processes rather than create new and more efficient
solutions." Third, it states that "IT offers
opportunities to break down obsolete bureaucratic divisions.
Unfortunately, agencies often perceive this opportunity as a
threat and instead make wasteful and redundant investments in
order to preserve chains of command that lost their purpose
years ago. Financial systems are often automated separately
from procurement systems, which are in turn carefully
segregated from human resources systems, significantly
increasing costs and minimizing potential savings." |
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| More News |
8/24. The FCC published a
notice
of its third inquiry into whether advanced telecommunications
capability is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable
and timely fashion, pursuant to Section
706 of the Telecom Act of 1996. This notice of inquiry was
adopted by the FCC at its August 9, 2001, meeting. See, Aug.
9 FCC release. This Federal Register notice contains
deadlines for comments. Comments are due September 24, 2001.
Reply comments are due October 9, 2001. See, Federal Register,
August 24, 2001, Vol. 66, No. 165, at Page 44636. (CC Docket
No. 98-146.)
8/24. The USPTO published
a notice
in the Federal Register regarding the composition and
operations of the Committee on Discipline and representation
of the Director in disciplinary cases. See, Federal Register,
August 24, 2001, Volume 66, Number 165, at Pages 44526 -
44527. |
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| Notice |
| The Tech Law Journal Daily E-Mail Alert will not be
published on Thursday, August 30, Friday, August 31, or
Monday, September 3. |
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| Monday, August 27 |
| 8:00 AM. The USITC will
hold begin its evidentiary hearing in its Section 337 investigation
of certain Ink Jet Print Cartridges. HP filed a complaint on
December 22, 2000, alleging that Microjet Technology (Taipei,
Taiwan), Printer Essentials.com (Reno, Nevada), Price-Less
Inkjet Cartridge Company (Port Charlotte, Florida), Cartridge
Hut and Paperwork Plus (Sun City, California) and ABCCo.net
(Port Charlotte, Florida) are in violation of Section 337 of
the Tariff Act of 1930 by importing into the U.S. certain ink
jet print cartridges and components thereof that infringe
patents owned by HP. (Inv. No. 337-TA-446). Administrative Law
Judge Paul Luckern will preside. Location: Courtroom A, ITC
Building, 500 E Street SW, Washington DC. See also, USITC
release. |
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| Tuesday, August 28 |
| 10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The FCC's Advisory Committee for the
2003 World Radiocommunication Conference will hold a meeting.
Location: Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th Street, SW, Room
TW-C305, Washington DC. |
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| Bush Nominates Former Head
of Space Command for Joint Chiefs |
8/24. President Bush nominated Air Force General Richard
Myers to be the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
Myers is a former commander of the U.S.
Space Command. He is currently Vice Chairman of the JCS.
President Bush also announced the nomination of Marine Corps
General Pete Pace, current commander of SOUTHCOM, to be Vice
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
President Bush stated that Myers "is someone who
understands that the strengths of America's armed forces are
our people and our technological superiority." He
added that "times of rapidly changing technology and
ever-changing threats, will require tough choices. This
team of strong leaders, Don Rumsfeld, General Myers and
General Pace, knows that our nation must think differently,
and we will think differently to protect and defend America's
values and interests in the world." See, transcript
of remarks by President Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald
Rumsfeld.
A DOD bio
of Myers states that "From August 1998 to February 2000,
General Myers was the commander in chief, North American
Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Space Command; commander,
Air Force Space Command; and Department of Defense manager,
space transportation system contingency support at Peterson
Air Force Base, Colorado, responsible for defending America
through space and intercontinental ballistic missile
operations." |
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| People |
| 8/27. Arif Hyder Ali joined the Houston office
of the law firm of Fulbright
& Jaworski as counsel. He previously was senior
counsel at the Word
Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO) Arbitration
and Mediation Center. He will focus on international
commercial arbitration, alternative dispute resolution,
representations before inter-governmental tribunals and
organizations and dispute resolution involving information and
communications technologies and the Digital Economy. See,
F&J
release. |
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