10/4. A trial jury of the U.S. District Court (DMinn) returned a verdict in Capitol Records v. Jammie Thomas, a music copyright infringement case involving use of the Kazaa peer to peer (P2P) network. The case is also known as RIAA v. Thomas.

The jury returned a verdict of infringement in favor of the record companies, and awarded damages of $220,000. This is the first P2P infringement case against an individual infringer to reach a verdict.

The plaintiffs in this case are Virgin Records America, Inc., Capitol Records, Inc., Arista Records, LLC, Interscope Records, Warner Bros. Records, Inc., and UMG Recordings, Inc. The plaintiffs are members of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Tom Sydnor of the Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF) stated in a release that "First, by rejecting the defendant's a-neighbor-could-have-done-it defense, the jury indicated that the holder of an internet-access account is responsible for illegal uses of their account. This helps dispel the myth that you can download with impunity and then blame on your roommate ..."

"Second, by awarding damages of $9250 per song -- well above the $750-per-song minimum -- the jury spoke to both the illegality and immorality of unauthorized downloading."

This case is Virgin Records America, Inc., et al. v. Jammie Thomas, U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, D.C. No. 06-1497 (MJD/RLE), Judge Michael Davis presiding.

10/2. The U.S. Court of Appeals (1stCir) issued its opinion in Torres-Negron v. J&N Records, a copyright case in which an author's failure to comply with registration procedure defeated his ability to enforce his copyright.

Background. Fernando Torres-Negrón wrote the music and lyrics to a song titled "Noche de Fiesta" in 1993. However, he did not then file an application for copyright registration with the Copyright Office (CO).

Others recorded his song, and it was sold on music CDs, without an assignment of copyright. Torres-Negron then filed an application for copyright registration. However, he no longer possessed the sheet of paper upon which he had originally inscribed the notes and lyrics. Rather, he recreated the work, and registered a copy of that, along with an audio recording that he made at that later date.

The Court of Appeals wrote that "It is undisputed that the written lyrics and tape that Torres submitted as his deposit copy were not the originals -- that is, they were not the exact tape or piece of paper on which he first recorded the music or wrote the lyrics of the song. Indeed, the parties agree that Torres gave both the original lyrics and the first recording of the song to Cañuelas. By the time he submitted his copyright registration application, he no longer had access to either the original writing of the lyrics or the tape recording of the song. Thus, in order to comply with the requirement that a ``copy´´ of the song be submitted with the application, Torres reconstructed his original work from memory ..."

He filed a complaint in U.S. District Court (DPR) against J&N Records and others alleging copyright infringement.

The trial jury returned a verdict for Torres-Negron. However, the District Court then granted judgment as a matter of law to the defendants on the grounds that Torres-Negron submitted a reconstruction of the work to the CO with his application for copyright registration.

Statute. Registration of a copyright with the CO is not required under the Copyright Act. However, 17 U.S.C. § 411(a) provides that registration of copyright is a prerequisite for filing a complaint for infringement of that copyright.

17 U.S.C. § 408 provides that "the material deposited for registration shall include ... in the case of an unpublished work, one complete copy or phonorecord". However, Section 408 contains no definition of "one complete copy".

17 U.S.C. § 1, the definitional section of the Copyright Act, provides that "``Copies´´ are material objects, other than phonorecords, in which a work is fixed by any method now known or later developed, and from which the work can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. The term “copies” includes the material object, other than a phonorecord, in which the work is first fixed."

Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of the District Court.

The Court of Appeals wrote that this requirement is jurisdictional.

The Court of Appeals wrote that "In light of the plain statutory language and the purpose of the registration requirement, we conclude that omission of a proper deposit copy with a copyright application renders the registration invalid and eliminates the federal courts' subject matter jurisdiction over an infringement claim."

The Court of Appeals relied upon two Court of Appeals opinions from other circuits, Kodadek v. MTV Networks, Inc., 152 F.3d 1209 (9th Cir. 1998), and Coles v. Wonder , 283 F.3d 798 (6th Cir. 2002). See also, story titled "6th Circuit Rules in Copyright Registration Case" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 393, March 21, 2002.

The Kodadek case is also know as the Beavis and Butthead case. After MTV had produced its popular TV show, Kodadek came forward and claimed to have drawn cartoon characters that MTV used in the TV show. He did not have an original. He drew a new copy, registered it with the Copyright Office, and backdated it.

The Coles case involved a song recorded by Stevie Wonder titled "For Your Love". Coles claimed he wrote it, and Wonder copied it. After Wonder recorded it, Coles made a new copy, backdated it, and registered it with the Copyright Office.

And finally, the Court of Appeals held that Torres-Negron must pay the record company's attorneys fees.

TLJ Analysis. One rationale for rejecting copyright registrations based upon reconstructions might be that it reduces fraudulent after the fact claims of authorship of works that have proven to be commercially successful. This is a problem, especially with music. In many of the cases relied upon by the Court of Appeals, the defendants also disputed the plaintiffs' claim to authorship.

However, in the present case, there is no dispute as to Torres-Negron's authorship. His claim failed solely upon a registration technicality without a rationale.

Perhaps this case also stands as authority for the proposition that a prerequisite for protection of copyright interests is continuous oversight and representation by expert legal counsel. Authors and creators who do not possess this are at substantial risk of losing the ability to enforce their copyrights.

While the original purpose of copyright protection is to incent creativity, and "To promote the Progress of Science and useful arts" (Constitution, Art. I, Sec. 8), this and related opinions may tend to promote the progress of the copyright bar, and businesses that use its services, to the detriment of creativity.

This case is Fernando Torres-Negrón v. J&N Records, LLC, et al., U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit, App. Ct. Nos. 06-2058 and 06-2059, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.

10/3. The Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) released a report [26 pages in PDF] titled "The True Cost of Copyright Industry Piracy to the U.S. Economy". The author of the report is Stephen Siwek. This report states that "copyright piracy from motion pictures, sound recordings, business and entertainment software and video games costs the U.S. economy $58.0 billion in total output, costs American workers 373,375 jobs and $16.3 billion in earnings, and costs federal, state, and local governments $2.6 billion in tax revenue." Patrick Ross of the Copyright Alliance stated that the estimate contained in this report is "quite conservative". He elaborated in a release that "Many industries dependent on copyright protection are not included in this report because of a lack of data -- including publishing industries of all kinds, photography and graphic arts."

10/1. The Business Software Alliance (BSA) announced in a release that it is extending its $1 Million rewards incentive program. The BSA pays bounties to employees of companies who confidentially report software piracy by their employers.

9/27. Sherwin Siy of the Public Knowledge wrote a piece regarding the WIPO broadcast treaty. He wrote that the World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO) "General Assembly has decided that there will be no Diplomatic Conference on the Broadcast Treaty this year."

9/28. Thomas Barnett, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division, gave a speech in New York City titled "Section 2 Remedies: A Necessary Challenge".

He addressed Section 2 of the Sherman Act, which is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 2. Its closest equivalent in European law is Article 82 of the EC Treaty. The Antitrust Division invokes Section 2 in actions based upon unilateral conduct, such as in the US antitrust action against Microsoft. Barnett discussed the US Microsoft case, but not unilateral conduct actions brought by the European Commission (EC).

Barnett said that the goals of antitrust remedies should be "1. Prohibiting the continuation or recurrence of anticompetitive conduct that constituted the antitrust violation; 2. Restoring competitive conditions in the marketplace; 3. Compensating victims of the violation; and 4. Deterring future violations."

He offered a number of guidelines for implementation of these goals. First, "do no harm" to consumer welfare. Second, "There should be a close nexus between the remedy and the proven violation."

Third, "The remedy should seek to re-establish the opportunity for competition", rather than "a reduction in the defendant's share of the market".

Fourth, "The remedy should use market competition to the greatest extent possible to achieve its ends and should minimize regulatory restraints, such as market share caps, price regulations, or other behavioral restrictions."

Fifth, "place time limits" on decrees, because "we cannot predict how markets will change". Sixth, set "objective requirements for a defendant subject to a remedy". Seventh, take into consideration that antitrust regulators can make mistakes. Eighth, "remedies that require government entities to make business decisions or that require extensive monitoring or other government activity should be avoided whenever possible".

Ninth, Barnett stated that it is important to recognize that markets are dynamic, not static, and therefore that "incentives created by imposing a duty on a defendant to provide competitors access to its assets".

He said that "Such a remedy can undermine the incentive of those other competitors to develop their own assets as well as undermine the incentive for the defendant competitor to develop the assets in the first instance."

Finally, he commented on damages. He said that "we do not provide for civil fines in connection with unilateral conduct violations" in the US.

The EC does impose huge fines as remedies. Also, in the US, in cases such as with Microsoft, the US action is followed by a multitude of private treble damage actions.

9/27. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) introduced HR 3679 [LOC | WW], the "State Video Tax Fairness Act of 2007".

This bill provides that "No State shall impose a discriminatory tax on any means of providing multichannel video programming distribution services, including Internet protocol (or any successor protocol), direct broadcast satellite delivery, and cable television services." (Parentheses in original.)

The bill then defines "discriminatory tax" to be "any form of direct or indirect tax that results in different net State charges being imposed on substantially equivalent multichannel video programming services based on the means by which those services are delivered."

The original cosponsors of the bill are Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT), Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), and Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ). All are members of the House Judiciary Committee (HJC), which has jurisdiction over the bill.

Rep. Conyers (at right) stated in a release that "This legislation will ensure that video competition remains robust, states retain the ability to raise revenue through sales taxes, and, most importantly, consumers are not harmed".

Rep. Conyers' release states that the bill allows "states to tax pay-TV providers or their subscribers, provided that such taxes are applied equally to all such services, including cable and DBS."

He added that he expects the HJC to hold hearings on this subject, and to obtain a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.

10/5. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) announced that it has "enlisted" Thomas J. Downey and Adam Eisgrau to lobby the Congress "to try to block amnesty for companies collaborating with the warrantless spying". See, EFF release.

The House and Senate are considering legislation that would amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

Michael McConnell (Director of National Intelligence) and Kenneth Wainstein (Assistant Attorney General in charge of the National Security Division) testified before several House and Senate Committees last month. They urged the Congress to provide immunity to communications service providers.

S 1927 [LOC | WW], the "Protect America Act" or PAA, the bill passed by the Congress in August, and signed into law by President Bush on August 5, 2007, contains a six month sunset provision.

The PAA contains a grant of immunity, but only while the PAA is in effect. It provides that "Notwithstanding any other law, no cause of action shall lie in any court against any person for providing any information, facilities, or assistance in accordance with a directive under this section."

10/5. The U.S. District Court (DC) issued a Memorandum Opinion [PDF] in Andrei Smith v. Cafe Asia, a discrimination action brought under District of Columbia law. This opinion pertains to a pre-trial discovery of images stored on the plaintiff's personal cell phone. The defendant employer filed a motion to compel the inspection and production of the images. The District Court weighed the plaintiff's privacy interest against FRCP Rule 26's purpose of allowing discovery of relevant evidence. The District Court ruled that the plaintiff must preserve the images, and allow inspection by an attorney for the defendant. However, the District Court did not order production, or rule on admissibility at trial.

10/4. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released an Order on Reconsideration [36 pages in PDF] in its proceeding titled "In the Matter of Recommendations of the Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks". This item grants in part, and denies in part, six petitions for reconsideration of the FCC's rules regarding emergency backup power sources of local exchange carriers (LECs) and commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) providers. This item is FCC 07-177 in EB Docket No. 06-119 and WC Docket No. 06-63.

10/3. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released initial analysis of audits of the FCC's Universal Service Fund (USF). The OIG found that the erroneous payment rate is almost 13% for the e-rate subsidy program, and over 9% overall, but that this constitutes "compliance with the Commission's rules". See, FCC release [PDF] and e-rate audit [24 pages in PDF].

9/27. The Department of Commerce (DOC) announced in a release creation of the Department of Commerce Technology Council, which will be "a department-wide council led by the Office of the Secretary to coordinate technology policy and provide a forum for information-sharing, analysis and deliberation of technology policy issues that cut across the diverse range of agencies within the Commerce Department". HR 2272 [LOC | WW], the "America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act", which was signed into law on August 9, 2007, and is now Public Law No. 110-69, eliminated the DOC’s Technology Administration.

10/7. Christopher Hansen will be the next President and Chief Executive Officer of the AeA, which was once an acronym for American Electronics Association. Hansen will start on November 15, 2007. He will replace the long time head of the AeA, William Archey, who will remain with the AeA until February of 2008. Hansen is currently Group Executive Officer for the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). Before that he worked in government relations for Boeing and General Dynamics. See, AeA release.

10/6. Rep. Jo Ann Davis (R-VA) died. She was a member of the House Armed Services Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee. She was also the sponsor of HR 516 [LOC | WW] the "Federal Agency Data Privacy Protection Act". See also, statement by President Bush.

10/5. Richard Rowlenson was named VP and General Counsel for Frontline Wireless. He previously worked for AT&T Wireless, and for Vanguard Cellular before it was acquired by AT&T.

10/1. Jim Williams was named SVP and Chief Technology Officer of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). He has worked for the MPAA since 2002. The MPAA stated in a release [PDF] that he will work with "MPAA member companies to advance movie and television producers’ interests throughout the world in various technology-related capacities, including the development and deployment of content recognition and watermarking technologies, standard-setting initiatives, and cross-industry outreach."

Columbus Day.

The House will not meet. See, Rep. Hoyer's calendar.

The Senate will not meet. Its next meeting is on October 15.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and other federal offices will be closed. See, Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) list of federal holidays and 5 U.S.C. § 6103.

The House will meet at 12:30 PM for morning hour, and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. It will consider several non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. Votes will be postponed until at least until 6:30 PM. See, Rep. Hoyer's calendar.

11:00 AM. The Supreme Court of the U.S. (SCUS) will hear oral argument in Stoneridge Investment v. Scientific Atlanta, Sup. Ct. No. 06-43. See, SCUS docket, and story titled "Supreme Court to Consider 10b Liability of Stock Issuers' Vendors" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,625, August 21, 2007. This is the second of two cases scheduled for argument. Location: SCUS, 1 First St., NW.

12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute will host a panel discussion titled "Taiwan's Defense Budget: How Taipei's Free Riding Risks War". See, notice and registration page. Lunch will be served. Location: Room 188, Russell Building, Capitol Hill.

1:00 PM. The Air Force Committee will host a news conference titled "Victory in Cyberspace". For more information, contact Mary Ellen Dobrowolski at 703-247-5815. Location: Murrow Room, National Press Club, 13th Floor, 529 14th St. NW.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The House Science Committee's (HSC) Subcommittee on Research and Science Education Subcommittee will hold a hearing titled "Assessment of the National Science Board’s Action Plan for STEM Education". The HSC will webcast this hearing. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

6:00 - 9:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) program titled "Beginner's Guide to Publishing Law and Publishing Agreements". It will cover, among other topics, Google's book program and internet publishing. The speaker will be Gail Ross (Lichtman Trister & Ross). The price to attend ranges from $80 to $115. For more information, call 202-626-3488. See, notice. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding revising its rules of practice pertaining to any claim using alternative language to claim one or more species. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 10, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 154, at Pages 44992-45001.

Extended effective date of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) rule that requires local exchange carriers (LECs), including incumbent LECs and competitive LECs, and commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) providers to have an emergency backup power source "for all assets that are normally powered from local AC commercial power, including those inside central offices, cell sites, remote switches and digital loop carrier system remote terminals." See, notice in the Federal Register, August 10, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 154, at Pages 44978-44979. This proceeding is EB Docket No. 06-119 and WC Docket No. 06-63.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's calendar.

9:00 AM - 5:15 PM. Day one of a two day workshop hosted by the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) regarding the debt collection industry. See, agenda [PDF] and workshop web site. Location: FTC Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

9:00 AM - 2:40 PM. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will host a conference titled "RFID Solutions: Securing the Commerce of Tomorrow". The speakers will include Hugo Teufel (Chief Privacy Officer of the Department of Homeland Security), Dan Caprio (Progress & Freedom Foundation), Bill McDermott (P/CEO of SAP Americas), David Nabarro (UN Development Group), and Mark Roberti (RFID Journal). Prices vary. See, notice and registration page. For more information, contact Drew Preston at 202-463-5500 or ncfevents at uschamber dot com. Location: Ronald Reagan Building, Atrium Ballroom, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

9:30 AM. The House Small Business Committee will hold a hearing titled "The Impact of the 700 Megahertz Wireless Spectrum Auction on Small Business". Location: Room 2360, Rayburn Building.

9:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) North American Numbering Council (NANC) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 24, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 184, at Pages 54263-54264. Location: FCC, Suite 5-C162, 445 12th St., SW.

12:30 PM. Robert Zoellick (President of the World Bank) will give a speech titled "An Inclusive and Sustainable Globalization". Location: Ballroom, National Press Club, 13th Floor, 529 14th St. NW.

3:00 PM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will meet to mark up HR 3403 [LOC | WW], the "911 Modernization and Safety Act of 2007", and HR __, a yet to be introduced bill titled the "Broadband Census of America Act of 2007". The meeting will be web cast by the HCC. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) International Telecommunications Practice Committee will host an event titled "Panel Discussion with Telecom Attaches from Foreign Embassies". The speakers will also include Michael Copps (FCC Commissioner) and David Gross (Department of State). Prices vary. See, registration form [PDF]. Registrations and cancellations are due by 5:00 PM on September 28. Location: House of Sweden, 2900 K St., NW.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Eighth Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making announcing tentative channel designations. This item is FCC 07-138 in MB Docket No. 87-268. See, FCC Public Notice (DA 07-3914) [PDF] and notice in the Federal Register, September 10, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 174, at Pages 51575-51581.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's calendar.

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Day two of a two day workshop hosted by the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) regarding the debt collection industry. See, agenda [PDF] and workshop web site. Location: FTC Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Department of State's (DOS) Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy will hold a meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 18, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 180, at Pages 53275-53276. Location: DOS, Truman Building, 2201 C St., NW.

11:00 AM - 1:00 PM. The Copyright Alliance will host an event titled "Exponential". The scheduled speakers are Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee (HJC), Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), Chairman of the HJC's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property (SCIIP), Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Rep. Adam Putnam (R-FL), Stuart Taylor (book author and journalist), and Lloyd Dangle (graphic artist). Lunch will be served. RSVP to Diana Walters at Diana_Walters at NicklesGroup dot com. Location: Cannon Caucus Room, Third Floor, Cannon Building.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a panel discussion regarding mentoring. The speakers will be Margaret Cummisky (Senate Commerce Committee), Erwin Krasnow (Garvey Schubert Barer), Barbara Kreisman (Chief of the FCC's Media Bureau's Audio Division), and Curtis White. RSVP to Edgar Class at eclass at wileyrein dot com or 202-719-7504. Location: Wiley Rein, 5th Floor Conference Room, 1750 K St., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) regarding its Draft Federal Information Processing Standard 140-3, titled "Security Requirements for Cryptographic Modules". See, notice in the Federal Register, July 13, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 134, at Pages 38566-38567.

Rep. Hoyer's calendar states that "No votes are expected in the House."

8:00 AM - 4:45 PM. The DC Bar Association and other entities will host a seminar titled "Criminal Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights". The price to attend ranges from $195 to $375. For more information, call 800-285-2221. See, notice. Location: U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 1615 H St., NW.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Cable Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Current Regulatory Issues Related to Multiple Dwelling Units". The speakers will include Matthew Ames (Miller & Van Eaton), Matthew Brill (Latham & Watkins), and Christopher Heimann (Assistant General Counsel of AT&T). RSVP to Miriam Telford at miriam_telford at aporter dot com or 202-942-5513. Location: Arnold & Porter, Conference Room 300, 555 12th St., NW.

Extended deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding Section 612 of the Communications Act, which is codified at 47 U.S.C. § 532, which requires cable operators to set aside channel capacity for commercial use by video programmers unaffiliated with the operator, and Section 616 of the Communications Act, which is codified at 47 U.S.C. § 536, which prohibits a cable operator or other multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) from requiring a financial interest in any program service as a condition for carriage of such service, from coercing a programmer to grant exclusive carriage rights, or from engaging in conduct that unreasonably restrains the ability of an unaffiliated programming vendor to compete fairly by discriminating against such vendor on the basis of affiliation or nonaffiliation. The FCC adopted this item on March 2, 2007, and released the text on June 15, 2007. This NPRM is FCC 07-18 in MB Docket No. 07-42. See, notice in the Federal Register, July 18, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 137, at Pages 39370-39377, and Public Notice [PDF] (DA 07-3736) extending comment deadlines.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Compuer Security Division (CSD) regarding its Draft Special Publication 800-28 Revision 2 [60 pages in PDF], titled "Guidelines on Active Content and Mobile Code".

The Senate will meet at 2:00 PM for morning business. At 3:00 PM it will resume consideration of HR 3093 [LOC | WW], the Departments of Commerce and Justice and Science Appropriations bill for FY 2008.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DC) will hear oral argument in Sprint Nextel v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 06-1111. This case pertains to the FCC's March 21, 2006, release [PDF] that states that the FCC, by operation of law, granted Verizon's December 20, 2004, petition for forbearance from Title II of the Communications Act, and the FCC's Computer Inquiry rules. See, FCC brief [78 pages in PDF]. See also, Verizon's December 20, 2004, petition [29 pages in PDF], its letter of February 7, 2006 ( part I [25 pages in PDF] and part II  [PDF]), and its February 17, 2006, letter [1 page in PDF]. And see, story titled "FCC Announces that Verizon Petition for Forbearance is Deemed Granted" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,334, March 22, 2006, and story titled "CompTel Seeks Judicial Review of FCC's Granting of Verizon Petition for Forbearance" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,339, March 30, 2007. Judges Randolph, Garland and Edwards will preside. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Intellectual Property Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Public Performance Rights and Radio Stations". The speakers will be Steve Marks (RIAA), Suzanne Head (NAB), and Gigi Sohn (Public Knowledge). RSVP to Kerry Loughney at kerry at fcba dot org. Location: Dow Lohnes, 1200 New Hampshire Ave., NW.

Day one of a two day conference hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), the European Commission (EC), and the Article 29 Working Party on Data Protection titled "Cross Border Data Flows, Data Protection, and Privacy". See, notice in the Federal Register: July 27, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 144, at Page 41290. Location: __?

10:00 AM. Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) to assist it in preparing its Special 301 Out of Cycle Reviews of the adequacy and effectiveness of intellectual property protection and enforcement in Brazil, the Czech Republic, and Pakistan. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 6, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 172, at Pages 51266-51267.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making (FNPRM) regarding spectrum etiquette for unlicensed transmitters that operate in the 915 MHz band. This item is FCC 07-117 in ET Docket No. 03-201. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 1, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 147, Pages 42011-42015.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (2ndFNPRM) regarding ensuring that the amount of subscription based radio services is limited as radio stations convert to digital broadcasting. This item is FCC 07-33 in MM Docket No. 99-325. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 15, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 157, at Pages 45712-45716.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding changes to the Section 9 regulatory fee structure for the Broadband Radio Service (BRS). This FNPRM is FCC 07-140 in MD Docket No. 07-81. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 16, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 158, at Pages 46010-46014.

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