9/27. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released another document titled "Public Notice" in which the FCC once again extends it voice over internet protocol (VOIP) consumer cutoff deadline for certain interconnected VOIP service providers.

The FCC wrote that its Enforcement Bureau (EB) "will not pursue enforcement action", until October 31, 2005, against certain interconnected VOIP providers.

The FCC further wrote that those providers that have not received acknowledgements from at least 90% of their subscribers must also submit a status report to the FCC by October 25, 2005.

The FCC previously mandated that every interconnected 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. The FCC mandate further required 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". The FCC has twice announced extensions. See, first extension [4 pages in PDF], and the just released further extention [3 pages in PDF].

The FCC wrote in the just released item that "at least 21 providers have received acknowledgments from 100 percent of their subscribers and at least 32 others have obtained acknowledgements from 90 percent or more of their subscribers", and that the EB "will not pursue enforcement action against such providers". (The FCC did not identify the names of any providers that have reached 90%, or that remain below 90%.)

The FCC also wrote that "To the extent that a provider has not received acknowledgements from at least 90% of its subscribers, we intend to continue forbearing from enforcement of our acknowledgment requirement until October 31, 2005, provided that these providers submit a status report to us by October 25, 2005."

The just released order, which the FCC states that it is "further guidance", further amends the order portion of the FCC's First Report and Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking [90 pages in PDF], numbered FCC 05-116, adopted on May 19, 2005, and released on June 3, 2005.

For more information on the May 19 order, see, story titled "FCC Releases VOIP E911 Order" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,148, June 6, 2005. See also, stories titled "FCC Adopts Order Expanding E911 Regulation to Include Some VOIP Service Providers", "Summary of the FCC's 911 VOIP Order", "Opponents of FCC 911 VOIP Order State that the FCC Exceeded Its Statutory Authority", and "More Reaction to the FCC's 911 VOIP Order", in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,139, May 20, 2005.

The FCC amended its May 19 order with a document [PDF], titled "Public Notice", dated July 26, 2005, that established an August 30 deadline to shut off service to certain VOIP customers.

The July 26 item, which is numbered DA 05-2085, required, among other things, that every interconnected 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".

For more information on the July 26 item, see story titled "FCC Amends E911 VOIP Order's Subscriber Notice, Reporting and Cancellation Requirements" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,184, July 28, 2005.

Then, on August 26, 2005, the FCC issued a document [4 pages in PDF] that extended the customer cutoff deadline for thirty days (from August 30 to September 28). The August 26 item, which is numbered DA 05-2358, provided, in part, that the FCC "will continue to refrain, for an additional 30 days -- until September 28, 2005 -- from enforcing the requirement that VoIP providers obtain affirmative acknowledgements ..." However, this item also provided that this extension only applies to interconnected VOIP service providers who "filed reports on or before August 10, 2005 in accordance with the July 26" order.

For more information on the August 26 item, see story titled "FCC Delays Its VOIP Customer Lockout Mandate for 30 Days" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,202, August 26, 2005.

These orders and other items are part of the FCC's proceedings titled "In the Matter of IP-Enabled Services" and numbered WC Docket No. 04-36, and titled "E911 Requirements for IP-Enabled Service Providers" and numbered WC Docket No. 05-196.

The just released item is numbered DA 05-2530.

9/27. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law held a hearing on HR 1956, the "Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2005", or "BATSA".

Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), two of the leading technophiles in the House, and others, introduced HR 1956 on April 28, 2005. See also, story titled "House Subcommittee to Hold Hearing on Goodlatte Boucher BAT Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,219, September 22, 2005.

The Supreme Court ruled in Quill v. North Dakota, 504 U.S. 298 (1992) that state and local taxing authorities are barred under the Commerce Clause from requiring remote sellers without a substantial nexus to the taxing jurisdiction to collect sales taxes for sales to persons within the jurisdiction. The Court added that Congress may extend such authority. Some states now take the position that the holding in Quill only reaches sales taxes, and that states are free to tax businesses with no in state physical presence, based upon their business activities.

HR 1956 requires a physical presence for imposition of business activity taxes (BATs) by states. It provides that "No taxing authority of a State shall have power to impose, assess, or collect a net income tax or other business activity tax on any person relating to such person's activities in interstate commerce unless such person has a physical presence in the State during the taxable period with respect to which the tax is imposed."

The bill sets out in detail minimal activities, such as attending training conferences, that do not constitute physical presence.

The bill also defines "net income tax", and "other business activity tax". The latter means "(i) a tax imposed on or measured by gross receipts, gross income, or gross profits; (ii) a business license tax; (iii) a business and occupation tax; (iv) a franchise tax; (v) a single business tax or a capital stock tax; or (vi) any other tax imposed by a State on a business for the right to do business in the State or measured by the amount of, or economic results of, business or related activity conducted in the State." BAT does not include a "transaction tax".

HR 1956 would protect businesses that sell products over the internet from being subjected to a multitude of taxes, and tax filing requirements, in jurisdictions in which they have no presence.

Carey Bo Horn, the President of ProHelp Systems, Inc., a very small software company based in South Carolina, testified in support of the bill. He wrote in his prepared testimony that his company has annual domestic sales of under $30,000. However, the state of New Jersey taxes his company because it made a sale to a customer in New Jersey in 1997.

He wrote that "Should all 50 States adopt New Jersey's Corporate Business Tax, small software developers selling just one license in every State would owe $30,000 in business activity taxes every year thereafter, with no additional sales anywhere. Should localities follow suit, the results would truly be astronomical. These are powerful reasons to stay out of the software business."

He added that "The victims are generally not capable of fighting, they capitulate to reduce the risk of larger penalties, and they have absolutely no representation in the matter except right here. Why should anyone believe this tax will not soon be increased again, and spread to other States? Without clear protections such as BATSA provides, aggressive States will always seek to stretch the limits and to impose their own creative definitions to justify taxation most citizens would consider unjust."

Lyndon Williams, tax counsel for credit card issuer Citigroup, also testified in support of the bill. Citigroup issues credit cards to customers in all states. Some of these states, where it has no offices, employees or other physical presence, nevertheless assert that they can tax Citigroup for its business activities.

Williams stated that while some states conclude that Quill's physical presence standard applies to BATs, "some state tax administrators and some state courts disagree. They have construed the Quill decision to mean, in essence, that the constitutional standard for taxing an out-of-state corporation depends on the type of tax being imposed. They argue that the Quill decision is limited to sales tax. Interpreted in this manner, the constitutional standard is physical presence (i.e. in-state employees, an office, property) if a sales tax is involved, and economic nexus (i.e. merely having in-sate customers) if an income tax is involved." (Parentheses in original.)

Earl Ehrhart, a state legislator from Georgia and National Chairman of the American Legislative Exchange Council, also offered support for HR 1956. He wrote in his prepared testimony that "We need the help of Congress to ensure that Georgia-based companies aren’t being unjustifiably taxed by those states in which they have no physical presence."

"He added that "Today, we see an increased tendency of lawmakers and revenue officials in other states to get aggressive when it comes to raising revenue from out-of-state companies. If our state is making the effort to provide an infrastructure to attract and maintain business in our state, we should be the ones to enjoy the benefits."

The Subcommittee heard from only one witness who opposes HR 1956. Joan Wagnon, Secretary of Revenue for the State of Kansas, and Chairman of the Multistate Tax Commission, wrote in her prepared testimony that the Congress should reject the bill because it is unfair to state tax collectors.

She offered some scenarios involving e-commerce, and how HR 1956 would affect their state tax consequences.

For example, she wrote that "An out-of-state retailer of computers or other electronic devices markets its products to Kansas customers via the Internet. The sale of computers and electronic devices includes warranty contracts. The out-of-state retailer contracts with an independent contractor located in Kansas to provide the warranty service to its Kansas customers. The independent contractor provides similar services to other out-of-state retailers, all of which could be affiliates of one another. Under the independent contractor safe harbor in H.R. 1956, the out-of-state retailer now has no nexus with Kansas."

As another example, she wrote that "A Kansas company providing information and software support services to businesses in Kansas and other states breaks itself into in-state information services company X, in-state software support services company Y, and an out-of-state sales agency Z. Companies X and Y wholesale their services to agency Z, who in turn sells the services to businesses in Kansas, delivering the services via the Internet. Income earned by agency Z on sales of information and software services provided to Kansas customers will not be taxable in Kansas."

She argued that these tax consequences are unfair to the state of Kansas. She argued too that the economy is now "electronic and borderless" and that the physical presence standard is an outdated and "colonial concept". States should be allowed to tax any business with an "economic presence".

See also, HR 3220 (108th Congress), titled the "Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2003", and stories titled "Reps. Goodlatte and Boucher Introduce Bill to Limit Business Activity Taxes" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 753, October 6, 2003, and "House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Business Activity Taxes" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 899, May 17, 2004.

See also, HR 2526 (107th Congress), titled the "Internet Tax Fairness Act of 2001", and stories titled "Goodlatte and Boucher Introduce Net Tax Moratorium Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 229, July 18, 2001, and "House Subcommittee Approves Bill to Limit Business Activity Taxes" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 471, July 17, 2002.

9/27. President Bush announced his intent to appoint Timothy Adams to be a member of the Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. See, White House release. Adams is Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs. He worked on the Bush Cheney 2000 campaign on technology related issues. Before that, he was the Managing Director of the G7 Group.

9/27. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) sent and released a letter and presentation slides [25 pages in PDF] to Sen. John Warner (R-VA) and Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) titled "Briefing on DOD’s Report on Commercial Communications Satellite Services Procurement Process". Sen. Warner and Sen. Levin are the Chairman and ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

9/27. The House Rules Committee adopted a rule for consideration of HR 3402, the "Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2006 through 2009". The Committee did not make in order an amendment pertaining to Section 505 of the PATRIOT Act, regarding national security letters.

9/27. The National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) announced that it gave its 2005 NMPA President's Award to Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT). See, NMPA release [PDF].

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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.

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.

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. The scheduled witnesses include Mary Beth Peters (Register of Copyrights), Debra Yang (U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California and member of the Attorney General's Intellectual Property Task Force), Marty Roe (singer in group named Diamond Rio), Cary Sherman (President of the Recording Industry Association of America), Gary Shapiro (P/CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association), Mark Lemley (Stanford University Law School), Ali Aydar (COO of SNOCAP), and Sam Yagan (MetaMachine, Inc., which developed of eDonkey and Overnet). 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 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". Press contact: Terry Lane (Barton) at 202 225-5735 or Sean Bonyun (Upton) at 202 225-3761. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

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.

POSTPONED. 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. 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]. See, further extention [3 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 Government Reform Committee (HGRC) will hold a hearing titled "The Last Frontier: Bringing the IT Revolution to Health Care". The witnesses will be David Brailer (Department of Health and Human Services), Robert Kolodner (Veterans Health Administration), David Powner ( Government Accountability Office), Carol Diamond ( Markle Foundation), Janet Marchibroda ( eHealth Initiative and Foundation), Diane Carr (Healthcare Information Systems), Larry Blue (Symbol Technologies). Press contact: Drew Crockett at 202 225-5074. Location: Room 2154, 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 a hearings titled "Communications in Disaster". The witnesses will be Kenneth Moran (FCC), David Boyd (DHS), Willis Carter (Shreveport Fire Department), and Dereck Orr (NIST). 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.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearings titled "Communications in Disaster". The witnesses will be Gary Grube (Motorola), John Vaughan (M/A-COM Wireless Systems), Alex Good (Mobile Satellite Ventures), Carmen Lloyd (Ch/CEO of Iridium Satellite). 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.

2:30 PM. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs will hold a hearing on U.S. Japan relations. The witnesses will include Christopher Hill (Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs), Amelia Porges (Sidley Austin Brown & Wood), Stephen MacMillan (P/CEO of Stryker Corporation), and Gerald Curtis (Columbia University). Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) will preside. See, notice. Location: Room 419, Dirksen Building.

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).

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.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Slocum Enterprises v. New Generation Devices, No. 05-1195. This is an appeal from the U.S. District Court (DOre) in patent infringement case. The issue on appeal is whether the District Court has personal jurisdiction over the out of state defendant. Location: U.S. Court of Appeals, LaFayette Square, 717 Madison Place, Courtroom 402.