11/17. A group of groups released a paper titled "Position Statement on the Use of RFID on Consumer Products". It argues that "Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an item-tagging technology with profound societal implications. Used improperly, RFID has the potential to jeopardize consumer privacy, reduce or eliminate purchasing anonymity, and threaten civil liberties."

The paper argues that "First, RFID must undergo a formal technology assessment, and RFID tags should not be affixed to individual consumer products until such assessment takes place. Second, RFID implementation must be guided by Principles of Fair Information Practice. Third, certain uses of RFID should be flatly prohibited."

Consumer food and beverage producers, and grocers and other retailers, plan to introduce RFID tags as a means to reduce the cost, and improve the accuracy, of inventory and distribution management. The technology offers the promise of lower prices for consumers.

Nevertheless, the just released report argues that there are several threats to consumer privacy and civil liberties. First, "RFID tags can be embedded into/onto objects and documents without the knowledge of the individual who obtains those items. As radio waves travel easily and silently through fabric, plastic, and other materials, it is possible to read RFID tags sewn into clothing or affixed to objects contained in purses, shopping bags, suitcases, and more."

Second, the report states, "RFID deployment requires the creation of massive databases containing unique tag data. These records could be linked with personal identifying data, especially as computer memory and processing capacities expand."

Moreover, "Tags can be read from a distance, not restricted to line of sight, by readers that can be incorporated invisibly into nearly any environment where human beings or items congregate. RFID readers have already been experimentally embedded into floor tiles, woven into carpeting and floor mats, hidden in doorways, and seamlessly incorporated into retail shelving and counters, making it virtually impossible for a consumer to know when or if he or she was being ``scanned.´´"

The report also asserts that "If personal identity were linked with unique RFID tag numbers, individuals could be profiled and tracked without their knowledge or consent. For example, a tag embedded in a shoe could serve as a de facto identifier for the person wearing it."

The report also mentions that "Industry proponents argue that when RFID applications are confined to closed systems, the data is only accessible to those within the system and those with a government mandate (perhaps via legislation such as the Communications Access to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA))." (Parentheses in original.)

CALEA, as written, and as implemented by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules, applies to certain communications technologies, but not RFID tags.

The paper was released at an event titled "RFID Privacy Workshop" which was held on November 15 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. See, workshop agenda, which contains hyperlinks to some of the participants' presentations.

The paper was issued or endorsed by, among others, the Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (CASPIAN), Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). For more information, see the EPIC's RFID web page.

Jim Harper, the editor of Privacilla.org, stated in a release that "The report is as much science fantasy as legitimate privacy concern".

He continued that "A good imagination can come up with concerns about RFID tags, but concerns about commercial use of RFID tags fall apart under real-world analysis ... Under any scenario, there just isn't going to be post-sale data-collection about the movement of canned peaches."

He also wrote that "This is important because bogus anti-RFID hype can really harm consumers ... The sooner this technology can lower the price of baby formula and diapers, the better."

"Each concern listed in the report is premised on RFID tags being linked to particular people at the point of sale. This could be done by linking check payments, credit cards, and bank cards to purchases. The same potential exists today with the bar codes on nearly every consumer product today", wrote Harper. "If it worries consumers, they'll carry cash".

11/17. President Bush wrote a statement to the Senate urging that it ratify the Council of Europe (COE) Convention on Cybercrime. The U.S. signed the Convention November 23, 2001 in Budapest, Hungary.

Bush wrote that "The United States, in its capacity as an observer at the Council of Europe, participated actively in the elaboration of the Convention, which is the only multilateral treaty to address the problems of computer-related crime and electronic evidence gathering."

He continued that "The Convention promises to be an effective tool in the global effort to combat computer-related crime. It requires Parties to criminalize, if they have not already done so, certain conduct that is committed through, against, or related to computer systems. Such substantive crimes include offenses against the ``confidentiality, integrity and availability´´ of computer data and systems, as well as using computer systems to engage in conduct that would be criminal if committed outside the cyber-realm, i.e., forgery, fraud, child pormography, and certain copyright-related offenses. The Convention also requires Parties to have the ability to investigate computer-related crime effectively and to obtain electronic evidence in all types of criminal investigations and proceedings.

He also stated that "By providing for broad international cooperation in the form of extradition and mutual legal assistance, the Cybercrime Convention would remove or minimize legal obstacles to inter-national cooperation that delay or endanger U.S. investigations and prosecutions of computer-related crime. As such, it would help deny ``safe havens´´ to criminals, including terrorists, who can cause damage to U.S. interests from abroad using computer systems. At the same time, the Convention contains safeguards that protect civil liberties and other legitimate interests."

Bush recommended "that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to the Cybercrime Convention, and that it give its advice and consent to ratification, subject to the reservations, declarations, and understanding described in the accompanying report of the Department of State."

See, the Department of Justice's (DOJ) summary of the Convention, the Center for Democracy and Technology's (CDT) international cyber crime web page, and Privacy International's cyber crime web page.

See also, TLJ story titled "COE Cyber Crime Treaty Debated", December 11, 2000; story titled "Bush Administration Releases Final Cyber Security Plan" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 605, February 17, 2003; and story titled "State Department Official Addresses International Cyber Security" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 737, September 11, 2003.

11/15. Attorney General John Ashcroft gave a speech to the Federalist Society in Washington DC in which he defended the PATRIOT Act.

Ashcroft (at right) stated that "Throughout the Patriot Act, tools provided to fight terrorism require that the same predication be established before a federal judge as with similar tools provided to fight other crime."

"In addition, the Patriot Act includes yet another layer of judicial scrutiny by providing a civil remedy in the event of abuse. Section 223 of the Patriot Act allows citizens to seek monetary damages for willful violations of the Patriot Act. This civil remedy serves as a further deterrent against infringement upon individual liberties", said Ashcroft. "Given our overly litigious society, you are probably wondering how many such civil cases have been filed to date. It is a figure as astronomical as the library searches. Zero."

"There is a simple reason for this", he said; "the Patriot has not been used to infringe upon individual liberty."

He concluded that "Many of you have heard the hue and cry from critics of the Patriot Act who allege that liberty has been eroded. But more telling is what you have not heard. You have not heard of one single case in which a judge has found an abuse of the Patriot Act because, again, there have been no abuses."

The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on November 18, 2003, to "examine America after the 9/11 terrorist attacks". The scheduled witnesses include Viet Dinh, who is now a professor at Georgetown University Law Center, but who was previously Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Office of Legal Policy. He was active in drafting the PATRIOT Act. The witness list also includes critics of the PATRIOT Act, and the Department of Justice's implementation of the Act.

Attorney General Ashcroft is not a scheduled witness. Nor did he testify at the Committee's previous hearing that addressed the PATRIOT Act. See, story titled "Senate Committee Holds Hearing on PATRIOT Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 763, October 22, 2003. While Ashcroft has not appeared before either the House or Senate Judiciary Committees recently, he has given several unannounced speeches to friendly audiences.

11/18. In many of the public policy debates in Washington DC proponents of various positions assert that their proposals will further innovation, invention, and creation. The arguments often continue that this, in turn, will create jobs, wealth, prosperity, and now, homeland security. Claims of this nature are not limited to debates over patent, copyright, and other intellectual property laws. They are central to debates over government involvement in research and development, funding for universities, education policy, immigration policy, taxation, and communications policy.

Innovation is invoked in many different debates, often by competing interests advocating vastly different policies. Also, while the arguments abound, they are usually merely that -- arguments. Few proponents in debates over innovation and creation offer empirically based analysis, case stories or histories to support their propositions. Often, the phrase "promote innovation" is used without any explanation or analysis.

This article is the first of a series of articles to be published in the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert over the next two weeks that address arguments regarding the nature, causes and consequences of innovation. Most of the arguments addressed in this series have been presented in the last month in books, reports, and speeches.

First, there is an article, which is also in this issue, about President Bush's November 6 speech advocating freedom and democracy in the Middle East. In explaining his argument, he articulated his theory that freedom and liberty lead to creativity, innovation and technological progress, which in turn, lead to social progress, wealth and prosperity.

Two articles are reviews of books that examine innovation over the broad sweep of history. First, Charles Murray wrote a book that attempts a quantification of innovation, or human accomplishment, over the last two millennia. He also conducts analysis of his statistics. Finally, he diverts into a non-empirical, polemic argument that innovation is on the decline; he offers a conservative explanation for this hypothesis.

Second, Paul Johnson wrote a book that purports to be a review of the history of art. While he looks a statues and paintings, he also uses the term art much the way the patent law uses the terms "useful arts" or "prior art". Thus, in this book, Johan Gutenberg created "art" when he devised a method for pressing ink into paper using movable metal type. The book is laced with insight about what causes, or inhibits, the creation of great art, and the invention of new technologies.

This series of articles then examines a series of recent speeches and reports from various executive branch entities that reflect the diversity of viewpoints by policy makers at these agencies. Views from the Department of Commerce (DOC), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are covered. Finally, some private sector viewpoints are covered.

This series of articles covers just some of the recent books, speeches and reports that address innovation. While there are a dozen articles in the series, this series only scratches the surface of what has been written or said. The goal here is to collect and summarize various important viewpoints, and to compare and contrast the arguments on different subjects. This series expresses no opinions as to who is right, or what policies are best.

The final article attempts to identify areas in which there is considerable consensus, and those areas where opinions diverge. If there is any theme to this series, it would be that while there is widespread consensus that innovation is good, that it can lead to jobs, greater prosperity, and a higher quality of life, and that government policy can promote innovation, there are a great multiplicity of divergent viewpoints regarding what is innovation, who innovates, what motivates innovation, what are the necessary conditions for innovation, and what the government should do to promote innovation.

Each of the following stories in this series is longer than most articles in the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert. Hence, the first ten paragraphs of each is published in an issue of the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert. The entirety of each story is published in the TLJ web site. Hyperlinks are provided.

11/18. President Bush gave a speech in Washington DC at the National Endowment for Democracy on November 6, 2003 in which he advocated promoting democracy in Iraq and the Middle East. He revealed that underlying his argument about U.S. foreign policy is an economic theory regarding the source of growth and prosperity, including the role of innovation and creativity.

In Bush's economic theory, freedom and liberty lead to creativity, innovation and technological progress, which in turn, lead to social progress, wealth and prosperity. Said Bush, "the prosperity, and social vitality and technological progress of a people are directly determined by extent of their liberty. Freedom honors and unleashes human creativity -- and creativity determines the strength and wealth of nations. Liberty is both the plan of Heaven for humanity, and the best hope for progress here on Earth."

Bush (at left) elaborated that "There are governments that still fear and repress independent thought and creativity, and private enterprise -- the human qualities that make for a -- strong and successful societies. Even when these nations have vast natural resources, they do not respect or develop their greatest resources -- the talent and energy of men and women working and living in freedom."

He did not define freedom or liberty in a single sentence or paragraph. However, he identified numerous elements throughout his speech. It means "limiting the power of the state". It also means economic liberty, including "markets", "free enterprise", "property rights", and "consistent and impartial rule of law". It also means political rights, including "democracy", "political parties", "labor unions", and "independent newspapers and broadcast media". Finally, it means "religious liberty".

Bush rejected the notion freedom and liberty can be broken down into categories, with certain categories of freedom allowed, and others denied. He said that "freedom is indivisible". He illustrated this point with the example of China, which he said has offered economic freedom, but not democracy or religious rights. He predicted that "China's leaders will also discover that freedom is indivisible -- that social and religious freedom is also essential to national greatness and national dignity."

He also advanced several ancillary arguments. First, he argued that allowing economic rights leads to other rights. He said that, "Eventually, men and women who are allowed to control their own wealth will insist on controlling their own lives and their own country". Bush also stated that in the future, historians will note that "the advance of markets and free enterprise helped to create a middle class that was confident enough to demand their own rights."

Second, he argued that technology leads not only to economic growth, but also to greater freedom. He said that when historians write their histories "They will point to the role of technology in frustrating censorship and central control -- and marvel at the power of instant communications to spread the truth, the news, and courage across borders."

World leaders have given countless speeches advocating democracy and freedom. Some even give speeches arguing that free enterprise and property rights leads to prosperity. Three things are significant about Bush's speech. All of these have implications for public policy. First, he assigns a central role to creativity and innovation, while expressly rejecting several other theories regarding the source of national wealth. He rejected communism, central planning, militarism, and theocratic terror, as one would expect of a Republican President. However, he also left out of his speech many factors that other American leaders and economists emphasize, such as natural resources, government spending, monetary policy, and the mysterious role of capital. Also, Bush referenced "education" just once, and gave it no emphasis or elaboration.

Second, he stated that freedom is the cause of creativity and innovation. Charles Murray just wrote a book titled Human Accomplishment: the Pursuit of Excellence in the Arts and Sciences, 800 B.C. to 1950; Paul Johnson just wrote a book titled Art: A New History. Both argue that freedom is important for innovation. (Both of these books are addressed in subsequent articles in this series.) In contrast, many other people offer theories for promoting innovation that either leave human freedom out, or assign it a minor role. (These viewpoints are also addressed in forthcoming articles.) The point is, all argue for the importance of innovation, but few place human freedom at the center of their theories about what leads to creation and innovation.

Third, Bush identified who it is that innovates. In his speech, it is "people" and "men and women", but never to companies or corporations, who need freedom, and who create and innovate. In contrast, when many other people talk about innovation, they refer to large entities. That is, large corporations need research and development tax breaks to incent them to innovate, large corporations need more H1B visas to bring in skilled workers from abroad to enable the corporations to innovate, universities need more money to conduct research and train more scientists and engineers, so that large corporations will have people to hire, and so forth. Individuals are left out of many explanations of innovation. In many of these explanations, people merely have jobs at entities; but it is the entities that innovate.

[This is the first 10 paragraphs of a 34 paragraph article. The entire article is published in the TLJ web site.]

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for morning hour and at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The House may take up HR 3140, the "Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act", a bill that would facilitate the sale of contact lenses in electronic commerce. See, Republican Whip notice.

The Senate will meet at 9:30 AM. It will resume consideration of consideration of HR 2861, the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, Fiscal Year 2004.

TIME TBA. The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a business meeting to consider pending nominations. Location: Room S-216, Capitol Building.

8:00 AM - 5:30 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST), Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award will hold the first day of a four day closed meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 27, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 207, at Pages 61189 - 61190. Location: NIST, Building 222, Red Training Room, Gaithersburg, MD.

8:30 - 10:30 AM. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) will host a panel discussion titled "Cybersecurity, Disclosure and the role of Government". The speakers will include Robert Holleyman (Business Software Alliance), Art Coviello (RSA Security), Robert Dix (Staff Director, House Government Reform Committee, Subcommittee on Technology and Information Policy), Bruce Heiman (Preston Gates), Greg Garcia (Information Technology Association of America), Cary Klafter (Intel), Tiffany Jones (Symantec), James Lewis (CSIS), and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA). Location: Room 2203, Rayburn Building.

9:00 AM - 4:15 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold electronic licensing and filing systems training (ECFS, EDOCS, ULS, CDBS and IBFS). Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Room TW-C305 (Commission Meeting Room).

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Mountain Communications, Inc. v. FCC, No. 02-1255. Judges Sentelle, Garland and Silberman will preside. Location: 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing "to examine America after the 9/11 terrorist attacks". The witnesses will include former Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA), Viet Dinh (Professor at Georgetown University Law Center, and former Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Office of Legal Policy), James Zogby (Arab American Institute), James Dempsey (Center for Democracy and Technology), Robert Cleary (Proskauer Rose), Nadine Strossen (ACLU), and Muzaffar Chishti (New York University School of Law). See, notice. Press contact: Margarita Tapia (Hatch) at 202 224-5225 or David Carle (Leahy) at 202 224-4242. Location: Room 226, Dirsksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of Arnold Havens to be General Counsel for the Department of the Treasury. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a panel discussion on "communications sector regulations". The speakers will be Kenneth Arrow (Stanford University), Robert Solow (MIT), and Dennis Carlton (University of Chicago). See, notice. Arrow is an emeritus professor of economics whose Nobel prize winning career is built upon his "Arrow's Theorem"; see, Social Choice and Individual Values, first published in 1951. Location: Room 124, Dirksen Building.

12:15 PM. James Rogan, head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will give a speech titled "USPTO's 21st Century Strategic Plan and its Benefits to Independent Inventors and Entrepreneurs" at the 8th Annual Independent Inventors Conference. See, notice. Location: The Franklin Institute, 20th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Cable Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The speaker will be Stacy Fuller, Legal Advisor to FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy. RSVP to ttruong@dlalaw.com. Location: Dow Lohnes & Albertson, 1200 New Hampshire Ave., NW, 8th Floor.

2:30 PM. The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of James Loy to be Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. Room 342, Dirksen Building.

4:00 PM. The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing to examine the nomination of Michael Wynne to be Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics. Location: Room 222, Russell Building.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The House may take up HR 3140, the "Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act", a bill that would facilitate the sale of contact lenses in electronic commerce. See, Republican Whip notice.

8:00 AM - 5:30 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST), Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award will hold the second day of a four day closed meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 27, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 207, at Pages 61189 - 61190. Location: NIST, Building 222, Red Training Room, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:00 AM. Day one of a two day meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee. This meeting will be partially closed. The agenda of the open portion of the meeting on November 19 includes a discussion of field programmable gate arrays. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 3, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 212, at Pages 62279. Location: DOC, Hoover Building, 14th Street Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, Room 3884.

9:30 or 10:00 AM? The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on pending judicial nominations. The agenda includes William Haynes, who has been nominated to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. See, notice. Press contact: Margarita Tapia (Hatch) at 202 224-5225 or David Carle (Leahy) at 202 224-4242. Location: Room 226, Dirsksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee will hold an oversight hearing titled "Saving the Savings Clause: Congressional Intent, the Trinko Case, and the Role of the Antitrust Laws in Promoting Competition in the Telecom Sector". See, TLJ story titled "Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in Verizon v. Trinko", March 10, 2003. The Supreme Court has heard oral argument, but not released its opinion, in this case. The hearing will be webcast. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141 Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection will hold a hearing titled "Cybersecurity & Consumer Data: What's at Risk for the Consumer?". The witnesses will include FTC Commissioner Orson Swindle. The hearing will be webcast. See, notice. Press contact: Ken Johnson or Jon Tripp at 202 225-5735. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

10:30 AM. The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "Digital Dividends and Other Proposals to Leverage Investment in Technology". The hearing will be webcast by the Committee. Press contact: Ken Johnson or Jon Tripp at 202 225-5735. See, notice. Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Transactional Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch. For more information, contact Laurie Sherman laurabsherman@hotmail.com. Location: Latham & Watkins, 555 11th Street, NW.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Online Communications Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The topic will be "FCC's Cable Broadband Access Order". The speakers will be Mike Schooler (NCTA), Cheryl Leanza (Media Access Project), and Geoff Cook (Cole Raywid). RSVP to Evelyn Opany at 202 689-7163. Location: Piper Rudnick, 1200 19th Street, NW.

2:00 PM. The Republican leadership of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security will hold a press conference to announce a legislative proposal that would set milestones and metrics to be met by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The participants will include Rep. Chris Cox (R-CA) (Chairman of the Committee), and Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) (Chairman of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Science, Research, and Development). Location: Room HC-6, Capitol Building.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The House may take up HR 3140, the "Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act", a bill that would facilitate the sale of contact lenses in electronic commerce. See, Republican Whip notice.

8:00 AM - 5:30 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST), Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award will hold the third day of a four day closed meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 27, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 207, at Pages 61189 - 61190. Location: NIST, Building 222, Red Training Room, Gaithersburg, MD.

8:30 AM - 4:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Consumer Advisory Committee (CAC) will hold a meeting. See, notice and agenda [4 pages in PDF] and notice in the Federal Register, October 31, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 211, at Pages 62078 - 62079. The FCC has stated that the start time is 8:30 AM. Location: FCC, Room TW-C305, 445 12th Street, SW.

8:30 AM. The Computing Research Association will hold a press conference on "Cyber Security Research and Development". For more information, contact Carla Romero at 234-2111 x 107. Location: Holeman Lounge, National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor.

9:00 AM. Day two of a two day meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee. This meeting will be partially closed. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 3, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 212, at Pages 62279. Location: DOC, Hoover Building, 14th Street Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, Room 3884.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in CA Metro Mobile Communications v. FCC, No. 02-1370. Judges Sentelle, Henderson and Garland will preside. Location: Courtroom 20, 333 Constitution Ave. NW.

9:45 - 11:00 AM. The Republican Technology Council (RTC) will host an event titled "Stock Options; To Expense or Not". The speakers will include Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) and Sen. Michael Enzi (R-WY). RSVP to David Miller at 202 467-0045 or Miller@fedgovlink.com. Location: TBA.

10:30 to 11:30 AM. Dane Snowden, Chief of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau, will hold a media briefing on consumer issues, including the soon-to-be implemented wireless local number portability rules. Location: Conference Room 5, 8th floor, FCC Headquarters, 445 12th St., SW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee will host a panel discussion titled "Internet in Asia: Is the US Falling Behind?". The speakers will include Motohiro Tsuchiya (Senior Research Fellow, Center for Global Communications, International University of Japan), Yasu Taniwaki (Economic Counselor and Telecom Attaché, Embassy of Japan) and Jonas Neihardt (VP for Federal Government Affairs, Qualcomm). Lunch will be served. RSVP to rsvp@netcaucus.org or 202-638-4370. Location: Room HC-5, Capitol Building.

12:00 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Technology Administration (TA) will release a report on federal laboratory practices that are contributing to local economic development efforts. Assistant Secretary Bruce Mehlman will speak at this luncheon briefing. See, notice. RSVP to Sophia Norris at norriss@asme.org or 202 785-3756. Location: Room B-338, Rayburn Building.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The D.C. Bar Association will host a CLE course titled "How to Litigate an Intellectual Property Case Series: Part 1 How to Litigate a Patent Case". Prices vary. For more information, call 202 626-3488. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 level.

3:30 PM. Neil Netanel (University of Texas Law School) will give a lecture titled "Copyright and First Amendment: Eldred v. Ashcroft and Beyond". See, Supreme Court opinion [89 pages in PDF], and TLJ story titled "Supreme Court Upholds CTEA in Eldred v. Ashcroft", January 15, 2003. This is a part of Georgetown University Law Center's (GULC) Colloquium on Intellectual Property & Technology Law Series. For more information, contact Julie Cohen at 202 662-9871. Location: GULC, Faculty Lounge, 5th Floor of McDonough Hall, 600 New Jersey Ave., NW.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. The House may take up HR 3140, the "Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act", a bill that would facilitate the sale of contact lenses in electronic commerce. See, Republican Whip notice.

8:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST), Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award will hold the fourth day of a four day closed meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 27, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 207, at Pages 61189 - 61190. Location: NIST, Building 222, Red Training Room, Gaithersburg, MD.

2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) International Bureau (IB) will host a public meeting "to officially kick off the design phase for planned enhancements to its electronic filing system, IBFS". Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Room, Room CYB418/511.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) regarding its foreign policy-based export controls. This category includes high performance computers, encryption items, as well as chemical and biological agents, missiles, and "implements of torture". See, notice in the Federal Register, October 21, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 203, at Pages 60050-60052.

The Department of State's (DOS) United States International Telecommunication Advisory Committee, Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITAC-T), will meet electronically from November 21 through November 26, 2003 to comment on and approve normal contributions to the ITU-T Study Group 13 meeting, which will be held February 3-13, 2004. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 31, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 211, at Pages 62158.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates v. FCC, No. 02-1261. Judges Ginsburg, Edwards and Rogers will preside. Location: 333 Constitution Ave. NW.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Copyright Office (CO) in response to its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding notice and recordkeeping for use of sound recordings under statutory license. The CO published a notice in the Federal Register stating that it "is requesting public comment on the adoption of regulations for records of use of sound recordings performed pursuant to the statutory license for public performances of sound recordings by means of digital audio transmissions between October 28, 1998, and the effective date of soon-to-be-announced interim regulations." See, Federal Register: October 8, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 195, at Page 58054.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Standards (BIS), which is also known as the Bureau of Export Administration (BXA) 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, notice in the Federal Register, October 24, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 206, at Pages 60891-60895.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) regarding the adequacy of its preparation process for the International Telecommunications Union's (ITU) World Radiocommunication Conferences (WRC). The next WRC is in 2007. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 23, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 205, at Pages 60646-60648.

11/12. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published a notice in the Federal Register summarizing, and setting comment deadlines for, it notice of proposed rulemaking pertaining (NPRM) to promoting spectrum based services in rural areas. The deadline to submit comments is December 29, 2003. The deadline to submit reply comments is January 26, 2003. This NPRM is FCC 03-222 in WT Docket Nos. 02-381, 01-14, and 03-202. The FCC adopted this NPRM on September 10, 2003, and released it on October 6, 2003. See, Federal Register, November 12, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 218, at Pages 64050-64072. See also, story titled "FCC Announces NPRM Regarding Regulations Affecting the Use of Spectrum in Rural Areas" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 739, September 15, 2003.

11/12. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), which is also known as the Bureau of Export Administration (BXA), published a notice in the Federal Register summarizing, and setting the comment deadline for, its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement a revised version of the BIS's Simplified Network Application Processing (SNAP+) system. This proposed rule also would mandate use of SNAP+ for all filings of Export License applications (except Special Comprehensive Licenses), Reexport Authorization requests, Classification requests, Encryption Review requests, and License Exception AGR notifications, unless the BIS authorizes paper filing for a particular user or transaction. The deadline to submit comments is January 12, 2004. See, Federal Register, November 12, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 218, at Pages 64009-64023.

11/17. The Supreme Court issued a brief order in Nixon v. Missouri Municipal League, Nos. 02-1238, 02-1386, and 02-1405 . It wrote that "The motion of the Solicitor General for divided argument is granted." See, Order List [10 pages in PDF] at page 2. This case pertains to 47 U.S.C. § 253(a) and state statutes that prohibit political subdivisions from offering telecommunications services. See also, stories titled "Briefs Filed With Supreme Court in Nixon v. Missouri Municipal League" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 776, November 11, 2003; and "Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in Nixon v. Missouri Municipal League" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 687, June 25, 2003..

11/15. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced in a release that Deputy USTR Josette Shiner will visit the People's Republic of China from November 15 through 19 for meetings in Beijing and Qingdao. It stated that "Topping the agenda will be intellectual property rights (IPR) enforcement ..."

11/17. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released its annual report [210 pages in PDF] for the year ending December 31, 2002 titled "Statistics of Communications Common Carriers". See also, FCC release [PDF] of November 14.