5/25. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) amended and approved HR 5417, the "Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act of 2006". This is the Sensenbrenner Conyers network neutrality bill. It would amend the Clayton Act, which is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 12 et seq., by adding a new Section 28, to provide that it is unlawful for broadband network providers to violate certain enumerated network neutrality principals. See also, story titled "Sensenbrenner and Conyers Introduce Net Neutrality Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,375, May 22, 2006. The HJC approved by voice vote a manager's amendment offered by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI). It then approved the bill, as amended, by a vote of 20-13-1. Some members who voted for the bill stated that they support the preservation of network neutrality. Some members voted for the bill, but expressed concern regarding its contents. They stated that they support defending the jurisdiction of the HJC against House Commerce Committee encroachment, and defending the jurisdiction of the judicial branch to rule on questions regarding anticompetitive conduct.

5/25. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) amended and approved HR 4777, the "Internet Gambling Prohibition Act". This is the HJC bill sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and others. See also, story titled "House Crime Subcommittee Approves Internet Gambling Prohibition Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,364, May 5, 2006. The HJC approved an amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by Rep. Goodlatte, as amended by an amendment offered by Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT). The HJC rejected two amendments offered by Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL), and one offered by Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA). Rep. Wexler, who represents the state of Florida, sought language that carves out an exception for betting on dog racing, which is a lawful business in Florida.

5/25. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) amended and approved HR 4411, the "Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006". This is the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) bill sponsored by Rep. Jim Leach (R-IA). See also, story titled "House Financial Services Committee Approves Internet Gambling Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,330, March 16, 2006.

5/25. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) amended and approved HR 4894, a bill "To provide for certain access to national crime information databases by schools and educational agencies for employment purposes, with respect to individuals who work with children".

5/25. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) amended and approved HR 5318, the "Cyber-Security Enhancement and Consumer Data Protection Act of 2006".

5/25. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) amended and approved HR 4127, the "Data Accountability and Trust Act".

5/24. 10:00 AM. The House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) amended and approved HR 4127, the "Data Accountability and Trust Act". The HFSC approved by voice vote an amendment in the nature of a substitute [PDF] offered by Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL). Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-OR) offered, but withdrew, an amendment.

5/24. The House Commerce Committee (HCC) amended and approved  3997, the "Financial Data Protection Act of 2006". The House Financial Services Committee had previously reported this bill on March 16, 2006. The HCC approved an amendment in the nature of a substitute [PDF] offered by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL). The vote on final approval was 42-0.

5/24. The House Commerce Committee (HCC) amended and approved and HR 5126, the "Truth in Caller ID Act of 2006". The HCC approved an amendment in the nature of a substitute [PDF] offered by Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX).

5/25. The House Science Committee HSC) postponed until June 7, 2006, its mark up of several bills, including HR 5356, the "Early Career Research Act of 2006", HR 5357, the "Research for Competitiveness Act of 2006", and HR 5358, the "Science and Mathematics Education for Competitiveness Act of 2006".

5/24. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property (CIIP) approved HR 5440, the "Federal Courts Jurisdiction Clarification Act". This is a non-technology related bill. There is a different bill, with a similar title, HR 2955, the "Intellectual Property Jurisdiction Clarification Act of 2005". The HJC approved this bill on March 2, 2006, and reported this bill on April 4 (see, Report No. 109-407). See, story titled "House Judiciary Committee Approves Amendment Regarding Jurisdiction of Federal Circuit" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,325, March 8, 2006. However, HR 2955 has not gone to the House floor. TLJ spoke with Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) and Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) who stated that there is nothing delaying this bill, and that it should come up soon on the House floor on the suspension calendar. HR 2955 is a response to the Supreme Court's opinion in Holmes Group, Inc. v. Vornado Air Circulation Systems, Inc., 535 U.S. 826 (2002). See, story titled "Supreme Court Rules on Appellate Jurisdiction of Federal Circuit" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 443, June 4, 2002. In the Holmes case the Supreme Court held that the Federal Circuit's appellate jurisdiction cannot be based solely upon a patent counterclaim. Critics of the Holmes opinion have argued that this reduces federal control over IP cases, reduces uniformity of patent law, and encourages forum shopping. See, story titled "CIIP Subcommittee to Mark Up Intellectual Property Jurisdiction Clarification Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,162, June 27, 2005.

5/24. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property (CIIP) approved HR 5439 [PDF], the "Orphan Works Act of 2006", by voice vote. See, Copyright Office's report [133 pages in PDF] titled "Report on Orphan Works", upon which the bill is based. See also, story titled "Rep. Smith Introduces Orphan Works Act of 2006" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,377, May 24, 2006.

Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) praised the bill, but also expressed concern for the rights of photographers and other visual artists. He said that he would like to see changes made before full Committee mark up.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) also expressed support for the bill. This is significant because she had previously introduced a bill with a vastly different approach to orphan works. On June 25, 2004, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) introduced HR 2601 (108th Congress), the "Public Domain Enhancement Act", a bill to allow abandoned copyrighted works to enter into the public domain after fifty years. See also, story titled "Representatives Introduce Public Domain Enhancement Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 688, June 26, 2003.

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) told TLJ that he expects the bill to be marked up by the full Committee at the first mark up session after the Memorial Day recess.

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

9:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold an executive business meeting. The SJC frequently cancels or postpones meetings without notice. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold the second of three hearings on S 2686 [135 pages in PDF], the "Communications, Consumer's Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act of 2006". See, notice of hearing, statement [5 pages in PDF] by Sen. Stevens, and Sen. Stevens' section by section summary [7 pages in PDF]. See also, stories titled "Stevens Introduces Telecom Reform Bill" and "Section by Section Summary of Sen. Stevens' Telecom Reform Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,362, May 2, 2006. Press contact: 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 106, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will meet to mark up several technology related bills: HR 5417, the "Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act of 2006", HR 4777, the "Internet Gambling Prohibition Act"; HR 4411, the "Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006", HR 4894, a bill "To provide for certain access to national crime information databases by schools and educational agencies for employment purposes, with respect to individuals who work with children", HR 5318, the "Cyber-Security Enhancement and Consumer Data Protection Act of 2006", and HR 4127, the "Data Accountability and Trust Act (DATA)". See, notice. The meeting will be webcast by the HJC. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202-225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Science Committee HSC) will meet to mark up several bills, including HR 5356, the "Early Career Research Act of 2006", HR 5357, the "Research for Competitiveness Act of 2006", and HR 5358, the "Science and Mathematics Education for Competitiveness Act of 2006". The hearing will be webcast by the HSC. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

1:00 PM. The House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) will hold a hearing titled "Protecting Investors and Fostering Efficient Markets: A Review of the S.E.C. Agenda". Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of State's International Telecommunication Advisory Committee will meet to prepare for meetings of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) WPIE and CISP committee meetings of May 29-31, 2006. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 19, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 75, at Pages 20153-20154. Location: Room 2533, Harry Truman Building, 2201 C Street, NW.

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

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the April 27, 2006, recommendations of the World Radiocommunication Conference Advisory Committee (WRC-07 Advisory Committee). See, FCC notice [145 pages in PDF], with the recommendations attached. This proceeding is IB Docket No. 04-286.

Memorial Day.

The House will not meet on Monday, May 29, through Friday, June 2. See, Majority Whip's calendar.

The Senate will not meet on Monday, May 29, through Friday, June 2. See, 2006 Senate calendar.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and other federal offices will be closed. See, Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) list of federal holidays.

8:30 AM - 5:30 PM. Day one of a two day workshop on public participation in nanotechnology hosted by the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO). See, notice in the Federal Register, May 3, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 85, at Page 26117. Location: Westin Arlington Gateway Hotel, 801 North Glebe Road, Arlington, VA.

12:00 NOON - 5:00 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host an event titled "The SEC's
Interactive Data Revolution: Improved Disclosure for Investors, Less Expensive Reporting for Companies". Lunch will be served at 12:00 NOON. Peter Wallison (AEI) will introduce the program at 12:45 PM. Chris Cox, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), will give the keynote address at 12:45 PM. At 1:45 PM there will be a panel titled "XBRL, the New Computer Language: How It Creates Interactive Data". The speakers will be Richard Daly (Automatic Data Processing, Inc.), Mark Schnitzer (Morgan Stanley), Louis Thompson (National Investor Relations Institute), Mike Willis (Pricewaterhouse Coopers), and James Glassman (AEI). At 3:30 PM there will be a panel titled "Enhanced Business Reporting: Why It Is Necessary and How It Works with XBRL". The speakers will be Alan Anderson (Franklin Templeton Investments, Inc.), Robert Eccles (Advisory Capital Partners), John Philip (Infosys Technologies Limited), Mike Willis (PWC), and Peter Wallison (AEI). See, notice and registration page. Location: AEI, 1150, 17th Street, NW.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding licensing and use of frequencies in the 904-909.75 and 919.75-928 MHz portions of the 902-928 MHz band that are used for the provision of multilateration Location and Monitoring Service (M-LMS band). This NPRM is FCC 06-24 in WT Docket No. 06-49. See, text [24 pages in PDF] of NPRM; notice in the Federal Register, March 29, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 60, at Pages 15658-15666; and story titled "FCC Releases NPRM on M-LMS Systems" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,325, March 8, 2006.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding changes to the rules of practice relating to ex parte and inter partes reexamination. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 30, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 61, at Pages 16072-16086.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a two day workshop on public participation in nanotechnology hosted by the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO). See, notice in the Federal Register, May 3, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 85, at Page 26117. Location: Westin Arlington Gateway Hotel, 801 North Glebe Road, Arlington, VA.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to amend the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) to revise the fees charged to entities accessing the National Do Not Call Registry. See, notice in the Federal Register, May 1, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 83, at Pages 25512-25516.