10/28. The U.S. Court of Appeals (10thCir) issued its opinion in DeJulius v. Sprint, an appeal regarding the sufficiency of notice to class members of the settlement of a class action securities fraud case.

The underlying case arose out of the proposed, but not consummated, merger of Sprint and WorldCom (now MCI). The Department of Justice's Antitrust Division blocked the merger. See, June 26, 2000, complaint in U.S. v. WorldCom and Sprint.

The complaints in the present action alleged that Sprint made false and misleading statements in connection with the proposed WorldCom merger, in violation of Section 10(b) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, which is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 78j(b), and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, which is codified at 17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5. The complaints also alleged violation of Section 20(a) of the Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78t(a).

New England Health Care Employees Pension Fund was the lead class action plaintiff. The named plaintiffs were represented by the class action law firm of Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins.

Sprint and several of its officers and directors were the defendants in this class action. Sprint and New England reached a settlement. This settlement agreement provided that $50 Million would be placed in a common settlement fund for class members and would be distributed to class members after attorneys' fees and other expenses were deducted. The District Court approved the agreement.

Franklin DeJulius and others were unnamed class plaintiffs in the class action against Sprint. They were shareholders who held beneficial title to their shares while legal title was vested in their brokers' names. They moved to intervene, asserting that they received insufficient notice, in violation of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and the due process clause of the Constitution, and that the fees for class counsel pursuant to the settlement were excessive.

The District Court denied the motion to intervene. DeJulius and others appealed. The Court of Appeals affirmed.

The appellants were represented by Nelson Law Firm of Kansas City, Kansas. Appellee Sprint was represented by Shughart Thompson & Kilroy, Stinson Morrison & Hecker, and Skadden Arps.

This case is Franklin DeJulius, et al. v. New England Health Care Employees Pension Fund, et al., and Sprint Corporation, et al., U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, App. Ct. No. 04-3091, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, D.C. No. 01-CV-04080-CM. Judge Ebel wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Holloway and Lucero joined.

10/27. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report [35 pages in PDF] title "International Trade: U.S. and India Data on Offshoring Show Significant Differences".

The report finds that a "significant gap exists between U.S. and Indian data on trade in" business, professional, and technical (BPT) services. This is the category of trade data "most often associated with services offshoring". The report continues that "U.S. data indicate that U.S. firms import a small fraction of what India reports as exports to the United States in this category, and this trade -- as well as the difference in these data -- is growing. For 2002, the United States reported $240 million in unaffiliated imports of BPT services from India, while India reported about $6.5 billion in affiliated and unaffiliated exports in similar services categories."

For 2003, the GAO report states that "the United States reported $420 million in unaffiliated imports of BPT services from India, while India reported approximately $8.7 billion in affiliated and unaffiliated exports of similar services to the United States. Thus, the gap in data has increased by about one-third from 2002 to 2003."

The GAO report offers several differences in methodology that account for some of the difference. One of these is differences between how the U.S. and India treat services, particularly in computer and software related matters. The report states that "India defines services more broadly than does the United States. For example, Indian data on trade in services include packaged software and software embedded on computer hardware, which the United States classifies as trade in goods. An Indian official estimated that this factor accounts for approximately 10 to 15 percent of Indian exports. In addition, India includes in its data certain information technology-enabled services, such as some financial services, that are not included in BEA's definition of BPT services."

Also, on October 24 and 25, 2005, the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) held a conference in Washington DC titled "18th Annual Update 2005 Conference on Export Controls and Policy". See, speech by Peter Lichtenbaum, speech by David McCormick (the new Under Secretary for Industry and Security), and speech by Carlos Guitierrez (Secretary of Commerce).

10/6. Paul Rosenweig, Chairman of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee (DPIAC), wrote a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, enclosing a copy of the DPIAC's report titled "The Use of Commercial Data to Reduce False Positives in Screening Programs". See, letter and report [18 pages in PDF].

This report only addresses the use of commercial databases to reduce false positives (the misidentification of an individual as a person on a terrorist watch list when that individual is not in fact a person on a terrorist watch list). The report does not address the use of commercial data to identify terrorists, or to reduce false negatives (the misidentification of an individual as not a person on a terrorist watch list when that individual is in fact a person on a terrorist watch list). The report states that the latter use "raises serious issues", and will be addressed in a subsequent DPIAC report.

The report recommends that commercial data be used with respect to false positive errors only when thirteen conditions are met. These are as follows.

"It is necessary to satisfy a defined purpose
The minimization principle is used
Data Quality issues are analyzed and satisfactorily resolved
Access to the data is tightly controlled
The potential harm to the individual from a false positive misidentification is substantial
Use for secondary purposes is tightly controlled
Transfer to third parties is carefully managed
Robust security measures are employed
The data are retained only for the minimum necessary period of time
Transparency and oversight are provided
The restrictions of the Privacy Act are applied, regardless of whether an exemption may apply
Simple and effective redress is provided
Less invasive alternatives are exhausted"

The report is dated September 28, 2005. The letter is dated October 6, 2005.

10/24. VeriSign and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced that they have reached a settlement of all pending litigation and arbitration proceedings. See, VeriSign release, ICANN release, settlement agreement [6 pages in PDF], and Registry Agreement [24 pages in PDF]. See also, statement by the Association for Competitive Technology (ACT).

For more information on the dispute that gave rise to these proceedings, stories titled "ICANN Demands That VeriSign Cease Wildcard Feature" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 753, October 6, 2003; "VeriSign Refuses to Suspend Deployment of Wildcard Service" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 744, September 23, 2003; and "ICANN Asks VeriSign to Suspend Wildcard Service" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 743, September 22, 2003.

See also, story titled "ICANN Moves to Dismiss Most of VeriSign's Wildcard Complaint" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 871, April 7, 2004.

The proceedings involved are VeriSign, Inc. v. ICANN, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, D.C. No. CV 04-1292 AHM, and the resulting appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, App. Ct. No. 04-56761; VeriSign, Inc. v. ICANN, Los Angeles Superior Court, Sup. Ct. No. BC 320763; and ICANN v. VeriSign, Inc., International Chamber of Commerce, International Court of Arbitration, No. 13 568/JNK/EBS.

10/28. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a notice [PDF] late on Friday, October 28, that states that the FCC's event titled "Open Meeting" will take place on Monday, October 31, at 11:00 AM.

The FCC had previously announced that this event would take place on Friday, October 28, at 9:30 AM. Moreover, the FCC issued several notices of short postponements of the meeting hour during the course of the day on October 28.

The FCC written notice states that "The prompt and orderly conduct of Commission business required this change and no earlier announcement was possible." The FCC offered no explanation for the series of postponements.

There are two significant items on the FCC's published agenda [PDF] for this event -- consideration of orders pertaining to the mergers of Verizon and MCI WorldCom, and SBC and AT&T.

On Thursday, October 27, 2005, the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division, which has statutory authority to conduct antitrust merger reviews, approved the two mergers, subject to divestiture of some local fiber optic network facilities. See, DOJ release and TLJ stories titled "DOJ Approves Verizon MCI and SBC AT&T Mergers Subject to Divestitures", "DOJ Initiates Clayton Act § 7 Proceeding Against SBC and AT&T", and "DOJ Initiates Clayton Act § 7 Proceeding Against Verizon and MCI" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,242, October 28, 2005.

In substance, the five member Commission (which currently down to four members) does not conduct or dispose of agency business in meetings. The open meetings statute, which is codified at 5 U.S.C. § 552b, requires that federal agencies must hold their meetings in public. However, the FCC's Commissioners do not wish to conduct business in a public and transparent manner. Hence, they do not meet. The events titled "Open Meeting" consist largely of a ceremonial vote on each item, and a series of statements by Commissioners.

Moreover, since the the FCC rarely releases the text of items approved at these events until days or weeks (and sometimes many months) afterwards, the reporters', analysts' and public's knowledge of the content of the items is limited. This enables Commissioners to manipulate reporting of their actions.

The statute provides that "deliberations of at least the number of individual agency members required to take action on behalf of the agency" constitutes a meeting. It further provides that such meetings must be conducted in public and with notice "at least one week before the meeting, of the time, place, and subject matter of the meeting".

While the four Commissioners cannot by law meet in secret, nothing in the statute prohibits them from conducting deliberations through a series of communications relayed through their staff members. Current and past Commissioners and staff have referenced this awkward and time consuming process in public statements. This process degrades the capacity of the Commission members to act in a prompt and orderly manner. And, this is one of the causes of delay in Commission decision making.

The two significant items under consideration by the four Commissions are orders in the two major telecom mergers. It would be speculation to state that, based upon prior merger reviews, and prior speeches and statements, the two Republican Commissioners, Kevin Martin and Kathleen Abernathy, might lean towards approval of the two mergers, with the imposition of limited conditions, while the two Democratic Commissioners, Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein, might lean towards approval, but also perceive of merger reviews as an opportunity to obtain policy objectives through the imposition of conditions upon the merging companies that more intrusively regulate their businesses.

Were there a fifth Commissioner, the ability of the Commissioners to form a majority in support of an order approving the mergers would be simpler, although content of the order would vary depending the disposition of that fifth Commissioner. Someone such as former Chairman Michael Powell would likely join a coalition to approve the mergers with limited conditions. Someone such as former Chairman William Kennard would likely join in a coalition with Copps and Adelstein.

Thus, were there a third Commissioner to join with Martin and Abernathy, it might have been an easier matter to form a majority, and approve the mergers, at the designated time on Friday. But, without such a Commissioner, Martin and Abernathy must obtain the vote of either Copps or Adelstein.

In many proceedings, such as those pertaining to media ownership rules, Martin can wait for the appointment and confirmation of a fifth Commissioner. Mergers reviews are a different matter. For business reasons, time is of the essence to the merging companies. This strengthens the bargaining position of Copps and Adelstein. And, it may account for the series of delays.

On the other hand, there is a downside risk for Copps and Adelstein, and the FCC. If they hold out for too much, there remains the hypothetical possibility that SBC and/or Verizon would walk away from negotiations with the FCC, and seek judicial review in federal court. To the extent that this has never happened, it is unlikely.

This would put before the judiciary the question of whether the FCC does have statutory authority to conduct merger reviews, and impose conditions, based upon competition analysis. If such a challenge were brought, and the FCC were to loose, Copps and Adelstein would not only have failed in their attempts to impose their conditions in these two mergers, they would have provoked a judicial ruling that would preclude future antitrust merger reviews. These reviews are one of the major policy making tools that the FCC possesses. Many at the FCC will not want to loose it.

Officers, directors and shareholders of SBC hold no fond memories of the process to which SBC and Ameritech were subjected by the FCC around the time of their merger. Nor can SBC's people be pleased with the present delays, and the demands being made by groups such as Comptel.

Earl Comstock, P/CEO of Comptel, stated on October 27 in a release that "The Department of Justice, whose stated mission is to 'promote and protect the competitive process and the American economy,' today promotes and protects the Bell monopolies at the expense of American consumers. COMPTEL is disappointed to see the DOJ kowtow to the monopoly interests of SBC and Verizon and bless a merger that, pursuant to the Department's own merger guidelines, would have been quickly rejected had the government fulfilled its mandate to protect citizens from harm."

See also, Consumers Union release.

10/26. The U.S. Court of Appeals (10thCir) issued its opinion in Mactec v. Gorelick , a case involving a contract dispute over payment of royalties for a patented invention. While Mactec raised the issue of patent misuse, the Court of Appeals decided on procedural grounds, and did not address patent misuse. The contract at issue included a mandatory arbitration provision. Gorelick, the inventor, initiated an arbitration proceeding. Mactec asserted the defense of patent misuse, citing Zenith Radio Corp. v. Hazeltine Research Inc., which is reported at 395 U.S. 100. The arbitrator found for Gorelick and awarded approximately $4.5 Million in damages. Mactec filed a complaint in U.S. District Court (DColo) seeking to vacate the arbitration award. It later filed a second complaint seeking a declaratory judgment on the issue of patent misuse. Gorelick prevailed in both actions, and Mactec appealed. The Court of Appeals affirmed in the first action, as a consequence of its holding that "a non-appealability clause in an arbitration agreement that forecloses judicial review of an arbitration award beyond the district court level is enforceable". It also held that the declaratory judgment appeal is barred by the doctrine of res judicata. Hence, the Court of Appeals did not address the patent misuse issue. This case is Mactec, Inc. v. Steven Gorelick, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, App. Ct. Nos. 03-1290, and 03-1378, appeals from the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, D.C. No. 02-M-1456 and 02-M-1319. Judge Ebel wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Henry and White joined.

10/26. The U.S. Court of Appeals (10thCir) issued its opinion in US v. Wenger, a criminal case involving convictions for touting securities for compensation, without disclosure, in violation of Section 17(b) of the Securities Act of 1933, which is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 77q(b), and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 78j(b). Wenger appealed. He argued, among other things, that Section 17(b) violates the First Amendment and is unconstitutionally vague. The Court of Appeals affirmed. This case is U.S.A. v. Wenger, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, App. Ct. No. 04-4022, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of District of Utah, D.C. No. 99-CR-260-PGC.

10/28. The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the creation of a Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (SMAC). The deadline to submit nominations to the NTIA for membership on this SMAC is November 28, 2005. The notice states that "The Secretary of Commerce intends to appoint representatives from a
balanced cross-section of stakeholder interests in spectrum management and policy reform, including non-federal government users, state, regional and local sectors, technology developers, and manufacturers, academia, consumer groups, and service providers with customers in both domestic and international markets." Members will will be appointed for two year terms, without compensation. See, Federal Register, October 28, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 208, at Pages 62099 - 62100.

10/28. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) set the date for oral argument in CTIA v. FCC. It will be at 9:30 AM on December 12, 2005. This is a petition for review of the final order of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that adopted the "Nationwide Programmatic Agreement Regarding the Section 106 National Historic Preservation Act Review Process", which regulates tower and antenna construction. This order is FCC 04-222 in WT Docket No. 03-128. The Court of Appeals number is 05-1008. At issue is whether the FCC has authority under Section 106 of the NHPA, which is codified at 16 U.S.C. § 470f, to write these rules. See, stories titled "FCC Announces NPRM Regarding Communications Facilities and the National Historic Preservation Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 677, June 10, 2003, and "FCC Adopts Report and Order Re FCC Licensing and the National Historic Preservation Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 975, September 13, 2004. See also, brief [PDF] of the FCC.

10/28. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection is scheduled to mark up HR __, the "Data Accountability and Trust Act" at 10:00 AM on Thursday, November 3, 2005. Brad Smith, Microsoft SVP and General Counsel, will give a speech titled "Privacy Legislation and Consumer Protection Laws" on Capitol Hill on Thursday, November 3, 2005, in Room HC-5 of the Capitol Building. (To attend, RSVP to rsvp at netcaucus dot org or 202 638-4370.)

10/27. The Senate Judiciary Committee held its weekly executive business meeting on Thursday, October 27. The agenda included several technology related bills and nominations. The SJC held over consideration of all of these. It held over three Department of Justice (DOJ) nominations: Thomas Barnett (to be an Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division), Steven Bradbury (AAG for the Office of Legal Counsel), and Wan Kim (AAG for the Civil Rights Division). It held over two bills related to personal data and privacy: S 1789, the "Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2005", and S 751, the "Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act". It also held over three bills pertaining to trademarks and counterfeiting: S 1699, the "Stop Counterfeiting in Manufactured Goods Act", S 1095, the "Protecting American Goods and Services Act of 2005", and HR 683, the "Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2005".

10/27. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) amended and approved HR 4128, the "Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2005". The full House is scheduled to consider this bill on Wednesday, November 2, or Thursday, November 3. See, Republican Whip Notice.

The House will meet at 3:00 PM in pro forma session only. See, Republican Whip notice.

The Senate will meet at 2:00 PM. It will begin consideration of S 1932, the deficit reduction omnibus reconciliation bill.

9:00 AM - 5:30 PM. Day one of a two day public workshop hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) regarding the vulnerability of the NIST approved cryptographic hash algorithm, Secure Hash Algorithm-1 (SHA-1). See, notice in the Federal Register, June 14, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 113, at Pages 34451 - 34452. Location: NIST, Green Auditorium, Building 101, Gaithersburg, MD.

10:00 AM. The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Central Virginia Community College v. Katz, No. 04-885. This is a bankruptcy case involving the authority of the Congress to abrogate state sovereign immunity. State sovereign immunity is also involved in the context of Congressional legislation regarding intellectual property. See, story titled "Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in State Sovereign Immunity Case" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,109, April 5, 2005.

11:00 AM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold a meeting. This is the meeting previously scheduled for Friday, October 28, 2005. The agenda [PDF] includes consideration of two orders pertaining to the mergers of Verizon and MCI WorldCom, and SBC and AT&T. The event will be webcast by the FCC. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Room TW-C05 (Commission Meeting Room).

Day one of a five day conference sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense Networks and Information Integration (OSD NII) and the Joint Chiefs of Staff titled "DoD Spectrum Summit 2005". See, notice. For more information, contact Patty dot Hopkins at osd dot mil or 703 607-0613. Location: Radisson Hotel, Annapolis, MD.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding amending the FCC's amateur radio service rules to eliminate the requirement that individuals pass a telegraphy examination in order to qualify for any amateur radio operator license. This NPRM is FCC 05-143 in WT Docket No. 05-235. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 31, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 168, at Pages 51705 - 51707.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the joint petition filed by CTIA and the Rural Cellular Association (RCA) requesting relief of the FCC's requirement that wireless licensees that employ a handset based Enhanced 911 (E911) Phase II location technology achieve 95% penetration of location capable handsets among their subscribers by December 31, 2005. See, FCC notice [4 pages in PDF]. This proceeding is WT Docket No. 05-288. This is also the deadline to submit reply comments regarding Alltel's related petition. See, notice [PDF] in WT Docket No. 05-287. This is also the deadline to submit reply comments regarding Sprint Nextel's related petition. See, notice [PDF] in WT Docket No. 05-286.

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

9:00 AM - 5:30 PM. Day two of a two day public workshop hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) regarding the vulnerability of the NIST approved cryptographic hash algorithm, Secure Hash Algorithm-1 (SHA-1). See, notice in the Federal Register, June 14, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 113, at Pages 34451 - 34452. Location: NIST, Green Auditorium, Building 101, Gaithersburg, MD.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law will hold an oversight hearing titled "Administrative Law, Process and Procedure Project". The hearing will be webcast by the HJC. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM - 4:00 PM. The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) will host a technology demonstration and briefing titled "Interoperable Communications for First Responders". The scheduled speakers are Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA), Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA), Bob Gurss (Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials), Bill Stone (Verizon Wireless), William Webb (Congressional Fire Services Institute), and David Aylward (Emergency Interoperability Consortium and Director of COMCARE). For more information, contact Bob Cohen at 703 284-5301 or bcohen at itaa dot org or Charlie Greenwald at 703 284-5303  cgreenwald at itaa dot org. The demonstration will be from 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM in the Rayburn Foyer. The briefing will be in Room 2168A of the Rayburn Building at 12:00 NOON.

2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold a hearing on pending nominations. The SJC frequently cancels of postpones meetings 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.

4:00 PM. The House Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Social Security will hold a hearing on Social Security Number (SSN) high risk issues. See, notice. For more information, call 202 225-9263. Location: Room B-318, Rayburn Building.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Patent Damages: Discovery, Pre-trial and Litigation Strategies". The speakers will be Andrew Aitken (Venable), Charles Fish (AOL Time Warner), and Clifton McCann (Venable). The price to attend ranges from $70-$125. For more information, call 202-626-3488. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

Day two of a five day conference sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense Networks and Information Integration (OSD NII) and the Joint Chiefs of Staff titled "DoD Spectrum Summit 2005". See, notice.For more information, contact Patty dot Hopkins at osd dot mil or 703 607-0613. Location: Radisson Hotel, Annapolis, MD.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The House may take up HR 1606, the "Online Freedom of Speech Act", HR 4061, the "Department of Veterans Affairs Information Technology Management Improvement Act of 2005", and/or HR 4128, the "Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2005". See, Republican Whip notice.

? 2:30 PM? The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) may meet to mark up S 1063, the "IP-Enabled Voice Communications and Public Safety Act of 2005". This bill had previously been scheduled for mark up on October 19 and 20, 2005. The SCC has not yet announced this markup, but SCC staff anticipates that this bill will be marked up the week of October 31, and most likely on November 2. 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 216, Hart Building.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Trade with China: What Next?". The speakers will include David Stewart (aide to Rep. Phil English (R-PA)), Haiying Jiang (Embassy of the Peoples Republic of China), Patricia Mears (National Association of Manufacturers), John Greenwald (Wilmer Cutler), and Keith Loken (Department of State). The price to attend ranges from $15-$25. For more information, call 202 626-3463. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

Day three of a five day conference sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense Networks and Information Integration (OSD NII) and the Joint Chiefs of Staff titled "DoD Spectrum Summit 2005". See, notice.For more information, contact Patty dot Hopkins at osd dot mil or 703 607-0613. Location: Radisson Hotel, Annapolis, MD.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The House may take up HR 1606, the "Online Freedom of Speech Act", HR 4061, the "Department of Veterans Affairs Information Technology Management Improvement Act of 2005", and/or HR 4128, the "Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2005". See, Republican Whip notice.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee may hold an executive business meeting. The SJC rarely follows the agenda for its business meetings. The SJC frequently cancels of postpones meetings 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.

9:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold a meeting. The agenda [PDF] includes a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding Section 621 and new video entrants, and an Report and Order and Further NPRM regarding DTV tuners. See also, story titled "FCC Releases Agenda for November 3 Meeting" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,242, October 28, 2005. The event will be webcast by the FCC. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Room TW-C05 (Commission Meeting Room).

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection will meet to mark up HR 4127 [16 pages in PDF], the "Data Accountability and Trust Act". Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) will preside. The meeting will be webcast by the HCC. Press contact: Larry Neal (Barton) at 202 225-5735 or Paul Flusche (Stearns) at 202 225-5744. See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON. The House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Economic Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Cybersecurity will hold a hearing titled "The Future of TSA’s Registered Traveler Program". Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

2:00 PM. House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property will hold a hearing titled "Content Protection in the Digital Age: The Broadcast Flag, High-Definition Radio, and the Analog Hole". 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. Pamela Samuelson (UC Berkeley) will give a lecture titled "Copyright and Consumer Protection". There will be a reception at 5:00 PM. The lecture will be at 6:00 PM. The lecture is hosted by the American University Washington College of Law's (AUWCL) Program on Intellectual Property in the Public Interest. RSVP to Steve Roberts at iplecture at wcl dot american dot edu or 202 274-4148. Location: AUWCL, 4801 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Room 603.

Day one of a two day event sponsored by the American Bar Association's (ABA) Standing Committee on Law and National Security titled "15th Annual Review of the Field of National Security Law". Location: Crystal City Marriott, Arlington, VA.

Day four of a five day conference sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense Networks and Information Integration (OSD NII) and the Joint Chiefs of Staff titled "DoD Spectrum Summit 2005". See, notice.For more information, contact Patty dot Hopkins at osd dot mil or 703 607-0613. Location: Radisson Hotel, Annapolis, MD.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. See, Republican Whip notice.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a panel discussion titled "Interconnection Without Regulation: Lessons for Telecommunications Reform from Four Network Industries". The speakers will be Richard Levine (PFF), Bill Hunt (Level 3 Communications), Lyman Chapin (Interisle Consulting Group), and Donald Baker (a former AAG for the Antitrust Division). Randolph May (PFF) will moderate. Lunch will be served. See, notice. Press contact: Patrick Ross at 202 289-8928 or pross at pff dot org or Amy Smorodin at 202 289-8928 or asmorodin at pff dot org. Location: Room B369, Rayburn Building, Capitol Hill.

Day two of a two day event sponsored by the American Bar Association's (ABA) Standing Committee on Law and National Security titled "15th Annual Review of the Field of National Security Law". Location: Crystal City Marriott, Arlington, VA.

Day five of a five day conference sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense Networks and Information Integration (OSD NII) and the Joint Chiefs of Staff titled "DoD Spectrum Summit 2005". See, notice.For more information, contact Patty dot Hopkins at osd dot mil or 703 607-0613. Location: Radisson Hotel, Annapolis, MD.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "How to Litigate a Trademark Case". The speakers will be Shauna Wertheim (Roberts Abokhair & Mardula) and Steven Hollman (Hogan & Hartson). The price to attend ranges from $70-$125. For more information, call 202 626-3488. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

10/28. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales named ten persons to be members of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Task Force on Intellectual Property. They are as follows:
 • Debra Yang (at right) (U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, and Chair of the Attorney General's Advisory Subcommittee on Cyber Crime and Intellectual Property).
 • Thomas Barnett (acting Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ's Antitrust Division).
 • Michael Battle (Director of the Executive Office of United States Attorneys).
 • Rachel Brand (AAG for the DOJ's Office of Legal Policy).
 • Paul Clement (Solicitor General).
 • Alice Fisher (AAG for the DOJ's Criminal Division).
 • Neil Gorsuch (Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General).
 • Peter Keisler (AAG for the DOJ's Civil Division).
 • William Moschella (AAG for the DOJ's Office of Legislative Affairs).
 • Louis Reigel (Assistant Director of the FBI's Cyber Division).
In addition, Kyle Sampson remains Chairman, and Arif Alikhan remains the Vice Chairman and Executive Director. See, DOJ release.

10/28. Lewis Libby resigned as Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney. Cheney released a statement, in which he did not name a replacement. On October 28 a grand jury of the U.S. District Court (DC) returned an indictment that charges Libby with crimes in connection with statements about Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame. See also, statement by President Bush.

10/28. Microsoft named Bob Muglia SVP of Microsoft's server and tools business. He was previously head of Microsoft's Windows Server business. He replaces Eric Rudder, who now works directly for Bill Gates, Chairman and Chief Software Architect of Microsoft. See, Microsoft release.

10/27. Skip Frantz, EVP and Secretary of Alltel, was elected Chairman of the Board of the United States Telecom Association. See, USTA release.

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