4/28. The Supreme Court denied certiorari, without opinion, in Healthgrades.com v. Northwest Healthcare Alliance, No. 02-1250. See, Order List [9 pages in PDF] at page 2. The denial lets stand an opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) holding that the U.S. District Court (WDWash) has personal jurisdiction over an out of state defendant in defamation case, based solely upon its publication of the allegedly defamatory statements in its internet web site.

Background. HealthGrades.com (HG) publishes ratings of health care providers in a web site. It is based in the state of Colorado. It is incorporated in Delaware. Northwest Healthcare Alliance (NHA) provides health care services in the state of Washington, where it is also incorporated. HG rated NHA "average".

District Court. NHA filed a complaint in state court in the state of Washington against HG alleging defamation. HG removed the action to the U.S. District Court (WDWash), and then moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction.

The District Court wrote in its Order Granting Defendant's Motion to Dismiss, June 13, 2001, that "Courts confronting jurisdictional challenges based on the maintenance of internet websites have developed an analytical doctrine in which the sites are placed somewhere along a ``broad spectrum of internet use创 with interactive websites, on one hand, and passive websites, on the other, representing the spectrum's poles." It added that "Truly passive websites, which are generally accessible and simply post information  available to the visitor, without more, do not support the exercise of personal jurisdiction over the passive website."

The District Court determined that HG's website is passive, and dismissed the complaint for lack of jurisdiction in Washington.

Court of Appeals. The U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) reversed, in an opinion which it designated as non-precedential, and which it did not publish.

The Appeals Court wrote that "Because most Internet activity occurs in cyberspace, the Internet presents special consideration in personal jurisdiction analysis, and the law in this area can fairly be described as in its infancy."

It continued that "Thus far the Ninth Circuit has endorsed two tests for determining whether an out-of-state web site operator's activities amount to purposeful availment of the forum state rendering the exercise of personal jurisdiction over the out-of-state web site operator constitutionally permissible: 1) the sliding scale approach, as articulated in Cybersell ... and 2) the effects test, endorsed by the Supreme Court in Calder v. Jones,  ... , and adopted by the Ninth Circuit in Panavision ..." (Citations omitted.)

See, Panavision Int'l L.P. v. Toeppen, 141, F.3d 1316 (9th Cir. 1998), Cybersell, Inc. v. Cybersell, Inc., 130 F.3d 414 (9th Cir. 1997), and Calder v. Jones, 456 U.S. 783 (1984).

The Appeals Court continued that "The effects test is employed when the harm allegedly suffered by plaintiff sounds in tort. ... Under this approach, the exercise of personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state defendant is proper if the defendant: 1) engaged in intentional actions; 2) expressly aimed at the forum state; 3) causing harm, the brunt of which is suffered -- and which the defendant knows is likely to be suffered -- in the forum state. (Citations omitted.)

The Appeals Court added that since the plaintiff, NHA, sued for defamation, which is a tort, the effects test should be applied. And, it then held that under this effects test the exercise of jurisdiction over the defendant, HG, is permissible.

It explained that "has purposefully interjected itself into the Washington state home health care market through its intentional act of offering ratings of Washington medical service providers. This act was expressly aimed at plaintiff's forum state, since defendant was well aware that its ratings of Washington home health care providers would be of value primarily to Washington consumers. Though defendant gleaned its information from various public sources, including the federal government, the information was obtained originally from Washington sources, and the allegedly defamatory rating received by plaintiff on defendant's web site concerned the Washington activities of a Washington resident. Finally, the brunt of the harm allegedly suffered by plaintiff occurred in Washington -- where plaintiff is incorporated, where plaintiff has its principal place of business, and where plaintiff's reputation is likely to suffer if in fact it has been injured by defendant's actions. The effects, therefore, of defendant's out-of-state conduct, were felt in Washington, plaintiff's claims arise from that out-of state conduct, and defendant could reasonably expect to be called to account for its conduct in the forum where it understood the effects of its actions would be felt."

Petition for Writ of Certiorari. HG asserted in it petition that "The ``effects test创 doctrine of Calder v. Jones ... cannot be applied to create personal jurisdiction based on the maintenance of an internet web site which has uniform, nationwide application."

HG cited several case from other circuits, including ALS Scan v. Digital Services Consultants, 293 F.3d 707 (4th Cir. 2002), Young v. New Haven Advocate, 315 F.2d 256 (4th Cir. 2002), and Revel v. Lidov (5th Cir. Dec. 31, 2002).

Other Opinions. Young v. New Haven Advocate, like HealthGrades, involves a claim of defamation. But the 4th Circuit applied a different analysis, and reached the opposite result. Thus, the Supreme Court denied certiorari, despite there arguably being a split between the circuits (if a non-published opinion can create a split).

On December 13, 2002, the U.S. Court of Appeals (4thCir) issued its opinion [12 pages in PDF] in Young v. New Haven Advocate, holding that a court in Virginia does not have jurisdiction over two small newspapers, and their editors and reporters, located in Connecticut, who wrote allegedly defamatory stories about a Virginia prison warden and published them on the internet. The Court held that the web publication did not establish minimum contacts because the newspapers are not directed at a Virginia audience.

Relying on ALS Scan and International Shoe v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310 (1945), the 4th Circuit wrote that "The facts in this case establish that the newspapers' websites, as well as the articles in question, were aimed at a Connecticut audience. The newspapers did not post materials on the Internet with the manifest intent of targeting Virginia readers. ... In sum, the newspapers do not have sufficient Internet contacts with Virginia to permit the district court to exercise specific jurisdiction over them."

On the other hand, perhaps the opinions in HealthGrades and Young v. New Haven Advocate, are consistent, because a newspaper, even if published on the internet, is still aimed at a local audience, while a health care rating service is aimed wherever the rated health care providers are located.

See also, TLJ story titled "4th Circuit Rules in Internet Jurisdiction Case", December 13, 2002. See also, stories titled "Internet Shoes: Two Appeals Courts Address Internet Based Personal Jurisdiction", "Fourth Circuit Holds No Personal Jurisdiction Over Out of State Web Host", and "DC Circuit Suggests Personal Jurisdiction Over Out of State Online Brokerage" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 452, June 17, 2002.

There is another noteworthy case. The 9th Circuit's opinion reached the same result as the opinion issued on December 10, 2002, by the High Court of Australia in Dow Jones v. Gutnick, another defamation case. However, while the results were the same (personal jurisdiction exists where the allegedly defamed party is located), the analyses differed.

The Australian Court wrote in the Gutnick case that "defamation is to be located at the place where the damage to reputation occurs. ... In the case of material on the World Wide Web, it is not available in comprehensible form until downloaded on to the computer of a person who has used a web browser to pull the material from the web server. It is where that person downloads the material that the damage to reputation may be done. Ordinarily then, that will be the place where the tort of defamation is committed."

See, story titled "High Court Rules Australia Has Jurisdiction Over Dow Jones Based on Web Publication" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 564, December 10, 2002.

Non Publication. The 9th Circuit did not publish its opinion. It further wrote that "This disposition is not appropriate for publication and may not be cited by the courts of this circuit except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3." Tech Law Journal transcribed a copy of the 9th Circuit's opinion from the appendix of HealthGrades.com's Petition for Writ of Certiorari on file at the U.S. Supreme Court, and published it in the TLJ web site. For a criticism of non-publication of appeals court opinions, see, Nonpublication.com.

4/29. Virginia Governor Mark Warner signed Virginia HB 2290, sponsored by Delegate Jeannemarie Devolites, and SB 1139, sponsored by Senator Ken Stolle, which make it a felony to send certain unsolicited bulk e-mail (UBE) messages.

This legislation provides that it is a class 6 felony if a person either "1. Uses a computer or computer network with the intent to falsify or forge electronic mail transmission information or other routing information in any manner in connection with the transmission of unsolicited bulk electronic mail through or into the computer network of an electronic mail service provider or its subscribers; or 2. Knowingly sells, gives, or otherwise distributes or possesses with the intent to sell, give, or distribute software that (i) is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of facilitating or enabling the falsification of electronic mail transmission information or other routing information; (ii) has only limited commercially significant purpose or use other than to facilitate or enable the falsification of electronic mail transmission information or other routing information; or (iii) is marketed by that person acting alone or with another for use in facilitating or enabling the falsification of electronic mail transmission information or other routing information is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor", and either "1. The volume of UBE transmitted exceeded 10,000 attempted recipients in any 24-hour period, 100,000 attempted recipients in any 30-day time period, or one million attempted recipients in any one-year time period; or 2. The revenue generated from a specific UBE transmission exceeded $1,000 or the total revenue generated from all UBE transmitted to any EMSP exceeded $50,000."

The bill also pertains to computer fraud, computer trespass, theft of computer services, and personal trespass by computer.

Gov. Warner (at right) signed the bill at a signing ceremony at America Online. He stated that "Half the world抯 Internet traffic passes through the Commonwealth of Virginia, so it is appropriate that we give our prosecutors tools to go after this costly and annoying crime". See, release.

Robert Woltz, President of Verizon Virginia, stated in a release that "Virginia is taking a bold step to add new teeth to legislation to combat the growing problem of unsolicited bulk e-mail, or 'spam.' No longer can spammers hide behind false identities without risking criminal charges. Today's groundbreaking legislation gives Internet service providers, like Verizon Online and AOL, more muscle to enforce user contracts that prohibit the use of their networks to deliver large quantities of unwanted e-mail." See also, AOL release.

4/29. The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Division of Marketing Practices released a report [16 pages in PDF] titled "False Claims in Spam". The FTC studied a random sample of about one thousand unsolicited commercial e-mail messages, and found that two-thirds contain false information.

The FTC report found that "One-third of the spam messages contained false information in the ``From创 line." It also found that "Twenty-two percent of UCE in the sample contained false information in the ``Subject创 line". Finally, it found that "Approximately 40% of the messages had at least one indication of falsity" in the text of the message.

And altogether, the report found that "Sixty-six percent of spam analyzed by FTC staff contained indications of falsity in their ``From创 lines, ``Subject创 lines, or message text." See also, FTC release.

The FTC released this report on the eve of its three day public workshop on spam in Washington DC on April 30 through May 2. See, agenda [4 pages in PDF].

4/29. The House Commerce Committee announced that it has issued a subpoena to Cheryl Parrino, the CEO of the Universal Service Administration Company (USAC), for unredacted records.

The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) USAC administers the schools and libraries program, which is also known as the e-rate. The program was created by the FCC after enactment of the Telecom Act of 1996 under the rubric of Section 254, which codifies the FCC's universal service programs. Under the e-rate program, phone companies are taxed, to enable the USAC to provides subsidies to schools and libraries for telecommunications services, internet access, and internal wiring.

The program is plagued by fraud and abuse. The House Commerce Committee, which has oversight responsibilities regarding the FCC, is investigating.

The House Commerce Committee originally wrote a a letter to Parrino on March 13, 2003, requesting records. The Committee stated in a release on April 29 that "Following the Committee's initial request for documents, USAC submitted thousands of pages of records. However, many of those documents contained information which had been omitted because of concerns over confidentiality."

Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA), Chairman of the Committee, stated that "This information is important for us to obtain if we are going to be successful in eliminating fraud and abuse in the E-rate program. I have asked Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman James Greenwood (R-PA) to hold hearings on this problem. Those hearings should begin this summer".

In addition, on April 23, 2003, the FCC adopted, but did not release, a Second Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding its e-rate subsidy program. The FCC issued two short press releases. See, press release [2 pages in PDF] regarding this order and NPRM, and press release [PDF] regarding the e-rate program.

The FCC stated that it seeks comments on "1) the feasibility of an online computerized eligible services list for telecommunications services and Internet access, 2) procedures implementing the FCC抯 decision to carry forward unused funds from the program in subsequent funding years, and 3) whether to expand the circumstances under which persons may be debarred from involvement in the program, including debarment for willful or repeated violators of FCC rules."

4/29. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) E911 Coordination Initiative held a meeting. See, statement [PDF] by Chairman Michael Powell, statement [PDF] by Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy, and statement [PDF] by Commissioner Kevin Martin.

4/28. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) released a report [30 pages in PDF] titled "Enum: Mapping Telephone Numbers Onto The Internet Potential Benefits with Public Policy Risks". It states that "ENUM's potential benefits also bring risks in terms of privacy and other public policy concerns. The simplest implementation of ENUM envisions that individuals' personal contact information (such as telephone numbers and e-mail addresses) will be stored in special records located in the Domain Name System (or DNS) of the global Internet. Because the DNS is publicly available, the use of ENUM could significantly compromise the privacy of its users." See also, executive summary.

4/28. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a report [24 pages in PDF] titled "Faces of Trade with Singapore: Small Business Success Stories". The report states that the U.S. Singapore Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will offer "U.S. firms increased access to the Singapore market and landmark intellectual property protections, which will serve as a model for other agreements throughout the ASEAN region." Much of the report is a series of short case studies of small U.S. companies that will benefit from the FTA. Three of the companies are JSmart Technologies, which develops and publishes games for mobile phones, Sirsi Corporation, which provides software and services to libraries, and Rogen International Limited, which is a communications consultancy.

4/29. Thomas Lee, President of the American Federation of Musicians, stated in a release that "Starting immediately, a group of organizations representing musicians, artists, songwriters, music publishers, record labels and others will send copyright warning messages to individuals who offer significant numbers of copyrighted songs to others for illegal downloading on peer-to-peer networks. The messages will be sent via the peer-to-peer networks Instant Messaging functions."

4/29. Nancy Victory, Director of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), gave a speech regarding broadband deployment at the NARUC/NECA convention in Washington DC. She asserted that "The Bush Administration has been working hard to encourage full and fair competition that leads to new investment in broadband networks by all industry segments, using a variety of technologies. We must remove barriers and open new opportunities for wired and wireless providers, incumbents and new entrants." She addressed rights of ways issues, the FCC's triennial review order, the spectrum relocation fund bill, and making more spectrum available for unlicensed uses. She spoke at a convention hosted by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and the National Exchange Carriers Association (NECA) titled "Second NARUC/NECA National Summit on Broadband Deployment: Accelerating the Transition". The title of her speech was "On the Path to Making the Broadband Vision a National Reality".

The House will meet at 10:00 AM.

8:30 AM - 5:30 PM. Day one of a three day conference hosted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) titled "Spam Forum". The event will address the proliferation of unsolicited commercial e-mail and explore the technical, legal, and financial issues associated with it. For more information, contact Brian Huseman at 202 326-3320 or Lisa Tobin 202 326-3218. See, agenda and notice in the Federal Register, February 10, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 27, at Pages 6747-6748. The FTC states that "Members of the press unable to attend the forum may call in". Dial: 1-866-783-5359; confirmation number: 16237484. Location: FTC, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

9:30 - 11:30 AM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "The Mission of the Postal Service and the Universal Service Obligation".  This panel will focus on the mission of the USPS, and how modern communications technology has affected this mission, and the meaning of universal service. See, AEI notice. Location: AEI, 1150 17th Street NW, 12th Floor.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee will meet to mark up several bills, including HR 1320, the Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act. See, notice. The hearing will be webcast. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan will testify before the House Financial Services Committee. Press contact: Peggy Peterson at 202 226-0471. Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Homeland Security will hold a hearing. Tom Ridge, Secretary of the Homeland Security, will testify. Location: Room 106, Dirksen Building.

? 10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee may hold a hearing titled "Nominations". See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

12:30 PM. Howard Beales, Director of the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Bureau of Consumer Protection, and Christine Gregoire, Attorney General of the state of Washington, will hold a press conference to announce "a federal, state, and local law enforcement crackdown on internet auction scams". See, FTC release. The FTC states that "Reporters unable to attend the press conference may call in". Dial 1-800-720-5846; confirmation Number: 16652804. Location: FTC, Room 432, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.

Last day of scheduled oral arguments before the Supreme Court for the October 2002 term.

RESCHEDULED. 9:30 AM. The Copyright Office (CO) will hold the third of four hearings in Washington DC regarding the exemption of certain classes of works from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's (DMCA) prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 20, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 54, at Pages 13652 - 13653. See also, CO web page on rulemakings on anticircumvention, the relevant statutory sections at 17 U.S.C. Ё 2101-2105, and story titled "Copyright Office to Hold Hearings on DMCA Anti Circumvention Exemptions", TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 628, March 21, 2003.

The FCC will hold Auction No. 46. This is the 1670-1675 MHz band auction. It had previously been scheduled for October 30, 2002. See, notice of postponement in Federal Register, October 10, 2002, Vol. 67, No. 197, at Pages 63095 - 63096.

Day two of a two day convention of the Association for Local Telecommunications Services (ALTS). See, agenda. Location: Hyatt Regency Crystal City, Arlington, VA.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM.

Day one of a two day conference hosted by the Computer Law Association (CLA) titled the "2003 World Computer and Internet Law Congress". See, brochure [12 pages in PDF] for schedule, prices, and registration information. Location: Fairmont Washington Hotel.

8:30 AM - 5:30 PM. Day two of a three day conference hosted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) titled "Spam Forum". The event will address the proliferation of unsolicited commercial e-mail and explore the technical, legal, and financial issues associated with it. For more information, contact Brian Huseman at 202 326-3320 or Lisa Tobin 202 326-3218. See, agenda and notice in the Federal Register, February 10, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 27, at Pages 6747-6748. The FTC states that "Members of the press unable to attend the forum may call in". Dial 1-866-783-5359; confirmation number: 16237484. Location: FTC, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

? 9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee may hold a meeting to consider several pending judicial nominations, including nominations of Carolyn Kuhl (9th Circuit), John Roberts (DC Circuit), Leon Holmes (ED Arkansas), Patricia Minaldi (WD Louisiana). Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Science Committee will meet to mark up HR 766, the Nanotechnology Research and Development Act of 2003. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing titled "Investing in Homeland Security: Streamlining and Enhancing Homeland Security Grant Programs". Tom Ridge, Secretary of the Homeland Security, will testify. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) will hold a meeting. The meeting is closed to the public. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 21, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 55, at Page 13967.

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM. The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI), a Democratic think tank, will host a panel discussion titled "Next Steps for Reinventing Government". The speakers will be Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), Will Marshall (PPI), and Robert Atkinson (PPI). The discussion will focus on transforming "bureaucratic government into network governance". Atkinson will also release a report titled "Network Government for the Digital Age". See, PPI notice. For more information, contact Brian Newkirk at 202 547-0001 or techproject@dlcppi.org. Location: Room 122, Cannon Building.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) International Committee will host a brown bag lunch. Jonathan McHale, Ken Schagrin, and Rhonda Schnare of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) will discuss the USTR's proposal to the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding telecommunications services. Location: Wiley Rein & Fielding, 1750 K Street, NW, 5th Floor. For more information contact Laurie Sherman at 703 216-3150 or laurabsherman@hotmail.com.

12:45 - 1:50 PM. Former Rep. Richard Armey (R-TX) will be the luncheon speaker at the Computer Law Association conference. He will address "Formulating Public Policy for Technology Markets: Balancing Competing Demands In Today's Global Economy".

2:00 PM. The Copyright Office (CO) will hold a hearing regarding the exemption of certain classes of works from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's (DMCA) prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. See, original notice in the Federal Register, March 20, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 54, at Pages 13652 - 13653, and revised notice in the Federal Register, April 23, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 78, at Pages 19966 - 19967 (changing the dates, times and locations). See also, CO web page on rulemakings on anticircumvention, the relevant statutory sections at 17 U.S.C. Ё 2101-2105, and story titled "Copyright Office to Hold Hearings on DMCA Anti Circumvention Exemptions", TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 628, March 21, 2003. Location: Postal Rate Commission, 1333 H Street, NW., Third Floor.

? 2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on nanotechnology. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

7:00 PM. Marybeth Peters, the Register of Copyrights, with be the dinner speaker at the Computer Law Association Conference.

8:30 AM - 5:30 PM. Day three of a three day conference hosted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) titled "Spam Forum". The event will address the proliferation of unsolicited commercial e-mail and explore the technical, legal, and financial issues associated with it. For more information, contact Brian Huseman at 202 326-3320 or Lisa Tobin 202 326-3218. See, agenda and notice in the Federal Register, February 10, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 27, at Pages 6747-6748. The FTC states that "Members of the press unable to attend the forum may call in", Dial 1-888-532-9659; confirmation number: 16237492. Location: FTC, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

9:30 AM. The Copyright Office (CO) will hold full day hearing regarding the exemption of certain classes of works from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's (DMCA) prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 20, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 54, at Pages 13652 - 13653, and revised notice in the Federal Register, April 23, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 78, at Pages 19966 - 19967 (changing the dates, times and locations). See also, CO web page on rulemakings on anticircumvention, the relevant statutory sections at 17 U.S.C. Ё 2101-2105, and story titled "Copyright Office to Hold Hearings on DMCA Anti Circumvention Exemptions", TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 628, March 21, 2003. Location: Postal Rate Commission, 1333 H Street, NW., Third Floor.

Day two of a two day conference hosted by the Computer Law Association (CLA) titled the "2003 World Computer and Internet Law Congress". See, brochure [12 pages in PDF] for schedule, prices, and registration information. Location: Fairmont Washington Hotel.

Deadline to submit applications for grants to the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) under its FY2003 Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program. See, notice in Federal Register, March 3, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 41, at Page 9973.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) regarding its second draft [2.60 MB in PDF] of Special Publication 800-50 titled "Building an Information Technology Security Awareness and Training Program". Submit comments to Mark Wilson at sp800-50@nist.gov.

The Supreme Court will begin a recess. It will return on Monday, May 19.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Beery Systems v. Thomson Consumer Electronics, No. 03-1009. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

Day one of a three day meeting of the American Cable Association titled "10th Annual Washington Summit & 2nd Quarter Board of Directors' Meeting". Location: Wyndam Hotel.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding AOL Time Warner's petition [58 pages in PDF] requesting relief from the FCC's January 22, 2001 Memorandum Opinion and Order (MOO) approving the merger of AOL and Time Warner, and imposing conditions upon AOL Time Warner regarding instant messaging services. Specifically, AOL Time Warner seeks relief from the condition restricting its ability to offer internet users streaming video advanced Instant Messaging based high speed services (AIHS) via AOL Time Warner broadband facilities.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Davis Broadcasting v. FCC, No. 02-1109. Judges Edwards, Sentelle, and Garland will preside. Location: 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in E-Pass Technologies v. 3Com and Palm, No. 02-1593, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (NDCal). E-Pass filed a complaint in 2000 alleging that Palm handheld devices infringe its U.S. Patent No. 5,276,311, titled "Method and device for simplifying the use of a plurality of credit cards, or the like". The District Court granted summary judgment to defendants. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

9:00 AM - 3:45 PM. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) will host a one day conference titled "5th Annual NAB Human Resources Symposium". The event will review the FCC's current EEO broadcast rules. See, notice and online registration page. The event is free. Location: L'Enfant Plaza Hotel, 480 L'Enfant Plaza, SW.

? 2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights may hold a hearing on judicial nominations, filibusters, and the Constitution, focusing on when a majority is denied its right to consent. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

The U.S. International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to discuss the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Study Group 16 meeting to be held in Geneva from May 20 to May 30. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 18, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 75, at Pages 19247 - 19248.

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MAY 16. Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) [MS Word] regarding "Additional Spectrum for Unlicensed Devices Below 900 MHz and in the 3 GHz Band". Unlicensed devices would include, among other things, 802.11. See, notice in Federal Register, January 21, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 13, at Pages 2730-2733. See also, story titled "FCC Announces Notice of Inquiry Re More Spectrum for Unlicensed Use" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 566, December 12, 2002. For more information, contact Hugh Van Tuyl in the FCC's Office of Engineering & Technology at hvantuyl@fcc.gov or 202 418-7506. This is OET Docket No. 02-380. See, notice of extension [PDF].

4/29. Scott Delacourt was named Chief of Staff and Associate Bureau Chief of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB). He was previously Senior Counsel in the Office of General Counsel, where he worked on wireless, international, engineering and technology, consumer, governmental affairs, and enforcement issues. Before that, he was Legal Advisor to former Bureau Chief Tom Sugrue. And before that, he was an attorney at the Washington DC law firm of Wiley Rein & Fielding. See, FCC release [PDF].

4/29. President Bush announced his intent to appoint John Gordon to be Assistant to the President and Homeland Security Advisor. He is currently Deputy Assistant to the President, National Director and Deputy National Security Advisor for Combating Terrorism. He is also a former Deputy Director of Central Intelligence. He retired from the Air Force with the rank of General. See, White House release.