WTO Appellate Body Upholds U.S. Laws
Affecting Internet Gambling |
4/7. The World Trade Organization's
(WTO) Appellate Body issued its
report
[146 pages in PDF] titled "United States -- Measures Affecting the Cross-Border
Supply of Gambling and Betting Services". This report reverses key parts of a
previous WTO decision that determined that U.S. laws affecting internet gambling violate
the U.S.'s treaty obligations.
On November 10, 2004, a Dispute Resolution Panel of the WTO released
its report
[287 pages in PDF] on Antigua and Barbuda's complaint that U.S. laws affecting
internet gambling violate U.S. treaty obligations. The panel held that various
federal laws, including the Wire Act, and various state laws, violate the
General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). See, story titled "WTO
Panel Instructs Congress to Amend Wire Act to Legalize Internet Gambling" in
TLJ Daily E-Mail
Alert 1,016, November 11, 2004.
The panel report directed the U.S. Congress and various states to amend their
statutes to legalize the placing of bets in the U.S., and international money
transfers and payments, that facilitate internet gambling provided in Antigua
and Barbuda.
Antigua and Barbuda, two tiny Caribbean islands that comprise one nation,
complained to the WTO. Its economy is based upon internet gambling, along with
laundering drug money, and tourism.
The report of the Appellate Body "finds that the Wire Act, the Travel
Act, and the Illegal Gambling Business Act are ``measures ... necessary to protect
public morals or to maintain public order´´" and therefore do not violate treaty
obligations.
The report of the Appellate Body also reversed
the panel's findings regarding the state gambling laws.
However, the U.S. did not prevail on all issues. For example, the report of the
Appellate Body also states that "the United States has not shown, in the light of
the Interstate Horseracing Act, that the prohibitions embodied in those measures are
applied to both foreign and domestic service suppliers of remote betting services for
horse racing and, therefore, has not established that these measures satisfy the
requirements of the chapeau". The U.S. will have to amend this statute.
Acting U.S. Trade Representative
Peter Allgeier
(at right) stated in a
release that "This win confirms what we knew from the start -- WTO Members
are entitled to maintain restrictions on internet gambling ... We are pleased
that the Appellate Body has agreed with our position that the U.S. gambling laws
at issue here protect public order and public morals. By reversing key aspects
of a deeply flawed panel report, the Appellate Body has affirmed that WTO
Members can protect the public from organized crime and other dangers associated
with Internet gambling. This is also a victory for the federal and state law
enforcement officers and regulators who protect the public from illegal gambling
and its associated risks of money laundering and organized crime."
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8th Circuit Affirms in Case Involving
Leasing of Railroad Property for Fiber Optic Communications |
4/6. The U.S. Court of Appeals
(8thCir) issued its
opinion [7
pages in PDF] in Bockelman v. MCI WorldCom, a dispute regarding
use of railroad land for fiber optics communications. The District Court, and
the Court of Appeals, held that the railroad held the land in fee sample, rather
than a mere easement for railroad lines, and therefore could lease the land to
MCI WorldCom for fiber optic communications, over the objections of adjacent
landowners.
MCI WorldCom leased, from Union Pacific Railroad Company's
predecessor, rights to install fiber optic cable underneath a strip of land, and
to construct an above-ground fiber optic regeneration station on the strip of land.
A distant predecessor of Union Pacific Railroad Company acquired
title to the 100 foot wide strip of land back in 1902 by deed. The grantor, for
the consideration of $350, conveyed title to a 100 wide strip of land to give
the railroad title to the land upon which it build its railroad line. There is
no longer any railroad traffic over this strip of land. MCI WorldCom now uses
this land for fiber optic communications.
The deed provided that the grantors "grant, bargain and sell,
convey and confirm ... strip of land one hundred (100) feet wide ... TO HAVE AND
TO HOLD the same together with all the rights, immunities, privileges and
appurtenances. The deed further warrants "title to the premises".
Martin Mockelman and others now own land adjacent to this 100
foot wide strip. They assert that the 1902 deed only gave the railroad, and its
successors, title to use the land for building a railroad. They assert that the
title conveyed a mere easement.
Bockelman and others filed a complaint in state court in
Missouri against MCI WorldCom and Union Pacific seeking declaratory judgment
that the deed only created an easement for building a railroad.
MCI WorldCom and Union Pacific removed the case to the U.S. District Court (WDMo),
based upon diversity of citizenship.
The District Court held that the deed conveyed fee simple interest in the
strip of land. The grantee, and its successors in title, can do what they want
with it. The Court of Appeals, construing the deed according to property law of
the state of Missouri, affirmed.
This case is Martin Bockelman v. MCI WorldCom, Inc. and Union Pacific
Railroad Company, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, App. Ct. No.
02-2075, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of
Missouri, Judge Howard Sachs presiding. Judge Wollman wrote the opinion of the
Court of Appeals, in which Judges McMillian and Benton joined.
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6th Circuit Issues Amended Opinion in Cell
Tower Case |
4/7. The U.S. Court of Appeals
(6thCir) issued an
amended
opinion [PDF] in Wireless Income Properties v. Chattanooga, a case
regarding the construction of wireless communications towers and 47 U.S.C. § 332(c)(7).
The Court of Appeals issued an earlier
opinion
[PDF] on February 24, 2005. See, story titled "6th Circuit Rules in Cell Tower
Case" in TLJ Daily
E-Mail Alert No. 1,084, February 28, 2005.
The Appeals Court held in its February 24 opinion that a violation of § 332
gives rise to an action for violation of
42 U.S.C. § 1983. On March 22, 2005, the Supreme
Court issued its
opinion [22 pages in PDF] in
Rancho Palos Verdes v. Abrams. The Supreme Court held that an individual
who brings an action to enforce the limitations on state and local authority to
regulate the location, construction, and modification of wireless communications
facilities under 47 U.S.C. § 332, cannot also recover damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
See also, story titled "Supreme Court Holds That Individuals Who Sue Under §332
Cannot Also Recover Damages Under §1983" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,101,
March 23, 2005.
Hence, the Court of Appeals, in the present amended opinion, amended its
holding with respect to Section 1983, to conform to the holding of the Supreme Court.
This case is State of Tennessee ex rel Wireless Income Properties, LLC v.
City of Chattanooga and William MacDonald, App. Ct. No. 03-6608, an appeal from the
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at
Chattanooga, D.C. No. 02-00372, Judge Allan Edgar presiding. Judge Moore wrote
the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Siler and Cole joined.
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House CIIP Subcommittee Holds Hearing on
Digital Music Interoperability |
4/6. The House Judiciary
Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property
(CIIP) held a hearing titled "Digital Music Interoperability and Availability".
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the
Chairman of the Subcommittee, wrote in his
opening
statement that "Legitimate questions have been raised regarding the impact of
digital interoperability on consumers." For example, "music purchased from
the iTunes Music Store will only work on Apple's iPod music player."
He explained that "Music purchased from Real cannot be accessed on the iPod.
Last year, both companies became involved in a dispute over Real’s attempt to
offer software called Harmony that would have allowed legal copies of music
purchased from Real's online music store to be playable on Apple’s iPod music
player. Apple objected to this effort, calling it “hacker like” and invoking the
DMCA. Apple blocked Real’s software from working a short time afterwards."
See also, story titled "Apple and RealNetworks Dispute Legality of Harmony
Technology" in TLJ
Daily E-Mail Alert No. 950, August 2, 2004.
Rep. Smith (at right)
added that "As a result of disputes like the one between Apple and Real, some have
suggested that efforts to boost digital music interoperability should be encouraged by
regulation or legislation."
William Pence, Chief Technology Officer of Napster, wrote in his
prepared
testimony that "each digital song file has
two essential components -- the audio format software and the digital rights
management software -- that can each be a source of incompatibility".
He said that audio format softwares, or codecs,
have historically been incompatible. However, now "only two or three codecs are
relevant in the online music industry today, and interoperability is considered
essential and is made possible by licenses that are easily available and
economically reasonable".
He continued that "DRM interoperability has emerged recently as
the center of debate in the online music industry. In the last several years
high-quality DRM technologies have been developed and offered by dozens of
companies, including Liquid Audio, AT&T Labs, Universal Music, RealNetworks,
IBM, Microsoft, Contentguard, Intertrust, Verance and Macrovision."
He wrote that "the market's immaturity is
driven by the technology's immaturity, as DRM technology is still in a stage of
rapid innovation ... and I encourage Congress to welcome and promote this
innovation and the improved music offerings that result. It is my belief, and
the essential point of my participation today, that marketplace forces will
continue to drive innovation in the DRM arena with attendant consumer benefits
-- new ways to enjoy digital music at a variety of different price points --
while also gradually ‘solving’ the interoperability problem."
Napster's Napster to Go, a $15 per month service,
allows consumers to download or stream an
unlimited quantity of music. In contrast, Apple's iTunes service charges on a
per song basis. Napster uses DRM10 technology from Microsoft.
No representative of Apple testified at this hearing. Rep. Smith stated that
"Apple was invited to testify today."
Pence also said that Apple has "chosen not to
license their technology platform under any terms to services and manufacturers
eager to offer innovative business models to consumers. Perhaps Apple is
confident that its market-leading position is best maintained by promoting a
closed environment, and that is a legitimate business decision that some endorse
and others may question. Napster believes that allowing the iPod to work with
multiple service offerings would benefit consumers. Nevertheless, I do not see
Government intervention as the solution, as it would stifle competition and
innovation that will benefit consumers and copyright owners at a very early
stage of the market’s development."
However, Pence added that "Congress has a
critical role to play in facilitating the legitimate online music marketplace,
by modernizing the Copyright Act -- in particular, Sections 115 and 112 as they
relate to music publishing rights and royalties. Napster and our legitimate
online music competitors compete with pirate services, and it is critical to
creators and all who support them that royalty-paying services win the day."
Ray Gifford, President of the Progress and Freedom
Foundation (PFF), wrote in his
prepared
testimony that "Standards and
interoperability can be achieved through a variety of institutions: within
single firms, within private consortia, with government blessing and with
government mandate. Standards can be open and non-propriety, or closed and
proprietary, and gradations in between these extremes. In digital music markets
we see all of these models, to varying degrees."
He continued that "standard setting is hard. We do not know ex ante the
optimal method for standard setting, or the optimal model. Are open standards preferable?
In some cases, yes; in others, no -- you are making a trade-off. Are proprietary or
non-proprietary standards going to give the greatest amount of innovation? We cannot
be sure. Do we prefer competition for a standard or competition within a standard?
Depends ..."
Hence, he recommended that "Because there are undeniable trade-offs
from any standard-setting decision, governments should be: a) wary of thinking they have
sufficient foresight to make proper standard-setting decisions; and b) deferential to
private attempts at standard setting."
He said that Congress should not "give into
platform envy and mandate some sort of interoperability. Antitrust law and the
common law-like doctrines of intellectual property law are adequately suited to
address the challenges from new digital music platforms." And, "the best course
would be to resist calls for mandates or technology limitations in this dynamic
space."
He also argued that "A final value for public
policy should be to ratify the acceptability and use of digital rights
management or DRM technologies." Thus, he criticized
HR 1201,
the "Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act of 2005",
sponsored by Rep. Rick Boucher
(D-VA). He said that this bill "would in effect remove DRM as a marketplace
option. By permitting consumers to circumvent copy-protection mechanisms,
currently a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, any contract
between a consumer and a content provider involving a fixed payment for a fixed
set of rights could be unilaterally voided by the consumer."
See also, following story titled "Reps. Boucher, Doolittle and Barton
Reintroduce Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act".
Michael Bracy, Policy Director of the Future
of Music Coalition, raised a number of issues in his
prepared
testimony that were not directly related to the subject of the hearing. He
asked "Will Congress listen to the concerns of
the music community by addressing consolidation of the commercial radio industry
and accusations of structural payola that limit the songs that appear on the
public airwaves? Will the FCC be permitted by Congress to expand the wildly
popular non-commercial Low Power Radio licenses to urban markets? Will Digital
Audio Broadcasting be implemented in a way that addresses the fundamental
concerns about localism, competition and diversity in the radio marketplace? And
will digital radio be brought in line with other non-interactive digital
transmission platforms that are required to pay an additional performance
royalty to performers? Most importantly, will Congress be able to defend the
ability of musicians and songwriters to compete in the marketplace by ensuring
access to high speed networks?"
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Reps. Boucher, Doolittle and Barton
Reintroduce Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act |
3/9. On March 9, 2005, Rep. Rick Boucher
(D-VA), Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), and
Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) introduced
HR 1201,
the "Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act of 2005".
This is a reintroduction of
HR 107
from the 108th Congress. HR 107 (108th), in turn, was based upon a bill
introduced in the 107th Congress. For a summary of this legislation, see
stories
titled "Reps. Boucher and Doolittle Introduce Digital Media Consumer Rights Act"
and "Summary of the Digital Media Consumer Rights Act" in
TLJ Daily E-Mail
Alert No. 532, October 4, 2002; and story titled "Reps. Boucher and
Doolittle Introduce Digital Fair Use Bill" in
TLJ Daily E-Mail
Alert No. 582, January 14, 2003.
See also, stories titled "Chairman Barton Says Commerce Committee Will Mark
Up Boucher Doolittle Bill in July", "House Commerce Committee's Primary
Jurisdiction Over HR 107", and "Judiciary Committee Leaders Condemn
Jurisdictional Power Grab" in
TLJ Daily E-Mail
Alert No. 924, June 23, 2004.
Rep. Barton is the Chairman of the
House Commerce Committee (HCC). Rep. Boucher is a senior member of both the
HCC and the House Judiciary Committee.
Rep. Boucher obtained the bill number 107 in the 108th Congress because
17
U.S.C. § 107 is the codification of the fair use exception to the exclusive
rights of copyright. In the present Congress, Rep. Boucher waited to reintroduce
his bill in order to obtain bill number 1201.
17
U.S.C. § 1201 is the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA.
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Notice |
TLJ experienced technical difficulties yesterday and today. There was
no issue of the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert on Thursday, April 7. Today's issue
is late. TLJ apologizes. |
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Washington Tech Calendar
New items are highlighted in red. |
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Friday, April 8 |
9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals
(DCCir) will hear oral argument in Program Suppliers v. Librarian of
Congress, No. 04-1070. Judges Sentelle, Randolph and Tatel will preside.
Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.
10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of
Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Korszun v. Public Technologies
Multimedia, No. 04-1504. This is an appeal from the U.S. District Court (DConn)
in a software patent case. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.
12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Progress and
Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a panel discussion titled "The Indecency
Debate: Should Congress Extend Broadcast Rules to Other Media?". The speakers
will be Adam Thierer (PFF),
Jill Luckett (National Cable Telecommunications
Association), and Jerald Fritz (Allbritton Communications). Press contact:
Patrick Ross at 202 289-8928. See,
notice
and
registration pages. Location: Room B389, Rayburn Building, Capitol Hill.
Deadline to submit initial comments to the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response
to its notice
of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) [460 pages in PDF] in its proceeding titled "In the
Matter of: Implementation of the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act
of 2004 Implementation of Section 340 of the Communications Act". See also, FCC
release
[PDF]. This NPRM is FCC 05-24 in MB Docket No. 05-49. The FCC adopted this NPRM on
February 4, 2005, and released it on February 7, 2005. See, story titled "FCC
Releases SHVERA NPRM Regarding Significantly Viewed Signals" in TLJ Daily E-Mail
Alert No. 1,073, February 9, 2005.
Deadline to submit initial comments to the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to assist
it in preparing its annual report to the Congress regarding progress made to achieve
the objectives and carry out the purposes and provisions of Open-Market Reorganization
for the Betterment of International Telecommunications Act (ORBIT Act). See, FCC
notice
[PDF]. This proceeding is IB Docket No. 04-158.
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Monday, April 11 |
9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals
(DCCir) will hear oral argument in Northpoint Technologies v. FCC, No.
02-1194. Judges Sentelle, Rogers and Tatel will preside. Location: Prettyman Courthouse,
333 Constitution Ave., NW.
2:00 PM. The Senate Commerce
Committee will hold a hearing
S 241, a bill
to exempt the Universal Service support taxes and subsidies from
the Anti-deficiency Act. See,
notice. Press
contact: Melanie Alvord or Aaron Saunders (Stevens) at
202 224-8456 or 202 224-3991, or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202 224-4546. Location: Room
385, Russell Building. (This is not the Committee's hearing room.)
6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal
Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a continuing legal education (CLE)
seminar titled "Must Carry/Retrans Consent". Location:
Dow Lohnes & Albertson, 1200 New Hampshire
Ave., NW.
Deadline to submit to the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) oppositions to petitions to deny
Nextel's and Sprint's
joint applications for FCC approval of the transfer of control to Sprint of the licenses
and authorizations held both by Nextel. That is, this is a merger review proceeding. See,
FCC Public
Notice [7 pages in PDF], No. DA 05-502, in WT Docket No. 05-63. On December 15, 2004,
the two companies announced a "definitive agreement for a merger of equals".
See, Nextel release and
release.
Deadline to submit reply comments to the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response
to BellSouth's petition for pricing flexibility for switched access services. See, FCC
Public
Notice DA 05-740 in WC Docket No. 05-148.
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Tuesday, April 12 |
9:30 AM. The
House Appropriation's Committee's
Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development, The
Judiciary, District of Columbia will hold a hearing on the federal judiciary. See,
notice. Location: Room 2358, Rayburn Building.
12:00 NOON. The Federal
Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a luncheon. The speaker
will be Rep. Joe Barton
(R-TX), the Chairman of the House
Commerce Committee. Prices vary from $35 to $65. See,
registration form
[PDF]. Registrations and cancellations are due by 5:00 PM on April 7. Location:
Mayflower Hotel,
1127 Connecticut Ave., NW.
1:00 PM. The House Appropriation's
Committee's Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, and Housing and Urban
Development, The Judiciary, District of Columbia will hold a hearing on the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas will testify. See,
notice. Location: Room 2358, Rayburn Building.
6:00 - 8:30 PM. The Federal
Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host an
event titled "Happy Hour". For more information, contact Pam Slipakoff at
202 418-7705 or pam.slipakoff@fcc.gov.
Location: Andale, 401 7th Street, NW.
6:00 - 8:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will
host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "What You Need to Know
About the DMCA and Its Application". The scheduled speakers are Peter Jaszi
(American University Law School), Robert Kasunic (U.S. Copyright Office), Stacey King
(Finnegan Henderson), and Alan Lewine (Litman Law Offices). See,
notice.
Prices vary from $70 to $115. For more information, call 202 626-3488. Location: D.C.
Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.
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Wednesday, April 13 |
9:30 AM. The Senate
Judiciary Committee will
hold a hearing "to examine securing electronic personal data, focusing on striking
a balance between privacy and commercial and governmental use". Press contact: Blain
Rethmeier (Specter) at 202 224-5225, David Carle (Leahy) at 202 224-4242 or Tracy Schmaler
(Leahy) at 202 224-2154. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.
RESCHEDULED FROM APRIL 6. 10:00 AM. The
Senate Finance Committee will hold a
hearing on the U.S. Dominican Republic Central America Free Trade
Agreement (CAFTA). Location: Room 628, Dirksen Building.
6:00 - 8:15 PM. The DC Bar Association
will host a continuing legal education (CLE) program titled "How to
Prosecute a Trademark Before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office". The
scheduled speakers are Leigh Ann Lindquist (Sughrue
Mion), Mark Bergsman (Dickstein
Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky), and Jody Drake (Sughrue Mion). See,
notice. Prices vary from $70 to $115. For more information, call 202
626-3488. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.
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Thursday, April 14 |
RESCHEDULED FOR APRIL 28. 9:30 AM. The
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold
a meeting. The event will be webcast by the FCC. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW,
Room TW-C05 (Commission Meeting Room).
10:00 AM. The
House Ways and Means Committee
will hold a hearing titled "United States-China Economic Relations and
China's Role in the World Economy". See,
notice. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.
12:15 PM. The Federal
Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Cable Practice Committee and Common Carrier
Practice Committee will jointly host a brown bag lunch titled "Phone Companies'
Entry into Video". The speakers will be Libby Beatty
(National Association of Telecommunications
Officers & Advisors), Neal Goldberg (National
Cable & Telecommunications Association), and
Bill Richardson (Wilmer
Cutler). RSVP to
Quyen
Truong at ttruong at dowlohnes dot com or 202 776-2058. Location:
Dow Lohnes & Albertson, Suite 800, 1200
New Hampshire Ave., NW.
4:00 PM. Pamela Samuelson
(University of California at Berkeley School of Law) will present a draft
paper titled "Why Congress Excluded Processes and Systems from the Scope of
Copyright". See,
notice of event.
This event is part of the Spring 2005 Intellectual Property Workshop Series sponsored
by the Dean Dinwoodey Center for Intellectual Property Studies at the
George Washington University Law School
(GWULS). For more information, contact Robert Brauneis at 202 994-6138 or
rbraun@law.gwu.edu. The event is free
and open to the public. Location: GWULS, Faculty Conference Center, Burns
Building, 5th Floor, 716 20th St., NW.
6:00 PM. Day one of a two day conference hosted by the
American Enterprise Institute (AEI), Münchner Kreis,
and Georgetown University titled "The Future of Telecommunications
Industries: Transatlantic Symposium". See,
notice. Registration required by April 8. See,
registration
page. Location: Riggs Library, Main Campus, Georgetown University, 37th and O
Streets, NW.
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Friday, April 15 |
8:45 AM - 5:15 PM. Day two of a two day conference hosted by the
American Enterprise Institute (AEI), Münchner Kreis,
and Georgetown University titled "The Future of Telecommunications
Industries: Transatlantic Symposium". See,
notice. Registration required by April 8. See,
registration page. Location: Riggs Library, Main Campus, Georgetown
University, 37th and O Streets, NW.
9:30 AM. The U.S.
Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in U.S. International
Trade Commission v. ASAT Inc., No. 05-5009. See,
U.S. International Trade Commission's
(USITC) proceeding conducted pursuant to Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930,
19 U.S.C. § 1337, titled "In the Matter of Certain Encapsulated Integrated
Circuit Devices and Products Containing Same" and numbered 337-TA-501. See also
ASAT web site. Judges Ginsburg, Rogers and Tatel will
preside. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The Federal
Communications Commission's (FCC)
Technological Advisory Council will meet. See,
notice in the Federal Register, March 25, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 57, at Page
15316. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Commission Meeting Room (TW-C305).
Deadline to submit reply comments to the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding
TSA Stores, Inc.'s Petition for Declaratory Ruling to preempt a provision of the statutes
of the state of Florida as applied to interstate telephone calls. This is CG Docket No.
02-278, which pertains to rules implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991
(TCPA). See,
notice in the Federal Register, March 1, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 39, at Pages
9875-9876.
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People and Appointments |
4/7. President Bush nominated Gordon England to be Deputy Secretary of
Defense. If confirmed by the Senate, England will replace Paul Wolfowitz. See, White
House
release.
4/6. President Bush nominated Timothy Adams to be An Under Secretary
of The Treasury. If confirmed by the Senate, he will replace John Taylor. See,
White House
release.
4/4. The Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) announced the appointment of members of its
Technological Advisory Council (TAC) for 2005. See, FCC
release.
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More News |
4/7. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir)
issued its opinion [7
pages in PDF] in VM Tech v. Compaq, affirming the judgment of the
District Court dismissing VM Tech's patent infringement action for lack of
prosecution. This case is VM Tech Inc. v. Compaq Computer Corporation and
Hewlett Packard Company, Inc., U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal
Circuit, No. 04-1436.
4/7. A grand jury of the U.S.
District Court (NDCal) returned an indictment that charges six companies and
five individuals with fraud, collusion, aiding and abetting, and conspiracy in
connection with bid rigging and project allocation schemes related to the
Federal Communications Commission's (FCC)
e-rate subsidy program. See, Department of Justice
release.
4/7. Ruben Moreno plead guilty in
U.S. District Court (EDVa) to one
count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud his
former employer, America Online, of $100,000.
He conspired to pay $100,000 to an outside consultant for non-existent work.
Another conspirator, Gregory Horton, previously plead guilty. See,
plea agreement [15 pages in PDF] and Department of Justice
release [PDF].
4/7. The Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) announced that "FCC website documents and E-Filing systems
will be unavailable from 10:00 PM (EDT) on Sunday April 10 until 6:00 AM (EDT)
on Monday April 11 due to scheduled maintenance."
4/7. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
released a
public
notice (DA 05-1011) [20 pages in PDF] that describes and contains the recommendations
of the World Radiocommunication Conference Advisory Committee (WRC-07 Advisory Committee)
on a number of issues that will be considered by the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference
(WRC-07).
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