11/10. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales gave a speech at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event in which he discussed intellectual property, and proposed new legislation to offer greater civil and criminal protections for some intellectual property rights holders.

See, draft [17 pages in PDF] of HR __, the "Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2005", and the Department of Justice's (DOJ) summary and comments [13 pages in PDF].

Gonzales (at right) stated that "we've just sent to Congress important legislation to address the problem of intellectual property crime: the Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2005. This is a comprehensive legislative package designed by the Department of Justice to help overhaul and update America’s intellectual property statutes. It is a reflection of the sustained commitment on the part of the Department and the Administration to ensure that we are doing everything we can to combat this problem."

He said that "This legislative package, if enacted, would strengthen penalties for repeat copyright criminals, expand criminal intellectual property protection, and add critical investigative tools for both criminal and civil enforcement."

He also said that "Rapid technological advancements have made the reproduction and distribution of counterfeit goods and pirated materials easier than ever in our history. Our policy-making efforts must advance along with modern technologies if we’re going to keep pace with this evolving area of criminal activity. This proposed legislative package is a good way to ensure that our laws are in step with the changing nature of intellectual property crimes."

While the draft bill is long (17 pages single spaced) and contains numerous provisions, it largely consists of a technical and incremental changes to existing sections of Title 17 (copyright) and related sections of Title 18 (crimes). It would not make any fundamental alterations to copyright law. Most of the provisions pertain to copyright law, prosecution of violations of copyright law, and civil remedies. The bill also touches on counterfeit labels, which can constitute trademark law violations, and theft of trade secrets. And notably, the draft bill contains a few provisions that are not accurately characterized as intellectual property provisions. This bill would affect some criminal prosecutions that do not involve intellectual property rights.

Civil Orders for Seizure of Records. Currently, a copyright holder can obtain from the court an order for "the impounding, on such terms as it may deem reasonable, of all copies or phonorecords claimed to have been made or used in violation of the copyright owner's exclusive rights, and of all plates, molds, matrices, masters, tapes, film negatives, or other articles by means of which such copies or phonorecords may be reproduced." See, 17 U.S.C. § 503.

The bill (at Section 3) would also allow the court to order the impounding of "records documenting the manufacture, sale, or receipt of things involved in such violation."

The DOJ summary states that this would include an ex parte order (that is, without notice to the alleged infringer) for the seizure of business records.

Forfeiture and Destruction of Property in Criminal Cases. The bill (at Section 4) would amend 17 U.S.C. § 506 with respect to forfeiture and destruction, and restitution, in criminal copyright infringement cases.

Gonzales stated that "our legislative proposals implement broad reforms that ensure the ability to forfeit property -- including illicit proceeds -- derived from or used in the commission of criminal intellectual property offenses. We also propose to strengthen restitution provisions for victim companies and rights holders, in order to provide maximum protection for those who suffer most from these crimes."

The DOJ summary states that this section "subjects to forfeiture any copies of phonorecords manufactured, reproduced, distributed, sold or otherwise used, intended for use, or possessed with intent to use in violation of section 506(a). It also subjects to forfeiture any property that constitutes or is derived from any proceeds obtained directly or indirectly as a result of federal copyright infringement offenses. Finally, it subjects to forfeiture any property used or intended to be used in any manner or part to commit or facilitate the commission of a federal copyright infringement offense, including any plates, molds, matrices, masters, tapes, film negatives, or other articles by means of which the infringed copies or phonorecords may be reproduced, and any electronic, mechanical, or other devices for manufacturing, reproducing, or assembling such copies or phonorecords."

The bill (at Section 8) also would amend 17 U.S.C. § 1204 with respect to forfeiture and destruction, and restitution, in criminal DMCA cases.

Attempted Criminal Infringement. The bill (at Section 4) would amend 17 U.S.C. § 506 to encompass certain "attempts to infringe" copyright.

The DOJ summary states that "It is a general tenet of the criminal law that those who attempt to commit a crime but do not complete it are as morally culpable as those who succeed in doing so."

Importation and Exportation. The bill (at Section 5) would amend 17 U.S.C. § 602 regarding "Infringing importation of copies or phonorecords".

Gonzales stated that "we propose to make clear that exporting infringing goods is the same as importing them … and should be punished accordingly. Every member of the global economy has a responsibility to keep counterfeit goods out of the global market."

Prosecution Without Registration. The bill (at Section 2) would amend 17 U.S.C. § 411 regarding "Registration and infringement actions" to allow prosecution of criminal copyright infringement before the author has completed, or even started, the copyright registration process.

The Congress recently relaxed the registration as a prerequisite for civil litigation requirement in the case of certain classes of works. That is, pirates often obtain, copy, and disseminate works before they are reduced to final form and released to the public. These acts can cause significant commercial harm. These acts occur before the copyright holder has obtained a certificate of registration from the Copyright Office. The Congress enacted earlier this year the Artists' Rights and Theft Prevention Act of 2005 (ART Act), as part of the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act (FECA). The FECA was S 167. It is now Public Law No. 109-9. Also, the Copyright Office has completed its process of promulgating implementing regulations.

See, stories titled "House Approves Copyright Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,119, April 20, 2005; "Copyright Office Commences Rulemaking on Preregistration of Unpublished Works" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,181, July 25, 2005; and "Copyright Office Publishes Interim Regulations for Preregistration of Unpublished Works" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,242, October 28, 2005.

The DOJ's bill summary states that "Prosecutors do not control whether or when a copyrighted work is registered. Because prosecutors work for the public good, they should be able to institute an infringement prosecution even if the copyright has not yet been registered. This is especially true now that a typical criminal prosecution for copyright piracy over the Internet commonly involves hundreds, if not thousands, of copyrighted works. The burden of checking whether each work was registered would substantially slow down investigations and hinder the government’s ability to prosecute these violations, especially infringement of works owned by small businesses that have not had the time or resources to register."

Currently, federal prosecutors bring most criminal intellectual property cases at the request of, and with the assistance of, large organized intellectual property interests. The proposed language would enable the government to more quickly and efficiently assist these copyright holders.

Hypothetically, the proposed language would also enable the government to bring criminal copyright infringement cases without any request or assistance from a copyright holder. This change could hypothetically increase the capacity of the government to abuse copyright prosecution authority for non-copyright purposes. By removing the requirement that the author have registered a work, the bill substantially decreases the role of the author in the process. The government could institute a criminal prosecution where the author has not intended to obtain a registration, or seek copyright protection.

The government normally faces a very high burden when it seeks to obtain a prior restraint of many forms of expression, or when it seeks to penalize expression, because of the free speech clause of the First Amendment. However, if the government can find some infringed copyright interest in expression that is seeks to suppress or penalize, it could proceed, under the proposed bill, without the purported interest holder having taken any action to enforce or claim the purported interest. Moreover, it may be noteworthy that the bill also adds to the list of predicate offenses for the issuance of a wiretap order criminal infringement of copyright.

Of course, the United States government has no history of abusing copyright laws to suppress speech.

IP Crimes as Predicate Offenses for Wiretaps. The bill would expand the list of offenses which may serve as a predicate for the issuance of a wiretap order. It would add to the list, which is found at 18 U.S.C. § 2516, three IP related crimes, economic espionage to benefit any foreign government, criminal infringement of copyright, and trafficking in counterfeit goods or services.

The DOJ summary states that "Law enforcement officers should have access to the full range of accepted law enforcement tools when they investigate intellectual property crimes. A federal court may issue an order authorizing the use of a voice intercept, otherwise known as a “wiretap,” in the investigation of many federal crimes, but not for intellectual property crimes. In certain intellectual property crimes, this is unacceptable."

Non IPR Prosecutions. The bill would insert definitions of trafficking into many statutory sections, both in Title 17 (copyrights) and Title 18 (criminal code).

It would provide definitions for 17 U.S.C. § 1201 (anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act), and 17 U.S.C. § 1101, regarding trafficking in unauthorized sound recordings or music videos of live performances.

However, the bill would also amend 18 U.S.C. § 1028, pertaining to "Fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents, authentication features, and information", and 18 U.S.C. § 1029, pertaining to "Fraud and related activity in connection with access­devices". Most prosecutions under these sections do not implicate intellectual property.

Reaction. Mitch Bainwol, Ch/CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), stated in a release that "Once again, the Administration has truly stepped up to the plate to demonstrate its commitment to protect musicians, songwriters, record labels and the music they work so hard to create. Given the growing sophistication of today's music piracy trade, taking the profit out of crime is now more important than ever."

Bainwol added that "Over the past year, we have seen major advancements in both policy and personnel focused specifically on safeguarding our nation’s intellectual property. We look forward to seeing those ideas continue to take shape and are grateful for the U.S. government’s support in protecting our ability to invest in new music."

In contrast, the Public Knowledge (PK), a Washington DC based interest group that supports weaker intellectual property rights and remedies, stated in a release that Gonzales' draft bill "proposes to enforce copyright law in ways it has never before been enforced. Making the ``attempt´´ at copyright infringement the same as actual infringement puts it in the same category as far more serious criminal offenses."

PK also stated that "The bill would eliminate the requirement that a copyrighted work be registered before the government could pursue a criminal copyright infringement claim. Current copyright law requires a copyrighted work to be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office before an infringement suit can be filed -- regardless of whether it is a civil or criminal suit. While this change might increase the Department’s ability to apprehend copyright infringers, it would have an overall negative effect by discouraging copyright registration."

"Since the DoJ has opened the discussion to making changes to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Public Knowledge would support a number of changes to the DMCA. We welcome the discussion of copyright law, we wish the Justice Department had devoted some analysis as well to protecting the fair use rights of consumers, such as reinstating consumer fair use of digital copyrighted works, as proposed by Rep. Rick Boucher in HR 1201."

See, HR 1201, the "Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act of 2005", and story titled "Reps. Boucher, Doolittle and Barton Reintroduce Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,111, April 8, 2005.

See also, U.S. Chamber of Commerce release.

11/14. On November 14, 2005, President Bush will begin a trip to Japan, South Korea, People's Republic of China and Mongolia. Steve Hadley, the President's National Security Advisor, stated that Bush "is traveling to Asia to advance the interests of American workers, businesses and entrepreneurs by seeking expanded trade and economic opportunity, energy security and international property rights protection." See, transcript of news conference by Hadley.

In China, which systematically violates its treaty obligations with respect to intellectual property rights, the President will be joined by other administration officials, including Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman.

Bush will first travel to Japan, where he will meet with Prime Minister Koizumi, and visit the city of Kyoto.

Bush will then travel to Korea, to meet with Korea President Roh, and to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting. See also, APEC 2005 Korea web site. While in Korea, Bush will also meet with the Prime Minister of Malaysia, the President of Indonesia, and ASEAN leaders.

Hadley stated that "The APEC nations are strong proponents of expanding trade. And the President will discuss the upcoming Doha Round of global trade negotiations at the APEC ministerial, but he will also be addressing bilateral trade issues as he visits with the individual leaders in the region."

Bush will then travel to China on Saturday. Hadley stated that Bush will meet with both President Hu and Premier Wen to discuss, among other topics, intellectual property rights protection. Hadley added that "Progress on intellectual property rights, currency reform and market opening are good for our companies, but they are equally good and important for China's own future prosperity, and that is the message that the President will take."

Then, on Monday, November 21, Bush will travel to Mongolia.

In addition, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Rob Portman will travel to China and Korea this week. Portman will meet with Chinese Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai and the National People's Congress Economy and Finance Committee Chairman Shi Guangsheng. He will also go to Busan, Korea, for the APEC meeting. See, USTR release.

Portman was in Geneva, Switzerland, last week for Doha talks. He traveled to Africa and India before his scheduled trips to China and Korea.

In addition, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will travel to China to meet with law enforcement officials regarding IPR enforcement. Gonzales stated in a speech on November 10 that "I am traveling to China next week to seek new opportunities for better cooperation and coordination among our respective law enforcement agencies. I will be meeting with senior law enforcement ministers in China, and I plan to call on them for increased criminal enforcement of China's laws protecting the intellectual property rights of businesses in the U.S. and around the world."

11/10. President Bush nominated Robert Cresanti to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology. If confirmed by the Senate, he will replace Phillip Bond, who has already resigned. See, White House release and release.

Cresanti was previously VP for Public Policy at the Business Software Alliance (BSA). Before that, he worked for the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA). He joined the ITAA in September of 2000, after working as Staff Director of the former Senate Committee on the Year 2000 Problem. See, TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 20, September 14, 2000.

Before that he was Staff Director of the Financial Institutions Subcommittee of the Senate Banking Committee. He has also worked for Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT), and other members of Congress. Cresanti is a lawyer from Texas.

Bush nominated Cresanti to head the Technology Administration (TA), which includes the Office of Technology Policy (OTP), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). The NTIS collects and disseminates scientific, technical, engineering and related business information produced by the U.S. government and foreign sources.

Currently, Michelle O'Neill is both the acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology, and the acting Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology.

11/10. President Bush nominated David Spooner to be an Assistant Secretary of Commerce (for import administration). If confirmed by the Senate, he will replace James Jochum, who has already resigned. He is currently the Textile Negotiator for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). See, White House release and release.

11/10. President Bush nominated Leo Maury Gordon to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of International Trade. See, White House release and release.

11/10. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced the selection of Arif Alikhan to be the "Deputy Coordinator of the Administration's International IP Enforcement Office". Chris Israel remains the Coordinator for International IP Enforcement. See, speech.

11/14. The AEI Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies published a paper [29 pages in PDF] titled "Universal Telecommunications Service in India". The authors are Roger Noll and Scott Wallsten. The paper focuses on India's attempts to promote universal access to telecommunications services. It finds that "India’s universal service policies may unfortunately have the unintended consequences of deterring investment in precisely the areas it hopes to target." While India's approach includes policies not employed in the United States, such as distributing universal service taxes through an auction process, much of this paper's criticism of the Indian government's policies could also be applied to the U.S. regime. The paper concludes that subsidies discourage competition, and that competition is the best way to increase access to services.

11/10. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) wrote a letter [50 pages in PDF] to leaders of the House and Senate Commerce Committees titled "Telecommunications: Preliminary Information on the Federal Communications Commission’s Spectrum Allocation and Assignment Process".

11/9. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) approved HR 2791, the "United States Patent and Trademark Fee Modernization Act of 2005".

The House will meet at 6:00 PM in pro forma session only. See, Republican Whip Notice.

The Senate will meet at 2:00 PM. It will resume consideration of S 1042, the "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006".

9:00 AM - 5:30 PM. Day one of a four day closed meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 25, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 205, at Page 61606. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Room A1038, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Virgin Islands Telephone Corporation v. FCC, No. 04-1352. Judges Sentelle, Randolph and Rogers will preside. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON. Peter Swire (Ohio State University law school) will deliver a paper titled "Security Market: Competitive and Security Incentives for Disclosure of Data". This event is a part of the George Washington University Law School's (GWULS) intellectual property workshop series. RSVP by Tuesday, November 8, to Rosalie Kouassi at rkouassi at law dot gwu dot edu. Location: GWULS, Faculty Conference Center, 5th Floor Burns, 716 20th St., NW.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing on the nominations of Thomas Rosch and William Kovacic to be Commissioners of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). See, notice. Press contact: Melanie Alvord (Stevens) at 202 224-8456, Aaron Saunders (Stevens) at 202 224-3991, or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202 224-4546. The hearing will be webcast by the SCC. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building.

Effective date of the order portion of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) that provides that facilities based broadband service providers and interconnected VOIP providers are subject to requirements under the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). See, notice in the Federal Register, October 13, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 197, at Pages 59664 - 59675. The FCC adopted, but did not release, this item at its August 5, 2005, meeting. See, story titled "FCC Amends CALEA Statute" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,191, August 9, 2005. The FCC released the text [59 pages in PDF] of this item on September 23, 2005. It is FCC 05-153 in ET Docket No. 04-295 and RM-10865.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) portion of the Order and FNPRM that provides that facilities based broadband service providers and interconnected VOIP providers are subject to requirements under the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). See, public notice [2 pages in PDF] and notice in the Federal Register, October 13, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 197, at Pages 59704 - 59710. The FCC adopted, but did not release, this item at its August 5, 2005, meeting. See, story titled "FCC Amends CALEA Statute" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,191, August 9, 2005. The FCC released the text [59 pages in PDF] of this item on September 23, 2005. It is FCC 05-153 in ET Docket No. 04-295 and RM-10865.

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) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding eliminating Part 23 of the FCC's rules governing International Fixed Public Radiocommunication Services (IFPRS), and instead regulate IFPRS pursuant to Part 101. This NPRM is FCC 05-130 in IB Docket No. 05-216. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 28, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 187, at Pages 56620 - 56621.

The House will meet at 10:30 AM for morning hour, and 12:00 NOON 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 four day closed meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 25, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 205, at Page 61606. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Room A1038, Gaithersburg, MD.

10:00 AM. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the House Minority Leader, will give a speech "Innovation Agenda: A Commitment to Competitiveness to Keep America #1". For more information, call Brendan Daly or Jennifer Crider at 202 226-7616. Location: Holeman Lounge, 13th Floor, National Press Club, 529 14th Street,  NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of Ben Bernanke to be Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. See, notice. Location: Room 106, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a panel discussion titled "Should Vacant TV Channels Be Opened for Wireless Broadband?" The speakers will be Michael Marcus (former Associate Chief of the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology), David Donovan (Association for Maximum Service Television), Paul Kolodzy (former Chair of the FCC Spectrum Policy Task Force), and Michael Calabrese (NAF's Spectrum Policy Program). See, notice. Lunch will be served. RSVP email communications at newamerica dot net with name, affiliation, and contact information. Location: Room HC-8, Capitol Building.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Cable Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Regulatory Issues & Developments". The speaker will be the FCC's Catherine Bohigian. For more information, contact Quyen Truong at ttruong at dowlohnes dot com or 202 776-2058. Location: Dow Lohnes & Albertson, 1200 New Hampshire Ave., NW, Suite 800.

2:00 PM. The House Financial Services Committee's Domestic & International Subcommittee will hold a hearing titled "Increasing Efficiency and Economic Growth Through Trade in Financial Services". Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold a hearing on judicial nominations. See, notice. The SJC frequently cancels or 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 Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property will hold a hearing titled "Federal Jurisdiction Clarification Act". The hearing will be webcast by the HJC. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

4:30 PM. Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE) and Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) will hold a briefing on the discussion draft of HR __, the "Universal Service Reform Act of 2005". For more information, contact Amanda Potter (Boucher) at 202 225-3861. Location: Room 2105, Rayburn Building.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Privacy in Today’s Workplace". The speakers will be Charles Henter (Henter Law Group), Lawrence Greenberg (The Motley Fool, Inc.), and Gerard Stegmaier (Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati). 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.

Deadline to submit to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) proposals for issues and speakers for its forum on the draft Substantive Patent Law Treaty (SPLT). See, WIPO notice.

Effective date of the Copyright Office (CO) interim regulations promulgated pursuant to the Artists' Rights and Theft Prevention Act of 2005 (ART Act) governing the preregistration of unpublished works that are being prepared for commercial distribution in classes of works that the Register of Copyrights has determined have had a history of pre-release infringement. Also, the CO's online preregistration system will commence operation on November 15. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 27, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 207, at Pages 61905 - 61908.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The House may take up HR 1036, regarding copyright royalty judges, and/or HConRes 268, which expresses the sense of the Congress that "the authoritative root zone server should remain physically located in the United States and the Secretary of Commerce should maintain oversight of ICANN" and "Internet governance discussions in the World Summit should focus on the real threats to the Internet's growth and stability, and not recommend changes to the current regime of domain name and addressing system management and coordination on political grounds unrelated to any technical need". The House may also take up motions to appoint conferees, and conference reports. See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:00 AM - 5:30 PM. Day three of a four day closed meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 25, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 205, at Page 61606. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Room A1038, Gaithersburg, MD.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection will hold a hearing titled "Fair Use: Its Effects on Consumers and Industry". See, notice. The hearing will be webcast by the HCC. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

12:30 - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Regulatory and Economic Implications of Delivery of Video Via IP Technology: Burdens, Barriers, and Costs of Doing Business". The speakers will include Brent Olson (SBC Services), Michael Schooler (National Cable & Telecommunications Association), David Young (Verizon), and Ryan Wallach (Willkie Farr & Gallagher). The price to attend ranges from $15-$30. For more information, call 202 626-3463. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

9:00 AM - 1:30 PM. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will host an event titled "Erosion of the Attorney-Client Privilege: What Does the Future Hold?". See, notice. The price to attend ranges from free to $145. For more information, contact Andrew Persson at 202 463-5500. Location: Grand Hyatt Washington, 1000 H Street, NW.

2:00 - 3:00 PM. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to prepare for meetings of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development/Committee for Information, Computer and Communications Policy (OECD/ICCP) Working Parties ITU-D Telecommunication Development Advisory Group (TDAG). See, notice in the Federal Register, October 26, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 206, at Page 61876. Location: DOS, Harry Truman Building, Room 2533A.

2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts may hold a hearing on creation of new federal judgeships. See, notice. The SJC frequently cancels or 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.

? 6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Negotiating Telecommunications Service Agreements for Enterprise Clients". Location: __.

Effective date of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) rules adopted in its Report and Order (R&O) and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) of August 5, 2005. The R&O classified wireline broadband internet access services as information services. The NPRM proposes to impose new regulatory burdens on information services. This item is FCC 05-150 in WC Docket No. 05-271, CC Docket No. 02-33, CC Docket No. 01-337, CC Docket Nos. 95-20 and 98-10, and WC Docket No. 04-242. See, story titled "FCC Classifies DSL as Information Service" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,190, August 8, 2005. The FCC released the text [133 pages in PDF] of this item on September 23, 2005. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 17, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 199, at Pages 60222 - 60234.

Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) regarding significant barriers to U.S. exports of goods, services and overseas direct investment, to assist the USTR in preparing the annual National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE). See, notice in the Federal Register, September 20, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 181, at Pages 55204 - 55205.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The House may take up HConRes 268, regarding internet governance, and/or HR 1036, regarding copyright royalty judges, under suspension of the rules. The House may also take up motions to appoint conferees, and conference reports. See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Day four of a four day closed meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 25, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 205, at Page 61606. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Room A1038, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:30 AM. The Antitrust Modernization Commission (AMC) will meet. The topic will be "Merger Enforcement". The morning panel will be from 9:30 to 11:30 AM. The afternoon panel will be from 12:45 to 2:45 PM. See, AMC notice and notice in the Federal Register, October 21, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 203, at Page 61247. Location: Federal Trade Commission, Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Science Committee will hold a hearing titled "Environmental and Safety Impacts of Nanotechnology: What Research is Needed?" The witnesses will be Clayton Teague (National Nanotechnology Coordination Office), Richard Denison (Environmental Defense), Krishna Doraiswamy (DuPont Central Research and Development), Matthew Nordan (Lux Research Inc.), and David Rejeski (Smithsonian Institution). Press contact: Joe Pouliot, Deputy Communications Director, at Joe dot Pouliot at mail dot house dot gov or 202 225-6371. For more information, contact Marty Spitzer (Republican staff) at 202 225-7858, or Jim Wilson or Christal Sheppard (Democratic staff) at 202 225-6375. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Heritage Foundation will host a panel discussion titled "Let the UN Govern the Internet?". The speakers will be Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN), Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), Adam Thierer (Progress and Freedom Foundation), John Tkacik (Asian Studies Center of the Heritage Foundation), and James Gattuso (Heritage Foundation). See, notice. Location: Allison Auditorium, Heritage Foundation, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to prepare for meetings of the ITU-D Telecommunication Development Advisory Group (TDAG). See, notice in the Federal Register, October 26, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 206, at Page 61876. Location: DOS, Harry Truman Building, Room 2533A.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Remedies In Trademark Infringement And Unfair Competition Cases". The speakers will include John Dabney (McDermott Will & Emery) and Anita Polott (Morgan Lewis). The price to attend ranges from $20-$40. For more information, call 202 626-3488. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

? 2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a business meeting. Press contact: Melanie Alvord (Stevens) at 202 224-8456, Aaron Saunders (Stevens) at 202 224-3991, or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202 224-4546. Location: __?

The House may meet at 9:00 AM to take up motions to appoint conferees, and to approve conference reports. See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Consumer Advisory Committee will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 26, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 206, at Page 61823. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a panel discussion titled "Gutenberg meets Google: The Debate About Google Print". See, notice and registration page. Location: Room B-369, Rayburn Building, Capitol Hill.

? The House may meet to take up motions to appoint conferees, and to approve conference reports. See, Republican Whip Notice.

2:00 PM. The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) will host a webcast event titled "China Transactions: The IP Paradigm". The speakers will be Chris Cooper & Ken DeWoskin of Price Waterhouse Coopers. See, notice. For more information, contact Mark Uncapher at muncapher at itaa dot org.

Deadline to submit nominations to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Technology Administration for its 2006 Commerce Science and Technology Fellowship (ComSci) Program. Only full time career federal employees in a professional or management series at the GS/GM-13 level or above are eligible. See, notice.

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