| FCC Receives Comments on
AT&T Comcast Merger |
4/29. April 29 was the deadline to file original comments
with the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) in its AT&T Comcast merger review
proceeding. This proceeding is titled "In the Matter of
Applications for Consent to the Transfer of Control of
Licenses, Comcast Corporation and AT&T Corp., Transferors,
To AT&T Comcast Corporation, Transferee". This is MB
Docket No. 02-70. Oppositions and responses are due by May 14.
See, FCC
notice.
The Progress and Freedom
Foundation (PFF) submitted a comment
[PDF] in which it stated that "in the context of today's
rapidly changing and converging digital environment, the
Commission should view the proposed merger as procompetitive,
efficiency enhancing, and consistent with the public interest.
And it should not allow the indeterminate nature of the public
interest standard to serve as an opportunity for opening a
``regulation by condition´´ bazaar, as has often been the
case in the past with respect to the Commission’s handling
of merger proposals."
CapNet submitted a comment
[5 pages in PDF] expressing its "enthusiastic support for
the merger". It stated that "Comcast's commitment to
the widespread deployment of broadband services has been
abundantly demonstrated in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan
area, as well as elsewhere, and the merger will accelerate the
upgrading of AT&T's cable systems to speed broadband
deployment in communities across the country. The merger will
also spur much needed, facilities based competition for
telephone services. The merger therefore should be
approved." CapNet is a technology group whose members
includes Microsoft, Oracle, Computer Associates, Gateway, IBM,
HP, and StorageTek. AT&T is also a member.
BellSouth submitted a comment
[PDF] which focused more on FCC regulation of its DSL service,
than the FCC's review of the AT&T Comcast merger. It wrote
that "Cable modem service is an interstate information
service and currently is not regulated by the Commission. It
is the dominant technology serving the mass market for high
speed Internet access. Digital subscriber line (``DSL´´)
service provided by incumbent local exchange carriers (``ILECs´´)
is the only significant competitor to cable modem service.
Thus, absent competition from ILEC DSL services, AT&T
Comcast unquestionably would have an increased ability to
raise prices for their cable modem services."
It continued that "Current Commission rules regulate ILEC
delivery of DSL service far more heavily than they regulate
cable modem service. These regulatory disparities already
hamper the effectiveness of DSL service as competition for
cable modem service. They 1) create significant disincentives
to ILEC investment in DSL and other new broadband equipment,
2) delay the rollout of DSL and other broadband services, and
3) raise the costs of those services. Providing AT&T
Comcast with additional competitive advantages while retaining
regulatory disparities that already make DSL service providers
less effective competitors in the marketplace would exacerbate
AT&T Comcast's ability to dominate the mass market for
broadband services."
BellSouth concluded that the FCC should "condition its
approval of the instant Applications of AT&T Corporation,
Comcast Corporation and AT&T Comcast Corporation on the
elimination of the disparities in regulation between ILEC DSL
services and cable modem services."
American Cable
Association (ACA) submitted a comment
[19 pages in PDF] in which it stated that the merger would
"combine in one entity control of the essential digital
programming distribution service for small systems -- Headend
In The Sky, along with substantial satellite and terrestrially
delivered programming. Access to these services is essential
for smaller market cable systems to: (i) deliver diverse
programming; (ii) deploy broadband services over cable; and
(iii) compete with the two national DBS providers EchoStar and
DirecTV, both of which will not distribute satellite
programming to small cable operators."
It concluded that "AT&T Comcast will control HITS
digital distribution services as well as substantial satellite
and terrestrially delivered programming. ACA members will have
no choice but to transact with the combined company. AT&T
Comcast will have ultimate leverage over many smaller cable
businesses and smaller market consumers. The question then
becomes: How will AT&T Comcast use this leverage?"
The ACA stated that it represents "more than 930
independent cable companies serving about 7.5 million
customers predominantly in smaller markets and rural
areas."
The Media Access Project
(MAP) and other groups submitted a comment
[88 pages in PDF] in which in which they requested that the
FCC deny the request. They complained about rising cable
TV rates and market concentration. They asserted that cable
and satellite service providers do not compete with each
other. They also stated that the merger would create a huge
purchaser for set top boxes, and "allow AT&T/ Comcast
to dictate standards. Microsoft's relationship with AT&T
and Comcast is also a matter of significant concern. AT&T/
Comcast have given Microsoft preferential treatment for MSN
Internet services and for operating software on set top
boxes." |
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| House Subcommittee to Mark
Up Federal Courts Improvement Act |
4/30. The House
Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet
and Internet and Intellectual Property will meet to mark up HR 4125,
the Federal Courts Improvement Act of 2002, on Thursday, May
2. The bill includes various provisions, but only one that
relates to technology and communications. Section 104 of the
bill would affect the timing of reports regarding the
expiration of wiretap orders, and the denial of requests for
wiretap orders.
Section 2519 of the Criminal Code pertains to reports
concerning intercepted wire, oral, or electronic
communications. Currently, this section begins, "(1)
Within thirty days after the expiration of an order (or each
extension thereof) entered under section 2518, or the denial
of an order approving an interception, the issuing or
denying judge shall report to the Administrative Office of the
United States Courts--". The statute then lists the
information that must be reported. See, 18
U.S.C. § 2519.
HR 4125 would change this language to read as follows:
"(1) In January of each year, any judge who has issued an
order (or extension thereof) under section 2518 which expired
during the preceding year or who has denied approval of an
interception during that year, shall report to the
Administrative Office of the United States Courts--". HR 4125
would not affect the information that must be reported.
Section 104 of HR 4125 affects when judges must be report. In
most cases, it would delay the reporting of information about
the expiration of wiretap orders, and the denial of requests
for wiretap orders. |
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| GAO Reports on
International E-Commerce |
| 4/29. The General Accounting
Office (GAO) released a report [100
pages in PDF] titled "International Electronic Commerce:
Definitions and Policy Implications". This is a wide
ranging report that covers the meaning of international
electronic commerce, the available data on growth of
e-commerce, barriers to e-commerce, the legal framework
affecting e-commerce, and international trade agreements and
negotiations. |
|
|
| GAO Reports on Building
Security Technologies |
| 4/29. The General Accounting
Office (GAO) released a report [72
pages in PDF] titled "National Preparedness: Technologies
to Secure Federal Buildings". The report reviews
commercially available security technologies, such as magnetic
swipe cards, proximity cards, smart cards, keypad entry
devices, and biometric systems, metal detectors, x-ray
scanners, explosive detection, and video surveillance. |
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| Federal Circuit Rules in
Genentech v. Amgen |
4/29. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir)
issued its opinion in Genentech
v. Amgen, a patent infringement case. The Court
affirmed in part, and reversed in part.
Genentech is the owner
of U.S. Patent Nos. 4,704,362
(titled "Recombinant cloning vehicle microbial
polypeptide expression"), 5,221,619
(titled "Method and means for microbial polypeptide
expression"), and 5,583,013
(titled "Method and means for microbial polypeptide
expression"). These patents disclose methods and cloning
vehicles for the introduction and expression of genetic
information -- deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or genes -- in
unicellular organisms that do not naturally contain or express
that genetic information. The patents thus enable introduction
of a DNA sequence, such as a synthetic gene that expresses a
usable protein, into cells via a cloning vehicle.
Genentech filed a complaint in U.S.
District Court (NDCal) against Amgen alleging patent
infringement. The District Court held that Amgen did not
literally infringe Genentech's patents. It also barred
Genentech from proceeding on a theory of infringement under
the doctrine of equivalents.
The Court of Appeals affirmed as to the doctrine of
equivalents, but vacated and remanded the judgment of
noninfringement because the District Court erred on a matter
of claim construction. |
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| Evans Responds to House
Commerce Committee Re ICANN |
4/26. Commerce Secretary Donald
Evans wrote a letter
to Rep. Billy Tauzin
(R-LA), the Chairman of the House Commerce Committee,
and others, regarding the Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
On March 13, Rep. Billy
Tauzin (R-LA), Rep.
John Dingell (D-MI), Rep.
Fred Upton (R-MI), Rep.
Ed Markey (D-MA), and Rep. John Shimkus
(R-IL) wrote a letter
to Secretary Evans in which they stated that "According
to the Memorandum
of Understanding between ICANN and the Department for
implementing a transition for ICANN's technical management of
Internet names and addresses, ICANN was to be founded upon the
principles of ``stability, competition, bottom-up
coordination, and representation.´´ Since its inception,
however, ICANN has increasingly departed from that limited
role. Its unchecked growth into general Internet policymaking
and regulation of commercial rights and interests is very
disturbing."
They also offered several recommendations. For example,
"The Department should ensure that ICANN's Board of
Directors is fully representative of all stakeholders,
including corporate stakeholders and members of the general
Internet community".
They also recommended that "ICANN should limit its
activities to its initial scope of jurisdiction, i.e.,
coordinating core Internet functions and the technical aspects
of naming and address allocation issues". They also
suggested that "There should be clear, written procedures
for approving new gTLDs, as well as any future technical
issues, including an impartial appeals process for those who
have process or substantive complaints."
Finally, the group stated that "we want to strongly
reiterate our support for continued Department of Commerce
control over the so-called ``A-root´´ server. We believe
that any assumption of control over that asset by any outside
entity would be contrary to the economic and national security
interests of the United States."
Evans wrote back that "we support efforts to reform the
organization in a manner that takes into account the views of
Internet stakeholders." He also stated that "We view
the proposal tabled by ICANN President Stuart Lynn as a
starting point, not an ending point, for reform discussions.
In this regard, we are pleased that at its recent meeting the
ICANN Board of Directors took action to establish a process
and a Committee on Evolution and Reform through which these
important matters can be further considered and discussed by
all stakeholders and the Internet community at large."
Reps. Tauzin and Dingell are the Chairman and ranking Democrat
of the House Commerce Committee. Reps. Upton and Markey are
the Chairman and ranking Democrat of the Telecom and Internet
Subcommittee. |
|
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| Groups Write Commerce
Committees About .us Domain Names Sale |
4/29. Jerry Berman (Center for
Democracy and Technology), Scott Harshbarger (Common
Cause), and Andrew Schwartzman (Media Access Project)
wrote a letter
to the Chairman and ranking members of the House and Senate
Commerce Committees, and their telecom subcommittees,
regarding the .us Internet domain.
They wrote that "Last week, unbeknownst to most
Americans, a major sell-off was held for domain names in .us,
such as churches.us. Thousands of names -- many of which are
of significant public interest -- were sold off based on
flawed policies developed with almost no public input or
public accountability. We urge you, as part of your oversight
responsibilities, to hold hearings investigating this
matter." |
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| People and Appointments |
4/29. The National
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
published a notice
that it has extended its deadline for applications for the
position of Associate Administrator for Spectrum Management to
to May 28.
4/29. Verizon announced
that Vice Chairman and CFO Frederic Salerno will retire
later this year. Verizon did not name a successor.
4/29. Nokia announced that
JT Bergqvist, SVP for IP Mobility, and Pertti
Korhonen, SVP for Mobile Software, have been appointed to
the Group Executive Board, effective July 1, 2002. See, Nokia
release. |
|
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| More News |
4/29. President Bush gave a speech
at a campaign event in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for Rep. Heather Wilson
(R-NM). Wilson is a member of the House Commerce Committee,
and its Telecom and Internet Subcommittee. She is the sponsor
of HR
718, the Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Mail Act of
2001, an anti spam bill. She was also one of the leading
opponents of the Tauzin Dingell bill in the House Commerce
Committee. However, President Bush did not address these
issues at the event.
4/29. The House Ways
and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Social Security held
a field hearing in the state of Florida titled
"Protecting the Privacy of Social Security Numbers and
Prevent Identity Theft". See, hearing
advisory. The General
Accounting Office (GAO) submitted a report
titled "Social Security Numbers: SSNs Are Widely Used by
Government and Could Be Better Protected".
4/29. The Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) announced that it adopted a Report and
Order pertaining to the ability of public safety answering
points (PSAPs) to call back a 911 caller who is disconnected
when that caller is using a non initialized wireless
telephone. The FCC stated in a release
that the Report and Order concludes that "it is still
technically infeasible to require carriers, and manufacturers
of 911-only phones, to develop and implement technical
solutions that would provide PSAPs with a call back number for
calls from non-initialized phones". This is WT Docket No.
94-102. |
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| About Tech Law Journal |
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Privacy
Policy
Notices
& Disclaimers
Copyright 1998 - 2002 David Carney, dba Tech Law Journal. All
rights reserved. |
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| Tuesday, April 30 |
The House will meet at 12:30 PM for morning hour and 2:00 PM
for legislative business. No votes are expected before 6:30
PM. The House will consider a number of bills under suspension
of the rules.
The Supreme Court is on recess until May 13.
The U.S. Chamber of
Commerce will host an event titled Beyond Broadband:
Policy and Business Strategies for Next Generation
Applications and Services. FCC Chairman Michael
Powell will give the keynote luncheon address at about
1:00 PM. The price to attend ranges from $275 to $500. For
more information, contact Liza Ratana at 202
463-5500. Reporters interested in attending should contact the
U.S. Chamber media relations at 202 463-5682 or press @uschamber.com.
The FCC news media contact is David Fiske 202 418-0513.
Location: 1615 H Street NW.
11:45 AM. Sen. Rick
Santorum (R-PA), Sen.
Charles Grassley (R-IA), and Commerce Secretary Donald
Evans will hold a press conference regarding trade
promotion authority legislation. Location: Room 215,
Dirksen Building.
12:30 - 2:00 PM. The Advisory Committee to the Congressional Internet Caucus
will host a panel discussion titled Digital Rights
Management: Whose Rights are Being Managed? The scheduled
speakers are Rep.
Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Rep. Rick Boucher
(D-VA), Jim Lucier (Prudential Securities), Andy Setos (Fox),
Gigi Sohn (Public Knowledge), and Miriam Nisbit (American
Library Assoc.). RSVP to Danielle Wiblemo at rsvp @netcaucus.org or
202 638-4370. Lunch will be served. Location: Cannon Caucus
Room, Cannon Building.
Deadline to submit reply comments to the FCC in response
to its notice of proposed rulemaking regarding its unbundling
analysis under § 251
of the Communications Act and the identification of specific
unbundling requirements for incumbent local exchange carriers.
See, notice
in the Federal Register.
Deadline to submit requests to the USPTO to speak
at its May 16 public hearing on its proposed plan to eliminate
the paper patent and trademark registration collections from
its public search facilities, and to transition to electronic
patent and trademark information collections. The USPTO is
seeking public comment on issues related to this proposed
plan. The USPTO is also seeking input on whether any
governmental entity or non-profit organization is interested
in acquiring the paper patent and trademark registration
collections to be removed from the USPTO's public search
facilities. See, notice
in Federal Register. |
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| Wednesday, May 1 |
The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business.
9:30 AM - 4:00 PM. The Antitrust
Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FTC
will hold another in their series of hearings on antitrust and
intellectual property. This event is titled "The
Strategic Use of Licensing: Is There Cause for Concern about
Unilateral Refusals to Deal?" The speakers will be Ashish
Arora (Carnegie Mellon), Jonathan Gleklen (Arnold &
Porter), Paul Kirsch (Townsend Townsend & Crew), Benjamin
Klein (UCLA), Jeff Mason (Univ. of Michigan), Douglas Melamed
(Wilmer Cutler & Pickering), Carl Shapiro (UC Berkeley),
Christopher Sprigman (King & Spalding), Mark Whitener
(General Electric), and John Wiley (UCLA). The DOJ requires
that attendees provide their name and date of birth 24 hours
in advance to Kathleen Leicht at kathleen.leicht
@usdoj.gov or 202 514-7018. For more information, contact
Gina Talamona in the Office of Public Affairs at 202 514-2007,
or Frances Marshall in the Antitrust Division at 202 305-2520.
Location: Great Hall, DOJ Main Building, 950 Pennsylvania
Ave., NW.
10:00
AM. The House
Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Commercial and
Administrative Law will hold a hearing on HR 4561, the Federal
Agency Protection of Privacy Act. This bill would require
federal agencies to include a privacy impact analysis with
proposed regulations that are circulated for public notice and
comment. Webcast. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.
10:00 AM. The House
Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and
Investigations will hold a hearing on titled "Oversight
and Management of the Government Purchase Card Program".
Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.
10:00 AM. The House Financial
Services Committee's Subcommittee on Capital Markets will
hold a hearing titled "Corporate Accounting Practices: Is
There a Credibility GAAP?" Location: Room 2128, Rayburn
Building.
11:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The USTrade
Coalition will hold a press conference regarding trade
promotion authority (TPA) legislation. Location: Room 215,
Dirksen Building.
11:00 AM. The Cato Institute
will host a panel discussion titled A Progress Report on
the HDTV Transition. The scheduled speakers are Mark Cuban
(HDNet), Thomas
Hazlett (Manhattan
Institute), Rick Chessen (FCC), David Donovan (Association for Maximum Service
Television), Michael Calabrese (New America Foundation),
and Richard Wiley (Wiley Rein
& Fielding). See, online
registration page. Location: 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.
12:00 PM. The FCBA will
host a luncheon. The speaker will be Charlie
Ergen, Ch/CEO of Echostar. The price is $45 for FCBA
members, $35 for government and student members, and $55 for
non-members. There will be a reception at 12:00 NOON. The
luncheon will begin at 12:30 PM. RSVP to Wendy Parish at wendy @fcba.org by Friday,
April 26. Location: Capital Hilton, 16th & K Streets.
1:30 - 1:30 PM. The FCC's World
Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC-03) Advisory
Committee, Informal Working Group 7 (Regulatory Issues and
Future Agendas) will hold a meeting. Location: FCC, 445 12th
Street, SW, Room 7-B516 (7th Floor South Conference Room).
2:00 PM. The House
Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and
Homeland Security will hold a hearing on the April 16, 2002,
Supreme Court opinion
[PDF] in Ashcroft v. FSC, which held unconstitutional a
prohibition on computer generated child pormography. Webcast.
Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.
Deadline to submit comments to the USTR
regarding U.S. negotiating objectives and the work program
launched at the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the WTO
in November at Doha. See, USTR
release and notice
in the Federal Register.
Extended deadline for submitting comments to the Treasury Department regarding
its study of information sharing practices among financial
institutions and their affiliates. See, notice
in Federal Register. |
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| Thursday, May 2 |
The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business.
8:30 - 10:00 AM. The American
Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a press breakfast
titled on telecommunications and media issues with
former FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott- Roth and other AEI
scholars. RSVP to Veronique Rodman at 202 862-4871 or vrodman @aei.org. Location:
AEI, 1150 17th Street, NW, 11th Floor Conference Room.
9:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Antitrust
Division of the Department of Justice and the FTC
will hold another in their series of hearings on antitrust and
intellectual property. This hearing is titled "Patent
Settlements: Efficiencies and Competitive Concerns". The
speakers will be George Cary (Cleary Gottlieb), Steven Stack
(Dechert), Thomas Barnett (Covington & Burling), Joseph
Brodley (Boston Univ.), Robert Cook (Drinker Biddle &
Reath), Richard Feinstein (Boies Schiller & Flexner),
Phillip Proger (Jones Day), and Carl Shapiro (UC Berkeley).
See, agenda.
For more information, contact Derick Rill (FTC Office of
Public Affairs) at 202 326-2472 or Susan DeSanti (FTC Policy
Planning Division) at 202 326-2167. Location: Room 432, FTC,
600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.
9:30 AM - 12:30 PM. The NIST
will hold a proposers' conference for its Advanced Technology Program
(ATP). See, notice
in Federal Register. Location: Gaithersburg Hilton, 620 Perry
Parkway, Gaithersburg, MD.
10:00 AM. The Senate
Appropriations Committee will hold hearings on homeland
security and the FY 2002 supplemental appropriations request.
Attorney General John Ashcroft
is scheduled to testify at 2:30 PM. Location: Room 192,
Dirksen Building.
10:00 AM. The House
Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet
and Internet and Intellectual Property will meet to mark up HR
4125, the Federal Courts Improvement Act of 2002. Section
104 of the bill would affect the timing of judges' reports
regarding the expiration of wiretap orders, or denial of
requests for wiretap orders. Webcast. Location: Room 2141,
Rayburn Building.
10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Science Committee's
Subcommittee on Research will hold a hearing on the National
Science Foundation Reauthorization Act of 2002. Location: Room
2318, Rayburn Building.
Bush Administration officials will meet with EU
representatives to discuss a wide range of issues, including trade
and trade disputes, terrorism, law enforcement, non
proliferation, Middle East, Balkans, Afghanistan, Russia, and
other topics. The meetings will include President Bush, USTR
Bob Zoellick, Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neill, Attorney
General John Ashcroft, Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans, and
others. The meetings will also include President of the
European Commission Romano Prodi, EU Commissioner for External
Relations Chris Patten, EU Commissioner for Trade Pascal Lamy,
EU High Representative for CFSP Javier Solana, and others.
Bush, Aznar, and Prodi will hold a press conference from 13:20
to 13:40 PM. See, EU
release. Location: White House. |
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| Friday, May 3 |
The House will not be in session.
9:30 AM. The U.S.
Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Trans
Union v. FTC, No. 01-5202. Judges Edwards, Henderson and
Garland will preside. Location: 333 Constitution Ave. NW.
9:30 AM - 3:30 PM. The FCC will host a
public forum and technology expo on Telecommunications
Relay Service. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Room
TW-C305.
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The FCC's Consumer
and Governmental Affairs Bureau will host a public forum and
technology expo on the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS).
Location: FCC, Room TW-C305, 445 12th St., SW.
Extended deadline to submit comments to the FCC in response
to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking titled "In the
Matter of Appropriate Framework for Broadband Access to the
Internet over Wireline Facilities". See, Order
[PDF] extending deadline from April 15 to May 3. See also, original
notice in Federal Register. |
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| Monday, May 6 |
| Deadline to submit requests to attend or participate in the Copyright Office's
public roundtable discussion concerning "issues raised in
the course of an ongoing rulemaking proceeding to adopt
requirements for giving copyright owners reasonable notice of
the use of their works for sound recordings under the section
114 and 112 statutory licenses and for how records of such use
shall be kept and made available to copyright owners."
See, notice
in Federal Register. |
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