Lauren Van Wazer of the SPTF made a brief presentation. Commissioners offered comments. And, the FCC issued a press release [PDF], and a set of PowerPoint slides used by Van Wazer. FCC staff stated that the report itself might be released next week.

The SPTF was formed early last summer by FCC Chairman Michael Powell. It solicited public comments, and received over 200. It also held a series of public workshops in August.

Van Wazer stated at the FCC meeting that one of the findings of the SPTF is that "spectrum access is a much more significant problem than scarcity". She stated that another finding is that spectrum can be parceled in time, space and frequency. She also stated that the SPTF found that new technologies allow systems to be more tolerant of interference. Finally, she said that the SPTF found that spectrum rights and responsibilities are not always clearly defined.

She also stated that the report contains 39 recommendations. She listed a few her presentation. The FCC press release provides a little more elaboration.

First, said Van Wazer, the FCC should evolve its spectrum policy towards a more market oriented approach. Second, the FCC should adopt a new metric, which she called "interference temperature", to quantify and manage interference.

Third, the FCC should implement ways to increase access to spectrum, through the use of the time dimension, in addition to frequency and space. The FCC's release states that the SPTF "found that new technological developments now permit the Commission to increasingly consider the use of time, in addition to frequency, power and space, as an added dimension permitting more dynamic allocation and assignment of spectrum usage rights. This would provide access to unused or underused spectrum through time-sharing of spectrum between multiple users and lead to more efficient use of the spectrum resource."

Finally, the FCC should migrate from its current command and control model of spectrum management. It should also employ exclusive use and commons approaches.

The Commissioners praised the SPTF and the report. However, Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy noted that "the Commission has not endorsed this report". Commissioner Kevin Martin stated that he is concerned about "unlicensed underlays" and interference. He questioned whether a proposal in the report is enforceable in practice.

Chairman Powell also released a statement [PDF]. Also, he gave a speech on October 30 on this subject titled "Broadband Migration III: New Directions in Wireless Policy".

Tom Wheeler, P/CEO of the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA), stated in a release that "The absence of a national spectrum policy has hurt consumers by denying them new services and creating a competitive imbalance with the rest of the world. Applause can be the only response to the FCC's decision to develop a comprehensive spectrum policy."

The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) President Matthew Flanigan stated in a release that "market oriented approaches envisioned by the FCC's Spectrum Policy Task Force promise to bring certainty and stability to our nation's spectrum management processes".

Lauren Van Wazer can be reached at 202 418-0030 or lvanwaze@fcc.gov. This is ET Docket No. 02-135.

This is the FCC's third attempt. The last two sets of rules were held unconstitutional by the U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir). See, opinion in Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod v. FCC. 141 F.3d 344 (1998) and opinion in MD/DC/DE Broadcasters Association v FCC, 236 F.3d 13, reh'g den. 253 F. 3d 732 (2001) pet for cert. Filed, MMTC v MD/DC/DE Broadcasters Association. No. 01-639 (October 17, 2001).

While the NPRM has not been released, FCC Commissioners and staff described it as minimal set of rules requiring outreach, record keeping and reporting. However, it does not include a requirement that licensees submit annual reports on the race and gender make-up of their workforce.

Each of the four Commissioners issued statements. See, statements [in PDF] by Powell, Abernathy, Copps, and Martin. This is MM Docket No. 98-204.

Monday, November 4 was the deadline to submit comments to the NTIA in response to its request for comments on two of the nine exceptions to the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce (E-SIGN) Act. The E-SIGN Act provides for the acceptance of electronic signatures in interstate commerce, with certain enumerated exceptions. The two categories of exempt documents that are the subject of this request for comments are court records and hazardous materials notices. The Act tasks the NTIA with studying these exemptions, and providing reports to Congress. (See also, NTIA release, notice in Federal Register, regarding court records, and notice in Federal Register, regarding hazardous materials notices.)

The NTIA has published comments in its web site. There is only one comment on court records, and six on hazardous materials.

The Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AOUSC) filed a comment on behalf of the federal judiciary regarding the court records exception. Currently, many court documents, such as pleading and affidavits, require the signatures of counsel, parties or affiants. The AOUSC argued that the courts exception "should be retained, since it is consistent both with the purposes of the statute -- which regulates transactions relating to the conduct of business, consumer and commercial affairs -- and the federal judiciary's established role in regulating its own proceedings."

The AOUSC continued that "ESIGN clearly is directed at the use of electronic signatures and documents in the commercial realm. ... It is neither intended nor specifically designed to address governmental transactions, except where the government is either involved as a party to a commercial transaction or is regulating such transactions."

Background. GTE North, which became Verizon North, upon GTE's merger with Bell Atlantic, is an incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) in the state of Michigan. The Michigan Public Services Commission (MPSC) issued an order requiring ILECs to offer network elements and services to competitors through published tariffs and to combine unbundled network elements (UNEs) for competitors. The order used GTE's Total Service Long Run Incremental Cost (TSLRIC) studies to establish the rates at which GTE would be compelled to sell UNEs to its competitors. The order also stated that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Act) requirement that GTE allow competitors to access unbundled elements of GTE's local network did not preclude GTE's competitors from requesting access to pre-assembled, fully operational local service platforms.

District Court. GTE North filed a complaint in U.S. District Court (WDMich) against John Strand, Chairman of the MPSC, and other members of the MPSC, seeking a declaratory judgment that the MPSC order is invalid. The District Court held, on summary judgment, that the tariff requirement is invalid, because it would allow competitors to circumvent the negotiation and arbitration process set out in 47 U.S.C. § 252. It further held that requiring incumbents to combine previously unbundled network elements at competitors' request violated the plain language of the Act, which requires incumbents to provide competitors access to network elements "in a manner that allows requesting carriers to combine such elements". The MPSC appealed.

Appeals Court. This is the second time this case has been appealed to the Sixth Circuit. See also, GTE North v. Strand, 209 F.3d 909 (6th Cir. 2000). In the present appeal, the Court affirmed the District Court with respect to the tariff requirement, but vacated with respect to the bundling requirement. The District Court had relied upon the reasoning of the U.S. Court of Appeals (8thCir) in Iowa Utilities Board v. FCC, 219 F.3d 744 (8th Cir. 2000). The Supreme Court, during the pendency of this appeal, reversed on that issue.

Section 102 pertains to conditions for patentability. It was amended by the American Inventor's Protection Act of 1999 (AIPA), and again by the DOJ Authorization bill, which President Bush signed last Saturday, October 2.

The 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act is a huge bill that contains far more than just an authorization for appropriations of the Department of Justice. (It is HR 2215. It is is now Public Law 107-273, 116 Stat. 1758 (2002).)

Title III of HR 2215 pertains to intellectual property. Its Subtitle B is named "Intellectual Property and High Technology Technical Amendments Act of 2002". As a stand alone bill, it was S 320. For example, within this Subtitle B, Section 13204 contains language clarifying the effective date of international applications which may qualify for the provisional rights based on early publication. Section 13205 contains language amending 35 U.S.C. § 102(e) to provide that the USPTO will only rely on information published in the English language in patent applications when it makes the determination of novelty during the examination of a patent application. This limits the evidence from foreign applications that may be considered "prior art".

The document just released by the USPTO provides the USPTO's interpretation of the statute, as amended by the AIPA and the just signed DOJ authorization bill. It is a detailed analysis written for patent practitioners. The USPTO document also interprets prior art rejections based on 35 U.S.C. § 102(g).

The just released document does not address other patent related provisions contained in the DOJ authorization bill, such as amendments affecting reexamination procedure. (See, Section 13202 of the bill.)

	Brill

11/7. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy promoted Matthew Brill to the position of Senior Legal Advisor. He has been her Legal Advisor for wireline matters. He can be reached at 202 418-2532. Abernathy also named Carolyn Groves as her Senior Counsel for wireless and international issues, starting December 9. Groves is currently a partner in the Washington DC office of the law firm of Wilkinson Barker & Knauer. John Branscome, an attorney in the Auctions Division of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB), has been advising Abernathy on wireless and international issues on an interim basis. He will return to the WTB in December. See, FCC release [PDF].

11/7. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Roel Campos commented on SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt's resignation announcement. Campos stated in a release that "Chairman Pitt took the extraordinary step this week of offering his resignation as chairman of the SEC. This is not the time to say goodbye or Godspeed because Chairman Pitt will be with us for an undetermined period of time in the transition. It does seem appropriate to me to memorialize briefly Chairman Pitt's act of courage and sacrifice. ... His resignation is a model of dignity and grace."

Day two of a two day conference hosted by the American Bar Association's Section of Antitrust Law. At 8:45 AM FTC Commissioner Thomas Leary will speak. At 9:30 AM there will be a panel titled "Remedies: How Do We Know What Works?"; the speakers include Deborah Majoras (Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division) and Joseph Simons (Director, FTC's Bureau of Competition). At 11:15 AM there will be a panel titled "Joint Ventures"; the speakers include Leslie Overton (Antitrust Division) and Mozelle Thompson (FTC Commissioner). See, program. The basic price to attend is $875. Location: National Press Club, 529 14th St NW.

8:30 - 10:00 AM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host an event titled "Post Election Review of Telecommunications Policy". The speakers will be former FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott Roth and Greg Sidak. RSVP to Veronique Rodman at 202 862-4871 or vrodman@aei.org. Location: AEI, 11th Floor, Conference Room, 1150 17th Street, NW.

9:00 AM - 4:45 PM. The FCC's Consumer / Disability Telecommunications Advisory Committee will meet. See, agenda [PDF]. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Room TW-C305 (Commission Meeting Room).

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in AT&T v. FCC, No. 01-1511. Judges Ginsburg, Edwards and Garland will preside. Location: 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Cygnus Telecommunications Technology v. Totalaxcess.com, No. 02-1325. This is a consolidated patent case appealed from the U.S. District Court (NDCal). Location: 717 Madison Place, NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) regarding its draft publication [62 pages in PDF] titled "Guide to Selecting Information Technology Security Products". This is NIST Special Publication 800-36 (draft). It was written by Timothy Grance, Marissa Myers and Marc Stevens in the NIST's Information Technology Laboratory's Computer Security Division. Send comments to sp800-36@nist.gov.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) regarding its draft publication [78 pages in PDF] titled "Guide to IT Security Services". This is NIST Special Publication 800-35 (draft). It was written by Tim Grance, Joan Hash, Marc Stevens, Kristofor O’Neal, Nadya Bartol and Robert Young  in the NIST's Information Technology Laboratory's Computer Security Division. Send comments to sp800-35@nist.gov.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) regarding its draft publication [66 pages in PDF] titled "Security Considerations in Federal Information Technology Procurements A Guide for Procurement Initiators, Contracting Officers, and IT Security Officials". This is NIST Special Publication 800-4A (draft). It was written by Tim Grance, Joan Hash and Marc Stevens in the NIST's Information Technology Laboratory's Computer Security Division. Send comments to sp800-4@nist.gov.

CANCELLED? 9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Z Tel Communications v. FCC, No. 01-1461. This is a challenge to the FCC's order approving Verizon's Section 271 application to provide in region interLATA service in the state of Pennsylvania. Judges Ginsburg, Edwards and Garland will preside. Location: 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

3:30 - 4:30 PM. The Heritage Foundation will host an address by Rep. Jim Ryun (R-KS) titled "Reforming Congress for a Safer Homeland: The Need for Congressional Committee Reorganization". Location: 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The FCBA will host a CLE seminar titled "FCC Winter Preview". The panelists will include Donald Abelson (Chief of the FCC's International Bureau), Thomas Sugrue (Chief of the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau), Kenneth Feree (Chief of the FCC's Media Bureau), and William Maher (Chief of the FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau), and Bryan Tramont (Senior Legal Advisor to FCC Chairman Michael Powell). Location: Sidley Austin Brown & Wood, Conference room 6-E.

9:00 AM. Day one of a two day meeting of Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee (ISTAC) of the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (formerly known as the Bureau of Export Administration). The ISTAC advises the BIS on technical questions that affect the level of export controls applicable to information systems equipment and technology. The meeting will be partly open, and partly closed. The agenda for the open portion of the meeting includes a presentation on China's high performance computing market and a presentation on semiconductor manufacturing trends. The agenda for the closed portion of the meeting is secret. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 22, 2002, Vol. 67, No. 204, at Page 64868. Location:  Room 3884, Hoover Building, 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, NW.

12:15 PM. The FCBA's Mass Media Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The topic will be radio issues. The speakers will be Peter Doyle (Chief of the FCC's Audio Division) and other FCC staff. RSVP to Barry Umansky at 202 263-4128 or barry.umansky @thompsonhine.com. Location: National Association of Broadcasters, 1771 N St., NW, 1st floor conference room.

6:00 PM. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), Truste, and Privastaff will host a book signing and wine and cheese reception for Ann Cavoukian, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario and co-author of The Privacy Payoff: How Successful Business Build Customer Trust. For more information, contact LuJuan Brooks 202 637-9800 or lbrooks@cdt.org. Location: National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor.

TIME? Day one of a two day conference hosted by Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) titled "Homeland Security Critical Issues Forum". Its subject matter will include network security and reliability, physical and cyber security, network vulnerabilities, and how other critical infrastructures may impact CMRS networks. The event is closed to the public. At 12:30 PM Dick Clarke, Special Advisor to the President for Cyberspace Security and Chairman of the President’s Critical Infrastructure Protection Board, will speak. A CTIA release states that "Only lunch sessions are open to the media. Credentials required for admittance." For more information, contact Kimberly Kuo at 202 736-3202 or Kkuo@ctia.org. Location: Omni Shoreham Hotel, Empire Ball Room, 2500 Calvert Street, NW.

8:30 - 9:30 AM. The High Tech Broadband Coalition (HTBC) will host a press briefing breakfast regarding its participation in the FCC's proceedings pertaining to regulatory treatment of high speed Internet access. The HTBC wants the FCC to relax regulatory restaints imposed on incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) in the roll out of high speed Internet access. The participants will include E. Van Cullens (Westell), Jim Hjartarson (Catena Networks), Michael Norris (NextLevel Communications), Gregory Jones (Texas Instruments), Jerry Fiddler (Wind River Systems), George Nolan (Siemens), George Brunt (Alcatel), Doug Clark (ADC), Matt Flanigan (TIA), and Gary Shapiro (Consumer Electronics Association). Press contact: Jeri Clausing (BSA) at (202 530-5127 or jeric@bsa.org. Location: National Association of Manufacturers, 1331 Pennsylvania Ave., Suite 600, NW. Enter off F St. between 13th & 14th Streets.

9:00 AM. Day two of a two day meeting of Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee (ISTAC) of the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (formerly known as the Bureau of Export Administration). The ISTAC advises the BIS on technical questions that affect the level of export controls applicable to information systems equipment and technology. The meeting will be partly open, and partly closed. The agenda for the open portion of the meeting includes a presentation on China's high performance computing market and a presentation on semiconductor manufacturing trends. The agenda for the closed portion of the meeting is secret. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 22, 2002, Vol. 67, No. 204, at Page 64868. Location: Room 3884, Hoover Building, 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Ave., NW.

CANCELLED: TO BE DECIDED WITHOUT ORAL ARGUMENT. 9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Aerco Broadcast Corp v. FCC, No. 01-1466. Judges Sentelle, Henderson and Silberman will preside. Location: Courtroom 20, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

Bruce filed a complaint in U.S. District Court (DMass) against WWN alleging copyright infringement. The WWN acknowledge that it infringed Bruce's copyright, and that the space alien was fictitious. The District Court awarded damages of $20,142.45. Bruce appealed the damages award. The Appeals Court increased damages by $5,500.