9/26. John Snow, the Secretary of the Treasury, gave a speech in Washington DC in which he addressed the Doha Development Agenda (DDA).

He said that "Arguably, the greatest step our governments can take to generate increased growth and poverty reduction is through the removal of trade barriers under the Doha Round negotiations."

He continued that the DDA "places particular emphasis on integrating developing countries into the global economy so that they may increasingly reap the benefits of trade liberalization. As the World Bank has shown, about three-quarters of the projected income gains from global trade liberalization for developing countries are expected to come from reducing their own barriers. For developing countries to realize these benefits, however, they too need to reduce their own trade barriers substantially.

Snow (at left) said that "Liberalization in services could deliver some of the greatest gains from the Doha round and is an essential element to the DDA. The income gains from services trade have been estimated to be much greater than from the liberalization of goods alone."

"Financial sector liberalization is particularly important for economic growth and poverty reduction, yet the quality and quantity of offers made has been extremely disappointing. Without a change in course, we are concerned that the Doha round could generate almost no new liberalization in trade in services -- a missed opportunity for development and poverty reduction. Therefore all countries, but especially developing countries which stand to benefit the most, should make WTO commitments to provide effective market access in services, including financial services."

On September 14, 2005, President Bush gave a speech at the United Nations, in New York City, in which he said that "we must bring the Doha trade talks to a successful conclusion". Bush also proposed the elimination of "all tariffs, subsidies and other barriers to free flow of goods and services". See, story titled "Bush Advocates Conclusion of Doha Round" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,214, September 15, 2005.

Snow discussed Bush's speech. He said, "As President Bush stated in his recent address to the United Nations, eliminating trade barriers is the key to overcoming poverty in the world's poorest nations. And so he said, ``the United States is ready to eliminate all tariffs, subsidies and other barriers to free flow of goods and services as other nations do the same.´´ While not all may be willing to meet this challenge, we strongly urge other members of the Development Committee and their constituencies, whether they be from high-income, middle-income, or low-income countries, to offer significant, broad trade liberalization measures by the Hong Kong Ministerial so the growth and development potential of the Doha Round can be realized."

Trade negotiators are working to reach agreement before the World Trade Organization (WTO) holds its Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong, China, on December 13-18, 2005. See, WTO notice.

9/26. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report [37 pages in PDF] titled "Information Security: Progress Made, but Federal Aviation Administration Needs to Improve Controls over Air Traffic Control Systems".

The report finds that the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) information security program "still has significant weaknesses that threaten the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of its systems -- including weaknesses in controls that are designed to prevent, limit, and detect access to those systems."

It elaborates that "the agency was not adequately managing its networks, system patches, user accounts and passwords, or user privileges, and it was not always logging and auditing security-relevant events."

Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), Chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, stated in a release that the "FAA must address these weaknesses in controls designed to prevent, limit, and detect access to its systems. The FAA is responsible for promoting the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of air traffic in the U.S. and it relies on IT systems and networks to accomplish its mission. Given the ever evolving nature of cyber-threats, and the thought of someone with malicious intent accessing FAA's IT systems, complacency is not an option".

9/22. The House Administration Committee held a hearing titled "Political Speech on the Internet: Should it be Regulated?".

Opponents of government regulation of Constitutionally protected free speech, including former Federal Election Commission (FEC) Commissioner Brad Smith, warned the Committee about the FEC's open rulemaking proceeding regarding regulation of speech under the rubric of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), as amended by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA). Others advocated the necessity of such regulation.

Background. The BCRA, which is also known as McCain Feingold, is now Public Law No. 107-155. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) were the lead sponsors in the Senate. Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT) and Rep. Marty Meehan (D-MA) were the lead sponsors in the House.

As required by the BCRA, the FEC promulgated implementing regulations. At issue is the definition of "public communication". 2 U.S.C. § 431(22) provides that "The term ``public communication´´ means a communication by means of any broadcast, cable, or satellite communication, newspaper, magazine, outdoor advertising facility, mass mailing, or telephone bank to the general public, or any other form of general public political advertising."

The FEC wrote in its rules that "The term public communication shall not include communications over the Internet." This was codified at 11 C.F.R. § 100.26.

Rep. Shays and Rep. Meehan then filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court (DC) challenging many of these regulations. Sen. McCain and Sen. Feingold submitted an amicus curiae brief. (Senate rules prohibited them from being parties.)

The District Court, Judge Colleen Kotelly presiding, overturned 14 parts of the FEC's implementing regulations, including the one regarding internet communications. The Court also held that the Congressmen have standing. See, September 18, 2004 Memorandum Opinion and Order [159 pages in PDF]. This is reported at Shays v. FEC, 337 F.Supp.2d 28 (D.D.C. 2004).

The District Court's decision is significant for technology law, and in particular, for political speech on the internet. The BCRA provides for regulation of certain "public communications"s. The FEC promulgated a rule that provides that "The term public communication shall not include communications over the Internet." But, the District Court held that the FEC lacked authority to do this. Hence, certain internet communications, such as personal blogs, web sites, and e-mail, may be subject to federal regulation under the FECA as "public communication"s. Many individuals and small businesses that engage in internet based speech lack the resources to comply with the FEC's regulatory regime, and hence, face government enforcement actions, and a chilling of their speech.

The purported purpose of the FECA, which has never been accomplished, has been to limit the influence of money in federal elections. Regulation of activities such as individual blogs would have an effect contrary to the purported purpose of the FECA. It would limit political speech and inhibit political participation by many people who do not have the ability to influence elections with money.

The FEC appealed with respect to five of the fourteen overturned rules. However, it did not appeal the portion of the District Court ruling that threatens internet speech.

The FEC issued another notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in March of this year. See, story titled "FEC Approves NPRM on Internet Speech" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,103, March 25, 2005. See also, stories titled "Bloggers Dodge McCain Feingold Bullet" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,102, March 24, 2005, "FEC to Consider Rules Regarding Internet Speech" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,100, March 22, 2005.

The FEC has held a public hearing, but has yet to issue new rules.

Prior Congressional Activity. Several members of Congress also weighed in on this issue in March and April.

On March 17, 2005, Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), the Senate minority leader, introduced S 678. The entire substance of Sen. Reid's bill is as follows: "Paragraph (22) of section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(22)) is amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: `Such term shall not include communications over the Internet.´'' That is, it would add to the statute the very language of the regulation that the District Court held was contrary to the FECA.

There are also companion bills in the House, HR 1605 and HR 1606, both introduced by Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) on April 13, 2005. The second bill adds the titled "Online Freedom of Speech Act".

See also, stories titled "Sen. Reid Introduces Bill to Exempt Internet Communications From Certain FEC Regulation" and "Democratic Representatives Urge FEC Not to Regulate Blogs" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,101, March 23, 2005.

September Hearing. Rep. Robert Ney (R-OH), the Chairman of the House Administration Committee, discussed the history of the BCRA and the FEC's drafting of regulations in his opening statement.

Rep. Ney stated that "While this new rulemaking was going on, some Members of Congress were making clear that they did not intend for BCRA to cover the Internet, and that they did not want the FEC regulating these communications. In March, Congressman Conyers and 13 of his colleagues wrote to the FEC seeking an exemption for web logs or blogs.

He also noted that the language of Sen. Reid's and Rep. Hensarling's bill "was adopted by this committee, and included in H.R. 1316, the Pence-Wynn bill, reported by the committee on June 8, 2005." HR 1316 is a larger bill that addresses many federal election issues, including Section 527 organizations. The Committee, but not the full House, has approved this bill.

Bradley Smith testified at the hearing. Until last month he had been an FEC Commissioner for five years, and usually its most ardent advocate of freedom of speech. He is now a law professor at Capitol University Law School.

He wrote in his prepared testimony [MS Word] that "What is perhaps most notable about the internet, for our purposes, is that there is probably no other medium by which the average citizen can exercise so much political influence with so little an expenditure of money. There are no barriers to entry in the world of blogging, or in creating email lists. Free software and free websites are available to blog, and a blog can therefore be established by the most amateurish computer user in under an hour, at literally zero cost. The person need not even own a computer or have internet service at his home or workplace -- access to a public library equipped with computers with on-line access will do. If one is truly concerned with reducing the influence of ``big money´´ in politics, then a deregulated internet is, by definition, ``reform.´´"

He argued that "it is clear that if the internet is to remain entirely, or even largely, free from bureaucratic interference, some type of congressional action is required."

He also argued that online speakers are threatened by FEC regulation. He said that "Although few want to say so publicly, there is a sizeable and powerful lobby both in and out of Congress that clearly wants to regulate the internet. Theirs is a stealth campaign, with soothing, moderate rhetoric in highly public settings, but a little probing demonstrates their disdain for the idea of a deregulated on-line community."

He argued that "there are many pitfalls for average citizens hoping to participate in on-line political activity. Moreover, proposals in Congress to remove the internet from the statutory definition of “public communication” are helpful, but do not solve the problem. A broader exemption is necessary."

He also argued that "part of that broader exemption should include clearly extending the press exemption to on-line activity."

Karl Sandstrom (Perkins Coie) wrote in his prepared testimony [MS Word] that "Left to develop on its own the Internet can flourish as a public forum where the force of one's argument counts more than the size of one's pocketbook. Congress and the Commission should provide the space for the Internet to realize its democratic promise. Each should reject the opportunity to become a zoning board of cyberspace and should leave the Internet to function as an open political space where all are invited and all are to be heard."

The Committee also heard from bloggers. See, prepared testimony [MS Word] of Michael Krempasky (Director of redstate.org) and prepared testimony [MS Word] of Duncan Black (of the Eschaton website).

In contrast, Lawrence Noble, of the Center for Responsive Politics, and an advocate of regulating internet speech, wrote in his prepared testimony that "it is a mistake to assume that because political debate can take place on the Internet for very little money, very large undisclosed sums cannot and will not be used to finance political activities on the Internet. There is little doubt that the Internet can be used in much the same way television, radio and the print media have been before; as an avenue for the spending of large amounts of undisclosed soft money to finance various forms of political ads aimed at electing or defeating Federal candidates."

He added that "the potential for quickly becoming another avenue for the use of undisclosed soft money to finance expensive political advertising by candidates, political parties, corporations, labor unions and wealthy individuals seeking to elect and defeat Federal candidates"

See also, the prepared testimony of FEC Commissioners: Scott Thomas, Michael Toner, and Ellen Weintraub.

Disclosure. TLJ publishes information via e-mail and the web regarding, among other things, past and future candidates for federal office. This article references nine: Reid, Hensarling, Ney, McCain, Feingold, Shays, Meehan, Pence and Wynn. The FEC's rules, and Congressional legislation, may affect TLJ. Readers may wish to take this into consideration when assessing the reliability and objectivity of any TLJ stories on this topic.

9/26. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales gave a speech in Miami, Florida, to the International Association of Chiefs of Police in which he discussed computer and internet related crimes.

9/26. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced the award of $21.4 Million in Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP) grants for fiscal year 2005. See, NTIA summary and list of awards.

9/26. Jon Dudas, head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), gave a speech in Miami, Florida, at an event titled "Conference on the Global Intellectual Property Marketplace". See, USPTO release.

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

The Senate will meet at 9:30 AM. It will resume consideration of the nomination of Judge John Roberts to be the Chief Justice of the United States.

8:30 AM. The Department of Defense's (DOD) Advisory Group on Electron Devices (AGED) will hold a closed meeting to review research and development efforts in electronics and photonics. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 19, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 180, at Page 54902. Location: Noesis, Inc., 4100 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 800, Arlington, VA.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in American Association of Paging Carriers v. FCC, No. 04-1359. This petition for review pertains to paging carriers and licensing by itinerant mobile radio transmitters on a nationwide, non-coordinated basis. The AAPC challenges the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Memorandum Opinion and Order (MOO) adopted September 1, 2004, and released on September 8, 2004. This MOO is FCC 04-212 in WT Docket No. 01-146. See, brief [43 pages in PDF] of the AAPC. Judges Henderson, Garland and Griffith will preside. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

9:30 AM. ElectionMall Technologies Inc. will host an event titled "Online Fraud Solution". For more information, contact Carrie Blewitt 202 448-3129, cblewitt at qorvis dot com. Location: Lisagor Room, National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor.

10:00 AM. The U.S. District Court (DC) will hold a hearing in Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. McGraw Hill. The CFTC filed an application [5 pages in PDF] to enforce a subpoena. McGraw Hill owns Platts, an energy industry data aggregator and publisher, whose raw data the CFTC seeks by subpoena. Platts obtains from market participants confidential transaction data. It then publishes index price data. McGraw Hill asserts that the raw data is confidential and privileged. If the Court overrides the confidentiality of the publisher, and compels production, it undermines all data aggregators' ability to obtain data under confidence, and hence, deprives the market of a valuable sources of information. See, CFTC's releases and brief [28 pages in PDF] on this matter. Location: Courtroom 21, Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:15 PM. Nortel will host a luncheon titled "Recent Developments in Cybersecurity Technology and Policy". The speakers will be Bill Owens (Ch/CEO of Nortel), Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA), Andy Purdy (acting Director of the DHS's National Cybersecurity Division), and Dave McCurdy (President of the Electronic Industries Alliance. For more information, contact Michelle Craft at 202 312-8089, or e-mail govtrel at nortel dot com. Location: Room 2168, Rayburn Building, Capitol Hill.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Transactional Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch. This will be an organizational meeting. No RSVP is requested. Location: Suite 1100, Drinker Biddle & Reath, 1500 K Street, NW.

1:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law will hold a hearing on HR 1956, the "Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2005". The witnesses will be Carey Bo Horn (President of ProHelp Systems, Inc.), Earl Ehrhart (American Legislative Exchange Council), Joan Wagnon (Multistate Tax Commission), and Lyndon Williams (Tax Counsel, Citigroup Corp.). Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT) will preside. The hearing will be webcast by the HJC. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

5:00 PM. The House Rules Committee will meet to adopt a rule for consideration of HR 3402, the "Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2006 through 2009". Location: Room 312, Capitol Building.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "How to Litigate a Patent Infringement Case". The speakers will be Patrick Coyne and Jerry Ivey (both of Finnegan Henderson). The price to attend ranges from $80-$125. For more information, call 202-626-3488. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. It may consider, subject to a rule, HR 3402, the "Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2006 through 2009". See, Republican Whip notice.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold a hearing titled "Protecting Copyright and Innovation in a Post-Grokster World". The SJC frequently cancels or postpones hearings without notice. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM - 2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold a pre-auction seminar for the MVDDS Auction (Auction No. 63). See, notice and registration form [PDF]. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a seminar titled "Electronic Filing At The Trademark Office". The speaker will be Craig Morris (US Patent and Trademark Office). The price to attend ranges from $20-$40. For more information, call 202 626-3463. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

12:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Professional Responsibility Committee will host a brown bag lunch. This will be an organizational and planning meeting. RSVP to Tina Screven at  escreven at wbklaw dot com. Location: Wilkinson Barker Knauer, 2300 N St., NW, 7th floor large conference room.

1:00 PM. The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing titled "United States Japan Economic and Trade Relations". See, notice. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

2:00 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights may hold a hearing titled "Video Competition in 2005 – More Consolidation, or New Choices for Consumers?". The SJC frequently cancels or postpones hearings without notice. Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH) is scheduled to preside. The scheduled witnesses are Glenn Britt (Ch/CEO of Time Warner Cable), Kyle McSlarrow (P/CEO of the NCTA), Forrest Miller (SBC Communications), Doron Gorshein
P/CEO of The America Channel), Scott Cleland (CEO of Precursor), and Mark Cooper (Consumer Federation of America). See, notice. Press contact: Blain Rethmeier (Specter) at 202 224-5225, Amanda Flaig (DeWine) at 202 224-7997, or Lynn Becker (Kohl) at 202 224-5653. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

Extended effective date of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) VOIP customer lockout order. See, the order contained in the FCC's document titled "Public Notice' [PDF], numbered DA 05-2085, and released on July 26, 2005. It requires, among other things, that every interconnected voice over internet protocol (VOIP) service provider must send every one of its subscribers an FCC mandated statement regarding E911, and that every interconnected VOIP service provider must send to every one of its customers the FCC mandated VOIP warning stickers. This order further requires that every interconnected VOIP service provider obtain acknowledgement from every one of its subscribers, and that it "disconnect, no later than August 30, 2005, all subscribers from whom it has not received such acknowledgements". See, extension order [4 pages in PDF].

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. It may consider, subject to a rule, HR 3402, the "Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2006 through 2009". See, Republican Whip notice.

9:30 AM - 5:00 PM. The Antitrust Modernization Commission (AMC) will hold a hearing on the state action doctrine and exclusionary conduct. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 8, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 173, at Page 53331. Location: Federal Trade Commission, Main Building, Room 432, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "Public Safety Communications from 9/11 to Katrina: Critical Public Policy Lessons". The hearing will be webcast by the HCC. See, notice. Press contact: Larry Neal at 202 225-5735. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Homeland Security Committee's Subcommittee on Economic Security, Infrastructure Protection and Cybersecurity will hold a hearing titled "SCADA and the Terrorist Threat: Protecting the Nation's Critical Control Systems". The witnesses will include Andy Purdy, acting Director of the National Cyber Division. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold the second of two hearings titled "Communications in Disaster". See, notice. The hearing will be webcast by the SCC. Press contact: Melanie Alvord (Stevens) 202 224-8456 or Melanie_Alvord at commerce dot senate dot gov, or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202 224-4546 or Andy_Davis at commerce dot senate dot gov. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Banking Committee will meet to consider pending nominations, including those of David McCormick (to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration), Darryl Jackson (to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce), and Franklin Lavin (to be Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade). The agenda also includes consideration of Emil Henry to be Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the Department of the Treasury), and the nomination of Patrick O’Brien to be Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing at the Department of the Treasury. See, notice. See also, story titled "Bush Nominates McCormick and Jackson for Export Control Office" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,165, June 30, 2005. Location: Room 538, Dirksen Building.

10:30 AM. The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing titled "Implementation of the United States Bahrain Free Trade Agreement". See, notice. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

1:00 PM. The House Homeland Security Committee's Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science, and Technology will hold a hearing titled "Incident Command, Control, and Communications during Catastrophic Events". Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

2:00 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold a hearing on pending judicial nominations. The SJC frequently cancels of postpones hearings without 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.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of States' (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to prepare for ITU-T Advisory Group. See, notice in the Federal Register, July 13, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 133, at Page 40414. Location: undisclosed. The DOS states that "Access to these meetings may be arranged by contacting Julian Minard at minardje at state dot gov.

4:00 - 5:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) and other groups will host a panel discussion titled "Making Effective Presentations before Congress and the FCC". The speakers will be Johanna Shelton (Minority Counsel, House Commerce Committee), Lauren Belvin (Legal Advisor to FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy), and Anita Wallgren (Sidley Austin Brown & Wood). The price to attend ranges from $0-15. For more information, and to RSVP, contact Anita Wallgren at 202 736-8468 or awallgren at sidley dot com. Location: Sidley Austin, 1501 K Street NW.

The Public Knowledge will host an awards ceremony and reception. For more information, contact Art Brodsky at 202 518-0020 x103. See, PK release. Location: Sewall-Belmont House, 144 Constitution Ave., NE (next to the Hart Building on Capitol Hill).

Target adjournment date for the House. See, House calendar.

POSTPONED TO OCTOBER 28. 12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Legislative Practice and Wireless Telecommunications Practice Committees will host a lunch titled "DTV Transition". The price to attend is $15. Registrations and cancellations are due by 5:00 PM on Tuesday, September 27, 2005. See, registration form [PDF]. Location: Sidley Austin, 1501 K Street, NW., 6th Floor.

Deadline for applications to be received by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory (EEEL) Grants. The EEEL covers semiconductors, electronic instrumentation, radio frequency (RF) technology, optoelectronics, magnetics, video, electronic commerce as applied to electronic products and devices, the transmission and distribution of electrical power, national electrical standards, and law enforcement standards. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 5, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 3, at Pages 781 - 789.

Deadline to submit comments to the Antitrust Modernization Commission regarding criminal remedies. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 10, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 153, at Page 46474.

Extended deadline for the National Cable & Telecommunications Association's (NCTA) and Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) to file their first round of status reports with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding progress in talks regarding the feasibility of a downloadable security solution for integrating navigation and security functionalities in cable set top boxes. See, FCC's Second Report and Order [37 pages in PDF] adopted and released on March 18, 2005. This order is FCC 05-76 in CS Docket No. 97-80. See also, FCC release [PDF] summarizing this order, and story titled "FCC Again Delays Deadline for Integrating Navigation and Security Functionalities in Cable Set Top Boxes" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,099, March 21, 2005. See also, notice of extensions (DA 05-1930) [2 pages in PDF].

Deadline to submit comments to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) regarding its task force report on the WHOIS database and privacy.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a lunch. The topic will be the future of the radio marketplace. The speakers will be Mark Mays (P/CEO of Clear Channel Communications), Blair Levin (Legg Mason), Paul Gallant (Stanford Washington Research Group), and Christopher Stern (Medley Global Advisers). See, notice and online registration page. Location: Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Gallery Room, 1330 Maryland Ave., SW.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) IP-Based Communications Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Network Neutrality -- What is it, Who Benefits, and Is Regulation Necessary?". The speakers will be Jim Kohlenberger (VON Coalition), Brent Olson (SBC), and Jim Casserly (Willkie Farr & Gallagher). Location: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, 2300 N St., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding its expansion of the US VISIT program to include the utilization of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 4, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 149, at Pages 44934 - 44938.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to the Public Notice [27 pages in PDF] of August 17, 2005, regarding four proposals (which are attached to the Public Notice) submitted to the FCC by members and staff of the FCC's Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service regarding universal service subsidies for rural carriers. One of these proposals also proposes expanding the services that are taxed to support universal service subsidies. (See, Public Notice, at page 18.)

Rosh Hashanah.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in IPXL Holdings v. Amazon.com, No. 05-1009. This is an appeal from the U.S. District Court (EDVa) in a patent infringement case involving IPXL's U.S. Patent No. 6,149,055, titled "Electronic Fund Transfer or Transaction System". The District Court granted summary judgment to Amazon. See, opinion [PDF] of the District Court. Location: U.S. Court of Appeals, LaFayette Square, 717 Madison Place, Courtroom 402.

Deadline to submit comments to the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) regarding its proposal to amend its rules regarding telecommunications, including its proposal to establish and codify provisions for RUS acceptance and technical acceptance of materials used in telecommunications systems. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 5, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 150, at Pages 45314 - 45322.