3/6. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) and others introduced S 2369, an untitled bill pertaining to delayed notice of search warrants, judicial review of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) orders and national security letters (NSLs), requirements for issuance of FISA orders, and sunsetting of various search and surveillance provisions.

This bill contains many provisions that Sen. Specter and the cosponsors of the bill had unsuccessfully sought to have included in the conference report [PDF] on HR 3199, the "USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005", or other legislation pertaining to extending the sunsetted provisions of the 2001 USA PATRIOT Act.

Sen. Specter stated in the Senate that "The PATRIOT Act has had a complex procedural history where the House passed a version which was substantially different from the Senate version. Then we hammered out a conference report which, in my view, was an acceptable compromise. It did not have all of the provisions which I would have preferred. It did not have the provisions of the Senate bill. But in a bicameral legislature, we learn to work with the art of the possible." See, Congressional Record, March 6, 2006, at Page S1791.

He continued that "What this legislation does is reinstate provisions of the original Senate-passed bill."

He first addressed delayed notice search warrants. He said that "the House bill had called for 180 days. The Senate bill had called for 7 days' notice. The conference report compromised out at 30 days, which I thought was acceptable, while not as good as I would have liked it. So in this new bill, the delayed notice provision is set at 7 days. That means that when a search warrant is authorized, where the subject of the search warrant is not told -- ordinarily if you have a search and seizure, law enforcement officials come in and in broad daylight make the search and seizure. The resident, the owner of the residence knows about it. But a delayed notice search warrant is structured so that the recipient does not know about it, where there is cause shown that the investigation would be impeded if the recipient were to be told at that time. This cuts the time to 7 days."

He next addressed Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act and FISA orders. He said that "There had been considerable controversy over the provisions of section 215 where the Senate bill had a three-part test, and a fourth provision was added to the conference report where the judge had the discretion to grant the order if there was adequate showing in the opinion of the court to pursue a terrorist investigation. But the new bill comes back to the three-part test of the original Senate bill so the records sought must, first, pertain to a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power; second, are relevant to the activities of a suspected agent of a foreign power who is the subject of an authorized investigation; or, three, pertain to an individual in contact with the suspected agent of a foreign power."

He next addressed judicial review of NSLs. He said that this bill "would eliminate the conclusive presumption with respect to national security letters that the court would automatically uphold nondisclosure -- that is, a gag order -- upon the Government's good faith certification that disclosure may endanger the national security of the United States or interfere with diplomatic relations. The bill introduced today would allow the judge to review all of the factors and would not be controlled by this conclusive presumption."

He added that the bill "also makes a change on judicial  review of section 215, which eliminates both the conclusive presumption which was added in on the legislation sponsored by Senator SUNUNU, and it eliminates the mandatory 1-year waiting period. The sunset on national security letters is an additional provision which adds a 4-year sunset to national security letters, which is the same sunset in the balance of the conference report. National security letters had not been subjected to the PATRIOT Act but were included in the Senate version this time. That provision is added."

The original cosponsors are Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Sen. Lisa Murkowski (D-AK), Sen. John Sununu (R-NH), Sen. Russell Feingold (D-WI), Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID), Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO), Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA), Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA).

Sen. Specter added in a release that "This bill will be useful as a marker to promote further reconsideration of the provisions contained in the Senate bill passed last year". He did not explain why, if he could not get these provisions included in the legislation that will shortly be signed by the President, the Congress (and especially the House) would approve them now.

3/2. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced S 2360, the "Internet Non-Discrimination Act of 2006", a bill that would impose network neutrality requirements, and rate regulation, on voice, video, and data communications providers.

Sen. Wyden (at right) stated in the Senate that "Rather than let them continue to have the freedom to choose whatever content, applications and services they want, the big network operators want to control the content consumers can access. Allowing the big network operators to discriminate on the Net is bad news for consumers, small businesses, schools, libraries, nonprofits and any other user who enjoys their freedom of access." See, Congressional Record, March 6, 2006, at Page S1651.

"That is why today I am proposing legislation that will codify the principle of network neutrality. I want consumers, small businesses and every other Internet user to continue to enjoy tomorrow the full array of content, service and applications they enjoy today." Sen. Wyden added that "My legislation, the Internet Non-Discrimination Act of 2006, will establish the principle of network neutrality by requiring the operators of the network to treat all content on the Internet equally."

The bill would impose the network neutrality obligations on network operators, which the bill defines broadly as "any person who owns, operates, controls, or resells and controls any facility that provides communications directly to a subscriber". The bill defines "communications" broadly as "voice, video, or data application or service, regardless of the facilities or technology used".

The bill would give enforcement authority to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). It provides that "Any aggrieved party may submit a written complaint to the" FCC, which may then a issue cease and desist order.

The bill provides that judicial review shall lie in the "United States district court for the district in which the principle place of business of the aggrieved party is located". A communications provider's practices will likely affect people in many, if not all, judicial districts. Hence, this provision would give a forum selection, or shopping, advantage to opponents of the practices of communications providers.

The bill does not otherwise expressly create a private right of action for violation of its requirements. Nor does the bill give parallel enforcement authority to states.

The bill imposes nine categories of obligations, and provides several exceptions. It also includes some vague language regarding law enforcement activities.

The bill provides that "A network operator shall ... not interfere with, block, degrade, alter, modify, impair, or change any bits, content, application or service transmitted over the network of such operator". Nor shall it "discriminate in favor of itself or any other person, including any affiliate or company with which such operator has a business relationship in (A) allocating bandwidth; and (B) transmitting content or applications or services to or from a subscriber in the provision of a communications".

The bill further provides that a network operator shall "not assess a charge to any application or service provider not on the network of such operator for the delivery of traffic to any subscriber to the network of such operator".

The bill requires network operators to "offer communications such that a subscriber can access, and a content provider can offer, unaffiliated content or applications or services in the same manner that content of the network operator is accessed and offered, without interference or surcharges ... allow the attachment of any device, if such device is in compliance with part 68 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, without restricting any application or service that may be offered or provided using such a device ... treat all data traveling over or on communications in a non-discriminatory way".

The bill also imposes rate regulation on network operators. It provides that "A network operator shall ... offer just, reasonable, and non-discriminatory rates, terms, and conditions on the offering or provision of any service by another person using the transmission component of communications".

It also requires network operators to "provide non-discriminatory access and service to each subscriber" and "post and make available for public inspection, in electronic form and in a manner that is transparent and easily understandable, all rates, terms, and conditions for the provision of any communications".

The bill also enumerates several limited exceptions. For example, a network operator may "take reasonable and non-discriminatory measures to protect subscribers from adware, spyware, malware, viruses, spam, pornography, content deemed inappropriate for minors, or any other similarly nefarious application or service that harms the Internet experience of subscribers, if such subscribers -- (i) are informed of the application or service; and (ii) are given the opportunity to refuse or disable any such preventative application or service".

Network operations may also "support an application or service intended to prevent adware, spyware, malware, viruses, spam, pornography, content deemed inappropriate for minors, or any other similarly nefarious application or service that harms the Internet experience of subscribers, if such subscribers -- (i) are informed of the application or service; and (ii) are given the opportunity to refuse or disable any such preventative application or service".

Third, network operators may "take reasonable and non-discriminatory measures to protect the security of the network of such operator, if such operator faces serious and irreparable harm".

Finally, the bill would impose some requirements pertaining to law enforcement and emergency communications. It provides that network operators "shall -- (A) give priority to an emergency communication; (B) comply with any court-ordered law enforcement directive; and (C) prevent any activity that is unlawful or illegal under any Federal, State, or local law."

Ray Gifford, President of the Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF), responded that this bill "would ultimately harm consumers because it would discourage network buildout and the new entrants in the broadband platform market. The Act would also possibly deny consumers choices based on use, speed and bundling of services. By denying consumers this choice, individuals accessing the Internet sparingly, such as for e-mail access, would be subsidizing those using much more of the available bandwidth for applications such as streaming video.   A market-based alternative, relying on antitrust-like enforcement which looks to consumer welfare harm, would protect consumers from market power abuse while encouraging both network investment and application innovation.

The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a day long conference on Thursday, March 9, titled "The Digital Age Communications Act: Towards a New Market-Oriented Communications Policy in 2006". See, agenda and registration page.

In contrast, the Public Knowledge (PK) praised the bill. Gigi Sohn, head of PK, stated that this bill "will preserve the open character of the Internet by preventing network operators from discriminating in favor of content, applications and services in which they have a financial interest."

Sohn will speak at the PFF's conference on a panel titled "A Regulatory Framework Discussion Panel: Focusing on DACA and Net Neutrality".

3/7. On March 5, 2006, AT&T and BellSouth announced in releases that the two companies will merge. See, BellSouth release, AT&T release, and story titled "AT&T and BellSouth Announce Merger" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,323, March 6, 2006.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin stated in a release [PDF] on March 6 that "I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Commission to review the applications expeditiously once they are filed. The FCC’s primary responsibility is to determine whether the proposed transaction is in the best interest of consumers. We will carefully weigh the information presented, examining any allegations of specific harm in individual markets and the potential benefits for the deployment of new services."

Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH) and Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI), the Chairman and ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, released a joint statement on the proposed merger on March 7.

They wrote that "This is an important deal, and we will be holding hearings to examine its implications. A key question will be, simply, is bigger going to be better for consumers? ... We need to see whether the increased size of the new AT&T will bring consumer benefits, or harm competition."

Their joint release also states that "The proposed $67 billion merger of AT&T and BellSouth is yet another step in the historic re-combination of the old ``Ma Bell´´ system and will bring under one roof the largest phone company, largest cell phone service and largest DSL provider in the country. As this industry-wide consolidation continues most consumers will find themselves dealing with only one or two very large, very powerful integrated telecommunications companies, which raises concerns but also offers opportunities for consumer benefit, because these companies will have an enhanced ability to offer a greater number of consumer products."

Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, stated in a release on March 6 that "AT&T's announcement that it plans to acquire BellSouth demonstrates yet another step in the reconstitution of Ma Bell. The proposed acquisition of BellSouth by AT&T and the growing concentration in this marketplace reduces consumer choices and heightens the risk that consumers will pay more for local, long distance and cellular service. Consequently, careful review of the competitive aspects of the proposed merger by the Justice Department's Antitrust Division becomes all the more important. In its oversight capacity, the Committee on the Judiciary plans to aggressively scrutinize the proposed transaction and the state of competition in the broader telecommunications marketplace to reduce the risk of consumer harm from any proposed mergers."

3/3. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) published a short essay titled "XBRL: Give Them the Tools and They Will Finish the Job", by Peter Wallison of the AEI.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Chris Cox has been actively promoting Extensible Business Report Language (XBRL). See, speech of November 7, 2005, in Tokyo, Japan, and speech of November 11, 2005, in Boca Raton, Florida. See also, story titled "SEC Chairman Cox Discusses Use of Interactive Data in Corporate Reporting" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,250, November 9, 2005. And see, the SEC's February 2005 rule changes that initiated the SEC's XBRL Voluntary Program.

Wallison argued that SEC efforts to incorporate XBRL for Generally Accepted Accounting Procedures (GAAP) into SEC filings is a good thing. The problem, writes Wallison, is that the EU is moving more quickly to develop XBRL for their competing International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

He writes that "In the future, then, companies that want their financial statements to be more accessible to investors and analysts will have another reason, apart from Sarbanes-Oxley, to offer their securities in the EU, particularly London, and to report their financial results in IFRS. And, even worse, in the globalized capital market of today, capital will flow to the companies whose financial statements are most easily analyzed and understood, giving the companies that state their financials in IFRS an important competitive advantage over those that use US-GAAP."

3/6. Rep. Bill Thomas (R-CA), the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, announced that he will not seek reelection later this year. See, statement by President Bush, statement by USTR Rob Portman, and statement by Treasury Secretary John Snow.

3/6. The Senate confirmed Timothy Batten to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court (NDGa) by a vote of 88-0. See, Roll Call No. 31.

3/6. The Senate confirmed Thomas Johnson to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court (SDWV) by a vote of 89-0. See, Roll Call No. 32.

3/2. The Senate Judiciary Committee reported favorably the nominations of Jack Zouhary (to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio), and Stephen Larson (USDC, Central District of California).

3/2. The Senate Judiciary Committee held over consideration of the nomination of Steven Bradbury to be Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Office of Legal Counsel at it March 2 meeting. The agenda for the March 8 meeting includes consideration of Bradbury.

The House will meet at 12:30 PM for morning hour and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. The House will consider, under suspension of the rules, several items, including S 2271, the "USA PATRIOT Act Additional Reauthorizing Amendments Act of 2006", and HR 32, the "Stop Counterfeiting in Manufactured Goods Act". S 2271 is the bill sponsored by Sen. John Sununu (R-NH) that the Senate approved on March 1. The Senate approved HR 32 on February 15. See, story titled "Senate Approves Bill to Criminalize Trafficking in Counterfeit Marks" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,315, February 22, 2006. See, Republican Whip Notice.

The Senate will meet at 9:450 AM. It will resume consideration of S 2320, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Funding Act (LIHEAP).

8:30 AM - 5:15 PM. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 17, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 33, at Page 8566. The public must request permission to attend by March 2. Location: Employees Lounge, Administration Building, NIST, Gaithersburg, MD.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee will meet. See, agenda [PDF]. Michael Chertoff will speak at 8:20 AM. The DHS states that "Media wishing to attend must present valid press credentials and arrive no later than 8:05 a.m. EST. For more information please contact the DHS Press Office 202-282-8010." Location: Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Polaris Room, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in AT&T (formerly SBC) v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 05-1186. This is a petition for review of a final order of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) denying a petition for forbearance from applying Title II regulatory obligations to certain services characterized by SBC as internet protocol services. See, brief [40 pages in PDF] of the FCC. Judges Randolph, Tatel and Williams will preside. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Rural Telecommunications". The witnesses will be Thomas Dorr (Undersecretary, Rural Development Authority, Department of Agriculture), Mark Johnson (Commissioner, Regulatory Commission of Alaska), Ray Baum (Commissioner, Public Utility Commission of Oregon), Bill Squires (Blackfoot Telephone Cooperative), Larry Sarjeant (Qwest Communications), Craig Mundie (Microsoft), Joe Garcia (National Congress of American Indians), and Mark Goldstein (Government Accountability Office). 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.

10:00 AM. The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on the oversight and operation of credit rating agencies. Location: Room 538, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Competitive Technologies, Inc., et al. v. Fujitsu, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (NDCal) in patent infringement case involving plasma display panels (see, U.S. Patent Nos. 4,866,349 and 5,081,400), and 11th Amendment immunity of state universities. This is App. Ct. No. 05-1237 and D.C. No. C-02-1673 JCS. Previously, the Federal Circuit dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. See, June 30, 2004, opinion. The Supreme Court denied certiorari on October 3, 2005. See, Order List [84 pages in PDF], at page 14. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "Economic Engagement and Freedom in China". The speakers will be John Frisbie (U.S.-China Business Council), Ethan Gutmann (author of Losing the New China: A Story of American Commerce, Desire and Betrayal), James McGregor (Vermilion Ventures), and Ying Ma (AEI). See, notice. Location: 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

12:00 NOON. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security will hold an oversight hearing titled "White Collar Enforcement (Part l): Attorney-Client Privilege and Corporate Waivers". The hearing will be webcast by the HJC. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding additional payment component of default payments for the auction of new nationwide commercial Air-Ground Radiotelephone Service licenses in the 800 MHz band. This is Auction No. 65. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 28, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 39, at Pages 10034-10035.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of S 1768, a bill to permit the televising of Supreme Court proceedings, and S 829, the "Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2005". The agenda also includes consideration of several nominations, including Steven Bradbury (to be Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Office of Legal Counsel). See, notice. The SJC frequently cancels or postpones meetings without notice. The SJC rarely follows its published agenda. 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.

TENTATIVE. 10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee (HCC) will meet to mark up HR __, the "Prevention of Fraudulent Access to Phone Records Act". The hearing will be webcast by the HCC. See, notice. Press contact: Larry Neal (Barton) at 202 225-5735. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank. The witnesses will be James Lambright (acting President of the Ex-Im Bank), Gerald Rama (SVP of PNC Bank), and Al Merritt (President of MD International). See, notice. Location: Room __, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in LG Electronics v. Bizcom Electronics, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (NDCal) in a case involving the issue of patent misuse. This is App. Ct. No. 05-1261. Location: Courtroom 210, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 - 11:30 AM. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 17, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 33, at Page 8566. The public must request permission to attend by March 2. Location: Employees Lounge, Administration Building, NIST, Gaithersburg, MD.

2:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property will hold a hearing on the Copyright Office's (CO) report [133 pages in PDF] titled "Report on Orphan Works". The witnesses will be Jule Sigall (primary author of the report), Allan Adler ( Association of American Publishers), David Trust ( Professional Photographers of America), and Maria Hyun (Guggenheim Museum). See, notice. See also, story titled "Copyright Office Recommends Orphan Works Legislation" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,302, February 2, 2006. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Trade, Tourism, and Economic Development will hold a hearing titled "Piracy and Counterfeiting in China". The witnesses will be Chris Israel (Coordinator for International Intellectual Property Enforcement at the Department of Commerce), Franklin Vargo (National Association of Manufacturers), Andy York (Leupold & Stevens), and William Alford (Harvard Law School). 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: Room 562, Dirksen Building.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding telecommunications relay services and speech-to-speech services for individuals with hearing and speech disabilities, and access to emergency services. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 1, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 21, at Pages 5221-5231. This NPRM is FCC 05-196 in CG Docket No. 03-123. The FCC adopted this item on November 18, 2005, and released in on November 30, 2005.

Deadline to submit comments to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regarding its (1) notice of proposed rulemaking, and (2) proposed revenue procedure, pertaining to tax return preparers' use and disclosure of tax return information in an electronic environment. See, IRS notice in the Federal Register that describes and recites proposed changes to its rules implementing 26 U.S.C. § 7216, Federal Register, December 8, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 235, at Pages 72954 - 72964. See also, IRS web site notice [16 pages in PDF] that describes and contains the proposed revenue procedure. And see, story titled "IRS Releases Proposed Rules Regarding Electronic Tax Preparation" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,268, December 8, 2005.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a day long conference titled "The Digital Age Communications Act: Towards a New Market-Oriented Communications Policy in 2006". See, agenda and registration page. Location: Capitol Hilton, 1001 16th St., NW.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The Cato Institute and the Brookings Institution will jointly host a one day event titled "The Marketplace of Democracy: A Conference on Electoral Competition and American Politics". The agenda includes a panel discussion from 10:30 - 11:45 AM that includes Brad Smith, who is a professor at Capital University Law School, a former member of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), and an opponent of FEC regulation of internet based speech. See, notice, agenda and registration page. Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

9:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold a meeting. The event will be webcast by the FCC. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Room TW-C05 (Commission Meeting Room).

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold an executive business meeting. 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.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Nash v. Microsoft. This is App. Ct. No. 05-1385. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

3:15 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing on the nomination of Robert McDowell to be a Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). 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.

TIME? The Board of Directors of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) will meet. Location: AIPLA, Headquarters Board Room, Arlington, VA.

The Republican Whip Notice states that "no votes are expected in the House".

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Patent Office Professionals Association v. FSLA, App. Ct. No. 05-1173. Judges Henderson, Garland and Edwards will preside. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 - 11:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Media Security and Reliability Council (MSRC) will meet. See, FCC notice and agenda [PDF]. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th Street, SW.

5:00 PM EST. Deadline to submit requests to testify at the Copyright Office's hearings on possible exemptions to the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 23, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 36, at Pages 9302-9303. See also, stories titled "Copyright Office Announces Proceeding on DMCA Anti-Circumvention Exemptions" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,229, October 7, 2005, and "Copyright Office Announces Hearings on Exemptions to Anti-Circumvention Provisions" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,318, February 27, 2006.

2:00 - 3:00 PM. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy (CACP) will hold a monthly meeting. See, notice. For more information, contact Scott Eisner ncfevents at uschamber dot com or 202 463-5500. Location: U.S. Chamber, 1615 H Street, NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Wireless Issues / Spectrum Reform". 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.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "The Patent Office Speaks". The speakers will include John Doll (Commissioner of Patents, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office), Peggy Focarino (Deputy Commissioner for Patent Operations), and Jay Lucas (acting Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy). Darrell Mottley (Banner & Witcoff) will moderate. The price to attend ranges from $20 - $40. For more information, call 202 626-3463. See, notice. Location: The Westin Embassy Row Hotel, 2100 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing titled "Wall Street's Perspective on Telecommunications". 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.

TIME? The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) North American Numbering Council (NANC) will hold a meeting. Location: ___.

TIME? The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) will hold a hearing on the proposed free trade agreement with the Republic of Korea. The USTR seeks comments on, among other topics, "electronic commerce issues" and "trade-related intellectual property rights issues that should be addressed in the negotiations". See, notice in the Federal Register: February 9, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 27, at Pages 6820-6821. Location: Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F Street, NW.

Day one of a four day convention hosted by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) titled titled "CEA Spring Break". See, notice.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [26 pages in PDF] regarding Section 621(a)(1)'s directive that local franchising authorities (LFAs) not unreasonably refuse to award competitive franchises. The FCC adopted this NPRM on November 3, 2005, and released it on November 18, 2005. It is FCC 05-189 in MB Docket No. 05-311. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 14, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 239, at Pages 73973 - 73980. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts NPRM Regarding Local Franchising of Video Services" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,247, November 4, 2005.

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