4/18. Ivan Seidenberg, Ch/CEO of Verizon, gave a speech to the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) in Las Vegas, Nevada. He described Verizon's plans to provide video programming, and other things, over fiber optic lines. He also said that the local franchising process presents an "unnecessary impediment to consumer choice in video" and a "barrier to video competition". He called for a "federal solution".

Seidenberg said that Verizon is "the first communications company to make a major commitment to taking fiber all the way to homes and businesses. This network, which we call FiOS, delivers super-fast data and Internet access at speeds of up to 30 megabits downstream and 5 megabits upstream. Our system will deliver 100 megabits downstream and up to 15 megabits upstream". See, Verizon's FiOS web page.

He said that FiOS will enable voice over internet protocol (VOIP), video messaging, multi-player games, shopping, and television and entertainment.

He continued that "we are laying the groundwork to launch FiOS-TV later this year. ... We're signing deals with broadcasters, programmers, software and hardware companies to assemble a video package that will deliver the best possible customer experience."

He also said that "we're working to get the franchises we need to enter the market".

He argued that "we need to find a way to break down the biggest barrier to our entry into video, and that's the franchising process. As a local telephone company, we have always had a franchise to deploy and operate our networks. Now, we're being asked to obtain a second franchise to use those networks to compete in video. We are currently applying for franchises in towns, cities and counties across the country, and we are also pursuing statewide solutions in some jurisdictions."

"This is, at best, a slow process that presents an unnecessary impediment to consumer choice in video. Therefore, we are also seeking a federal solution to this issue. We ask you to lend your persuasive voice in support of clearing away this barrier to video competition and speeding the day when America’s communications companies can use our fantastic resources to offer your content and provide a true and compelling competitive alternative to cable."

He also touched briefly on two other issues, must carry and intellectual property protection. He said that "we recognize the importance of protecting the value of intellectual content in a digital universe. The creators and carriers of content share a common interest in this issue ... after all, if we don’t adequately protect the value of content, we won't have any content to provide."

See also, April 18, 2005 speech by Eddie Fritts, P/CEO of the NAB.

4/18. The Supreme Court denied certiorari in Nissan Motor v. Nissan Computer, a dispute over the operation of a web site with a domain name that includes a trademarked name. This lets stand the August 6, 2004, opinion [30 pages in PDF] of the U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir). See, Order List [24 pages in PDF] at page 11.

Uzi Nissan is an individual who owns a computer store in the state of North Carolina. He formed a corporation named Nissan Computer Corp. He registered the domain name nissan.com in 1994. He maintained a web site at this domain name that also included automobile related advertising.

Nissan Motor Co. is an automobile manufacturer based in Japan, with operations and sales in the U.S. It registered the trademark "Nissan" in 1959. Nissan Motor unsuccessfully sought to obtain the domain name from Uzi Nissan.

Nissan Motor filed a complaint in U.S. District Court (CDCal) against Nissan Computer alleging, among other things, that the domain name "nissan.com" diluted the "NISSAN" trademark in violation of the Federal Trademark Dilution Act (FTDA), which is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c), and that the domain name registration infringed the trademark under the Lanham Act, which is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1114.

The District Court held that Nissan Computer's automobile related advertising constituted trademark infringement on the basis of initial interest confusion, but that non-automobile related advertising did not. The Appeals Court affirmed on this issue.

The District Court held that Nissan Computer's use of the domain name dilutes the quality of Nissan Motor’s mark, and issued an injunction. The Appeals Court reversed on the trademark dilution issue.

The Appeals Court also reversed the injunction. It concluded that "to enjoin Nissan Computer from providing visitors to nissan.com a link to sites with disparaging or negative commentary about Nissan Motor is a content-based restriction on non-commercial speech that is inconsistent with the First Amendment."

Nissan Motor petitioned the Supreme Court for writ of certiorari.

See, story titled "9th Circuit Rules in Trademark Dilution and Infringement Case Involving Domain Name Registration" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 958, August 12, 2004.

This case is Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., et al. v. Nissan Computer Corp., et al., Sup. Ct. No. 04-869. The Appeals Court case numbers are 02-57148, 03-55017, 03-55144, and 03-55236.

4/18. The Supreme Court denied certiorari in Tony Colida v. Qualcomm, Inc., No. 04-8643. The is one of a series of Colida's petitions for writ of certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) in patent cases. See, Order List [24 pages in PDF] at page 15.

4/18. The Supreme Court announced that "The Court will take a recess from Monday, May 2, 2005, until Monday, May 16, 2005." See, Order List [24 pages in PDF] at page 24.

4/15. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) introduced S 817, an untitled bill to create the position of Special Trade Prosecutor in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), with the rank of Ambassador. The position would require Senate confirmation.

Sen. Stabenow (at right) stated in the Senate that "Under the current structure of the office of the U.S. Trade Representative, we are asking our Trade Representative to do too much. Quite simply, the office is not able to deliver. The current structure demands that they negotiate trade agreements with foreign nations and simultaneously enforce other agreements with those same countries--all without damaging the U.S.'s ability to negotiate the next trade deal. It's not working. And, while significant portions of our trade imbalances are not caused by lax enforcement, much of it is." See, Congressional Record, April 15, 2005, at Pages S3748-9.

She continued that the USTR has filed no complaints with the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding widespread counterfeiting of automotive parts in the People's Republic of China.

She said that "the U.S. government has failed to file any complaints at the WTO, despite the Chinese government's repeated and widespread violations of WTO rules". She added, "Counterfeit automotive products are a big problem in my home State of Michigan".

Specifically, S 817 would amend Section 141 of the Trade Act of 1974, which is codified at 19 U.S.C. § 2171.

It would provide that there shall be in the Office of the USTR "3 Deputy United States Trade Representatives, 1 Chief Agricultural Negotiator, and 1 Special Trade Prosecutor. The 3 Deputy United States Trade Representatives, the Chief Agricultural Negotiator, and the Special Trade Prosecutor shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. As an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate, any nomination of a Deputy United States Trade Representative, the Chief Agricultural Negotiator, or the Special Trade Prosecutor submitted to the Senate for its advice and consent, and referred to a committee, shall be referred to the Committee on Finance. Each Deputy United States Trade Representative, the Chief Agricultural Negotiator, and the Special Trade Prosecutor shall hold office at the pleasure of the President and shall have the rank of Ambassador".

It would also provide that "The principal function of the Special Trade Prosecutor shall be to ensure compliance with trade agreements relating to United States manufactured goods and services. The Special Trade Prosecutor shall have the authority to investigate and recommend prosecuting cases before the World Trade Organization and under trade agreements to which the United States is a party. The Special Trade Prosecutor shall recommend administering United States trade laws relating to foreign government barriers to United States goods and services."

See also, Sen. Stabenow's release.

4/18. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report [53 pages in PDF] titled "Free Trade Area of the Americas: Missed Deadline Prompts Efforts to Restart Stalled Hemispheric Trade Negotiations". The report states that one of the obstacles is that the U.S. insists on greater IPR protections, and Brazil, which does not protect U.S. IPR, opposes this.

Western hemisphere nations launched negotiations for a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) in 1998. These nations set a target date for conclusion of negotiations of January 2005. The negotiations have not concluded. This report reviews the progress of these negotiations, and the prospects for a future FTAA.

The report states that "Progress on the FTAA has slowed since mid-2003, and came to a standstill in 2004". It offers three reasons for this.

"First, the United States and Brazil have made little progress in resolving basic differences on key negotiation issues. Notably, Brazil insists it must be assured that its concerns over agricultural subsidies and trade remedies will be addressed and that an FTAA will result in meaningful new market access, especially for its highly competitive agricultural goods. However, the United States is seeking more stringent enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR), greater opportunities for U.S. services providers, and new rules on government procurement and investment protection before it will commit to fully liberalize access to its markets. FTAA talks were halted in the absence of satisfactory responses to these and other demands."

"Second, participants turned to bilateral and multilateral trade agreements where progress appeared more immediate. Notably, until August 2004, FTAA countries had expended considerable effort seeking to break the deadlock in negotiations at the WTO on agriculture, a key concern of all FTAA nations."

"Third, mechanisms intended to facilitate progress -- such as the new negotiating structure and co-chairmanship by U.S. and Brazil of FTAA talks -- have thus far failed to do so."

With respect to the future prospects for an FTAA, the report concludes that "participants and experts were pessimistic about near-term prospects". However, it adds that "many believe that integrating the hemisphere -- by lowering barriers to goods, services, and investment and strengthening trade rules -- is still worth pursuing, and they remain hopeful about reviving the FTAA in 2005."

The report states that "The lead U.S. negotiator explained that a broader agenda, including services, investment, government procurement, and intellectual property, is extremely important to fostering real integration in the hemisphere." The report also notes that the U.S. "enjoys a decisive competitive advantage in terms of high-tech, knowledge-based industries that depend on strong IPR protection".

4/16. Peter Allgeier, the acting U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), gave a speech [PDF] titled "Trade Agreements and the States" to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

He argued that "Trade agreements do not restrict a state's right to regulate and do not automatically preempt, invalidate or overturn state laws. Nothing in any trade agreement prevents the United States or any state from enacting, modifying, or fully enforcing domestic laws. And international panels set up to look at disputes over trade agreements have no authority to change U.S. law or to require any state or local government to change its laws or decisions. Only the federal or state governments can change a federal or state law."

He also discussed the World Trade Organization (WTO) proceeding regarding whether various state and federal laws affecting internet gambling violate the treaty obligations of the U.S. 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.

However, on April 7, 2005, the WTO's Appellate Body issued its report [146 pages in PDF] that reverses key parts of the Dispute Resolution Panel's findings. 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. See also, story titled "WTO Appellate Body Upholds U.S. Laws Affecting Internet Gambling" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,111, April 8, 2005.

Allgeier stated in his April 16 speech that "in the recent WTO case involving internet gambling, we conducted regular conference calls with any interested state official, and we received very helpful advice in preparing our legal briefs. And we won an important victory. The WTO sided with the US on key issues -- US internet gambling restrictions can stand because U.S. federal gambling laws protect public order and public morals. And the WTO completely threw out the challenge to U.S. state laws on internet gambling."

On April 5, 2005, just prior to the release of the Appellate Body's report, Rep. John Duncan (R-TN) spoke in the House about the WTO and state sovereignty. He stated that the WTO "has now ruled the State of Utah cannot ban Internet gambling within its own borders. The WTO said if the ban was enforced, Utah would be impeding the rights of the small nations of Antigua and Barbados. Who would have ever thought that Antigua and Barbados would have more control over what goes on in Utah than the people of Utah themselves do? This is ridiculous. What have we come to? ... The States are losing their authority in a lot of areas. Where are those people now who told us that membership in the WTO would not cause any loss of U.S. sovereignty?" See, Congressional Record, April 5, 2005, at Page H1739.

4/15. Michael Battle was named Director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) at the Department of Justice (DOJ), effective June 6, 2005. He has been the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York since January of 2002. He will replace Mary Beth Buchanan.

4/14. The Senate Judiciary Committee reported the following nominations, with the recommendation that they be confirmed: Thomas Griffith (to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia), James Dever (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina), and Robert Conrad (U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina). See, Congressional Record, April 14, 2005, at Page S3652.

4/11. The Senate confirmed Paul Crotty to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Judge Crotty previously worked for Verizon.

4/18. The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) released a paper [14 pages in PDF] titled "Chinese Telecommunications Policy Examined: The Case for Reform". This paper, which was written by the PFF's Richard Zielinski, urges the PR China not to protect national telecommunications champions. It states that "One concept that the Chinese government must grasp is that the creation of an advanced communications network is vital for economic growth overall, regardless of whether that network is indigenously owned or not. The government should be careful not to sacrifice long-term quality and efficiency for the short-term exploitation of telecom service charges. The value of a country’s network lies not in the ownership of the cables and wires, but in how that nation’s citizens use those tools to contribute to overall productivity growth and commercial activity."

The House will meet at 12:30 PM for morning hour, and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. The House will consider S 167, the "Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005", and HR 683, the "Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2005", under suspension of the rules. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. See, Republican Whip Notice.

The Senate will meet at 9:45 AM. It will resume consideration of HR 1268, the Iraq/Afghanistan Supplemental Appropriations bill.

9:30 AM - 11:00 PM. The Advisory Committee to the Congressional Internet Caucus will host a panel discussion titled "Blocking VoIP Calls: Foreboding Harbinger or Benign Fluke?" The speakers will be Dan Brenner (National Cable & Telecommunications Association), Jeffrey Citron (Vonage), James Speta (Northwestern University Law School), Timothy Wu (Virginia Law School), and Jessica Zufolo (Medley Global Advisors). RSVP to 202 638-4370 ext 288, or rsvp at netcaucus dot org. See, notice. Location: Room HC-5, Capitol Building.

10:00 AM - 2:00 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host an event titled "Managing Spectrum: Why Economics Matters". The speakers will include William Baumol (New York University), Gerald Faulhaber (University of Pennsylvania), and Robert Hahn (AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies). See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

RESCHEDULED FOR APRIL 20. 11:00 AM. The House Homeland Security Committee's Subcommittee on Economic Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Cybersecurity will meet. The agenda contains one item, HR 285, the "Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2005". Location: Room 210, Cannon Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights will hold a hearing to examine the SBC/ATT and Verizon/MCI mergers, focusing on remaking the telecommunication industry. The witnesses will be Carl Grivner (XO Communication), Jeffrey Citron (Vonage), Scott Cleland (Precursor Group), and Gene Kimmelman (Consumers Union). See, notice. 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.

2:30 PM. The Senate Intelligence Committee will hold a hearing on the USA PATRIOT Act. Location: Room 216, Hart Building.

TIME CHANGE. 3:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security will hold a hearing titled "Oversight Hearing on Implementation of the USA PATRIOT Act: Effect of Sections 203 (b) and (d) on Information Sharing". The witnesses will be Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), Barry Sabin (Chief of the Counterterrorism Section, Criminal Division, Department of Justice), Maureen Baginski (Executive Assistant Director for the Office of Intelligence, FBI), and Tim Edgar (ACLU). Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

6:00 - 815 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Telecom Act Re-write". Location: Wiley Rein & Fielding Conference Center, 1776 K St., NW.

Day one of a three day conference hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National Institute of Health (NIH), and Internet2 titled "4th Annual PKI R&D Workshop: Multiple Paths to Trust". See, NIST notice, registration page, and conference website. Location: NIST, Gaithersburg, MD.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. It will consider several non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:30 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Science Committee's Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics will hold a hearing titled "Future Market for Commercial Space". The witnesses will be Burt Rutan (Scaled Composites), Will Whitehorn (Virgin Galactic), Elon Musk (Space Exploration Technologies), John Vinter (International Space Brokers Group), Molly Macauley (Resources for the Future), and Wolfgang Demisch (Demisch Associates). Press contact: Joe Pouliot at 202 225-0581 or joe.pouliot at mail dot house dot gov. Location: Room 2318 Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet "How Internet Protocol-Enabled Services Are Changing the Face of Communications: A Look at Video and Data Services". The hearing will be webcast by the Committee. See, notice. Press contact: Kevin Schweers (Barton) at 202 225-5735 or Sean Bonyun (Upton) at 202 225-3761. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee will meet to mark up several non-technology related bills. The agenda also includes consideration of HRes 210, a resolution sponsored by Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL) and others supporting World Intellectual Property Day. The meeting will be webcast by the Committee. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:30 AM. The Senate Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Homeland Security will hold a hearing on the FY 2006 budget for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Secretary Michael Chertoff will testify. Location: Room 124, Dirksen Building.

10:30 AM. The House International Relations Committee's Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific will hold a hearing titled "Focus on a Changing Japan". See, notice. Location: Room 2172, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing titled "Oversight Hearing on the Industry Competition and Consolidation: The Telecom Marketplace Nine Years After the Telecom Act". Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. The hearing will be webcast by the Comittee. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The House Homeland Security Committee's Subcommittee on Economic Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Cybersecurity will mark up HR 285, the "Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2005". Location: Room 210, Cannon Building.

4:30 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property will hold a hearing titled "Oversight Hearing on Committee Print Regarding Patent Quality Improvement". Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

Day two of a three day conference hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National Institute of Health (NIH), and Internet2 titled "4th Annual PKI R&D Workshop: Multiple Paths to Trust". See, NIST notice, registration page, and conference website. Location: NIST, Gaithersburg, MD.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. It will consider several non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold an executive business meeting. See, notice. 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.

9:30 AM - 3:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold an orientation session for the new Integrated Spectrum Auction System (ISAS). See, FCC notice [PDF]. Preregistration is requested; call 888 225-5322. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of Rep. Robert Portman (R-OH) to be the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). Location: Room 628, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security will hold hearing titled "Oversight Hearing on the Implementation of the USA PATRIOT Act: Sections of the Act that Address -- Crime, Terrorism, and the Age of Technology". Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing titled "Hearing on Implementation of the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA)". See, notice. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Wireless Mobile Content: A Snapshot of Content Issues in a Wireless World". The scheduled speakers are Mark Desautels (CTIA), Adam Zawel (Yankee Group), Fabrice Grinda (Zingy Inc.), Scott Delacourt (Deputy Bureau Chief, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, Federal Communications Commission). See, notice. Prices vary from $15 to $25. For more information, call 202-626-3463. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

RESCHEDULED FROM APRIL 7. 2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Intellectual Property will hold a hearing titled "The Patent System Today and Tomorrow". Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) will preside. See, notice. 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.

Day three of a three day conference hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National Institute of Health (NIH), and Internet2 titled "4th Annual PKI R&D Workshop: Multiple Paths to Trust". See, NIST notice, registration page, and conference website. Location: NIST, Gaithersburg, MD.

12:00 NOON. Maureen O'Rourke (Boston University School of Law) will give a lecture titled "The Economics of Preemption". This is a part of the Georgetown Law Colloquium on Intellectual Property & Technology Law. For more information, contact Julie Cohen at 202 662-9871 or jec at law dot georgetown dot edu. Location: Faculty Lounge, Fifth Floor, Georgetown University Law Center, 600 New Jersey Ave., NW.

Deadline to submit reply 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.

Passover.

The voluntary negotiation period for the purpose of determining the royalty fees for the retransmission of digital over the air television broadcast signals by satellite carriers under the statutory license ends. See, Copyright Office's (CO) notice in the Federal Register, March 25, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 57, at Pages 15368 - 15369.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding implementation of Section 207 of the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act of 2004, extends Section 325(b)(3)(C) of the Communications Act until 2010 and amends that section to impose reciprocal good faith retransmission consent bargaining obligations on multichannel video programming distributors. This proceeding is MB Docket No. 05-89. See, FCC Public Notice DA 05-772, and notice in the Federal Register, March 24, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 56, at Pages 15048 - 15051. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts and Releases NPRM Implementing § 207 of SHVERA" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,090, March 8, 2005.

TIME? The House Appropriation's Committee's Subcommittee on Science, State, Justice, and Commerce, and Related Agencies will hold a hearing on the Federal Communications Commission. See, notice. This hearing was previously scheduled for April 14. Location: Room H-309, Capitol Building. (This is a small hearing room with very few public seats.)

12:00 NOON -1:30 PM. The Electronics Industry Alliance (EIA) will host a luncheon. The speaker will be Chang-Gyu Hwang, P/CEO of Samsung Electronics Semiconductor Business. See, notice. For more information, contact Gail Tannenbaum at gtannenbaum at eia dot org. Location: Room 325, Russell Building, Capitol Hill.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a program titled "Patent Law Update: What The Federal Circuit Would Like To See In Litigated Patents". The scheduled speaker is Paul Hickman (Perkins Coie). See, notice. Prices vary from $10 to $30. For more information, call 202 626-3463. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The topic will be "The Urge to Merge: A Procedural Primer on Supporting, Opposing, or Monitoring Telecommunications Mergers Considered Before the FCC, Congress, and Other Government Agencies". For more information, contact Natalie Roisman at  natalie.roisman@fcc.gov or 202 418-1655 or Phil Marchesiello at pmarchesiello at akingump dot com or 202 887-4348. No RSVP. Location: Akin Gump, 1333 New Hampshire Ave., NW, 10th Floor.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will begin the auction of 4,226 Multiple Address Systems (MAS) licenses in the Fixed Microwave Services from the 928/959 and 932/941 MHz bands. This is Auction No. 59. See, Public Notice (DA 04-3198) dated November 15, 2004. See also, Public Notice (DA 04-3985) dated December 21, 2004 regarding notice and filing requirements, minimum opening bids, upfront payments and other auction procedures.

Tech Law Journal publishes a free access web site and subscription e-mail alert. The basic rate for a subscription to the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert is $250 per year. However, there are discounts for subscribers with multiple recipients. Free one month trial subscriptions are available. Also, free subscriptions are available for journalists, federal elected officials, and employees of the Congress, courts, and executive branch. The TLJ web site is free access. However, copies of the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert are not published in the web site until one month after writing. See, subscription information page.

Contact: 202-364-8882.
P.O. Box 4851, Washington DC, 20008.

Privacy Policy
Notices & Disclaimers
Copyright 1998 - 2005 David Carney, dba Tech Law Journal. All rights reserved.