| Landrieu Introduces Bill to
Create Top Level Domain and Require E-Mail Labeling |
4/16. Sen. Mary
Landrieu (D-LA) introduced S 2137, the Family Privacy
Protection Act. The bill would require the Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers (ICANN) to create a new top level domain
for pormographic web sites. It would also require that e-mail
advertisements containing sezually oriented material be
clearly labeled as such. Finally, it would criminalize the use
of a camera or similar recording device to record another
individual for a lewd or lascivious purpose without that
person's consent. The bill was referred to the Senate Commerce Committee.
Sen. Landrieu explained her bill in the Senate. She stated
that "This bill will make it a Federal crime to film
someone in these circumstances without their consent. The bill
provides exceptions for legitimate purposes such as police
investigations and security; but the bottom line is that this
legislation would hold these individuals responsible for their
actions."
She continued that "The video voyeurism component, while
important, is only one part of this bill. This bill also
contains a provision to protect children from Internet
websites with pormographic material." She elaborated that
"My legislation would instruct the Internet Corporation
for Assigned Names and Numbers to set up a new domain name for
pormographic websites. The owners of these sites would have 12
months to move their sites to the new domain. This is a very
simple yet effective method of protecting our children from
these sites. A new domain would make ``filter´´ programs,
which screen out these pormographic sites, much more
effective. It would eliminate mistakes like the whitehouse
dot-gov, dot-com, problem".
As for labelling of e-mail, she added that "I just want
to add that I am hopeful that, in the future, we can take even
stronger steps to address the problem of pormographic e-mails.
However, at the moment, this bill will at least ensure that
Internet users, particularly children, know that an e-mail
contains sezually oriented material before opening it."
She added, "this bill passes First Amendment tests for
freedom of speech." See, Cong. Rec., April 16, 2002, at
S2729-2730.
Sen. Landrieu is in a tight race for re-election to the Senate
from the state of Louisiana. |
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| Sen. Dorgan Opposes Trade
Promotion Authority |
4/15. Sen. Byron Dorgan
(D-ND) spoke in the Senate in opposition to legislation that
would grant the President Trade Promotion Authority (TPA),
which is also known as fast track authority.
He stated that "Senator Daschle, the majority leader, has
now promised that before the Memorial Day recess, the Senate
will be considering the administration's request for trade
promotion authority; that is a euphemism for fast track. Fast
track authority allows an administration to negotiate a trade
agreement somewhere and bring it back to the Congress, and
Congress is told: ``You are not able to change a decimal
point, a period, or a punctuation mark. You must vote up or
down on an expedited basis on that agreement. No changes, no
amendments. No opportunity to make any alterations at all.´´
That is called fast track."
Sen. Dorgan said that "it is a fundamentally undemocratic
proposition." He elaborated that "the
Constitution says -- article I, section 8 -- the Congress
shall have the power to regulate commerce with foreign
nations. That is the Congress that said that. The Constitution
says that the Congress has that power, not the
President."
He also quipped that "Will Rogers said ... that the
United States of America has never lost a war and never won a
conference. He surely must have been talking about our trade
negotiators." See, Cong. Rec., April 15, 2002, at
S2639-2640.
Sen. Charles Grassley
(R-IA), responded. He stated that "We had the pleasure of
bringing up a bill that had the support by a vote of 18 to 3
of the Senate
Finance Committee. That was about 4 months ago and we
still don't have any commitment from the leadership to bring
this critical, bipartisan trade legislation to the floor by a
date certain, so we can plan on that date and be ready for one
of the most important issues to come before Congress this year
and eventually vote on it."
He continued that "We have had several offers: that this
bill would come up sometime this spring; one time it was in
March; another time, it was soon after the Easter recess; now
it is maybe sometime before Memorial Day. There is a great
deal of uncertainty. During this period of uncertainty, we
lose opportunities for the United States to be a leader in
global trade negotiation." |
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| WTO DG Moore Addresses New
Round of Trade Negotiations |
4/17. Mike Moore, Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO)
gave a speech
titled "To Doha and beyond: a roadmap for successfully
concluding the Doha Development Round" in Montreux,
Switzerland.
He stated that the "Success in Doha brought to an end the
uncertainty created by the failure at Seattle. We are back in
business. And our business is trade liberalisation. The
momentum since Doha has been equally impressive. Members have
established a Trade Negotiations Committee to oversee the
negotiations. They have appointed the Director-General
ex-officio to chair this body. The structure of the
negotiations has been determined and chairpersons of all the
individual negotiating bodies decided upon."
He added, "I believe we can conclude the round within the
three year timeframe agreed by Ministers." |
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| SEC Sues Offshore Internet
Gambling Casino for Fraud |
4/15. The Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint
in U.S. District Court
(SDFl) against The Gaming Factory and others alleging
fraud in violation of federal securities laws.
The complaint states that the defendants are The Gaming
Factory, Inc., a Florida corporation, The Gaming Factory,
Inc., a Panamanian corporation, and two individuals. The
complaint states that defendants have used a web site, and
telephone solicitations, to offer and sell securities in a
purported offshore Internet gambling casino.
The complaint states that the securities are unregistered, in
violation of Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act, 15
U.S.C. §§ 77e(a) and 77e(c), and that defendants have made
numerous false and misleading statements in connection with
the offer and sale of securities, in violation of Section
17(a)(1) of the Securities Act, 15 U.S.C. § 77q(a)(1),
Section 17(a)(2) and (3) of the Securities Act, 15 U.S.C. §§
77(q)(a)(2) and 77(q)(a)(3), Section 10b of the Exchange Act,
15 U.S.C. § 78j(b), and Rule 10b-5, 17 C.F.R. § 240.
This is D.C. No. Case No. 02-80331-CIV. It has been assigned
to Judge Middlebrooks. See also, SEC
release. |
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| Greenspan Sees Recovery in
Some Forms of High Tech Investment |
4/17. Federal
Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan testified before the
Joint Economic Committee regarding monetary policy and the
economic outlook. See, prepared
testimony.
He concluded that "The U.S. economy has displayed a
remarkable resilience over the past six months in the face of
some very significant adverse shocks. But the strength of the
economic expansion that is under way remains to be clarified.
... Still, there can be little doubt that prospects have
brightened."
He stated, among other things, that "Improved profit
margins over time and more assured prospects for rising final
demand would likely be accompanied by a decline in risk
premiums from their current elevated levels toward a more
normal range. With real rates of return on high tech equipment
still attractive, the lowering of risk premiums should be an
additional spur to new investment. Reports from businesses
around the country suggest that the exploitation of available
networking and other information technologies was only
partially completed when the cyclical retrenchment of the past
year began. Many business managers still hold the view,
according to a recent survey of purchasing managers, that less
than half of currently available new and, presumably
profitable, supply chain technologies have been put into
use."
Greenspan continued that "Recent evidence suggests that a
recovery in at least some forms of high tech investment is
under way. Production of semiconductors, which in the past has
been a leading indicator of computer production, turned up
last fall. Expenditures on computers rose at a double digit
annual rate in real terms in the fourth quarter. But
investment expenditures in the communications sector, where
overcapacity was substantial, as yet show few signs of
increasing, and business investment in some other sectors,
such as aircraft, hit by the drop in air travel, will
presumably remain weak in 2002. On balance, the recovery this
year in overall spending on business fixed investment is
likely to be gradual." |
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| FCC Official Addresses
Broadband Policy |
4/17. Scott
Marcus, Senior Advisor for Internet Technology at the Federal Communications Commission's
(FCC) Office of Plans and
Policy gave an address titled "Broadband, When? -- A
View from OPP". He stated that the rate at which
broadband services are being adopted by consumers compares
favorably with the historical adoption rates of many other
technologies, such as personal computers, cell phones, and CD
players. However, it is being adopted more slowly than
television was adopted.
Marcus also stated that the appropriate role for government is
creating a framework for innovation and investment that
eliminates barriers and disincentives. He stated that the role
of government is "not to impose legacy regulations upon
new and emerging services." However, he added that
"at the same time, there are bottlenecks that need to be
addressed."
He suggested that government should "structure regulation
to emphasize facilities based competition and encourage new
entrants". He also said government should defer the
development of universal service obligations for new services.
Marcus spoke at a luncheon meeting of the Federal Communications Bar
Association's (FCBA) Online Communications Committee. |
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| People and Appointments |
4/17. Carolyn Fleming was named Acting Director of
the Federal Communications
Commission's (FCC) Office of Communications Business
Opportunities (OCBO). See, FCC
release [PDF].
4/17. Dwight Adams was named head of the FBI
Laboratory. He is a career FBI special agent who is a
biologist with a background in DNA analysis. See, FBI
release. |
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| More News |
4/17. The Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) published a notice
in the Federal Register regarding its Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the consequences of the FCC's
classification of cable modem service as an information
service. The notice sets deadlines for comments. Comments are
due by June 17, 2002. Reply comments are due by July 16, 2002.
This is CS Docket No. 02-52. See, Federal Register, April 17,
2002, Vol. 67, No. 74, at Pages 18848 - 18854.
4/16. Attorney General John Ashcroft commented on the Supreme Court's opinion
[44 pages in PDF] in Ashcroft
v. FSC, a case involving a constitutional
challenge to the Child Pormography Prevention Act of 1996
(CPPA). The Supreme Court ruled that provisions of the statute
banning computer generated images depicting minors engaging in
sezually explicit conduct is overbroad, and violates the First
Amendment. He stated that the Court "made our ability to
prosecute those who produce and possess child pormography
immeasurably more difficult." See, statement.
4/17. Hewlett Packard (HP)
announced that "the preliminary vote tally from the March
19 special meeting of HP
shareowners affirms that the proposal was approved. The
preliminary vote tally, prepared by the independent inspectors
of election, shows that HP
shareowners voted in favor of the merger by a margin of
approximately 45 million shares. Moreover, shareowners not
affiliated with the Hewlett and Packard families and their
foundations voted for the merger by a margin of roughly 2:1.
Votes ``FOR´´ the merger totaled approximately 837.9
million. Votes ``AGAINST´´ the merger totaled approximately
792.6 million, of which almost half were affiliated with the
Hewlett and Packard families and foundations. An insignificant
number of votes cast remain unresolved." See, HP
release. |
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Privacy
Policy
Notices
& Disclaimers
Copyright 1998 - 2002 David Carney, dba Tech Law Journal. All
rights reserved. |
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| Thursday, April 18 |
The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business.
8:30 AM. Rep. Joe
Knollenberg (R-MI) will speak at a breakfast hosted by the
Greater Washington Board of Trade's Federal PAC and CapNet. RSVP to either JaimeHjort @bot.org or
202 857-5909. Location: Greater Washington Board of Trade
Board Building, 1129 20th St., NW, Suite 200.
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM. The Progress
and Freedom Foundation will host a conference titled
"Digital Online Content: Creating a Market that
Works". James
Rogan, Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual
Property, will give the opening keynote address at 9:00 AM.
The first panel, at 9:45 AM, is titled "The Emerging
Market for Online Music". The second panel, at 11:00 AM,
is titled "The Digital Challenge to Intellectual Property
Rights". Rep.
Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) will give a luncheon address at 12:15
PM. Location: J.W. Marriott Hotel, 1331 Pennsylvania Ave, NW.
9:30 AM. The FCC will hold a
meeting. See, agenda.
Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Room TW-C05.
9:30 AM - 12:00 NOON. The American
Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a pair of panel
discussions titled "Gene Related Inventions: Evolving
Patent Standards and Their Consequences". The first panel
will address "Science, Economics, and Patent Law".
The panelists will be Lee Bendekgey (Incyte Genomics), Iain Cockburn
(Boston University), and Rochelle Seide (Baker Botts). The
second panel will be titled "Perspectives from the
Patents and Trademark Office and Capitol Hill". The
panelists will be John Doll (USPTO),
Chris Katopis (House CIIP Subcommittee), Maureen Mellody
(office of Rep. Howard
Berman (D-CA)), and Gerald
Mossinghoff (Oblon Spivak). See, agenda and online
registration page. Location: 12th Floor, AEI, 1150 17th
Street, NW.
10:00 AM. The House
Judiciary Committee will meet to mark up many bills,
including HR
3482, the Cyber Security Enhancement Act of 2001, and HR
3215, the Combatting Illegal Gambling Reform and
Modernization Act. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.
10:00 AM. The Senate
Judiciary Committee has scheduled a business meeting. The agenda
includes a vote on several pending judicial nominations,
including that of Jeffrey Howard to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals
(1stCir). The agenda also includes consideration of S
2031, the Intellectual Property Protection Restoration Act
of 2002, a bill to prevent states from recovering damages for
infringement of state owned IPR, unless they have first waived
their 11th Amendment sovereign immunity from suits against
them for their infringement of the IPR of others. Location:
Room 226, Dirksen Building.
12:00 NOON. The Internet
Caucus Advisory Committee will host a luncheon panel
discussion titled "Broadband: Should All Providers Be
Regulated the Same?" The speakers will be Tim Hugo (CapNet), Billy Jack Gregg (West Virginia PSC),
Leroy Watson (National
Grange), Gary Shapiro (Consumer
Electronics Association) and Susan Lynner (Prudential Securities).
RSVP to rsvp
@netcaucus.org or call Danielle at 202 637-4370 Location:
Reserve Officers Assoc., 1st and Constitution Ave. NE.
Day one of a two day ALI-ABA
course for inside and outside counsel titled "Trademarks,
Copyrights, and Unfair Competition for the General
Practitioner and the Corporate Counsel". The price to
attend is $685. See, online brochure.
Location: Loews L'Enfant Plaza.
Day one of a two day conference titled "IT Law and the
Response to Terror: New Laws, Rules and Strategies". The
event is hosted by the Computer
Law Association and the FCBA. See,
online brochure
[PDF]. Location: Monarch Hotel, 2401 M Street NW. |
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| Friday, April 19 |
The House will not be in session.
9:00 AM - 5:15 PM. The George
Washington University Law School (GWULS) will host an
event titled Symposium on Patents and Standard Setting.
See, agenda
in GWULS web site. Registration is required. For more
information, contact Martin Adelman at madelman
@main.nlc.gwu.edu. Location: GWULS, Moot Court Room, 2000
H St., NW.
12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Progress
and Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host an event titled
"Privacy Online: A Report on the Internet Practices and
Policies of Commercial Websites". The speakers will
include FTC Commissioner
Orson Swindle, Paul Misener (Amazon),
David Klaus (Privacy Leadership Initiative), and Peter Ford
(Australian Attorney General's Dept.). See, PFF
notice. Location: Room B369, Rayburn Building.
2:00 - 4:00 PM. The American
Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion
titled "Freeing the Chinese Internet". The speakers
will be Arthur Waldron (AEI), Paul Baranowski (Peekabooty
Project), Ethan Gutmann (PNAC), and Greg Walton (Human Rights
in China). See, online
registration page. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th
St., NW.
Day two of a two day ALI-ABA
course for inside and outside counsel titled "Trademarks,
Copyrights, and Unfair Competition for the General
Practitioner and the Corporate Counsel". The price to
attend is $685. See, online brochure.
Location: Loews L'Enfant Plaza.
Day two of a two day conference titled "IT Law and the
Response to Terror: New Laws, Rules and Strategies". The
event is hosted by the Computer
Law Association and the FCBA. See,
online brochure
[PDF]. Location: Monarch Hotel, 2401 M Street NW.
Deadline to submit reply comments to the FCC regarding
its annual report to Congress regarding progress made in
achieving the objectives of the ORBIT Act, 47 U.S.C. § 646.
The next FCC Orbit Act report is due to Congress on June 15,
2002. See, FCC
notice [PDF].
Deadline to register to attend the "Copyright
Conference" hosted by the USPTO, the
purpose of which is to "discuss current domestic and
international issues vital to the development of e-commerce
with members of the business and intellectual property
communities." See, USPTO
notice. Registration is required. |
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| Monday, April 22 |
Day one of a three day conference of the Electronics Industry Alliance.
See, agenda
[Word]. Location: Grand Hyatt Hotel.
12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. Sen.
John Breaux (D-LA) will speak at a luncheon at the spring
convention of the Electronics
Industry Alliance. Location: Grand Hyatt Hotel.
Extended deadline to file reply comments with the FCC in response
to its notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the appropriate
regulatory requirements for incumbent local exchange carriers'
provision of broadband telecommunications services. See, notice
in Federal Register and Order
[PDF] extending deadline from April 1 to 22. |
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| Tuesday, April 23 |
Day two of a three day conference of the Electronics Industry Alliance
(EIA). See, agenda
[MS Word]. Location: Grand Hyatt Hotel.
9:30 - 11:30 AM. The American
Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a lecture by Jerry Hausman
of MIT titled From 2G to 3G: Wireless Competition for
Internet Related Services. See, program summary and
online registration page. Location: 12th Floor, AEI, 1150
17th St., NW.
9:30 AM. The U.S.
Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Saga
Broadcasting Corp v. FCC, No. 01-1249. Judges Ginsburg,
Sentelle and Henderson will preside. Location: 333
Constitution Ave. NW.
10:00 AM. The House
Appropriations Committee's CJS Subcommittee will hold a
hearing on the FY 2003 budget for the USPTO. Location:
George Washington Univ., Loudoun Campus.
12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. General
Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
will speak on contributions that the electronics industry has
made to military preparedness at a luncheon at the spring
convention of the Electronics
Industry Alliance. Location: Grand Hyatt Hotel.
2:30 PM. The Senate
Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Antitrust,
Competition, and Business and Consumer Rights will hold a
hearing titled Cable Competition and the ATT Comcast Merger.
Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI)
will preside. This hearing had originally been scheduled for
April 10. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.
7:00 - 10:00 PM. Tom
Ridge, Director of the Office of Homeland
Security, will speak at a dinner at the spring convention
of the Electronics Industry
Alliance. Location: Grand Hyatt Hotel. |
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| Wednesday, April 24 |
Day three of a three day conference of the Electronics Industry Alliance
(EIA). See, agenda
[MS Word]. Location: Grand Hyatt Hotel.
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM. The Consumer
Electronics Association will host an event titled
"Digital Television (DTV) Summit: Moving to Mass
Markets". Location: Washington Convention Center.
9:00 AM. Day one of a two day meeting of the Bureau of Export Administration's
Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee (ISTAC). The
ISTAC advises the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Export
Administration on technical questions that affect the level of
export controls applicable to information systems equipment
and technology. The meeting will be open to the public in
part, and closed to the public in part. The open agenda
includes a presentation on web based remote hardware
management, a presentation on microelectro- mechanical
technology and applications, and a presentation on battery and
fuel cell technology. See, notice
in Federal Register. Location: Herbert Hoover Building, Room
3884, 14th Street between Pennsylvania Ave. and Constitution
Ave., NW.
1:00 - 4:30 PM. The Commodity
Futures Trading Commission's Technology Advisory Committee
will hold a public meeting on technology related issues in the
financial services and commodity markets, including cyber
security. See, notice
in Federal Register. Location: Room 1000, CFTC headquarters,
Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street, NW.
2:30 PM. The Senate
Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Science, Technology,
and Space will hold a hearing on S
2037, a bill providing for the establishment of a national
emergency technology guard. Location: Room 253, Russell
Building. |
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