3/12. The House amended and passed HR 3717, the "Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004", by a vote of 391-22, on March 11. See, Roll Call No. 55. This bill would increase the penalties for violations by television and radio broadcasters of the prohibitions against the transmission of obscene, indecent, and profane language.

On March 9, 2004, the Senate Commerce Committee amended and approved S 2056, which is also titled the "Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004". See, story titled "Senate Commerce Committee Marks Up Broadcast Decency Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 853, March 10, 2004.

Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans released a statement: "On behalf of the Administration, I commend the House of Representatives for its quick action on H.R. 3717 ..."

On March 12, the the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL) [17 pages in PDF] that proposes to fine various subsidiaries of Clear Channel Communications, Inc. $247,500 for willfully and repeatedly broadcasting indecent material on the radio program titled "Elliot in the Morning" on March 13, 2003. $247,500 is the maximum fine under the current statute for nine violations. See also, FCC release [PDF].

FCC Commissioner Michael Copps dissented, writing that "I believe the Commission should have designated these cases for license revocation hearings."

3/11. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a notice in the Federal Register requesting comments, and setting comment deadlines, regarding various regulations and reports required by the CAN-SPAM Act.

The Congress 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", late last year. On December 16, 2003, President Bush signed the bill. It became Public Law No. 108-187.

Several provisions in the CAN-SPAM Act instruct the FTC to write regulations implementing the Act. Other provisions require the FTC to prepare reports for the Congress. This notice requests public comments to assist the FTC in writing these regulations, and preparing these reports.

Subsection 3(2)(C) of the CAN-SPAM Act provides that "Not later than 12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall issue regulations pursuant to section 13 defining the relevant criteria to facilitate the determination of the primary purpose of an electronic mail message."

The Act designates five categories of messages as "transactional or relationship messages" that which are exempt from the provisions of the Act. Subsection 3(17)(B) of the CAN-SPAM Act then provides that "The Commission by regulation pursuant to section 13 may modify the definition in subparagraph (A) to expand or contract the categories of messages that are treated as transactional or relationship messages for purposes of this Act to the extent that such modification is necessary to accommodate changes in electronic mail technology or practices and accomplish the purposes of this Act."

The Act allows recipients to opt out of receiving further commercial e-mail and provides senders 10 business days to process opt out requests. But, the Act also allows the FTC to modify this. Specifically, Subsection 5(c)(1) of the CAN-SPAM Act provides that "The Commission shall by regulation, pursuant to section 13--
  (1) modify the 10-business-day period under subsection (a)(4)(A) or subsection (a)(4)(B), or both, if the Commission determines that a different period would be more reasonable after taking into account--
    (A) the purposes of subsection (a);
    (B) the interests of recipients of commercial electronic mail; and
    (C) the burdens imposed on senders of lawful commercial electronic mail;".

The Act defines certain practices, such as e-mail address harvesting and dictionary attacks as aggravated violations. Subsection 5(c)(2) then provides that the FTC may "specify additional activities or practices to which subsection (b) applies if the Commission determines that those activities or practices are contributing substantially to the proliferation of commercial electronic mail messages that are unlawful under subsection (a)."

Subsection 13(a) of the CAN-SPAM Act provides that "The Commission may issue regulations to implement the provisions of this Act (not including the amendments made by sections 4 and 12). Any such regulations shall be issued in accordance with section 553 of title 5, United States Code." (Parentheses in original.) That is, the FTC must follow the Administrative Procedure Act.

Subsection 13(a) of the CAN-SPAM Act provides that "Subsection (a) may not be construed to authorize the Commission to establish a requirement pursuant to section 5(a)(5)(A) to include any specific words, characters, marks, or labels in a commercial electronic mail message, or to include the identification required by section 5(a)(5)(A) in any particular part of such a mail message (such as the subject line or body)." (Parentheses in original.)

The FTC's notice also seeks comment on four reports to Congress required by the CAN-SPAM Act.

Section 9 of the Act requires the FTC to write a report on establishing a nationwide Do Not E-Mail Registry. It is due by June 16, 2004.

Section 11(1) of the Act requires the FTC to write a report on establishing a system for rewarding those who supply information about CAN-SPAM Act violations. It is due by September 16, 2004.

Section 11(2) of the Act requires the FTC to write a report setting forth a plan for requiring commercial e-mail to be identifiable from its subject line. This report is due by June 16, 2005.

Section 10 of the Act requires the FTC to write a report on the effectiveness of the CAN-SPAM Act. It is due by December 16, 2005.

The FTC notice states that public comments regarding the National Do Not E-mail Registry are due by March 31, 2004. Comments regarding all of the other regulations and reports are due by April 12, 2004.

See, Federal Register, March 11, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 48, at Pages 11775-11782. See also, FTC release.

3/11. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced, but did not release, a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding Section 14 of  "Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pormography and Marketing Act of 2003", also known as the "CAN-SPAM Act". The FCC issued a short release [PDF] describing this NPRM.

The statute directs the FCC, in consultation with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), to promulgate regulations within 270 days "to protect consumers from unwanted mobile service commercial messages".

The CAN-SPAM Act directs the FCC to write rules that "provide subscribers to commercial mobile services the ability to avoid receiving mobile service commercial messages unless the subscriber has provided express prior authorization to the sender", and "allow recipients of mobile service commercial messages to indicate electronically a desire not to receive future mobile service commercial messages from the sender".

The FCC's release also states that this NPRM requests public comments on "two issues related to the restrictions under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). For autodialed and artificial or prerecorded message calls to wireless telephone numbers, we seek comment on the possibility of instituting a "safe harbor" for telemarketers to allow them reasonable opportunities to comply with the rules in the era of local number portability. In addition, the Commission seeks comment on whether, as part of its safe harbor, telemarketers should be required to update their calling lists every 30 days using the national do-not-call registry, to be consistent with a possible rule change by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)."

The CAN-SPAM Act is S 877 in the 108th Congress; it is now Public Law No. 108-187. The FCC NPRM is FCC 04-52 in CG Docket Nos. 04-53 and 02-278.

	James Comey

3/14. The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Attorney General John Ashcroft was discharged from the George Washington University Hospital on March 14, 2004, following surgery to remove his gallbladder. The DOJ added that "Deputy Attorney General James Comey will continue to run the Department while Attorney General Ashcroft recuperates." (Emphasis and hyperlink added.) See, DOJ release.

3/12. President Bush nominated William Pryor to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. Judge Pryor currently has a recess appointment. Senate Democrats are filibustering votes on his confirmation. See, White House release.

3/12. Vice President Cheney gave a speech in the state of Kentucky for Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) in which he stated that "It's also time for the United States Senate to get about the business of confirming President Bush's judicial nominees. The President has put forward talented, experienced men and women who represent the mainstream of American law and American values. One of these fine appointees was David Bunning, now a U.S. district judge here in Kentucky. Other nominees still await confirmation, yet Senate Democrats have taken to waging filibusters, denying up-or-down votes for months and even years. This is unfair to the judicial nominees and an abuse of the constitutional process. This small group of senators needs to stop playing politics with American justice. Every nominee deserves a prompt up-or-down vote on the floor of the Senate. And that is another good reason to send Jim Bunning back to the United States Senate."

3/11. The Senate confirmed Louis Guirola to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.

3/11. The Senate confirmed Neil Wake to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

3/11. The Senate confirmed Mark Warshawsky to be an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.

3/10. Ira Keltz was named Chief of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Office of Engineering and Technology's (OET) Electromagnetic Compatibility Division (ECD). He was previously Deputy Chief of the OET's Policy and Rules Division (PRD). He has worked at the FCC since 1994. Previously, he worked at Loral Advanced Projects and LSA, Inc. He has bachelors and masters degrees in electrical engineering. Jamison Prime was named Chief of the FCC's OET's PRD's Spectrum Policy Branch. He has worked at the FCC since 1997. Ronald Chase was named Chief of the FCC's OET's ECD's Technical Analysis Branch. He has worked at the FCC since 2000. Before that, he was a long time employee of the Army Research Laboratory. He has a bachelors degree in electrical engineering and a masters degree in physics. See, FCC release [PDF].

3/10. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI), and Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) introduced S 2192, the "Cooperative Research and Technology Enhancement (CREATE) Act of 2004". The House passed its version of this bill, HR 2391, on March 10, 2004. This is a non-controversial bill to promote collaborative research. It would amend 35 U.S.C. § 103 to address the August 8, 1997 opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in OddzOn Products, Inc. v. Just Toys, Inc., which ruled that derived prior art may serve as evidence of obviousness. See, story titled "House Passes CREATE Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 854, March 11, 2004.

3/9. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) spoke in the Senate regarding legislation to address online copyright infringement. He stated that "The very ease of duplication and distribution that is the hallmark of digital content has meant that piracy of that content is just as easy. The very real--and often realized--threat that creative works will simply be duplicated and distributed freely online has restricted, rather than enhanced, the amount and variety of creative works one can receive over the Internet." He continued that "Senator Hatch and I are investigating another needed response to this problem that would give the Attorney General the authority to bring a civil action against copyright infringers. This authority would not supplant either the criminal provisions of the Copyright Act, or the remedies available to the copyright owner in a private suit. Rather, it would allow the Government to bring its resources to bear on this immense problem, and to ensure that more creative works are made available online, that those works are more affordable, and that the people who work to bring them to us are paid for their efforts. We hope to introduce a bill on this matter soon". See, Congressional Record, March 9, 2004, at Pages S2295-6.

3/9. Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA), Rep. Tom Osborne (R-NE), and Rep. David Price (D-NC) introduced HR 3914, the "Children's Protection from Violent Programming Act". This bill would amend the Communications Act to require that violent video programming be limited to broadcast after the hours when children are reasonably likely to comprise a substantial portion of the audience, unless it is specifically rated on the basis of its violent content so that it is blockable by electronic means specifically on the basis of that content. This bill was referred to the House Commerce Committee.

3/8. Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) introduced S 2176, the "High-End Computing Revitalization Act of 2004". This bill would authorized the appropriation of $800 Million over five years to the Department of Energy to carry out a program of research and development, including hardware and software, to advance high end computing. Sen. Bingaman stated in the Senate that "Without government support, market forces are unlikely to drive sufficient innovation in high-end computing, because the private sector would not capture the full value of its innovations on a short enough time scale." See, Congressional Record, March 9, 2004, at Page S2308. This bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

3/11. The Copyright Office published a notice in the Federal Register announcing "interim regulations specifying notice and recordkeeping requirements for use of sound recordings under two statutory licenses under the Copyright Act." The CO further announced that "Electronic data format and delivery requirements for records of use as well as regulations governing prior records of use shall be announced in future Federal Register documents." The interim notice and recordkeeping regulations are effective April 12, 2004. The updated notices of intent to use the statutory licenses under 17 U.S.C. §§ 112 and 114 are due by July 1, 2004. See, Federal Register, March 11, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 48, at Page 11515-11531.

3/11. The Copyright Office published a notice in the Federal Register that announces, describes, and sets the comment deadline for, a rule making proceeding "to amend its regulations governing the content and service of certain notices on the copyright owner of a musical work. The notice is served or filed by a person who intends to use a musical work to make and distribute phonorecords, including by means of digital phonorecord deliveries, under a compulsory license." The deadline to submit comments is April 12, 2004. See, Federal Register, March 11, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 48, at Pages 11566-11577.

3/11. The Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) published a notice in the Federal Register regarding "the process by which Fiscal Year 2004 funding of its pilot grant program to finance the conversion of television services from analog to digital broadcasting for public television stations serving rural areas will be made available. For Fiscal Year 2004, $14 million in grants will be made available for the continued funding of the national competition announced on July 18, 2003, to enable public television stations that serve substantial rural populations to continue serving their coverage areas." The RUS further announced that "Successful grant applicants will be notified no later than March 31, 2004." See, Federal Register, March 11, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 48, at Page 11593.

3/11. The General Accounting Office (GAO) released a report [31 pages in PDF] titled "Information Technology: OMB and Department of Homeland Security Investment Reviews". The Department of Homeland Security was formed as a result of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. In July of 2002, the President's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued two memoranda directing federal agencies that were expected to be part of the new DHS to temporarily cease funding for new information (IT) infrastructure and business systems investments and submit information to the OMB on current or planned investments in these areas. The House Government Reform Committee requested that the Congress' GAO prepare a report that examines how the OMB implemented the July 2002 memoranda, identify what, if any, changes to agency IT investments resulted from the July memorandums and the Homeland Security IT Investment Review Group's evaluations, and ascertain whether the DHS has initiated its own investment management reviews and, if so, what the results of these reviews have been. The report states that the DHS "relied on an informal and undocumented process to fulfill its responsibilities" under the July 2002 memoranda, and that few component agency investments were submitted for approval. The report recommends that the DHS report savings resulting from its consolidation and integration of systems and develop a schedule for reviews of IT investments subject to departmental oversight.

3/12. The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) released a paper [25 pages in PDF] titled "Liability of P2P File-Sharing Systems For Copyright Infringement By Their Users". This paper, which was written by the PFF's William Adkinson, examines the extent to which peer to peer file sharing systems should be held liable for the infringing activity of their users, based on theories of secondary liability.

The House will not meet. See, Republican Whip Notice.

The Senate will not meet from March 15 through March 19. It will next meet on Monday, March 22.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in AT&T Wireless Services v. FCC, No. 03-1043. Judges Sentelle, Rogers and Garland will preside. Location: 333 Constitution Ave.

Extended deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Report and Order Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking [72 pages in PDF] in its proceeding titled "In the Matter of Digital Broadcast Content Protection". This item is FCC 03-273 in MB Docket 02-230. This FNPRM seeks comment regarding a permanent approval mechanism for content protection and recording technologies to be used in conjunction with device outputs. For more information, contact Rick Chessen rchessen@fcc.gov or Susan Mort at smort@fcc.gov or 202-418-7200. See, notice [PDF] extending deadlines.

Extended deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding digital plug and play compatibility. The FCC announced its Second Report and Order and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking at its September 10, 2003 meeting. See, story titled "FCC Adopts Digital Plug and Play Cable Compatibility Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 737, September 11, 2003. The notice in the Federal Register states that the NPRM seeks public comments "on the mechanisms and standards by which new connectors and associated content protection technologies can be approved for use with unidirectional digital cable products". It further seeks comments on "the potential extension of digital cable system transmission requirements to digital cable systems with an activated channel capacity of 550 MHz or higher; whether it is necessary to require consumer electronics manufacturers to provide pre-sale information to consumers regarding the functionalities of unidirectional digital cable televisions; and whether the Commission should ban or permit the down-resolution of non-broadcast MVPD programming." This item is FCC 03-225 in CS Docket 97-80 and PP Docket 00-67. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 28, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 229, at Pages 66776 - 66781. See also, order [PDF] extending deadlines.

Deadline to submit comments to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) regarding its proposed rule implementing provisions in the E-Government Act of 2002 that authorize the temporary assignment of employees in the field of information technology management (IT) between the federal government and private sector organizations. See, notice in the Federal Register January 15, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 10, at Pages 2308 - 2311.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) regarding its draft document [58 pages PDF] numbered "NIST Special Publication 800-63" and titled "Recommendation for Electronic Authentication". This publication supplements the December 16, 2003 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memorandum [PDF] titled "E-Authentication Guidance for Federal Agencies" that defines four levels of authentication in terms of the likely consequences of an authentication error. This NIST publication states that it "provides technical guidance to Federal agencies implementing electronic authentication. The recommendation covers remote authentication of users over open networks. It defines technical requirements for each of four levels of assurance in the areas of identity proofing, registration, tokens, authentication protocols and related assertions." E-Mail comments to eauth-comments@nist.gov.

The House will meet at 12:30 PM for morning hour, and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. It will consider several non technology related items under suspension of the rules. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. See, Republican Whip Notice.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a three day meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB). See, notice in the Federal Register, March 8, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 45, at Pages 10677 - 10678. Location: Hyatt Regency Hotel Bethesda, 7400 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD.

9:00 AM - 1:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) program titled "Electronic Discovery and Evidence in Government Contract Litigation". Prices vary. For more information, call 202 626-3488. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1250 H St., NW, B-1 Level.

9:00 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) North American Numbering Council will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 13, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 30, at Pages 7224 - 7225. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Commission Meeting Room (Room TW-C305).

12:30 - 2:00 PM. The Advisory Committee to the Congressional Internet Caucus will host an event titled "VoIP: Why is it not your parents' Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS)?" The speakers will be Blair Levin (Legg Mason), Rick Cimmerman (National Cable & Telecommunications Association), Tom Evslin (ITXC Corporation), Lincoln Hoewing (Verizon) and Bob Nelson (NARUC). Lunch will be served. RSVP to rsvp@netcaucus.org or 202 638-4370. Location: Room B-339, Rayburn Building, Capitol Hill.

RESCHEDULED AGAIN. 1:00 PM. The House Government Reform Committee's Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and the Census will hold an oversight hearing titled "Information Security in the Federal Government: One Year Into the Federal Information Security Management Act". The witnesses will be Paul Corts (Assistant Attorney General for Administration, Department of Justice), Karen Evans (Administrator for E-Government and IT, Office of Management and Budget), Robert Dacey (General Accounting Office), Ellis Merschoff (CIO, Nuclear Regulatory Commission), Patrick Pizzella (Department of Labor), Jeffrey Rush (Department of the Treasury), and Hratch Semerjian (National Institute of Standards and Technology). Press contact: Box Dix at 202 225-6751. This hearing was orignally scheduled for March 10; it was rescheduled for March 17; and then, it was rescheduled for March 16. Location: Room 2203, Rayburn Building.

The House will meet at 1:00 PM for legislative business. See, Republican Whip Notice.

8:30 AM - 3:30 PM. The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) will host a conference titled "National Software Summit: Workshop on the Software Workforce". See, notice. For more information, contact Eerik Kreek at ekreek@itaa.org. Location: George Mason University, Arlington Campus.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a three day meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB). See, notice in the Federal Register, March 8, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 45, at Pages 10677 - 10678. Location: Hyatt Regency Hotel Bethesda, 7400 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The Cellular Telecom and Internet Association (CTIA) and the Rural Cellular Association (RCA) will host a day long conference titled "Local Number Portability: Small Carrier Best Practices Forum". See, agenda and registration form. Prices vary. For more information contact Vanessa Ortiz at vortiz@ctia.org or 202 736-3677, or Lori Messing at lmessing@ctia.org. Location: St. Regis Hotel.

10:00 AM. The House Government Reform Committee's Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations will hold a hearing titled "U.S. Preparation for the World Radio Conferences: Too Little, Too Late?" The witness will be Jeffrey Shane (Department of Transportation), William Readdy (National Aeronautic and Space Administration), Michael Gallagher (acting Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration), Kathleen Abernathy (Federal Communications Commission), David Gross (Department of State), Linton Wells (Department of Defense), James Schlesinger (Center for Strategic and International Studies), John Bryant (U.S. Ambassador to 1997 World Radio Conference), Gail Schoettler (U.S. Ambassador to 2000 World Radio Conference Janice Obuchowski (U.S. Ambassador to 2003 World Radio Conference). See, notice. Press contact: Bob Briggs at 202 225-2548. Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing on HR 3880, the "Internet Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act". Press contact: David Marin or Drew Crockett (202) 225-5074. Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute will host a luncheon tiled "Telecom Reform after the D.C. Circuit Decision: Is It Time for a New Telecom Act?". Bill Barr (EVP and General Counsel of Verizon) and Adam Thierer (Cato). See, notice. Location: Room G11, Dirksen Building, Capitol Hill.

1:00 PM. The House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies will hold a hearing on the proposed budget for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). FBI Director Robert Mueller is scheduled to testify. Location: Room 2359, Rayburn Building.

1:30 - 3:30 PM. The WRC-07 Advisory Committee's Informal Working Group 2: Satellite Services and HAPS will meet. See, notice [PDF]. Location: Leventhal Senter & Lerman, 7th Floor Conference Room, 2000 K Street, NW.

The U.S. Trade Representative's (USTR) Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) will hold a hearing regarding negotiating objectives for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the U.S. and four Andean countries (Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia). See, notice in the Federal Register, February 17, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 31, at Pages 7532 - 7534. Location: unannounced.

The House will meet at 1:00 PM for legislative business. See, Republican Whip Notice.

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division will host a conference titled "Developments in the Law and Economics of Exclusionary Pricing Practices: From Classroom to Courtroom". Judge Richard Posner (U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit) will be the luncheon speaker. Reservations are required. The deadline to register is March 8. The event is free. See, notice. Location: The Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

8:30 AM - 1:00 PM. Day three of a three day meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB). See, notice in the Federal Register, March 8, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 45, at Pages 10677 - 10678. Location: Hyatt Regency Hotel Bethesda, 7400 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD.

9:00 - 11:00 AM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "Are Shareholder Lawsuits Useful or Frivolous?". See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th, 1150 17th St., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies will hold a hearing on the proposed budget for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Acting Director of the USPTO Jon Dudas will testify. Location: Room H-309, Capitol Building.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The State Department Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy (ACICIP) will meet to decide on establishing subcommittees or working groups to focus on specific geographic regions or technologies. Ambassador David Gross will participate. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 11, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 48, at Pages 11696-11697. Location: Room 1105 of the State Department's Truman Building.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. Richard Whitt of MCI WorldCom will present at paper titled "A Horizontal Leap Forward: Formulating A New Public Policy Framework Based On The Network Layers Model" at brown bag lunch hosted by the New America Foundation (NAF). RSVP to Jennifer Buntman at 202 986-4901 or to buntman@newamerica.net. See, notice. Location: NAF, 1630 Connecticut Ave, 7th Floor.

2:00 - 5:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Internet Policy Working Group (IPWG) will hold a "Solutions Summit" on 911/E911 issues that arise as communications services move to internet based platforms. See, FCC release [PDF]. Location: FCC, 445 12th St., SW.

2:00 - 4:30 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a pair of panel discussions titled "Trade Remedies". See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th, 1150 17th St., NW.

3:15 PM. Phil Bond, of the Department of Commerce's Technology Administration, will speak at a conference hosted by the International Economic Development Council on March 17-19. Bond will release the 4th edition of the State Indicator's Report: The Dynamics of Technology-Based Economic Development. Location: Omni Shoreham Hotel.

TIME? Joel Reidenberg (Fordham University School of Law) will give a lecture titled "The Regulation of Information Flows in a Networked Society". 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, 600 New Jersey Ave., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in response to its notice in the Federal Register requesting comments to assist it in developing "recommendations for improving the United States' spectrum management policies regarding the organization, processes, and procedures affecting Federal government, State, local and private sector spectrum use". The NTIA is conducting this review pursuant to a memorandum from President Bush. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 2, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 21, at Pages 4923 - 4926. See also, story titled "NTIA Seeks Public Comments on Spectrum Management" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 832, February 9, 2004, and story titled "Bush Issues Spectrum Policy Memorandum" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 675, June 6, 2003.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding modifying it frequency coordination rules to promote sharing between non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO) and geostationary satellite orbit (GSO) fixed-satellite service (FSS) operations and various terrestrial services operating in several frequency bands. This NPRM considers a joint proposal submitted by SkyBridge and the Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition (Growth Zone Proposal). This is ET Docket No. 03-254.

9:30 AM. Phil Bond, of the Department of Commerce's Technology Administration, will speak on "the importance of math and science education" at the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition. Location: Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD.

12:00 NOON. Jon Dudas, the acting head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will give a luncheon address on "the importance of intellectual property to the business community" at the Eighth Annual Alexandria Technology Achievement Week. The price is $40. For more information, call 703 549-1000 ext. 207. Location: Radisson Hotel Old Town, 901 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA.

2:30 - 4:30 PM. 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) program titled "How Electronic Filing is Changing Litigation". Prices vary. For more information, call 202 737-4700. Location: Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

TIME? The Oracle Corporation and the George Washington University Law School will host a symposium titled "Willful Patent Infringement". The event is free, and open to the public, but registration is required. See, event web site. For more information, contact Laura Heymann at lheymann@law.gwu.edu or 202 994-0420. Location: Jacob Burns Moot Court Room, GWU Law School, 2000 H Street, NW.

Deadline for state and local law enforcement agencies to submit applications to the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to participate in the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 3, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 22, at Pages 5187 - 5193.