10/23. The Department of Justice (DOJ), seven states, and the District of Columbia filed a complaint [28 pages in PDF] in U.S. District Court (DC) against First Data Corporation and Concord EFS, Inc., alleging that First Data's planned acquisition of Concord would violate Section 7 of the Clayton Act.

Hewitt Pate (at right), the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, stated in a release that "If allowed to proceed, this merger of two of the three largest PIN debit networks will lead to higher prices to merchants, forcing them to pass on those price increases to many consumers throughout the United States in the form of higher prices for general merchandise ... In filing this lawsuit, the Department is seeking to preserve the benefits to American consumers of competition among PIN debit networks."

The complaint alleges that point of sale (POS) personal identification number (PIN) networks are "telecommunications and payment infrastructure that connects merchants to consumers' demand deposit accounts at banks. These networks enable consumers to purchase goods and services from merchants through PIN debit transactions by swiping their bank card at a merchant's terminal and entering a Personal Identification Number, or PIN. Within seconds, the purchase amount is debited from the customer's bank account and transferred to the retailer's bank."

It further alleges that "Concord operates STAR, the nation's largest PIN debit network. STAR currently handles approximately half of all PIN debit transactions in the United States. First Data owns a controlling interest in NYCE, the nation's third-largest PIN debit network."

"First Data's acquisition of Concord would substantially reduce competition among the PIN debit networks for retail transactions, in violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. § 18." And ultimately, the complaint alleges, this would lead to higher prices for consumers.

The complaint requests that "the proposed acquisition be adjudged to violate Section 7 of the Clayton Act" and that "the Defendants be permanently enjoined and restrained" from carrying out their April 1, 2003 merger agreement.

First Data issued a release in which it stated that the two companies "have just been notified that the U.S. Department of Justice intends to file a lawsuit challenging the proposed merger of the two companies. The companies will make further comment upon receipt of the formal complaint."

This case is United States of American, et al., v. First Data Corporation and Concord EFS, Inc., D.C. No. 1:03CV02169, Judge Rosemary Collyer presiding.

10/22. U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Zoellick held a press conference in Beijing, China in which he discussed trade related intellectual property and communications issues. See, transcript [9 pages in PDF].

Counterfeiting. Zoellick (at right) first addressed counterfeiting in the People's Republic of China. He stated that "Counterfeiting is one of the topics I discussed both with Executive Vice Minister Yu when I was in Bangkok, and I also talked about it with the vice premier, and I was pleased to learn that she has assumed responsibility for an overall effort in China dealing with both intellectual property rights and counterfeiting. One of the points that I emphasized, because I received a very useful report on this from a special trade advisory commission we have in the United States, is the effect of counterfeiting on health and safety in China. For example, pharmaceuticals that are counterfeit, first may not provide the benefits, but second could actually be dangerous for people. Or, the question of shatterproof glass -- we've learned that there were problems in terms of autos that are supposed to have shatterproof glass, and indeed the glass isn't shatterproof."

He also stated that "One of the other insights that I tried to provide was that when I was at the APEC [Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation] meeting I also met with John Tsang, who's the new Commerce Secretary in Hong Kong, who used to be the customs commissioner. As you may know, in the general intellectual property area, Hong Kong has really provided a useful model about how to try to improve some of the intellectual property issues, still discussing some of the counterfeit topics. So, frankly I mentioned this is something that Beijing, the United States but also Hong Kong may be able to learn some lessons on how progress can be made based on the Hong Kong experience."

Intellectual Property Piracy. Zoellick also discussed piracy. He said that "you have piracy all around the world. So it's no surprise that people would try to take advantage of this. What we focused on, and I think, at least I've received receptivity on this, is that if China wants to develop knowledge industries, it has its own interest in protecting intellectual property. The ambassador is having a conference here on November 18th, which I think is an excellent idea, where you're bringing together Chinese and American CEOs and senior executives in the knowledge industries, and talk about the importance of protection, whether it be software or movies or videos or others. We've encouraged some of the Chinese government authorities to take part in that because, again, I think that in many areas there are win-win possibilities. In many respects the U.S. and Chinese economies have a high degree of complementarity, but we also need to have fairness in areas where the United States has a comparative advantage."

He continued that "really there's a combination of things: one, you have to be able to have good laws on the books; second, you need to have the investigatory power and not just eight hours a day because the shops will work at other times; and third you need some prosecutions and put some people away. If it just becomes a fine or a cost of doing business, then you're not going to be able to stop the intellectual property piracy. So the message is really twofold: one, it's in a mutual interest, and second, if you want us to keep our markets open, you have to be able to help us protect some of the product that we develop and sell."

He also stated that "In about a month, Ambassador Shiner will be returning for both an intellectual property rights dialogue that we've been pursuing, but also an additional trade dialogue with Vice-Minister Ma."

Third Generation Wireless. Finally, Zoellick discussed third generation (3G) wireless services. He said that "We talked about the critical question of technology neutrality. For example, as people develop 3-G [third generation] wireless business. Our view has been different than the European view, is rather than have one standard, allow standards to be able to compete. So, that's one form of technology. Another point obviously relates to the broader question of service industries, and those are topics that, in addition to the discussions we've had here, I believe will have some follow-up within the next three or four weeks in November."

He also said that "This is obviously an issue that Qualcomm and others have raised with us. I believe I mentioned with Executive Vice-Minister Yu the broader question, for example, on fairness related to telecom obligations. There's been some discussion in China about moving some of the services from the value-added category to basic telecom. These were services that were value-added at the time of WTO accession, and if they're moved to basic telecom, you have to have a higher capitalization requirement. That's the sort of question that raises a sense of fairness here.

And, he added, "Now there are other telecommunications issues that some of my colleagues have gotten into, and will get into in our further discussions related to the megahertz spectrum; there's another question about 450 megahertz spectrum, whether it's available for rural subscribers and others, and there's an interest here of Chinese suppliers being involved with that too."

10/23. President Bush and Australian Prime Minister John Howard held a press conference in Canberra, Australia at which Bush discussed the ongoing negotiation for a U.S. Australia free trade agreement (FTA).

Bush stated that "What I'm committed to is seeing that we can get this free trade agreement done by the end of December. That's what John and I talked about in Crawford. I think a free trade agreement with Australia would be good for America, good for American workers. I also believe that it would be good for Australia."

He added that "And the commitment we talked about was to make sure our negotiators push forward with a deal. Obviously, agriculture is an important issue, intellectual property is an important issue." See, Department of State transcript.

10/21. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV), Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) and Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR), held a press conference to announce the formation of the Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus. They will also released a "2003 International Piracy Watch List".

The caucus members stated that they will brief Congressional delegations traveling to countries with significant piracy problems, and raise piracy problems in their own discussions with foreign government officials and legislators. They will also work with the relevant executive branch agencies, including the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and Department of State. They will also hold staff and member briefings and forums on international intellectual property protection and piracy. They will also work with the committees of jurisdiction in the House and Senate on related hearings and legislation.

Rep. Goodlatte (at right) explained that the Caucus' "2003 International Piracy Watch List" is an effort to call attention to countries where piracy has reached alarming levels. The 2003 list is comprised of Brazil, the People's Republic of China, Pakistan, Russia, and Taiwan.

The USTR also maintains a "Watch List" and a "Priority Watch List". See, USTR's Special 301 2003 Report.

Sen. Biden, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stated that "intellectual property represents the single largest sector of the American economy" and that intellectual property piracy "has resulted in the loss of 100,000 American jobs". He said "This is a crime -- this is flat out theft."

Sen. Biden said that he wants the Bush administration to piracy "put higher on their agenda" when it is negotiating free trade agreements.

Sen. Smith applied the Ten Commandments to intellectual property piracy: "Thou shalt not steal." He also stated that he will insist that the Office of the USTR negotiate free trade agreements that address both substantive law, and enhanced enforcement.

James Mendenhall of the Office of the USTR was present in the audience at this event. He stated that "I can assure you that it is a very high priority." He added that he looks forward to working with the members of this caucus in the future.

In addition to the Representatives and Senators, several representatives of groups spoke at the event, including Fritz Attaway (Motion Picture Association of America), Mitch Bainwol (Recording Industry Association of America), Robert Holleyman (Business Software Alliance), and Douglas Lowenstein (Entertainment Software Association).

10/22. The Senate amended and passed S 877, the "Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pormography and Marketing Act of 2003'", also known as the "CAN-SPAM Act of 2003", by a vote of 97-0. See, Roll Call No. 404.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), the lead cosponsor of the bill, stated in the Senate that "kingpin spammers who send out emails by the millions are threatening to drown the Internet in a sea of trash. The American people want it stopped. Every single day the Senate delays, these big-time spammers, the ones who are trying to take advantage of the open and low-cost nature of the Internet, gives them another opportunity to crank up their operations to even more dizzying levels of volumes."

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) (at right), the Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, summarized the bill. He stated that it would "prohibit senders of commercial e-mail from falsifying or disguising the following: their identity; the return address or routing information of an e-mail; and the subject matters of their messages. Violations of these provisions would result in both criminal and civil penalties."

It would also "require senders of commercial e-mail to give their recipients an opportunity to opt out of receiving future messages and to honor those requests. Except for e-mail that is transactional in nature, such as purchase receipts or airlines ticket confirmations, every commercial e-mail sent over the Internet to American consumers would be required to provide this valid, working opt-out or unsubscribe mechanism."

Sen. McCain continued that it would also provide that "For unsolicited commercial e-mail, however, the bill would require more disclosures from the sender of the message, such as providing recipients with instructions on how to operate the opt-out mechanism, a valid physical address of the sender, and a clear notice in the body of the message that it is an advertisement or solicitation."

The bill would also "target many of the insidious mechanisms used by today's spammers, including e-mail harvesting, dictionary attacks, and the hijacking of consumer e-mail accounts in order to send spam."

The bill, as amended, provides for both criminal and civil penalties, with enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), state attorneys general, internet service providers, and the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The bill also contains preemption language. It provides that "This title supersedes any statute, regulation, or rule of a State or political subdivision of a State that expressly regulates the use of electronic mail to send commercial messages, except to the extent that any such statute, regulation, or rule prohibits falsity or deception in any portion of a commercial electronic mail message or information attached thereto." It also provides that "This title shall not be construed to preempt the applicability of State laws that are not specific to electronic mail, including State trespass, contract, or tort law, and other State laws to the extent that those laws relate to acts of fraud or computer crime."

The Senate approved several amendments, including one offered by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) that would require the FTC to submit a report to the Congress within six months that sets forth a plan and timetable for establishing a nationwide market do not e-mail registry. This report must include an explanation of any practical, technical, security, privacy, enforceability, or other concerns the FTC has regarding such a registry and include an explanation of how the registry would be applied with respect to children with e-mail accounts. It also provides that the FTC may establish and implement the plan, but not earlier than 9 months after the date of enactment of this act.

FTC Chairman Timothy Muris has already stated that he believes, given the lawless nature of spammers, that a do not e-mail list would not work. See, August 19, 2003 speech and story titled "Muris States Spam Debate on Capitol Hill is Veering Off On the Wrong Track" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 722, August 20, 2003.

Muris stated that "Unfortunately, the legislative debate seems to be veering off on the wrong track, exploring largely ineffective solutions. For example, a ``Do Not Spam´´ list is an intriguing idea, but it is unclear how we can make it work. Most spam is already so clearly illegitimate that the senders are no more likely to comply than with the ``ADV´´ laws they now ignore."

He added that "We are sure the National Do Not Call Registry will reduce calls significantly. There is no basis to conclude that a Do Not Spam list would be enforceable or produce any noticeable reduction in spam. If it were established, my advice to consumers would be: Don't waste the time and effort to sign up."

10/23. Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), Rep. Richard Burr (R-NC), and Rep. Paul Gillmor (R-OH) wrote a letter to Michael Powell, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the FCC's broadcast flag rule making proceeding.

They wrote that the FCC "should establish objective technical criteria by which a technology may be added to Table A as a means of blocking retransmission of HDTV broadcast programs marked with the flag, as well as clear and transparent guidelines by which submissions will be judged by the Commission."

They also wrote that the FCC should not "create a situation in which consumers find themselves with legacy devices that must be replaced in order to receive or view content marked with the broadcast flag."

All three Representatives are members of the House Commerce Committee. Rep. Boucher and Rep. Gillmor are also members of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.

The FCC adopted its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [15 pages in PDF] in its proceeding titled "In the Matter of Digital Broadcast Copy Protection" on August 8, 2002. This is MB Docket No. 02-230.

The FCC stated in its report and order containing digital plug and play cable compatibility rules (announced on September 10, 2003) that the FCC "will address Digital Broadcast Copy Protection issues in the near future." See, stories titled "FCC Adopts Digital Plug and Play Cable Compatibility Rules" and "FCC States That It Will Act On Broadcast Flag" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 737, September 11, 2003.

7:30 AM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) will host a breakfast titled "New Horizons in the Digital Migration". The speaker will be FCC Chief of Staff Bryan Tramont. The price to attend is $35.00. Register by Tuesday, October 21, 2003. See, registration page. Location: J.W. Marriott Hotel, 1331 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

8:00 AM - 3:30 PM. The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advisory Committee for Computer and Information Science and Engineering will hold a meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 22, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 183, at Page 55067. Location: NSF, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Room 1235, Arlington, VA.

9:00 AM. The U.S. District Court (DC) will hold a status conference in U.S. v. Microsoft, D.C. No. 98 cv 1232. Location: Courtroom 11, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

Deadline for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding telecommunication relay services (TRS) and speech-to-speech services for individuals with hearing and speech disabilities. This is CG Docket No. 03-123. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 25, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 164, at Pages 50993 - 50998.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. Intellectual Property Section of the D.C. Bar Association will host a CLE course titled "Transactions Involving Intellectual Property, Part II: Intellectual Property in Financings and Bankruptcy". Prices vary. For more information, call 202 626-3488. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 level.

12:00 NOON. Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) regarding countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection. Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974  requires the USTR to prepare a report. Section 182, which is codified at 19 U.S.C. § 2242, is also referred to as "Special 301". This is an out of cycle review. The USTR announced that this review will focus on Korea. However, it added that "Additional countries may also be reviewed as a result of the comments received pursuant to this notice, or as warranted by events." See, notice in the Federal Register, October 3, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 192, at Page 57503.

RESCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER 28. 2:00 PM. The House Ways and Means Committee will meet to mark up HR 2896, the "American Jobs Creation Act of 2003". This bill would, among other things, replace the FSC & ETI tax regimes that the WTO held to be illegal export subsidies. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

5:30 - 7:30 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a book forum. Charles Murray will discuss his book (due for release on October 21) titled Human Accomplishment : The Pursuit of Excellence in the Arts and Sciences, 800 B.C. to 1950. See, Amazon page. See also, AEI notice. Location: AEI, Twelfth floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

Deadline to submit nominations to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau for positions on the Board of Directors of its Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). See, FCC notice [PDF].

Deadline to submit written comments to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regarding its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding computation and allocation of the credit for increasing research activities for members of a controlled group of corporations or a group of trades or businesses under common control. The rules implement the research and development tax credit codified at 26 U.S.C. § 41. See, notice in the Federal Register, July 29, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 145, at Pages 44499 - 44506.

9:00 AM. The House Ways and Means Committee will meet to mark up HR 2896, the "American Jobs Creation Act of 2003". This bill would, among other things, replace the FSC & ETI tax regimes that the WTO held to be illegal export subsidies. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building. This mark up was previously scheduled for Monday, October 27.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the nominations of Claude Allen (to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit) and Mark Filip (to be Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois). Press contact: Margarita Tapia (Hatch) at 202 224-5225 or David Carle (Leahy) at 202 224-4242. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute will host a book forum. Charles Murray will discuss his book (due for release on October 21) titled Human Accomplishment: The Pursuit of Excellence in the Arts and Sciences, 800 B.C. to 1950. See, Amazon page. Lunch will follow the program. Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The Intellectual Property and International Law sections of the D.C. Bar Association will host a CLE course titled "Practical Guide to U.S. Implementation of the Madrid Protocol". Prices vary. For more information, call 202 626-3488. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 level.

Deadline to submit comments to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regarding its proposal "to issue new guidance to realize the benefits of meaningful peer review of the most important science disseminated by the federal government regarding regulatory topics." See, OMB document [14 pages in PDF] titled "Peer Review and Information Quality".

10:00 AM - 5:30 PM. Day one of a two day event hosted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) titled "E911 Coordination Initiative". The event will address legal, regulatory, technical, and financial issues that arise in the implementation of wireless enhanced 911 services. See, letter [PDF] from Chairman Powell, and FCC release [PDF]. The event will be webcast. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Department of State's (DOS) Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy (ACICIP) will meet. Ambassador David Gross, U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy, is scheduled to attend. The agenda includes "communications policy issues, future directions of the Committee's work, discussion regarding countries of particular interest to the ACICIP, preparations for the World Summit on the Information Society, and consultation regarding the most important emerging technologies". See, notice in the Federal Register, October 10, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 197, at Page 58744. Location: Room 1107, Harry S. Truman Building, 2201 C Street, NW.

12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Online Communications Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch on wireline broadband issues. The speaker will be Jessica Rosenworcel, Legal Advisor to FCC Commissioner Michael Copps. RSVP to heidi@fcba.org. Location: Cole Raywid & Braverman, 1919 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Suite 200.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Current Issues in Broadband Deployment". The speakers will include Kyle Dixon, Deputy Media Bureau Chief and Special Counsel to the Chairman on Broadband Policy. Location: Wilkinson Barker & Knauer, 2300 N Street, NW, Suite 700.

2:00 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of James Comey to be Deputy Attorney General. Press contact: Margarita Tapia (Hatch) at 202 224-5225 or David Carle (Leahy) at 202 224-4242. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

POSTPONED. 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will host a conference titled "21st Century Criminal Networks: Intellectual Property Theft and Counterfeiting". See, notice. Location: U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 1615 H. Street, NW.

9:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a pair of panel discussions titled "Class Action Reform: The Why and the Who". The speakers will be Richard Epstein (University of Chicago), David Rosenberg (Harvard), Judge Lee Rosenthal, Todd Zywicki (FTC), John Beisner (O’Melveny & Myers), Mark Perry (Gibson Dunn & Crutcher). See, AEI notice. Press contact: Veronique Rodman at 202 862-4871 or vrodman@aei.org. Location: AEI, Twelfth floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

9:15 AM - 5:15 PM. Day two of a two day event hosted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) titled "E911 Coordination Initiative". The event will address legal, regulatory, technical, and financial issues that arise in the implementation of wireless enhanced 911 services. See, letter [PDF] from Chairman Powell, and FCC release [PDF]. The event will be webcast. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on the "preservation and advancement of universal service, including the impact of competition and the emergence of new technologies and services". Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) will preside. Michael Powell, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, will testify. Press contact: Rebecca Hanks (McCain) at 202 224-2670 or Andy Davis (Hollings) at 202 224-6654. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection will hold a hearing titled "E-Commerce: The Case of Online Wine Sales and Direct Shipment". Press contact: Ken Johnson or Jon Tripp at 202 225-5735. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The House Science Committee's Subcommittee on Research will hold a hearing titled "Implementation of the Math Science Partnership Program: Views from the Field". Committee contacts: Kara Haas (Republican) and Jim Wilson (Democrat). Location: Room 2325, Rayburn Building.

1:30 - 3:30 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "The Patriot Act and Civil Liberties: Too Far or Not Far Enough?" The speakers will be Bob Barr (American Conservative Union), Alice Fisher (Latham & Watkins), and John Yoo (AEI). See, notice. Press contact: Veronique Rodman at 202 862-4871 or vrodman@aei.org. Location: Twelfth floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

2:00 PM. The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing titled "United States - China Economic Relations and China's Role in the Global Economy". See, notice. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

Day one of a three day convention of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA). Location: Grand Hyatt Washington.

The Cato Institute will host a conference titled "Telecom and Broadband Policy: After the Market Meltdown".

9:00 AM. The House Ways and Means Committee will continue its hearing titled "United States -- China Economic Relations and China's Role in the Global Economy". See, notice. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

Deadline for the telemarketers to submit their brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals (10thCir) in FTC v. Mainstream Marketing Service, No. 03-1429. This is the telemarketers' constitutional challenge to the FTC's do not call registry. See, October 8, 2003 order [24 pages in PDF] staying the District Court's opinion, and setting an expedited schedule.

10/23. President Bush announced his intent to nominate James Loy (at right) to be Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. He is currently Administrator for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). He was previously Under Secretary of Transportation for Security. Previously, he was Commandant of the Coast Guard and Coast Guard Chief of Staff. See, White House release.

10/23. President Bush nominated Neil Vincent Wake to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. See, White House release.

10/23. John Kneuer was named Counselor to Acting Assistant Secretary Michael Gallagher, the head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), effective October 27. Kneuer is currently an associate in the Washington DC office of  the law firm of Piper Rudnick. He previously worked as an attorney advisor in the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. See, NTIA release.

10/24. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Standards (BIS), which is also known as the Bureau of Export Administration (BXA), published a notice in the Federal Register requesting public comment regarding its proposal to amend its rules to "expand the availability of license exceptions for exports and reexports of computer technology and software, and microprocessor technology on the Commerce Control List (CCL) of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) under Export Classification Control Numbers (ECCNs) 3E002, 4D001 and 4E001. These ECCNs control technology and software that can be used for the development, production, or use of computers, and development and production of microprocessors." Comments are due by November 24, 2003. See, Federal Register, October 24, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 206, at Pages 60891-60895.

10/23. The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) published a notice in the Federal Register requesting public comments regarding the adequacy of its preparation process for the International Telecommunications Union's (ITU) World Radiocommunication Conferences (WRC). The next WRC is in 2007. Comments are due by November 24, 2003. See, Federal Register, October 23, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 205, at Pages 60646-60648.

10/23. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it is "temporarily postponing those provisions of the Trademark Rules of Practice that require electronic transmission to the USPTO of applications for international registration, responses to irregularity notices, and subsequent designations submitted pursuant to the Madrid
Protocol." It added that "The applicability date for regulations at 37 CFR 2.190(a), 2.198(a)(1), 7.7(a) and (b), 7.11(a) introductory text and (a)(9), 7.14(e), 7.21(b) introductory text and (b)(7) is suspended from November 2, 2003, to January 2, 2004." See, notice in the Federal Register, October 24, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 206, at Pages 60850-60851.

10/23. President Bush released a statement regarding the Senate's rejection of a motion to invoke cloture on S 1751, the "Class Action Fairness Act of 2003", by a vote of 59-39, on October 22, 2003. He stated that "Yesterday, thirty-nine Members of the U.S. Senate blocked an up or down vote on a bill that would reduce frivolous lawsuits and the burden they place on our economy. The Class Action Fairness Act would protect the legal rights of all citizens while ensuring that court awards and settlements go to those who are wrongfully injured rather than to a few wealthy trial lawyers. Class action reform will allow businesses and their employees to go back to the business of growing our economy and creating jobs. It was passed by the House and is favored by a large, bi-partisan majority in the Senate. Those who are serious about bringing an end to frivolous lawsuits in this Nation and protecting the rights of those who are wrongfully injured should strongly support this legislation. I am eager to sign it, our economy needs it, and I urge those Senators who stand in the way to let the will of the people be heard." See also, story titled "Senate Rejects Class Action Fairness Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 764, October 23, 2003.

10/23. Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans announced that he will visit the People's Republic of China to discuss trade issues. The Department of Commerce (DOC) issued a release that states that the issues that he will discuss include "inadequate access to China’s markets; rampant piracy of intellectual property in China; forced transfer of technology from firms launching joint ventures in China; trade barriers; and capital markets that are largely insulated from free-market pressures". See, DOC release.

10/23. The Department of Commerce (DOC) and the Department of Education announced the formation of an entity titled the "Interagency Working Group on Advanced Technologies for Education and Training". The DOC and DOE stated that this group will "foster the development, application and deployment of advanced technologies in education and training in the United States". See, release.