11/28. The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Division of Marketing Practices released a report [10 pages in PDF] titled "Email Address Harvesting and the Effectiveness of Anti-Spam Filters". This report covers e-mail address harvesting, the use of spam filters by internet service providers (ISP), and the masking of e-mail addresses. See also, FTC release.

The FTC created and used 150 undercover e-mail accounts to collect data for this report.

First, the FTC found that "addresses posted on websites were at risk of being harvested by spammers, but that addresses posted in chat rooms, message boards, USENET groups and weblogs (``blogs´´) were far less likely to be harvested."

Second, the FTC found that "anti-spam filters utilized by two free web-based ISPs effectively blocked the vast majority of spam sent to harvested addresses. The implication of this finding is that ISP spam filtering technologies are substantially reducing the burden of spam on consumers."

Third, the FTC found that masking of e-mail addresses, such as by replacing the "@" symbol with the letter "at", was "very effective in thwarting harvesting".

TLJ Practices. Several years ago TLJ determined from an analysis of web site access logs that a significant amount of the traffic at the TLJ web site consisted of automated e-mail harvesting. TLJ has since adopted a policy of not publishing full and hyperlinked e-mail addresses in the TLJ web site. A few e-mail addresses are published as non-hyperlinked graphics. Most are published without hyperlinks, and masked, by substituting the terms "at" and "dot" for "@" and ".". For example, carney at techlawjournal dot com is the masked e-mail address of the publisher.

11/28. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that they will hold a series of joint hearings on the implications of single firm conduct under the antitrust laws.

The DOJ and FTC will also solicit written comments. However, no hearing dates or deadlines have been set. See, DOJ release and substantially identical FTC release.

FTC Chairman Deborah Majoras (at right), stated that "Over-enforcement of the monopolization laws leads to high false positives that chills pro-competitive behavior that benefits consumers. Under-enforcement, however, may result in false negatives in which firms continue to engage in exclusionary conduct that harms consumers."

Single firm conduct includes unilateral actions, which may or may not be anti-competitive, by firms that obtained market power by growth, efficiency and innovation, rather than by merger or collusion. Microsoft and Intel both raise single firm conduct issues.

The US and the EU have taken different approaches to single firm conduct. See for example, September 10, 2004 speech  in Tokyo, Japan, by former Assistant Attorney General Hewitt Pate titled "Securing the Benefits of Global Competition". See also, story titled "Pate Addresses US Competition Law And Differences With EU" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 975, September 13, 2004.

The DOJ and FTC wrote in their releases that "The primary goal of the hearings, which will begin in spring 2006, is to examine whether and when specific types of single-firm conduct are pro-competitive or benign, and when they may harm consumers."

The DOJ and FTC elaborated that "Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act, which proscribes exclusionary or predatory monopoly conduct, presents some of the most complex issues facing the Department, the FTC, the courts, the antitrust bar, and the business community. The hearings will examine and analyze a wide-range of legal and economic issues to help define the boundaries between single-firm conduct that is legal and conduct that is illegal under current antitrust laws."

They added that "Participants will critically examine and discuss the standards used in recent cases, including DOJ's enforcement actions against Microsoft, American Airlines, and Dentsply, and FTC cases against Intel, Unocal, and Rambus. Private actions, such as those in Trinko and LePage's, also will be examined. Hearing participants also will examine what economic learning contributes to the analysis with respect to exclusionary or predatory conduct."

The DOJ and FTC also stated that there is "an international component as well. In an increasingly globalized economy, in which transactions can have an impact on multiple jurisdictions, it is imperative that U.S. businesses understand the appropriate line between procompetitive and anticompetitive single-firm conduct and that U.S. antitrust enforcers are able to discuss and share with their foreign counterparts the latest legal and economic scholarship relating to these issues."

The Antitrust Modernization Commission (AMC) is also studying single firm conduct.

11/28. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report [86 pages in PDF] titled "Offshoring of Services: An Overview of the Issues". This is a long report that addresses many different issues, including the effect of offshoring upon U.S. living standards, employment, income variation, data privacy, and national security.

The report states that "traditional economic theory predicts that offshoring is likely to benefit the overall economy", but it also presents opposing viewpoints.

The report states that "Advances in information technology (IT) and developments in the management of business processes, coupled with a large pool of educated workers in other countries, allow companies to move services work outside of the U.S. as part of a larger trend toward global interdependence. For example, U.S. companies are now able to move software programming, accounting, or telephone call center services to lower-wage locations such as India, the Philippines, and Eastern Europe."

With respect to the likely effect upon U.S. living standards, the report states that "Traditional economic theory on international trade predicts that in the long run, offshoring is likely to be beneficial for the average U.S. standard of living; however, some economists have argued that offshoring could harm U.S. living standards if it contributes to the erosion of important U.S. industries, undermines U.S. technological leadership, or leads to a decrease in average U.S. wages."

With respect to the likely effect upon U.S. employment, the report states that "Many economists agree that offshoring is not likely to affect aggregate U.S. employment in the long run but acknowledge that in the short run some workers will lose their jobs when employers relocate production abroad. In addition, some economists argue that an important effect of offshoring and increased trade are structural changes that will generate permanent shifts in the types of work conducted by the U.S. labor force."

The report states that there is "disagreement among economists about whether offshoring is likely to significantly affect the distribution of income in the U.S." Similarly, the report states that experts vary in their assessments of the threats to privacy and national security.

11/29. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) issued its opinion [13 pages in PDF] in IPInnovations v. ECollege.com, affirming the District Court's summary judgment of non-infringement of U.S. Patent No. 4,877,404, titled "Graphical interactive software system". This case is IPInnovations LLC v. ECollege.com, Digital Think, Inc, and Docent, Inc., U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, App. Ct. Nos. 04-1571 and 05-1153, appeals from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Judge Rader wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Newman and Dyk joined.

11/29. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced in a release that it approved an application submitted by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) asking that it be allowed to revise its safe harbor program in accordance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

11/29. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) held an event titled "Open Forum on Decency". See, prepared statement [5 pages in PDF] of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin.

11/28. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report [56 pages in PDF] titled "Information Technology: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Needs to Establish Critical Investment Management Capabilities".

11/28. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report [65 pages in PDF] titled "Information Technology: HHS Has Several Investment Management Capabilities in Place, but Needs to Address Key Weaknesses".

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The House will next meet on Tuesday, December 6, 2005.

The Senate will next meet on Monday, December 12, 2005.

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. The National Archives and Records Administration's (NARA) Advisory Committee on the Electronic Records Archives (ACERA) will hold a meeting. The NARA asserts that registration is required for attendance. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 15, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 219, at Pages 69360. Location: 700 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

9:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) North American Numbering Council (NANC) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 9, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 216, at Pages 68045 - 68046. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room (Room TW-C305), 445 12th Street, SW.

10:30 AM. The U.S. District Court (DC) will hold a supplemental status conference in U.S. v. Microsoft, D.C. Nos. 98-1232 and 98-1233. Judge Colleen Kotelly will preside. Location: Courtroom 11, Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

11:45 AM - 1:00 PM. BellSouth's CTO Bill Smith will hold a news conference on network neutrality. Lunch will be served. BellSouth's notice states "Working Press Only Please". RSVP to Bill McCloskey at 202 463-4129. Location: BellSouth, 1133 21st St., NW, Suite 900.

TIME? The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) will host a luncheon on the future of regulation of communications. The panelists will be Ray Gifford (Progress and Freedom Foundation), Andy Schwartzman (Media Access Project), Jeannine Kenney (Consumers Union), and Jerry Ellig (Mercatus Center at George Mason University). The moderators will be FCBA President Michele Farquhar and Bryan Tramont. Location: Hogan & Hartson, 13th floor, 555 13th 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.

10:00 AM. The Antitrust Modernization Commission (AMC) will meet. There will be a panel from 10:00 AM to 12:00 NOON titled "Government Civil Remedies". There will be three panels from 1:15 - 4:30 PM titled "Statutory Immunities and Exemptions". See, notice in the Federal Register, November 16, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 220, at Page 69511. Location: Federal Trade Commission, Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Forum on Technology will host an event titled "The Future of Broadband". See, notice. Location: Room G50, Dirksen Building, Capitol Hill.

12:00 NOON. The Heritage Foundation will host a lecture by Tom Bethell, author of the book titled The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science [Amazon]. See, notice. Location: Heritage, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

12:30 - 2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) International Telecommunications Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch. David Gross (U.S. Coordinator for Communications and Information Policy at the State Department) will discuss the November meeting of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis, Tunisia. Location: Hogan & Hartson, 555 13th St., NW, Concourse Level.

10:00 AM - 4:30 PM. The Antitrust Modernization Commission (AMC) will meet. The topic will be "Statutory Immunities and Exemptions". See, prepared testimony [PDF] of John Sullivan, prepared testimony [PDF] of James Miller, prepared testimony [27 pages in PDF] of Peter Carstenen (University of Wisconsin law school), and prepared testimony [44 pages in PDF] of Darren Bush, Gregory Leonard (NERA Economic Consulting), and Stephen Ross (University of Illinois law school). See, AMC notice and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 70, No. 220, November 16, 2005, at Page 69511. Location: FTC, Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

CANCELLED. 6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Regulation in the Post-Katrina Environment".

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Copyright Office in response to its notice of inquiry (NOI) regarding exempting certain classes of works from the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. See, 17 U.S.C. § 1201(a), and notice in the Federal Register, October 3, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 190, at Pages 57526 - 57531.

Deadline for the National Cable & Telecommunications Association's (NCTA) and Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) to file their second 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].

8:30 AM - 3:00 PM. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Board of Overseers will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 18, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 222, at Page 69954. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Room A1038, Gaithersburg, MD.

12:00 NOON - 1:45 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a luncheon titled "The State of Trade: The Doha WTO Round, APEC, and the FTAA". The speakers will be Claude Barfield (AEI), James Glassman (AEI), and Arvind Panagariya (Columbia University). See, notice. Location: Twelfth floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) regarding its out of cycle reviews (OCRs) of Russia, Canada, Indonesia and the Philippines. These OCRs pertain to the identification of countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection. See, notice in the Federal Register: September 29, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 188, at Pages 56963 - 56964.

1:00 - 5:00 PM. The Antitrust Modernization Commission (AMC) will meet. The topic will be "Antitrust in Regulated Industries". The witnesses will be Scott Alvarez, Ellen Hanson, Rob McKenna, Mark Cooper, Harold Furchtgott-Roth, Diana Moss, and John Thorne. See, AMC notice and notice in the Federal Register, November 16, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 220, at Page 69511. Location: Federal Trade Commission, Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

The House will return from its Thanksgiving recess at 2:00 PM.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB). The agenda includes the following items: (1) Privacy Act framework effort, (2) status reports on ISPAB work plan items, (3) briefing on NIST Next Generation Internet Protocol (IPv6), (4) briefing on NIST National Vulnerability Database Project, (5) NTIA Information Security Outreach Briefing, and (6) discussion of NIST's Cryptographic Hash Function Workshop. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 18, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 222, at Pages 69953 - 69954. Location: Doubletree Hotel and Executive Meeting Center, 1750 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD.

9:00 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee will hold a partially closed meeting. The agenda includes a discussion of the BIS's deemed export rules. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 23, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 225, at Page 70784. Location: Room 3884, Hoover Building, 14th Street between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, NW.

TIME? The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee will meet. Location: ___.

5:00 - 7:00 PM. The Public Knowledge will host an event titled "celebration of the season". RSVP by December 1, 2005 to aoliverio at publicknowledge dot org or 202 518-0020. Location: Suite 650, 1875 Connecticut Ave., NW.

8:00 AM - 11:00 AM. The DC Bar Association's Intellectual Property Law Section will host a panel discussion titled "Trademark Office Speaks". The speakers will include Lynne Beresford (Commissioner for Trademarks), Sharon Marsh (Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy), and David Sams (Chief Administrative Trademark Judge, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board). The price to attend ranges from $25-$40. For more information, call 202 626-3463. See, notice. Location: Cosmos Club, 2121 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a two day meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB). The agenda includes the following items: (1) Privacy Act framework effort, (2) status reports on ISPAB work plan items, (3) briefing on NIST Next Generation Internet Protocol (IPv6), (4) briefing on NIST National Vulnerability Database Project, (5) NTIA Information Security Outreach Briefing, and (6) discussion of NIST's Cryptographic Hash Function Workshop. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 18, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 222, at Pages 69953 - 69954. Location: Doubletree Hotel and Executive Meeting Center, 1750 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in MIT v. Abacus Software, No. 05-1142, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (EDTex) in a patent infringement case involving image editing software. Location: Courtroom 203, 717 Madison Place, NW.

4:00 - 7:00 PM. The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host an event titled "DACA USF Conference". The speakers will include Sen. John Sununu (R-NH), Ray Gifford (PFF), Adam Peters (PFF), and Michael Riordan (Columbia University). The PFF's Digital Age Communications Act (DACA) project is in the process of developing draft legislation. One of the topics that it is examining is Universal Service Fund (USF) reform. Location: Thornton Room, Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Ave., NW.

7:00 PM. The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a "holiday gala" that will include "libations". The PFF invites not only supporters of "telecom reform", but also "erstwhile advocates for commons, mandated ``openness´´ and regulatory interventions". Location: Thornton Room, Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Ave., NW.

TIME? The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will hold a presolicitaion conference regarding the draft RFP [154 pages in PDF] for remaking the SEC's Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) Platform. See also, SEC release, draft RFP cover letter [PDF], and story titled "SEC Seeks Contractor to Remake EDGAR" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,259, November 23, 2005. Location: __.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will begin its Multichannel Video Distribution and Data Service (MVDDS) auction (Auction No. 63). See, notice in the Federal Register, September 15, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 178, at Pages 54541 - 54555.