| House Approves NSF
Authorization Bill |
6/5. The House approved HR 4664,
the Investing in America's Future Act, a bill to authorize
appropriations for the National
Science Foundation, by a vote of 397-25. See, Roll
Call No. 212.
HR 4664 would authorize the appropriation of $5.5 Billion for
FY 2003 for the NSF. Included in the funding authorization is
$704 Million for networking and information technology
research, $238 Million for the Nanoscale Science and
Engineering Priority Area, and $60 Million for the
Mathematical Sciences Priority Area.
The bill authorizes an increase in funding for the NSF of 15%
in FY 2003, and similar increases in future years. If the
funding authorized by this bill were actually appropriated, it
would double the NSF's budget within five years.
The bill is sponsored by Rep. Nick Smith
(R-MI) and others. It was reported by the House Science Committee
on May 22.
Rep. Sherwood
Boehlert (R-NY), Chairman of the Committee, stated during
the floor debate that "When we look at the new fields of
science and engineering that will boost our economy in this
new century, fields like nanotechnology, where do we turn to
ensure that our nation's researchers stay at the cutting edge?
NSF. When we look at the field of information technology,
which facilitates every activity in today's economy, where do
we turn to ensure that the U.S. remains at the cutting edge?
NSF. When we consider our ever more urgent need for a highly
skilled, technologically literate workforce, where do we turn
to ensure that our education system from kindergarten through
post-graduate work is preparing the people we need? NSF. We
turn to NSF to solve some of our most pressing problems; we
can't turn from NSF when we decide where to invest federal
funds. It's time to give NSF the money it needs."
Rep. Boehlert also pointed out that the bill is backed by tech
groups, such as the Semiconductor
Industry Association and Technet.
The bill only authorizes the appropriation of funds. Whether
the House
Appropriations Committee will actually appropriate this
level of funding is another question.
See, HR 4664
[PDF], as reported by the Subcommittee on Research on May 9.
The full Committee approved one amendment
[PDF] on May 22 offered by Rep. Boehlert. It authorizes the
appropriation of $50 Million for the Advanced Technological
Education Program established under the Scientific and
Advanced Technology Act of 1992, and $30 Million for the
Minority Serving Institutions Undergraduate Program. |
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| House Crime Subcommittee
Approves Information Sharing Bill |
| 6/4. The House
Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime held a hearing
and a mark up session for HR 4598,
the Homeland Security Information Sharing Act, sponsored by Rep. Saxby Chambliss
(R-GA). The Subcommittee approved the bill with minor
technical amendments. The full Committee is currently
scheduled to mark up the bill on Friday, June 7. The purpose
of this bill is to provide for increased sharing of federal
government information relating to homeland security with
state and local governments. |
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| House Subcommittee Holds
Hearing on UWB |
6/5. The House
Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications
and the Internet held a hearing titled "The FCC's UWB
Proceeding: An Examination of the Government's Spectrum
Management Process."
See, prepared
statement of Rep.
Billy Tauzin (R-LA), Chairman of the full Committee. See
also, prepared testimony of witnesses: Julius
Knapp (Deputy Chief of the FCC's Office of Engineering and
Technology), Michael
Gallagher (Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce, NTIA),
Stephen
Price (Deputy Assistant Secretary for Spectrum, Space,
Sensors and C3 Policy, Department of Defense), Jeff
Shane (Department of Transportation), Richard
Nowakowski (Chicago Office of Emergency Communications
R&D), Ralph
Petroff (Time Domain Corporation), Dennis
Johnson (Geophysical Survey Systems). |
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| Senate Judiciary Committee
To Hold Hearing on FBI |
6/6. The Senate
Judiciary Committee will hold an oversight hearing on
counter terrorism issues on Thursday morning, June 6. The
scheduled witnesses include Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Robert Mueller, Department of Justice (DOJ)
Inspector General Glenn Fine, and FBI Special Agent Colleen
Rowley. See, notice.
The hearing will focus on FBI investigation of terrorism prior
to September 11, 2001, including the criticisms contained in
Rowley's May 21 letter to Mueller. However, the hearing may
also cover the DOJ's recently released guidelines for
conducting investigations into terrorist, and other, matters.
These guidelines cover many topics, including information
systems, data mining, and Internet searching.
On May 30, the DOJ released a memorandum
[PDF] titled "Attorney General's Guidelines: Detecting
and Preventing Terrorist Attacks", and a memorandum
[PDF] titled "Shifting from Prosecution to Prevention:
Redesigning the Justice Department to Prevent Future Acts of
Terrorism". See also, Attorney General John Ashcroft's statement.
On June 4, the Electronic
Privacy Information Center (EPIC), Center for Democracy and Technology
(CDT), and other groups, wrote a letter
[PDF] to Sen. Patrick Leahy
(D-VT) and Sen. Orrin Hatch
(R-UT), the Chairman and ranking Republican on the Senate
Judiciary Committee. They wrote that "Your hearing this
week provides a critical opportunity to assess the impact of
the Attorney General's new guidelines."
They elaborated that "We are particularly concerned about
elements of the guidelines that appear to give the FBI the
authority to search through electronic databases without
satisfying any legal standard or requiring any judicial
review."
After the hearing, Jerry Berman, Executive Director of the
CDT, will hold a press teleconference to discuss the hearing,
and the new guidelines for FBI investigations. See, calendar. |
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| People and Appointments |
6/3. Karan Bhatia was named Deputy Under Secretary
for Industry and Security at the Department
of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau
of Industry and Security, which was formerly known as the
Bureau of Export Administration. The DOC stated in a release
that Bhatia "will advise and assist the Under Secretary
in overseeing all aspects of Bureau management and
policymaking, including the administration and enforcement of
dual-use export controls, promoting the assurance of public
and private sector critical infrastructures, ensuring
compliance with U.S. antiboycott laws, and ensuring the
viability of the U.S. defense industrial base." He has
been Chief Counsel for Export Administration since July 2001.
Before that, he was a partner in the law firm of Wilmer Cutler & Pickering.
6/5. The Cellular
Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA)
elected its new Board of Directors and Executive Committee for
2002-2003. Tim Donahue of Nextel will be Chairman, Scott
Ford of ALLTEL will be Vice Chairman, Terry Addington
of First Cellular of Southern Illinois will be Treasurer, and Mikal
Thomsen of Western Wireless will be Secretary. Two new
Board members were also named: Robert Dawson of
Southern LINC and Mick Mullagh of Telephia. |
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| Cal App Affirms Conviction
for Knowingly Accessing and Taking Data from a Computer |
6/5. The California
Court of Appeal (6) issued its opinion
[PDF] in People
v. David Hawkins, affirming a conviction for
the felony of knowingly accessing and taking data from a
computer system.
The defendant, David Hawkins, was charged with taking the
source code of his former employer Network Translation
Incorporated (NTI). Cisco
Systems acquired NTI in 1995, and Hawkins then worked for
Cisco until August of 1996. Hawkins later worked on the
development of an application that was similar to a Cisco
product. San Jose police officers executed a search warrant
for Hawkin's apartment. They found NTI source code on one of
his computers. Police investigators further determined that
these source code files had been accessed after he stopped
working for Cisco.
Hawkins was charged with misappropriating a trade secret
(California Penal Code § 499) and knowingly accessing
and taking data from a computer system (§ 502(c)(2)).
The trial jury returned a verdict of not guilty on the trade
secret charge. However, he was convicted on the § 502
charge.
Section
502(c)(2) of the California Penal Code provides "...
any person who commits any of the following acts is guilty of
a public offense ... (2) Knowingly accesses and without
permission takes, copies, or makes use of any data from a
computer, computer system, or computer network, or takes or
copies any supporting documentation, whether existing or
residing internal or external to a computer, computer system,
or computer network."
On appeal, Hawkins argued that his crime should not be a
felony because § 502(c)(2) lacks a mens rea requirement,
that the statute is unconstitutionally vague, and that the
trial court erred in admitting evidence of prior misconduct
and in admitting printouts of computer access times.
The Appeals Court affirmed. It wrote that the requirement that
defendant act "knowingly" satisfies the mens rea
requirement. On the vagueness argument, the Appeals Court
concluded that the statute is "sufficiently clear to
avoid constitutional problems". The Appeals Court also
found no error in the admission of evidence of prior
misconduct (that Hawkins had also possessed proprietary source
code of Sun Microsystems on his computer), or in the admission
of the printouts of access times. |
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| Fed Circuit Rules on Patent
Unenforceability Due to Failure to Name an Inventor |
6/4. The U.S.
Court of Appeals (FedCir) issued its opinion in Frank's
Casing Crew and Rental Tools v. PMR Technologies,
a patent case involving failure by named inventors to list a
true inventor, and unenforceability due to inequitable conduct
by named inventors in failing to name an inventor.
This action involves U.S.
Patent No. RE 34,063, which is directed to a method and
apparatus for monitoring torque while connecting threaded
tubular goods; it has utility in oil and gas drilling. PMR
obtained a license to it shortly after its issuance in 1992.
PMR then attempted to sell licenses to the patent to oil and
gas companies. PMR also sent cease and desist letters. One
letter was sent to Frank's Casing Crew and Rental Tools.
Frank's Casing then filed a complaint in U.S.
District Court (WDLa) against PMR seeking a declaratory
judgment that the '063 patent is invalid, unenforceable, and
not infringed. Others actions were instituted, and
consolidated into this one action.
The District Court held that an inventor had been omitted. It
further found that the parties who prosecuted the patent had
engaged in inequitable conduct by failing to name this person
as an inventor. It further found that they deliberately
omitted him from the patent and acted to hide his involvement
in the invention throughout the patent prosecution process. As
a result, the District Court held the patent unenforceable.
The Appeals Court affirmed the District Court's findings that
a true inventor of at least one of the '063 patent claims was
not named on the patent, and that the '063 patent was
unenforceable because of inequitable conduct during its
prosecution. However, the Appeals Court remanded to the
District Court for the limited purpose of determining the
correct inventorship of the patent. |
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| Sen. Lieberman Introduces
Broadband Bill |
6/5. Sen. Joe
Lieberman (D-CT) introduced a bill titled the National
Broadband Strategy Act of 2002, a bill that would require
the President to adopt a broadband strategy.
Sen. Lieberman stated in the Senate that "I rise today to
introduce what I believe will be a roadmap to revitalization.
It's premised on the extraordinary promise of high speed
Internet to help us return to high intensity growth; by
revolutionizing the way we communicate and live our lives. Its
goal is to highlight the challenges we face in tapping the
transformative potential of broadband technology, to spur
agreement on a national strategy for accelerating its
development and deployment, and ultimately to help bring on
what we all hope will be the broadband boom." See, transcript.
However, this bill has only one substantive provision -- a
requirement that the President develop a broadband policy. The
bill provides that "Not later than six months after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit
to Congress a report setting forth a strategy for the
nationwide deployment of high speed broadband Internet
telecommunications services."
Sen. Lieberman also said that he will introduce more broadband
related legislation later. He stated that "The follow-up
legislation I'll propose in the coming months will call on the
FCC to develop a regulatory framework to meet the challenges
of the next generation Net ... propose tax credits for the
deployment of advanced broadband ... encourage research and
development on advanced broadband infrastructure that will
enable this technology to reach into all the corners and
crevices of the country ... and present a program to
incentivize research and development on major applications in
areas where government plays a central role, including
education, healthcare, and e-government." (Dots in
original.) |
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| Thursday, June 6 |
The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business.
The Supreme Court is in recess until June 10.
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a three day public workshop
hosted by the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) on proposed amendments to the
Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), including the potential
development and implementation of a national do not call list.
See, FTC release
and agenda.
Location: Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, 2600 Woodley Road, NW.
9:30 AM. The Senate
Judiciary Committee will hold an oversight hearing on
counter terrorism issues. The scheduled witnesses include FBI
Director Robert Mueller, DOJ Inspector General Glenn Fine, and
FBI Special Agent Colleen Rowley. See, notice.
Press contact: Mimi Devlin at 202 224-9437. Location: Room
216, Hart Building.
POSTPONED. 10:00
AM. The House
Judiciary Committee will meet to mark up several bills,
including HR 3215,
the Combatting Illegal Gambling Reform and Modernization Act
(Goodlatte Internet gambling bill), and HR 4623,
the Child Obscenity and Pormography Prevention Act of 2002.
Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492.
POSTPONED. The Senate Commerce
Committee's Subcommittee on Communications will hold a
hearing titled Universal Service Fund.
10:30 AM. The House
International Relations Committee's Subcommittee on
International Operations and Human Rights will hold a hearing
on titled "An Assessment of Cuba Broadcasting -- The
Voice of Freedom". Location: Room 2172, Rayburn Building.
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The Institute
for International Research and ComCare will host a
conference titled e-SAFETY: Delivering Communications &
Information Technology Solutions for 21st Century Public
Safety. Sen. Conrad
Burns (R-MT) will give a keynote address at 8:30 AM. The
price to attend is $695. See, IIR notice.
Location: Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.
1:00 PM. Jerry Berman (Center
for Democracy and Technology) will hold a press
teleconference to discuss the Senate Judiciary Committee's
oversight hearing, and the new guidelines for FBI
investigations. Telephone: 334 260-2557; Security Code: 98704.
1:45 PM. Commerce Secretary Donald
Evans will give the keynote address to U.S. -- China
Business Council's 2002 Annual Meeting. See, notice.
Location: The Ritz Carlton, Ballroom -- Salon 1, 1150 22nd
Street, NW.
Deadline to submit comments to the SEC regarding
its proposed rule amending the Investment Advisers Act of 1940
to exempt certain investment advisers that provide advisory
services through the Internet from the prohibition on SEC
registration set out in § 203A of the Act. The
amendments would permit these advisers to register with the
SEC instead of with state securities authorities. See, notice
in the Federal Register. |
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| Friday, June 7 |
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day three of a three day public workshop
hosted by the FTC on proposed
amendments to the Telemarketing Sales Rule, including the
potential development and implementation of a national do not
call list. See, FTC release
and agenda.
? 10:00 AM. The House
Judiciary Committee will meet to mark up several bills,
including HR 3215,
the Combatting Illegal Gambling Reform and Modernization Act
(Goodlatte Internet gambling bill), HR 4623,
the Child Obscenity and Pormography Prevention Act of 2002,
and HR 4598,
the Homeland Security Information Sharing Act. Audio Webcast.
Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492.
Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.
10:00 AM. The House
Government Reform Committee's Subcommittee on Technology
and Procurement Policy will hold a hearing titled
"Coordinated Information Sharing & Homeland Security
Technology" Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.
12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Federalist
Society will host a debate on judicial nominations.
the participants will be Douglas Kmiec (Columbus School of
Law) and Elliot Mincberg (People for the American Way). For
more information, call Joel Pardoe at 202 822-8138. See, release.
Location: Holeman Lounge, National
Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor.
12:15 PM. The FCBA's
Wireless Telecommunications and International Practice
Committees will host a luncheon. The topic will be
International Wireless Developments. The price to attend is
$15. RSVP to wendy @fcba.org.
Location: 1750 K Street, NW. |
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| Sunday, June 9 |
| Day one of a three day conference hosted by George Mason
University titled "Networked Economy Summit". See, event web site.
Location: Hyatt Regency Reston, Reston, VA. |
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| Monday, June 10 |
The FCBA will
host a luncheon. The speaker will be Brian Roberts of Comcast. 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 June 5.
Location: Capital Hilton, 16th & K Streets.
Day one of a two day seminar titled "Managing Trade
Compliance In Today's Environment". The seminar is
offered by the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security
(formerly BXA). The price to attend is $325. See, information
page. Location: Marriott at Metro Center, 775 12th St.,
NW.
Day two of a three day conference hosted by George Mason
University titled "Networked Economy Summit". See, event web site.
First of three deadlines to submit proposals to the NIST
for FY 2002 Advanced
Technology Program funds. See, notice
in Federal Register. |
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| Tuesday, June 11 |
7:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Day one of a two day conference titled
"Current and Emerging Solutions to Public Safety
Communications Interoperability" hosted by the NTIA
and the Public Safety Wireless Network (PSWN) Program. Audio
webcast. See, notice
in the Federal Register. Location: Ronald Reagan International
Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.
9:00 AM - 2:00 PM. The American
Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a conference titled
"The Future of Telecom Regulation". See, agenda and
registration page. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th
St., NW.
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Day one of a three day meeting of the NIST's
Computer System Security and Privacy Advisory Board. See, notice
in Federal Register. Location: National Security Agency's
National Cryptologic Museum, Colony 7 Road, Annapolis
Junction, MD.
9:30 AM. The Senate
Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications will
hold a hearing titled Spectrum Management. Press
contact: Andy Davis 224-6654. Location: Room 253, Russell
Building.
2:30 PM. The Senate
Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Technology,
Terrorism, and Government Information will hold a hearing on
the S
2541, the Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act.
Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.
Day two of a two day seminar titled "Managing Trade
Compliance In Today's Environment". The seminar is
offered by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security
(formerly BXA). See, information
page.
Day three of a three day conference hosted by George Mason
University titled "Networked Economy Summit". See, event web site. |
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| Wednesday, June 12 |
7:00 AM - 3:30 PM. Day two of a two day conference titled
"Current and Emerging Solutions to Public Safety
Communications Interoperability" hosted by the NTIA
and the Public Safety Wireless Network Program. See, notice
in the Federal Register.
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM. Day two of a three day meeting of the NIST's
Computer System Security and Privacy Advisory Board. See, notice
in Federal Register.
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM. The President's Council of Advisors on
Science and Technology will hold a public meeting. The agenda
includes four items: (1) the science and technology of
combating terrorism, (2) policies and technologies to improve
energy efficiency, (3) the federal investment in science and
technology R&D, and (4) demand issues that can speed the
deployment of broadband infrastructure. See, notice
in Federal Register. Location: Colonial Room, Renaissance
Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Ave., NW.
2:30 PM. The Senate
Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Science, Technology,
and Space Subcommittee will hold a hearings to examine the ICANN.
Press contact: Andy Davis at 202 224-6654. Location: Room 253,
Russell Building.
11:00 AM. The Cato Institute
will host a panel discussion titled "Digital Copy
Protection: Mandate It? Ban It? Or Let the Market
Decide?". The speakers will be Rick Lane (News
Corporation), Jonathan Potter (Digital Media Association),
Sarah Deutsch (Verizon),
Stewart Verdery (Vivendi Universal), and Jonathan Zuck (Association for Competitive
Technology). Lunch will follow. Webcast. See, online
registration page. Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts
Avenue, NW.
12:30 PM. The FCBA's
Global Telecommunications Development Committee and the
International Practice Committee will host a luncheon seminar
titled "Three Principles for the Liberalization of
Telecommunications in Latin America: Competition, Competition
and Competition". The speakers will be Henoch Aguiar, a
former Secretary of Telecommunications of Argentina. This
program is free and lunch will be provided. RSVP by faxing or
e-mailing your name, affiliation, and contact information to
Javier Miguel Tizado at 202 639-9355 or jtizado @whitecase.com
by Monday, June 10th. Location: White & Case, 601 13th
St., NW, Suite 600. |
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