9/21. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) spoke briefly at a luncheon in Washington DC hosted by the Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF).

Sen. Stevens (at right) said that the broad communications reform bill that the Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) amended and approved on June 28, 2006, will not be approved by the full Senate before it recesses for the November elections.

This bill is HR 5252 RS [287 pages in PDF], as reported in the Senate. It is titled both the "Advanced Telecommunications and Opportunities Reform Act" and the "Communications Act of 2006". See also, stories in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,404, July 5,2006.

He added that he hopes that the Senate will take up the bill when it returns around November 13.

He concluded, optimistically, that "it is possible still to get it passed".

Brian Roberts, head of Comcast, was the keynote speaker at the luncheon.

Sen. Stevens also spoke in the Senate on September 21, 2006. He summarized the bill's major provisions and benefits. He also said that "There is wide support for the Senate Communications Bill. Several days ago a letter signed by over 100 companies was sent to our leaders and made available. These are companies involved in the manufacturing, design and construction of communications networks. These companies expressed support for the bill because it encourages broadband deployment. They support the bill's lighter regulatory approach to net neutrality. I ask unanimous consent that the letter be placed in the record."

He added that "There has been much debate on this issue in the Senate Commerce Committee, in House Committees, on the House floor, in the newspapers and in the blogosphere. But some Senators have prevented full debate on this issue on the Senate floor. It is time now for the Senate to allow the debate on this bill to start.  America needs this bill."

Sen. Stevens is the Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), the Chairman of the House Commerce Committee, which approved its own version of HR 5252 in April of 2006, stated in a release that "Senator Stevens was exactly right about the benefits of telecommunications legislation currently before the Senate. The Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement Act will greatly expand consumer choice, especially for TV programming, and likely lead to lower prices for many communication services. Democrats in the House understood this when 106 voted for it. I hope Democrats in the Senate will soon see the light and help pass this important bill."

See also, story titled "Amendment by Amendment Summary of Full Committee Mark Up of COPE Act" in TLJ Daily T-Mail Alert No. 1,360, April 28, 2006. The House amended and approved this bill on June 8, 2006. See, story titled "House Approves COPE Act, Without Network Neutrality Amendment" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,388, June 9, 2006.

In addition, Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), the Chairman of the HCC's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, stated that "I applaud the leadership of Senator Stevens to move this very important legislation that could save families across the nation over $450 for what they spend each year on Internet, phone and cable services.  The time is now for the Senate to move this bill that will inject more competition for video services in our communities, all the while unleashing new technologies and services at lower prices."

9/20. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) amended and approved HR 5825, the "Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act", a bill that amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The vote on final approval was 20-16. See also, HJC release [PDF].

This bill has also been referred to the House Intelligence Committee.

The HJC also approved HR 6054, the "Military Commissions Act", without amendment. The vote on final approval was 20-19.

As a result of the length of the debate on these two bills, the HJC did not mark up the other two bills on its agenda, one of which was HR 6052 [100 pages in PDF], the "Copyright Modernization Act of 2006". This bill includes revised versions of the "Section 115 Reform Act of 2006", or SIRA, and the "Orphan Works Act of 2006". It also provides for increased investigative and forensic resources for law enforcement agencies investigating computer hacking and intellectual property crimes. See also, story titled "Rep. Smith Combines Orphan Works Bill, SIRA, and Other Copyright Act Amendments" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,447, September 12, 2006.

The next likely date for a mark up of this copyright bill is Wednesday, September 27, 2006.

9/20. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) completed its Auction No. 66, its first Advanced Wireless Services (AWS-1) auction of spectrum in the 1710-1755 MHz and 2110-2155 MHz bands on September 18, 2006.

The FCC stated in a release [PDF] that "A total of 1,122 licenses were offered in the auction, and 104 bidders won 1,087 licenses." It added that "The top five winning bidders based on the net amount of their winning bids include: T-Mobile License LLC; Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless; SpectrumCo LLC; MetroPCS AWS, LLC; and Cingular AWS, LLC." See also, FCC's report [PDF] on top bidders, and report [PDF] on top licensees.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin issued a statement [PDF] in which he wrote that this auction was "the biggest, most successful wireless auction in the Commission’s history. The spectrum offered was the largest amount of spectrum suitable for deploying wireless broadband ever made available in a single FCC auction. It grossed nearly $13.9 billion."

Martin added that "Auction winners are expected to use this prime ``spectrum real estate´´ to roll out new devices, which will allow consumers to access the Internet and dedicated video services wherever they want, whenever they want. For example, sports fans watching their favorite team will no longer need to wait until they get home to catch up on the games -- they will be able to watch highlights and obtain scores on their mobile devices in real-time."

On September 20, 2006, the FCC released a public notice [9 pages in PDF] that provides further information concerning winning bidders, down payments, final payments and/or refunds, FCC Forms 601 and 602 filing requirements, requests for rule waivers, and licensing matters. This item is DA 06-1882.

Down payments are due by 6:00 PM on October 4, 2006. Final payments are due by 6:00 PM on October 19, 2006. FCC Forms 601 and 602 are due by 6:00 PM on October 4, 2006.

9/20. The Copyright Office (CO) published a notice in the Federal Register that announces, describes, and sets comment deadlines for a notice of inquiry (NOI) regarding copyright issues associated with the secondary transmission of digital television broadcast signals by cable operators.

The Copyright Act, at 17 U.S.C. § 106, provides that "the owner of copyright under this title has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize" certain things. However, the Copyright Act also includes numerous limitations on these exclusive rights. 17 U.S.C. § 111 provides that certain secondary transmissions are not an infringement of copyright. It creates for cable systems a statutory license to retransmit a performance or display of a work embodied in a primary transmission made by a television station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The CO has promulgated rules implementing this statutory license.

Copyright Owners' Petition for Rulemaking. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), and other copyright owners, submitted a petition for rulemaking [20 pages in PDF] to the CO on May 23, 2005, regarding applicability of the CO's rules to the retransmission of digital broadcast signals under the Section 111 statutory license.

The petitioners wrote that the Congress created the cable statutory license "nearly thirty years ago, at a time when all broadcast stations were analog and transmitted a single stream of programming on either a VHF or an UHF channel. It was not until 1997 that the FCC adopted rules governing transition of the broadcast television industry from analog to digital signals, and thereby authorized each individual broadcaster to transmit multiple streams of programming over various channels ... Congress has never specifically addressed in Section 111 the issues arising from cable carriage of digital broadcast signals."

The Congress has more recently dealt with the satellite statutory license in 17 U.S.C. § 119.

The petitioners continued that "Cable operators are increasingly retransmitting digital signals of broadcast stations. ... If cable operators do carry digital broadcast signals relying upon the Section 111 compulsory license ... it is important that they properly report such carriage and pay the royalties that Section 111 requires. Based upon a review of statements of account filed with the Copyright Office by cable operators as well as other material, Copyright Owners are concerned that cable operators are not reporting and calculating their Section 111 royalties properly."

The petitioners requested that the CO "address the recordkeeping and royalty calculation issues that necessarily arise in connection with the carriage of digital broadcast signals by cable operators -- assuming that the Office is of the view that Section 111 covers retransmissions of digital broadcast signals."

The petition also included proposed language for changes to the CO's regulations.

Copyright Office Comments. The CO wrote in its notice that when the Congress passed the statute creating the cable statutory license it "made a distinction between primary and secondary transmissions and local versus distant ones in order to identify which transmissions are subject to the statutory license and at what rate. It did not define a broadcast transmission or identify whether a transmission was subject to the statutory license on the basis of the signal's technical characteristics (i.e., an analog signal vs. a digital signal) nor was there a need to make such distinctions because all transmissions at that time were broadcast in an analog format." (Parentheses in original.)

The CO added that "there is nothing in the Act, its legislative history, or the Copyright Office's implementing rules, which limits the cable statutory license to analog broadcast signals. Instead, the cited provisions broadly state that the statutory license applies to any broadcast stations licensed by the FCC or any of the signals transmitted by such stations. Thus, use of the statutory license for the retransmission of a digital signal would not be precluded merely because the technological characteristics of a digital signal differ from the traditional analog signal format."

But, the CO added, "questions remain with regard to the application and operation of the cable statutory license structure in the digital television context."

Hence, the CO's notice seeks comments on issued raised by the petition, and a plethora of additional issues raised by the CO.

Summary of Questions Posed by Notice of Inquiry. The CO first seeks comments on a number of digital broadcast signal retransmission issues.

One subcategory of issues concerns retransmission of a digital television broadcast signal. The CO asks:

"First, in the case where the digital signal has or has had an analog counterpart, would the digital broadcast station's television market for Section 111 purposes be the same as the broadcast station's television market for the analog signal? And if the analog signal is considered distant, can the digital counterpart ever be considered local, or vice versa?"

"Second, how should the Copyright Office determine whether a distant digital broadcast signal is permitted or non-permitted for Distant Signal Equivalent (``DSE´´) purposes?"

"Third, how does the Copyright Office determine the basis of carriage for a distant digital signal (i.e. market quotas, grandfathered status, etc.)?" (Parentheses in original.)

"Fourth, what DSE values (for network, educational, independent) should be assigned to digital signals?" (Parentheses in original.)

"Fifth, how would the Copyright Office determine the coverage area of a broadcast licensee's digital television transmission for cable copyright purposes, especially in the context of significantly viewed signals?"

It also asks, "Would the resolution of these questions be the same in the case where the signal never had an analog counterpart?"

Another digital broadcast signal retransmission issue raised by the notice of inquiry is simultaneous retransmission of analog and digital broadcast signals.

The CO asks, "Must a cable operator pay separately for carriage of a digital signal and an analog signal where the signals carry identical programming to the subscriber, or does the statutory license allow for a single payment for the delivery of the same programming albeit in two different formats? Would the programming be considered ``different´´ if the digital signal included only a subset of the programming from the analog signal or if the digital signal was broadcast in a high definition format? Are cable systems offering such combinations to subscribers and is the Copyright Owners' method of valuation appropriate?" (Footnote omitted.)

The CO also asks commenters "to provide examples of where cable operators are retransmitting the analog and digital signals of the same licensee, but the programming on the primary (or main) digital signal is different than that of the analog signal. We also seek comment on how a cable operator should report the carriage of a digital signal that has been downconverted to an analog signal (at the cable operator's headend) so that subscribers without a digital set top box are able to view such signals." (Parentheses in original.)

Another digital broadcast signal retransmission issue raised by the notice of inquiry is retransmission of digital multicast streams. The CO seeks comment on the petitioners' argument that "a cable operator carrying multicast signals must identify those signals separately in Space G on its SOA form", and that the CO should require " separate calculation of DSE values and royalty payments for carriage of multiple streams of distant digital signals."

Another digital broadcast signal retransmission issue raised by the notice of inquiry is retransmission of datacast streams. The CO seeks comment on whether "time and technology eroded the precedential value" of WGN Continental Broadcasting Co. v. United Video, Inc., 693 F.2d 622 (7th Cir. 1982).

The final digital broadcast signal retransmission issue raised by the notice of inquiry is retransmission of digital audio broadcast signals. The CO seeks comment "on what changes in our rules and the SOAs are necessary to accommodate the secondary transmission of digital audio signals by cable systems. How should cable systems report the retransmission of digital audio multicast streams? Will cable subscribers need specialized equipment or set top boxes to receive these digital radio signals? If so, how would this affect a cable operator's gross receipts calculations?"

Next, the CO seeks comments on the marketing of digital broadcast signals and the cable statutory license.

Finally, the CO seeks comments on digital equipment and reception issues under Section 111. For example, the CO seeks comment on the petitioners' argument that "a cable operator must include in its gross receipts any fees charged subscribers for digital set top boxes used to receive HDTV or other digital broadcast signals, notwithstanding that the operator may market its offering of such signals as ``free.´´"

The CO also seeks comment "on whether cable subscribers have been required to purchase CableCards in order to access digital broadcast television signals. If so, we ask whether the Copyright Office's definition of gross receipts should be amended to include subscriber revenue generated through the lease of CableCards. How are cable operators currently treating the lease of CableCards on their SOAs? What space and block on the SOAs should be changed, or possibly added, to list CableCard revenue?"

The CO also seeks comment on the petitioners' argument that "fees for service to additional digital television sets or ``HDTV Terminals´´ must be included in a cable system's gross receipts".

Miscellaneous Information. Initial comments are due by November 6, 2006. Reply comments are due by December 4, 2006.

The notice identifies two attorneys at the Copyright Office assigned to this proceeding, Ben Golant and Tanya Sandros, at 202-707-8380. The attorneys for the sports league petitioners are Robert Garrett and Christopher Winters of the Washington DC office of the law firm of Arnold & Porter. The attorney for the MPAA is Gregory Olaniran of the Washington DC office of the law firm of Stinson Morrison & Hecker.

TLJ spoke with a representative of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) who stated that the NCTA's attorneys are studying the NOI, and that the NCTA will submit a comment to the CO, but that the NCTA has no reaction to the NOI at this time.

The CO notice is published at Federal Register, September 20, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 182, at Pages 54948-54953.

See also, the prepared testimony of Marybeth Peters, Registrar of Copyrights, before the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property on February 24, 2004.

9/21. The Free Press released a report [41 pages in PDF] titled "Out of the Picture: Minority & Female TV Station Ownership in the United States Current Status, Comparative Statistical Analysis & the Effects of FCC Policy and Media Consolidation".

9/20 The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released its 2006 report [128 pages in PDF] required by the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA).

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Notices & Disclaimers
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The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. It will consider several non-technology related items. See, Republican Whip Notice.

The Senate will meet at 9:30 AM. It will resume consideration of HR 6061, the "Secure Fence Act of 2006".

9:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property will hold a hearing on HRes 916, titled "Impeaching Manuel L. Real, judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, for high crimes and misdemeanors". See, notice. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202-225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

9:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the Satellite Industry Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will host an event titled "Continuity of Business (via satellite) Summit: Acquiring Robust Communications Capability to Prepare for Natural and Man-Made Disasters". See, NTIA notice and notice in the Federal Register, August 25, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 165, at Page 50390. Location: U.S. Chamber, 1615 H Street, NW.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing titled "Deleting Commercial Child Pornography Sites From the Internet: The U.S. Financial Industry’s Efforts to Combat This Problem". See, notice. The hearing will be webcast by the HCC. Press contact: Larry Neal (Barton) at 202-225-5735. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Science Committee will hold a hearing titled "Research on Environmental and Safety Impacts of Nanotechnology: What are the Federal Agencies Doing?" The witnesses will be Norris Alderson (Food and Drug Administration), Arden Bement (National Science Foundation), George Gray (Environmental Protection Agency), Altaf Carim (Department of Energy), Andrew Maynard (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars), and Matthew Nordan (Lux Research Inc.). The hearing will be webcast by the HSC. For more information, contact Marty Spitzer (R) at 202-225-8844 or Jim Wilson (D) at 202-225-6375. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Banking Committee (SBC) will meet to mark up "The Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2006". See, notice. Location: Room 538, Dirksen Building.

10:30 AM. The Senate Finance Committee (SFC) will hold a hearing on the nominations of John Veroneau to be a Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, and Robert Steele to be Under Secretary at the Department of the Treasury. See, notice. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a luncheon. The keynote speakers will be Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Brian Roberts (Ch/CEO of Comcast Corporation). The other speakers will be Raymond Gifford (PFF), Aryeh Bourkoff (UBS Investment Research), Blair Levin (Stifel Nicolaus), and Craig Moffett (Sanford Bernstein). See, notice and registration page. Location: Capital Hilton, 1001 16th St., NW.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Communications Law, Copyright & Digital Rights Management Committee will host a brown bag lunch. This is a new committee, and this lunch will serve as the committee's organizational meeting. For more information, contact Seth Davidson at sdavidson at fw-law dot com, Ben Golant at bgol at loc dot gov or Ann Bobeck at abobeck at nab dot org. Location: Fleischman and Walsh, Suite 600, 1919 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

2:00 PM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittees on Telecommunications and the Internet and Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection will hold a joint hearing titled "ICANN Internet Governance: Is It Working?". The witnesses will be John Kneuer (head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration), Paul Twomey (P/CEO of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), Steve DelBianco (Association for Competitive Technology, on behalf of the NetChoice Coalition), Thomas Lenard (Progress & Freedom Foundation), Harold Feld (Media Access Project), and Mark Bohannon (Software & Information Industry Association). See, notice. The hearing will be webcast by the HCC. Press contact: Larry Neal (Barton) at 202-225-5735, Sean Bonyun (Upton) at 202-225-3761, or Paul Flusche (Stearns) at 202-225-5744. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The Center for Democracy and Technology's (CDT) Internet Caucus Advisory Committee (ICAC) will host an event titled "Should Congress Decree Social Networking and Chat Sites Teen-Free Zones?". The speakers will be Jay Chaudhuri (Special Council to North Carolina Attorney General), Donna Hughes (Enough Is Enough), Danah Boyd (UC Berkeley), Adam Thierer (Progress & Freedom Foundation), and Tim Lordan (ICAC). For more information, contact Danielle Yates at dyates at netcaucus dot org or 202-638-4370. Location: HC-5, Capitol Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing on several pending nominations, including Sharon Hays (to be the Associate Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy) and Cynthia Glassman (to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs). See, notice. The hearing will be webcast by the SCC. Press contact: Joe Brenckle (Stevens) at 202-224-3991, Brian Eaton (Stevens) at 202-224-0445, or Teri Rucker (Inouye) at 202-224-4546. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

6:00 PM. Alex Kozinski, a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir), will give a speech titled "Fair Use Revisted". See, notice. RSVP to iplecture at wcl dot american dot edu or 202-274-4148. Location: American University, Washington College of Law, Room 603, 4801 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

Rosh Hashana begins at sundown.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. See, Republican Whip Notice.

8:30 AM - 10:00 PM. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the TeleCONSENSUS coalition will host a discussion titled "The Telecommunications Economy: Competition and the Global Marketplace". The speakers will be John Rutledge (Rutledge Capital) and Joel Popkin (Joel Popkin and Company). The U.S. Chamber's notice states that "Credentialed Members of the Media are Invited to Attend. For more information, or to register, reporters may e-mail" press at uschamber dot com or call 202-463-5682. Location: U.S. Chamber, Phoenix Park Hotel, 520 North Capitol Street, NW.

DATE AND TIME CHANGE. 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM. The Alliance for Public Technology (APT) will host a brown bag lunch titled "Digging Deeper into the Senate Communications Act of 2006:  What does the Bill Mean for the E-Rate Community and People with Disabilities?". The speakers will be Lynne Bradley (American Library Association), Jenifer Simpson (American Association of People with Disabilities), and Karen Strauss (KPS Consulting). RSVP to apt at apt dot org or (202) 263-2970. Location: ALA, first floor conference room, 1615 New Hampshire Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON. The Heritage Foundation will host a book forum. James Carafano will discuss his book [Amazon] titled "GI Ingenuity: Improvisation, Technology, and Winning World War II". See, notice. Location: 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

EXTENDED TO OCTOBER 23. Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding its media ownership rules. The FCC adopted this FNPRM on July 21, 2006, and released the text [36 pages in PDF] on July 24, 2006. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts FNPRM on Rules Regulating Ownership of Media" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,397, June 22, 2006. This FNPRM is FCC 06-93 in MB Docket No. 02-277, MM Docket No. 01-235, MM Docket No. 01-317, MM Docket No. 00-244, and MB Docket Nos. 06-121. See also, notice in the Federal Register, August 9, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 153, at Pages 45511-45515. See, order [PDF] extending deadlines.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking [22 pages in PDF] in a new proceeding titled "In the Matter of Amendment of Section 90.20(e)(6) of the Commission's Rules". This is a reaction to Lojack's petition for rulemaking relating to the use of spectrum for stolen vehicle recovery systems (SVRS). The FCC proposes to revise section 90.20(e)(6) of its rules "to permit increased mobile output power, to permit digital emissions in addition to the analog emissions currently authorized by the Rules, and to relax the limitations on duty cycles", among other things. The FCC adopted this item on July 19, 2006, and released it on July 24, 2006. It is FCC 06-107, in WT Docket No. 06-142. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 23, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 163, at Pages 49401-49405.

The Supreme Court will hold the opening conference of its new term, October Term 2006.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a program titled "The Future of Trade Remedy Proceedings". The speakers will include Deanna Okun (Commissioner, U.S. International Trade Commission), Timothy Reif (Minority Chief Trade Counsel, House Ways & Means Committee), David Spooner (Assistant Secretary for Import Administration, Department of Commerce), and Lynn Kamarck (Hogan & Hartson). The price to attend ranges from $15 to $40. For more information, call 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: Hogan & Hartson, 555 13th St., NW.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit comments to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) regarding its proposed rules for the administration the program to provide $40 coupons to consumers for use towards the purchase of digital to analog converter boxes. See, NTIA release [PDF] and notice in the Federal Register, July 25, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 142, at Pages 42067-42074.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Preserving Intellectual Property Rights in Government Contracts: A Beginner's Guide". The speakers will include David Bloch (McDermott Will & Emery), Richard Gray (Air Force Office of the General Counsel), James McEwen (Stein McEwen & Bui), and Michael Stein (Stein McEwen & Bui). The price to attend ranges from $80-$135. For more information, call 202-626-3488. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

Deadline set by the House Committee Committee (HCC) for Hewlett Packard to respond to the second part of its request for records regarding pretexting. See, story titled "House Commerce Committee Requests Records From HP Regarding Its Use of Pretexting to Obtain Confidential Records" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,447, September 12, 2006.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding Neutral Tandem's petition for interconnection with Verizon Wireless. See, FCC's Public Notice (DA 06-1603) and notice in the Federal Register, August 30, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 168, at Pages 51617-51618. This proceeding is WC Docket No. 06-159.

9:00 AM - 12:30 PM. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division will hold another in their series of hearings on single firm conduct and antitrust law. The witnesses will be Michael Scherer (Harvard), Luke Froeb (Vanderbilt University), Wally Mullin (George Washington University), Jonathan Baker (American University law school), Clifford Winston (Brookings Institution), David Reitman (CRA International Inc.), and Robert Marshall (Bates White LLC). See, notice. Location: FTC Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

RESCHEDULED FROM SEPTEMBER 14. 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).

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing titled "Sexual Exploitation of Children Over the Internet: The Face of a Child Predator and Other Issues". See, notice. The hearing will be webcast by the HCC. Press contact: Larry Neal (Barton) at 202-225-5735. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Department of States' International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to prepare positions for the next meeting of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) Permanent Consultative Committee II (PCCII) to be held on October 17-20, 2006, in Caracas, Venezuela. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 5, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 171, at Page 52364. Location:  undisclosed.

10:00 AM. The House Education and Workforce Committee's Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness will hold a hearing titled "The Internet and the College Campus: How the Entertainment Industry and Higher Education are Working to Combat Illegal Piracy". The witnesses will be William Kirwan (University System of Maryland), Dan Glickman (Motion Picture Association of America), Cary Sherman (Recording Industry Association of America), Cheryl Elzy (Illinois State University), and William Fisher (Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School). Location: Room 2175, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The ABA will host a brown bag lunch titled "The Current State of Standard Setting and Counseling in Light of Rambus". See, August 2, 2006, opinion [120 pages in PDF] of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and story titled "FTC Holds That Rambus Unlawfully Monopolized Markets" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,427, August 8, 2006. The speakers will be Gail Levine (Verizon), Gil Ohana (Cisco Systems), Howard Morse (Drinker Biddle & Reath), and Christine Varney (Hogan & Hartson). RSVP to Connie Carrol at ccarrol at lecg dot com or 202-973-0533. Location: Hogan & Hartson, 555 13th Street, NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Enforcement Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The speakers will be Kris Monteith (Chief of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau) and others. This event will also serve as the Committee's organizational meeting. For more information, contact Christi Shewman at christi dot shewman at fcc dot gov. Location: Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, 1440 New York Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection will hold a hearing titled "Editing Hollywood's Editors: Cleaning Flicks for Families". See, notice. The hearing will be webcast by the HCC. Press contact: Larry Neal (Barton) at 202-225-5735 or Paul Flusche (Stearns) at 202-225-5744. Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "How to Litigate a Copyright Infringement Case". The speakers will include Kenneth Kaufman (Skadden Arps). The price to attend ranges from $80-$135. For more information, call 202-626-3488. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

8:30 AM - 1:00 PM. The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) will host a conference titled "Defining the Acceptable Balance: A Reasoned Approach to Data Retention". The speakers will include Jim Harper (Cato Institute), Jim Dempsey (Center for Democracy and Technology), Michael Gavin (Forrester Research), and Philip Reitinger (Microsoft). See, notice. The price to attend ranges from free to $150. For more information, contact Eerik Kreek at 703-525-2279 or ekreek at itaa dot org. Location: Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill Hotel.

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Day two of a two day public meeting of the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB). See, notice in the Federal Register, July 12, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 133, at Pages 39318. Location: Room 7C13, GAO Building, 441 G St., NW.

10:00 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a mark up session. The agenda has not yet been announced. See, notice. The meeting will be webcast by the SCC. Press contact: Joe Brenckle (Stevens) at 202-224-3991, Brian Eaton (Stevens) at 202-224-0445, or Teri Rucker (Inouye) at 202-224-4546. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on the nominations of nominations of Christopher Padilla to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration, and Bijan Rafiekian to be a member of the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. See, notice. Location: Room 538, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a program titled "Successful Law Firm Websites". The speaker will be Lexa Gandolfo. The price to attend ranges from $15 to $25. For more information, call 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) HLS/Emergency Communications Ad Hoc Committee will host a brown bag lunch. This is a new ad hoc committee. This event will be used to discuss what events the committee should host. For more information, contact Jennifer Manner at 703-390-2730 or jmanner at msvlp dot com. Location: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, 2400 N Street, NW.

1:00 - 5:00 PM. Day one of a three day meeting of the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board's (ATBC) Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 12, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 176, at Pages 53629-53630. Location: National Science Foundation, Room II-555, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Missoula Intercarrier Compensation Plan -- Pros and Cons". Registrations and cancellations are due by 5:00 PM on September 25. The price to attend ranges from $50 to $125. See, registration form [PDF]. Location: Klein Law Group, Suite 700, 901 15th St., NW.

Day one of a three day conference for attorneys who represent media companies titled "Media Law Conference: Protecting the First Amendment in Challenging Times". It is hosted by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), Newspaper Association of America (NAA), and Media Law Resource Center (MLRC). See, conference web site. Location: Hilton Alexandria Mark Center, Alexandria, VA.

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Day one of a two day public meeting of the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB). See, notice in the Federal Register, July 12, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 133, at Pages 39318. Location: Room 7C13, GAO Building, 441 G St., NW.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a three day meeting of the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board's (ATBC) Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 12, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 176, at Pages 53629-53630. Location: National Science Foundation, Room II-555, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing. The HCC's notice states that it pertains to the "HP Pretexting Scandal", and that it is a part of the HCC's ongoing investigation into "the use of lies and deception to gain access to information that is not publicly available and without the victim's consent". The HCC has invited Patricia Dunn (Chairman of Hewlett Packard), Ann Baskins (General Counsel of HP), Larry Sonsini (Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati), and Ronald DeLia (Security Outsourcing Solutions, Inc.). Press contact: Larry Neal (Barton) at 202-225-5735. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Wireless Telecommunications Practice Committee will host a lunch. The speakers will be Brad Ramsay (NARUC), Chris McCabe (CTIA), Chris Wright (Harris Wiltshire & Grannis), and Debra Berlyn (AARP). The price to attend is $15. Registrations and cancellations are due by 12:00 NOON on September 26. See, registration form [PDF]. Location: Latham & Watkins, 10th Floor, 555 11th St., NW.

TIME? The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) will hold a hearing on its preparation of its annual report to the Congress on China's compliance with the commitments made in connection with its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). See, notice in the Federal Register, July 28, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 145, at Pages 42886-42887. The notice states that the hearing will be on "Wednesday, September 28". TLJ spoke with a representative of the OUSTR who stated that the notice should have stated "Thursday, September 28". Location:?

TIME? The Council on Competitiveness's (COC) Forum on Technology and Innovation may host an event titled "The Importance of Energy Sustainability for U.S. Competitiveness". Location?

Day two of a three day conference for attorneys who represent media companies titled "Media Law Conference: Protecting the First Amendment in Challenging Times". It is hosted by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), Newspaper Association of America (NAA), and Media Law Resource Center (MLRC). See, conference web site. Location: Hilton Alexandria Mark Center, Alexandria, VA.