3/23. The House Commerce Committee (HCC) issued a release that states that Committee leaders "have reached bipartisan agreement" on language for HR 4127, the "Data Accountability and Trust Act", or DATA. This release also states that the full Committee will mark up the bill on Wednesday, March 29.

The HCC did not release the text of bill to be approved next week. However, the HCC's release summarizes the bill, and changes to be made by a manager's amendment.

It states that manager's amendment will "Narrow the definition of data brokers to include only those entities that sell noncustomer data to nonaffiliated third parties, ensuring mailing lists and others aren't inadvertently affected by the law. The FTC would also be granted the authority to deem in compliance with H.R. 4127 those companies already meeting the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Gramm-Leach Bliley Act or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) requirements."

It also states that the manager's amendment will require data brokers to "establish reasonable procedures to verify the accuracy of information that they collect and maintain", and "regularly monitor security systems for breaches". Also, data brokers would be prohibited from "obtaining information on someone by impersonating that person".

The release also states that the manager's amendment will "Change the threshold for consumer notification from ``significant risk of identity theft´´ to ``reasonable risk of identity theft to the individual to whom the personal information relates, fraud or other unlawful conduct.´´" The bill will also "Allow consumers annual access to records maintained on them by data brokers as well as the right to have inaccurate information corrected or labeled as disputed."

3/22. The World Trade Organization (WTO) released a report titled "Trade Policy Review: Report of the Secretariat: United States". See, WTO release, which contains hyperlinks to the various parts of the report, in MS Word format.

This lengthy report contains summaries of the trade related aspects of various areas of U.S. statutes, treaties, and rules, including intellectual property rights (IPR), antitrust, and telecommunications.

Intellectual Property Rights. The report states that the U.S. "is a major producer of goods and services that embody knowledge and other intellectual developments. It is committed to a policy of promoting increased IPR protection, and is advancing this protection through a variety of mechanisms, including FTAs, intellectual property agreements, and memoranda of understanding. Various regulatory changes took place during the period under review, particularly in the areas of patents, trade marks, copyright, and enforcement. The U.S. Patent Office is implementing a programme to expand the quality review of patent applications, among other things. The United States has yet to implement the DSB ruling with respect to Section 211 of the U.S. Omnibus Appropriations Act of 1998." See, table of contents and summary of observations.

The section of the report that addresses IPR reviews the nature of, and recent developments in, the U.S. patent, trademark and copyright systems. The discussion of patent protection notes that there have been few significant recent changes to patent law, other than the Cooperative Research and Technology Enhancement (CREATE) Act of 2004, but that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and National Academy of Sciences (NAAS) have both produced reports with recommendations for changes.

The discussion of copyright reviews the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005, and the Copyright Royalty and Distribution Reform Act of 2004. It also reviews the Special 301 process, Section 337 proceedings, and criminal enforcement.

Antitrust. The report states that "Competition policy enforcement has remained focused on the activities of international cartels.  Other areas addressed by the antitrust agencies include anticompetitive mergers and non-merger enforcement in key sectors, such as health care and energy. Changes to competition policy legislation, including penalties for violating the Sherman Act, took effect in 2004. The U.S. economy's good performance has been linked to regulatory reform efforts in a broad range of industries, but it has also been noted that competition policy could be improved by eliminating antirust exemptions, enhancing competition at the sectoral level and clarifying assignments of responsibility among different enforcement officials."

Telecommunications. The report states that "The U.S. telecommunications market is open to foreign participation and highly competitive. In December 2004, the Federal Communications Commission adopted new regulations that redefine the extent to which incumbent firms are required to make elements of their network available to other carriers."

The report contains an overview of federal telecommunications regulation, including developments affecting unbundled network elements, and intercarrier compensation. The report also contains a detailed review of U.S. restrictions on foreign ownership of certain FCC issued licenses.

U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Rob Portman stated in a release that "The WTO's review affirms our belief that the United States prospers from open markets. Our economic strength -- 3.5% growth in GDP and 2 million new jobs last year -- is in part a reflection of our low trade barriers. This is why, as the report recognized, the U.S. economy has been the engine for global growth over the past decade. The United States’ trade weighted average applied tariff is just 1.4%."

Portman added that "We will continue to vigorously pursue tariff reductions and the removal of non-tariff barriers because it will help generate global economic growth and lift millions from poverty. That is why we are committed to trade liberalization in the Doha Development Round. We will also continue to pursue FTAs because they complement these multilateral efforts to bring down barriers."

Portman also stated that "The report identifies that barriers to trade aren't always economic -- at times they are political. We are cognizant of the potential for protectionism in the U.S. and we are actively communicating the real world benefits of trade at home. Economic isolationism, though, is not just a phenomenon in the United States. We all must fight the protectionist forces with the facts, which show that benefits from trade are substantial."

3/22. Janet Hale, the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Under Secretary for Management, announced her intent to resign, effective in early May. See, DHS release.

3/23. President Bush signed HR 1053, a bill to extend normal trade relations treatment to the products of Ukraine. Bush gave a speech at a signing ceremony in which he stated that "President Yushchenko has made reforms to increase transparency and provide intellectual property protection and strengthen the enforcement of the rule of law." He added that "These reforms have taken great conviction. And earlier this month, our two nations signed a bilateral agreement that will establish the terms of trade between our nations when Ukraine joins the World Trade Organization. We support Ukraine's goal of joining the WTO, and we will help resolve the remaining steps required for entry as quickly as possible." The House approved HR 1053 on March 8, 2006, by a vote of 417-2. See, Roll Call No. 24. The Senate approved the bill on March 9.

3/23. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) published a web page that summarizes the programs that the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 assigns to the NTIA, including the digital to analog converter program. This page also states that "NTIA will be conducting rule makings and other required administrative proceedings in order to establish the programs as directed by the Act."

3/21. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), the Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee (SCC), gave a speech at CompTel's 2006 Spring Convention in San Diego, California. He said that the SCC "is trying to create new legislation which is technology-neutral". He discussed 911, municipal broadband, network neutrality, video franchising, universal service taxes and subsidies, and family tiers for cable and satellite. He said that "I want to convince the Committee to have a new Communications Act and to have a goal of a final draft to be ready to be marked up by the Committee right after the Easter recess."

3/23. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) issued its opinion [27 pages in PDF] in Atofina v. Great Lakes Chemical Corporation, a patent infringement case involving synthesization of difluoromethane. The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded. This case involves the issues of unenforceability because of inequitable conduct, and anticipation. This case is App. Ct. No. 05-1359, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, D.C. No. Civ. No. 02-1350, Judge Sue Robinson presiding. Judge Lourie wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judge Rader joined. Judge Dyk dissented in part.

3/22. The U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) issued its opinion [37 pages in PDF] in Alaska Right to Life Committee v. Miles. The Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court's judgment upholding the state of Alaska's campaign finance statute against a First Amendment challenge. This opinion may be of some interest to persons following federal regulation of internet speech. The Alaska Right to Life Committee is neither an individual, nor a blogger. However, the Court wrote that it "seeks to accomplish its goals through various forms of communication to the public, including a newsletter, telemarketing, and the Internet." Also, in this case, a main issue was the definition of the term "electioneering communication". In the ongoing Federal Election Commission (FEC) rulemaking proceeding the definition of "public communication" is the main issue. The Alaska statute includes internet communications. It provides, in part, that "communication" means "an announcement or advertisement disseminated through print or broadcast media, including radio, television, cable, and satellite, the Internet, or through a mass mailing, excluding those placed by an individual or nongroup entity and costing $500 or less and those that do not directly or indirectly identify a candidate or proposition, ..." Then, an "electioneering communication" means a communication that "(A) directly or indirectly identifies a candidate; (B) addresses an issue of national, state, or local political importance and attributes a position on that issue to the candidate identified; and (C) occurs within the 30 days preceding a general or municipal election". The 9th Circuit upheld the constitutionality of this language. This case is App. Ct. No. 04-35599, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, D.C. No. CV-02-00274-A, Judge Ralph Beistline presiding. Judge William Fletcher wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Alfred Goodwin and Melvin Brunetti joined. See also, story titled "House Committee Holds Hearing on Regulation of Internet Speech" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,222, September 27, 2005.

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The House will not meet. It will next meet on Tuesday, March 28. See, Republican Whip Notice.

The Senate will not meet. It will next meet on Monday, March 27 at 1:00 PM.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) State and Local Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Network Neutrality". The speakers will be Greg Sidak (Georgetown University Law Center), Randolph May (Progress and Freedom Foundation), and Jason Oxman (CompTel),Jim Kohlenberger (Voice on the Net Coalition), and Harold Feld (Media Access Project). For more information, contact Erick Soriano at 202 939-7921 or esoriano at fw-law dot com. Location: Fleischman and Walsh, Suite 600, 1919 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

Day three of a four day event hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Optical Technology Division titled "Spectroradiometry Short Course". See, notice. Location: 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

TO BE DECIDED WITHOUT ORAL ARGUMENT. 9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Bruce Gilmore v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 05-1413. See, brief [PDF] of FCC. Judges Ginsburg, Sentelle and Brown will preside. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

DATE CHANGE. 12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a program titled "The White Space: What to Do With It". See, notice. This program relates to permit the use of smart technology to allow advance wireless services to operate in the white spaces of the broadcast bands. The FCC has a open rulemaking proceeding. See, story titled "FCC Adopts NPRM Regarding Unlicensed Use of Broadcast TV Spectrum" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 898, May 14, 2004. This NPRM is FCC 04-113 in ET Docket Nos. 04-186 and 02-380. Press contact: Patrick Ross at 202 289-8928. Location: Room B-369, Rayburn Building. (This event had previously been scheduled for Friday, April 28, 2006.)

12:00 NOON. Deadline to submit written comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) regarding 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.

Day four of a four day event hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Optical Technology Division titled "Spectroradiometry Short Course". See, notice. Location: 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

The Senate will meet at 1:00 PM. It will resume consideration of of S 2349, the "Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006".

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold an executive business meeting. The SJC frequently cancels or postpones meetings without notice. See, 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.

Effective date of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) interim rule revising the rules of practice relating to the filing date requirements for ex parte and inter partes reexamination proceedings. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 23, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 36, at Pages 9260-9262.

The House will return from its St. Patrick's Day District Work Period. It will meet at 2:00 PM. See, Republican Whip Notice.

8:30 AM - 12:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Privacy and Data Security for Communications & Media Companies". See, registration form [PDF]. The price to attend ranges from $50 to $200. Location: Covington & Burling, 1201 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

9:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold a partially closed hearing to examine war time executive power and the FISA Court. The SJC frequently cancels or postpones hearings without notice. Press contact: Blain Rethmeier (Specter) at 202 224-5225, David Carle (Leahy) at 202 224-4242 or Tracy Schmaler (Leahy) at 202 224-2154. Location: Room 219, Hart Building.

9:00 AM - 5:15 PM. The Catholic University Law School's Journal of Communications Law and Policy will host its annual communications law symposium. See, agenda. Location: Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, 3600 John McCormack Rd., NE.

2:00 PM. The House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Science, the Departments of State, Justice, and Commerce, and Related Agencies will hold a hearing on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Location: Room 2359, Rayburn Building.

2:30 PM.  The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold a hearing on pending judicial nominations. The SJC frequently cancels or postpones hearings without notice. Press contact: Blain Rethmeier (Specter) at 202 224-5225, David Carle (Leahy) at 202 224-4242 or Tracy Schmaler (Leahy) at 202 224-2154. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

Extended 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. See, FCC notice [MS Word] of March 7, 2006.

TIME CHANGE. 1:30 - 4:45 PM. The Copyright Office will hold one is a series of hearings on possible exemptions to the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. See, CO schedule. 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. Location: Mumford Room, LM-649, James Madison Building, Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave., SE.

TIME CHANGE. 10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee's (SCC) Subcommittee on Technology will hold a hearing titled "Importance of Basic Research to United States' Competitiveness". The hearing will address "basic research in the physical sciences impacts both long-term economic development in the United States and the ability of American industry to remain globally competitive". See, notice. Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) will preside. 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.

10:00 AM. The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing titled "U.S. -- China Economic Relations Revisited". See, notice. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in eBay v. MercExchange, Sup. Ct. No. 05-130. See, Supreme Court calendar [PDF], Supreme Court docket, March 16, 2004, opinion [31 pages in PDF] of the Court of Appeals (FedCir), and story titled "Supreme Court to Consider Availability of Injunctive Relief in Patent Cases" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,261, November 29, 2005. Arguments begin at 10:00 AM. This case is second on the schedule. 90 minutes has been scheduled for the first case.

12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Engineering and Technical Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The FCBA notice states that "Staff of the Office of Engineering and Technology to discuss how counsel can more effectively and efficiently represent their clients to the Commission, and how the FCC’s staff can better serve the practitioners' needs. This discussion will include management and staff from the OET front office and from the Laboratory Division." Location: FCC, Room 5-B516, 445 12 St., SW.

12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a luncheon. The speakers will be Frank Ahrens (Washington Post), Edie Herman (Communications Daily), Jennifer Kerr (AP), Paul Kirby (Telecommunications Reports), Jeremy Pelofsky (Reuters), and Amy Schatz (Wall Street Journal). The price to attend ranges from $10-$40. Reservations and cancellations are due by 5:00 PM on March 23. See, registration form [PDF]. Location: Sidley Austin, 1501 K Street, NW.

2:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property (CIIP) will hold an oversight hearing titled "Remedies for Small Copyright Claims". The hearing will be webcast by the HJC. See, notice. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights may hold a hearing on state regulation of violent video games and the First Amendment. The SJC frequently cancels or postpones hearings without notice. Press contact: Blain Rethmeier (Specter) at 202 224-5225, David Carle (Leahy) at 202 224-4242 or Tracy Schmaler (Leahy) at 202 224-2154. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

2:30 - 3:30 PM. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will host an event titled "Intellectual Property Roundtable featuring Julie Myers". Myers is the new Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). See, notice. For more information, contact Scott Eisner ncfevents at uschamber dot com or 202 463-5500. Location: U.S. Chamber, 1615 H St., NW.

5:15 PM. Deadline to submit to the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) requests to appear at its April 20, 2006, hearing on the probable economic effects of the proposed U.S.-Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreement. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 28, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 39, at Pages 10066-10067.

9:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims will hold an oversight hearing titled "Should Congress Raise the H1B Cap?". The hearing will be webcast by the HJC. See, notice. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee will mark up S 2389, the "Protecting Consumer Phone Records Act". 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. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Science Committee (HSC) will hold a hearing titled "K-12 Science and Math Education Across the Federal Agencies". The witnesses will be Margaret Spellings (Secretary of Education), Arden Bement (Director of the National Science Foundation), John Kelly (Deputy Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), Shana Dale (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), and James Decker (Office of Science, Department of Energy). Press contact: Joe Pouliot at 202-225-4275 or joe dot pouliot at mail dot house dot gov. For more information, contact Kara Haas (Republican staff) at 202 -225-7858 or Jim Wilson (Democratic staff) at 202-225-6375. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM - 12:30 PM. The Department of State's (DOS) Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy (ACICIP) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 23, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 36, at Pages 9407-9408. Richard Wiley, Chairman of the ACICIP, and attorney at the law firm of Wiley Rein & Fielding, will preside. David Gross, Deputy Assistant Secretary and U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy, will speak. The DOS states that admittance is only by means of a pre-arranged clearance list. March 28 is the deadline to request to attend is March 28. Location: Loy Henderson Auditorium, Harry Truman Building, DOS, 2201 C Street, NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) International Telecommunications Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The speakers will be FCC International Legal Advisors. For more information, contact Wendy Parish at wendy at fcba dot org or LeJuan Butler at 202 778-3501. Location: United Nations Foundation, 1225 Connecticut Ave., NW, 4th Floor.

1:00 - 3:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau will hold a public demonstration of changes to be made to Tower Construction Notification System (TCNS). See, notice [PDF]. The event will be webcast by the FCC. Location: FCC, 6th Floor South Conference Room (Room 6-B516), 445 12th St., SW.

TIME CHANGE. 2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing titled "Competition and Convergence". 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. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building.

6:00 - 9:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers, Wireless and Common Carrier Committees will host an event titled "Young Lawyers Committee Spring Happy Hour". For more information, contact Paul Feldman at 703-812-0403 or feldman at fhhlaw dot com, Jennifer Tatel at 202-736-8038 or jtatel at sidley dot com, or Chris Fedeli at 202-828-9874 or cfedeli at crblaw dot com. Location: Panache, 1825 Desales St., NW.