7/17. The House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property (CIIP) held a hearing on HR 2517, the "Piracy Deterrence and Education Act of 2003." This bill would enhance the government's resources for prosecuting intellectual property crimes, and involve the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Justice (DOJ) in educating and warning the public regarding internet based copyright infringement.

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) is the lead sponsor of the bill, and the Chairman of the CIIP Subcommittee. He presided at the hearing. He stated that "law enforcement officials must be more aggressive in their enforcement of existing laws."

Rep. Smith (at right) also stated that "we expect to mark up this bill next week".

HR 2517. This bill provides that the FBI shall "develop a program to deter members of the public from committing acts of copyright infringement by -- (A) offering on the Internet copies of copyrighted works, or (B) making copies of copyrighted works from the Internet, without the authorization of the copyright owners". It further provides that such program shall include "warnings to individuals" engaging in internet based infringement that "they may be subject to criminal prosecution". The bill, however, makes no changes to the criminal code.

The bill also provides that the FBI shall "facilitate the sharing among law enforcement agencies, Internet service providers, and copyright owners of information concerning" internet based infringement.

The bill also provides that each of the DOJ's Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIPs) units shall have "at least one agent to support such unit for the purpose of investigating crimes relating to the theft of intellectual property". It also requires training of that agent.

The bill also requires the DOJ to create a "Internet Use Education Program" to "educate the general public concerning the value of copyrighted works and the effects of the theft of such works on those who create them", and to "educate the general public concerning the privacy, security, and other risks of using the Internet to obtain unauthorized copies of copyrighted works".

The bill makes three minor changes to the Copyright Act, regarding registration (17 U.S.C. § 411), infringing importation (17 U.S.C. § 602), and importation prohibitions (17 U.S.C. § 603).

It provides that "An action for infringement of the copyright in any United States work shall not include any action brought by the Government of the United States or by any agency or instrumentality thereof." That is, the government is relieved of the obligation of registering a copyright before bringing a prosecution for infringement.

The bill was introduced on June 19, 2003. See also, story titled "Representatives Smith & Berman Introduce Internet Piracy Education Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 686, June 24, 2003.

Statements by Subcommittee Members. Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) is a cosponsor of the bill, and the ranking Democrat on the CIIP Subcommittee. He advanced several arguments for enhanced criminal prosecution of intellectual property crimes. First, he stated that many authors and creators are individuals who cannot afford the financial cost of litigating to enforce their rights. For these people, government prosecution can provide the only deterrent.

Second, Rep. Berman stated that many copyright infringers are judgment proof, which renders civil enforcement ineffective. He added that for these people too, prosecution offers the only effective deterrent.

Rep. Ric Keller (R-FL), whose Florida Congressional district includes many employees of Universal Studios, spoke favorably about the bill. Similarly, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) stated that "there is no deterrent value now" resulting from the actions of law enforcement authorities. He added that "the government seems to be taking it not very seriously".

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) submitted a prepared statement for the hearing record. She wrote that "Online piracy is indeed a threat to America's copyright owners, and I'm glad that this Congress is taking the issue seriously." However, she added that "I am becoming increasingly dismayed by the fact that this Subcommittee only examines digital issues from one perspective. We have had numerous hearings this year on how online piracy affects content owners."

She continued that "My point is that this Subcommittee should examine digital issues from all sides, not focus solely on how they affect copyright owners. We should look at how our laws affect the technology industry. We should examine whether or not the DMCA is chilling investment and innovation."

She then promoted her bill, HR 1066, the "Benefit Authors without Limiting Advancement or Net Consumer Expectations (BALANCE) Act of 2003". This bill adds a reference to "analog or digital transmissions" to § 107 (the fair use section) of the Copyright Act. Second, the bill creates a new § 123 in the Copyright Act that limits the basic exclusive rights of § 106. This new section allows copying of lawfully obtained copies for storage, or for use on a preferred digital media device. Third, the bill limits the enforceability of non-negotiable license terms. Fourth, the bill expands the § 109 right of sale to digital works. Fifth, the bill limits the anti circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). See, story titled "Rep. Lofgren Re-Introduces Digital Fair Use Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 618, March 6, 2003.

Witness Testimony. The Subcommittee heard testimony from four witnesses. Unlike most prior hearing on related matters, there was only one representative from any of the entertainment industries. (Maren Christensen testified on behalf of Vivendi Universal.) There were two representatives of individual creators, who testified regarding the inability of individuals to stop piracy of their works online.

Linn Skinner, an old lady who makes and sells embroidery designs, spoke of the widespread scanning and copying of her works on the internet. She testified that she has been powerless to stop the theft of her works, and that federal prosecutors have taken no action on her behalf. She endorsed HR 2517. See, prepared testimony [49 pages in PDF], most of which is documentation of online infringement embroidery designs.

Similarly, David Trust testified on behalf of individual photographers. He testified that "the costs of pursuing a copyright claim are beyond the reach of almost all photographers, giving the infringer a de facto license to steal. This is compounded by copyright registration requirements that make it nearly impossible for photographers to obtain statutory damages or attorney’s fees." See, prepared testimony.

The Subcommittee also heard from Maren Christensen of Vivendi Universal Entertainment, who recounted the recent criminal prosecution of the person who pirated its movie, The Hulk. See, prepared testimony. Finally, the Subcommittee heard from Jana Monroe, head of the FBI's Cyber Division. A main purpose of the bill is to get the FBI and the U.S. Attorneys Offices to bring more prosecutions. See, prepared testimony.

Opposition to HR 2517. The panel included no witnesses who opposed to the legislation. Most of the members of the Subcommittee who were present are cosponsors of the bill. However, one member of the CIIP Subcommittee offered criticism -- Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA). Rep. Boucher has a long history of opposing legislation that expands intellectual property rights, or provides further civil and criminal procedures for enforcement of intellectual property rights, especially those pertaining to copyright. He has also sponsored many bills to weaken the scope of intellectual property protections.

Rep. Boucher (at right) asked a series of mostly rhetorical questions to make points about the proposed legislation.

First, he said that "Section 3 of the bill directs the FBI to deter the offering by the public of unauthorized copies of copyrighted works from the internet. ... Can anyone on the panel tell me what ``unauthorized´´ means in this context? Does it mean that the consent of the owner of the copyright has not been obtained for the download. Or, is ``unauthorized´´ in this context a synonym for ``unlawful´´? There is a very substantial difference between the two.

Section 3 provides, in full, that "The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall--
  (1) develop a program to deter members of the public from committing acts of copyright infringement by -- (A) offering on the Internet copies of copyrighted works, or (B) making copies of copyrighted works from the Internet, without the authorization of the copyright owners; and
  (2) facilitate the sharing among law enforcement agencies, Internet service providers, and copyright owners of information concerning activities described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1).
  The program under paragraph (1) shall include issuing appropriate warnings to individuals engaged in an activity described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) that they may be subject to criminal prosecution."

Rep. Boucher asked Christensen, the industry witness, if her interpretation is that "when the word ``unauthorized´´ is used here, your interpretation is that it really means ``unlawful´´? Meaning that the download does constitute an infringement?"

She stated that "I think the download has to constitute an infringement."

Rep. Boucher continued that "If someone is downloading for the exercise, for example, of their fair use rights to excerpt a section from something they see on the internet that is copyrighted, that would be conduct that the FBI should be deterring? That is unauthorized in the sense that the copyright owner has not given his direct permission to download that excerpt, but your opinion would be that in that particular instance the FBI should not deter? Is that stated correctly?

Christensen stated that "in the context of this bill, when you are talking about file trading on a public peer to peer network, you are almost never going to find an instance in which it is fair use to upload somebody's property onto that network."

Rep. Boucher added that "I am not suggesting that we alter the definition of fair use here, or that we expand it into new areas. What I am saying is that when something is unequivocally a fair use application, it would not be your intent that this language be used in order to deter the downloading of that." He also asked "Would you agree that we should change the language here from ``unauthorized´´, which is ambiguous, in its interpretation, at least, essentially, in the minds of some, to the simple word ``unlawful´´?"

Christensen said "I don't think it is necessary Congressman."

Rep. Boucher next addressed the bill public education provisions. He said that "I am concerned also by the notion that we are going to direct the Federal Bureau of Investigation to launch a public education campaign about the niceties of copyright laws. And, I am just wondering, and I would ask Ms. Monroe this question, will the agents, or the individuals at the Bureau responsible for fashioning this public education campaign include material on the fair use rights of consumers, and the devote substantial effort and volume of the communication to that to make sure that those rights are also fairly communicated."

Monroe, the FBI witness, responded that "At this point I am not permitted to testify on the merits of any legislation."

Finally, Rep. Boucher addressed the resources of the FBI. He said that "I see no authorization in this legislation for additional money. And so presumably, this bill anticipates that you will carry out the new responsibilities of mounting an education campaign, assigning agents under section 4, mounting this deterrence program under section 3, with your existing resources, and existing personnel. Do you have sufficient existing resources and personnel to undertake all of these responsibilities without any new dollars from the Congress?" He cut off the FBI witness from answering.

7/16. The House International Relations Committee held a hearing titled "Intellectual Property Crimes: Are Proceeds From Counterfeited Goods Funding Terrorism?"

Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL), the Chairman of the Committee, wrote in his opening statement that "the counterfeit item you purchase from a street vendor or on the Internet may be helping to finance terrorism".

Rep. Hyde (at right) added that "Traditionally, intellectual property crimes and terrorism have been considered separately -- much as drug trafficking and terrorism were considered until recently. Law enforcement and the intelligence community have been telling us that a growing concern is the convergence of different types of illicit activities in order to further the gains of clandestine activities and operations."

Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the Committee, wrote in his opening statement that "millions of Americans, through buying counterfeiting goods, have inadvertently made contributions to terrorist organizations connected to these activities." He continued that "We are, however, in a new world, where terrorists act globally and use creative ways to finance and conduct their evil operations. Terrorist groups are behaving much like international crime syndicates, developing increasingly sophisticated financial infrastructures to generate dependable revenue sources. There are disturbing reports, many fully confirmed, that terrorist groups as HAMAS and Hezbollah and their sympathizers are using Intellectual Property crimes -- selling pirated software, DVDs, and other products -- to generate funds."

Ronald Noble, Secretary General of Interpol stated in his prepared testimony that "Interpol is sounding the alarm that Intellectual Property Crime is becoming the preferred method of funding for a number of terrorist groups. There are enough examples now of the funding of terrorist groups in this way for us to worry about the threat to public safety. We must take preventative measures now." He addressed examples involving Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Chechen separatists, Al Qaeda and Hizbullah.

Asa Hutchinson, Under Secretary for the Border and Transportation Security Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), testified regarding the intellectual property crimes related activities of the DHS's Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE) and the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (BCBP).

He wrote in his prepared testimony that "IPR violations have grown in both magnitude and complexity. BICE investigations have shown that organized criminal groups are involved in trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy. Criminals use the proceeds from the sale of counterfeit and pirated goods to finance a variety of legitimate and/or criminal enterprises." However, he also testified that "Neither BICE nor BCBP have established a direct link between profits from the sale of counterfeit merchandise and specific terrorist acts."

See also, prepared testimony of Timothy Trainer (International AntiCounterfeiting Coaltion), Iain Grant (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) [9 pages in PDF], and Larry Johnson (Berg Associates) [8 pages in PDF].

7/17. The Senate Commerce Committee approved S 1395, the "Technology Administration Authorization Act of 2003", with two amendments, one of which adds language authorizing funding for the Advanced Technology Program (ATP).

The bill authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 2004 through 2008 for the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Technology Administration (TA), which includes the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which accounts for the bulk of the authorization, the Office of Technology Policy (OTP), and Office of Space Commercialization (OSC).

The Committee approved one amendment that increases the authorization levels for construction and maintenance of facilities of the NIST.

The Committee approved a second amendment that adds to the bill an authorization for appropriations for the ATP. The Bush administration has proposed eliminating the ATP. See, story titled "Administration Releases Commerce Department Budget Estimates" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 597, February 4, 2003.

This bill does not cover other technology related entities at the DOC, such as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS/BXA).

7/17. The House Ways and Means Committee approved HR 2739 [PDF], the "United States Singapore Free Trade Implementation Act", by a vote of 32-5, without amendment. It also approved HR 2738 [PDF], the "United States Chile Free Trade Implementation Act", by a vote of 33-5, without amendment. The House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over the visa provisions of the bills, approved the bills on July 16.

These bills still require approval by the full House. Rep. Bill Thomas (R-CA), the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, stated that "It is my hope to bring the Singapore and Chile agreements to the House floor for a vote next week".

These are the first two free trade agreements to be considered by the Congress since the Congress gave the President trade promotion authority, which gives the President authority to negotiate free trade agreements that the Congress can then either approve or reject, but not amend.

Also on July 17, the Senate Finance Committee unanimously approved legislation implementing the U.S. Chile Free Trade Agreement (S 1416) and the U.S. Singapore Free Trade Agreement (S 1417). The Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over the visa provisions, also approved the bills on July 17. These bills still require approval by the full Senate. The Senate Finance Committee issued a release which states the Senate consideration is "expected as early as next week".

On July 14, The Cato Institute released a paper [16 pages in PDF] titled "Free Trade Agreements: Steppingstones to a More Open World". This paper examines the merits of negotiating free trade agreements. This paper concludes that "On balance, the bilateral and regional agreements proposed by the Bush administration would further our national interests. If crafted properly, those agreements would strengthen the U.S. economy by injecting new import competition into domestic markets and opening markets abroad more widely to U.S. exports. More important, they would encourage economic reform abroad and cement economic and foreign policy ties between the United States and key allies."

However, the paper also cautions that "Even though FTAs by definition result in lower trade barriers between member countries, they do not necessarily result in economic gains for all members or the world as a whole." That is, "customs unions can promote new trade among members, but they can also divert trade from more efficient producers outside the agreement." The paper, which was written by Daniel Griswold of Cato, elaborates that "If signed with a low-cost foreign producer, an agreement can result in trade creation by allowing the low-cost producer to enter the domestic market tariff free, reducing domestic prices, and displacing higher-cost domestic producers. But if signed with a relatively high-cost foreign producer, an agreement can result merely in trade diversion by allowing the higher-cost importer to displace lower-cost foreign importers simply because producers in the new FTA partner can import tariff free."

7/17. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) approved S 1250, the "Enhanced 911 Emergency Communications Act of 2003 ", by unanimous voice vote, without amendment.

The bill is sponsored by Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT), who is a member of the SCC, and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY). Sen. Burns (at right) stated that "It has been clear since September 11th that improving the overall safety of our country is something we need to do. We must ensure that first responders have the ability to communicate in real time and get their jobs done during an emergency, and our E9-1-1 bill will help do just that."

The bill would require the head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to create an Emergency Communications Task Force to facilitate coordination between federal, state, and local communications systems.

The bill also would authorize the appropriation of $500 Million per year for grants, to be administered by the NTIA, to enhance emergency communications services. The bill would require the NTIA to give preference to applicants who "(1) coordinate their applications with the needs of their public safety answering points; and (2) integrate public and commercial communications services involved in the construction, delivery, and improvement of emergency communications, including 911 services."

The bill also addresses diversion of E911 fees. It would also require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to review twice a year fees charged to customers for enhancing 911 services. States would be required to certify that no E911 fees are being used for other purposes. The FCC would be required to notify Congress of states that divert E911 funds. Finally, the NTIA would be required to withhold grant funds to states that are found by the FCC to divert E911 funds.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM.

11:00 AM. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and other organizations will host a telephone press conference on spam legislation. To participate, call 512 225-3050, and enter 65889#.

RESCHEDULED TO JULY 22. 9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on several pending judicial nominations: Steven Colloton (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit), Henry Floyd (District of South Carolina), Brent McKnight (Western District of North Carolina), David Proctor (Northern District of Alabama). The hearing will also include the nomination of Rene Acosta to be an Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Civil Rights Division. Press contact: Margarita Tapia at 202 224-5225. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding its proposed consent agreement with Guess?, Inc. and Guess.com, Inc. (Guess) pertaining to the FTC's allegations of false or misleading representations Guess made to consumers about the security of personal information collected online through www.guess.com, Guess' online store. See, notice in the Federal Register, June 24, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 121, at Pages 37496 - 37498.

10:00 AM. Mozelle Thompson (FTC Commissioner), Jana Monroe (Assistant Director, FBI Cyber Division), Dave Baker (EarthLink), and Linda Golodner (National Consumers League) will speak regarding "phisher site" fraud. This is an internet scam in which criminals send spam that requests recipients to visit web sites that imitate the web sites of legitimate businesses, but then request personal information, which is in turn used for identity theft and other crimes. Press contact: Carla Shaw (EarthLink) at 404 748-7436. Location: Zenger Room, National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor, Washington DC.

3:00 PM. The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "The Regulatory Status of Broadband Services: Information Services, Common Carriage, or Something in Between?" See, notice. The hearing will be webcast. Press contact: Ken Johnson or Jon Tripp at 202 225-5735. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) pertaining to the possibility of incorporating receiver performance specifications into the FCC's spectrum policy. This NOI follows the recommendations of the FCC's Spectrum Policy Task Force (SPTF) report [PDF] of November 15, 2002. See, story titled "FCC Announces NOI Re Receiver Performance Standards" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 624, March 17, 2003. See also, notice in the Federal Register, May 5, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 86, at Pages 23677 - 23686. This is ET Docket No. 03-65, FCC 03-54. For more information, contact Hugh Van Tuyl at the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) at 202 418-7506 or hvantuyl@fcc.gov.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in response to its notice in the Federal Register requesting public comments regarding changes needed to implement a Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) style Unity of Invention standard in the U.S. See, Federal Register, May 20, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 97, at Pages 27536 - 27539. For more information, contact Robert Clarke at 703 305-9177 or robert.clarke@uspto.gov.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking, released on April 30, 2003, regarding changes to its rules implementing the FCCs policy to carry forward unused funds from the schools and libraries universal support mechanism (aka e-rate subsidies) in subsequent funding years. See, notice in the Federal Register, June 20, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 119, at Pages 36961 - 36967.

10:00 AM. The House Science Committee will meet to mark up several bills, including HR 2183, the "Minority Serving Institution Digital and Wireless Technology Opportunity Act of 2003". Press contact: Heidi Tringe at 202 225-4275. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

10:00 - 11:30 AM. The Intellectual Property Law Section of the D.C. Bar Association will host a visit to the Copyright Office. Prices vary. For more information, call 202 626-3463. Location: Copyright Office, Room 401, Madison Building, First Street and Independence Avenue, SE.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on several pending judicial nominations: Steven Colloton (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit), Henry Floyd (District of South Carolina), Brent McKnight (Western District of North Carolina), David Proctor (Northern District of Alabama). The hearing may also include the nomination of Rene Acosta to be an Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Civil Rights Division. Press contact: Margarita Tapia at 202 224-5225. This Committee frequently changes the time and agenda of its meetings without notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

DATE & TIME CHANGE. 2:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing "Bankruptcy and Competition Issues in relation to the WorldCom Case". Press contact: Margarita Tapia at 202 224-5225. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

3:00 PM. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will hold a public briefing on its creation of a second level domain within the .us country code domain that is restricted to material that is not harmful to minors. This is required by the Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002, HR 3833 in the 107th Congress, Public Law No. 107-317. This briefing will provide information about the domain, instructions about registering a kids.us address, content guidelines and restrictions, and an overview of the content review process. See, NTIA notice, and notice in the Federal Register, July 17, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 137, at Pages 42401 - 42402. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

9:00 AM. Day one of a two day meeting to the Bureau of Industry and Security's (Bureau of Export Administration) Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee. Part of the meeting will be closed to the public. The agenda includes discussion of export controls on signal generators and arbitrary waveform generators, discussion of developments in micro-processors technology and export controls, discussion of proposal on encryption in network management, election of a new chairman, and secret matters. See, notice in the Federal Register, July 8, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 130, at Pages 40626 - 40627. Location: Room 3884, Hoover Building, 14th St. between Pennsylvania Ave. and Constitution Ave., NW.

9:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold an executive business meeting. Press contact: Margarita Tapia at 202 224-5225. This Committee frequently changes the time and agenda of its meetings without notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

9:30 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing "to examine public interest and localism". Press contact: Rebecca Hanks (McCain) 202 224-2670 or Andy Davis (Hollings) at 202 224-6654. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

2:00 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the nominations of Rene Acosta to be an Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Civil Rights Division, and Daniel Bryant to be an Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Office of Legal Policy. Press contact: Margarita Tapia at 202 224-5225. This Committee frequently changes the time and agenda of its meetings without notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing "to examine privacy and digital rights management". Press contact: Rebecca Hanks (McCain) 202 224-2670 or Andy Davis (Hollings) at 202 224-6654. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

9:00 AM. Day two of a two day meeting to the Bureau of Industry and Security's (Bureau of Export Administration) Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee. Part of the meeting will be closed to the public. The agenda includes discussion of export controls on signal generators and arbitrary waveform generators, discussion of developments in micro-processors technology and export controls, discussion of proposal on encryption in network management, election of a new chairman, and secret matters. See, notice in the Federal Register, July 8, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 130, at Pages 40626 - 40627. Location: Room 3884, Hoover Building, 14th St. between Pennsylvania Ave. and Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Armed Services Committee's (HASC) Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee will hold a hearing titled "Cyber Terrorism: The New Asymmetric Threat". The witnesses will be Eugene Spafford (Purdue University), Robert Lentz (Information Assurance, Department of Defense), and Robert Dacey (General Accounting Office). Location: Room 2118, Rayburn Building.

1:45 - 3:30 PM. The Intellectual Property Law Section of the D.C. Bar Association will host a visit to the Copyright Office. Prices vary. For more information, call 202 626-3463. Location: Copyright Office, Room 401, Madison Building, First Street and Independence Avenue, SE.

Status conference in U.S. v. Microsoft, No. 98-1232.

7/17. The Senate Commerce Committee approved the nomination of Pamela Harbour to be a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by a voice vote. The nomination still requires approval by the full Senate.

7/17. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released an Order, which it adopted on July 14, that adopts a consent decree terminating an Enforcement Bureau investigation into possible violations by T-Mobile USA of the enhanced 911 (E911) Phase II provisions of Section 20.18 of the FCC rules with respect to its GSM network and the FCC Order granting T-Mobile a waiver of the E911 Phase II rules for its GSM network. The order also fines T-Mobile $1.1 Million. The order states that "T-Mobile shall make its voluntary contribution to the United States Treasury". See, FCC release.

7/17. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released an Order, which it adopted on July 15, that adopts a consent decree terminating Enforcement Bureau investigations into whether BellSouth provided, marketed or sold in-region, interLATA services prior to FCC approval of § 271 applications, and whether BellSouth violated the non-discrimination requirements of §§ 271 or 272 by improperly rejecting competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) local service requests. See, FCC release. BellSouth stated in a release that "The incidents were few in number, were inadvertent, were discovered by BellSouth, were reported to the FCC by BellSouth, and were stopped by BellSouth immediately upon discovery."

7/18. The Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing that it will notify applicants for FY 2003 grants for the provision of broadband transmission service in rural areas by September 15, 2003 of its award of grants. See, Federal Register, July 18, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 138, at Page 42680.