10/9. 3Com announced on September 27, 2007, that "it has signed a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by affiliates of Bain Capital Partners, LLC, a leading global private investment firm, for approximately $2.2 billion in cash". See, 3Com release and Huawei release.

This transaction will be reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

Bain Capital is a private investment firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, that also has offices in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The affiliates of Bain include Huawei companies, in the PRC.

3Com stated in a Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on October 4, 2007, that "it will make a joint voluntary filing of this transaction (together with Bain Capital) with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS. CFIUS, an inter-agency committee chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury, reviews foreign investments in U.S. companies to determine whether they might pose a threat to U.S. national or homeland security." (Parentheses in original.)

3Com added in this SEC filing that "3Com and Bain Capital believe that the transaction will not result in foreign control of the new company and does not pose a threat to U.S. national or homeland security."

3Com wrote in its Form 10-Q, filed on October 9, 2007, that the CFIUS "will review this transaction and could recommend that the transaction be changed, or blocked by the President, on national security grounds. On October 4, 2007 we announced that we will make a joint voluntary filling (with Bain Capital) of this transaction with CFIUS."

CFIUS. The secretive CFIUS is the instrument by which the US government blocks foreign investment in, and acquisition of, certain technology companies.

See, story titled "Senate Banking Committee Holds Hearing on CFIUS" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,230, October 10, 2005, and story titled "Deputy Treasury Secretary Discusses CFIUS" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,479, October 31, 2006.

Entities affected by certain transactions also invoke the CFIUS process in pursuit of protectionist objectives, with some success.

There are previous examples of foreign companies acquiring interests in US information and communications technology companies, such as Alcatel's acquisition of Lucent.

Huawei. 3Com disclosed in its release that "As part of the transaction, affiliates of Huawei Technologies will acquire a minority interest in the company and become a commercial and strategic partner of 3Com."

A Wikipedia entry for Huawei states that "Huawei maintains deep ties with the Chinese military, which serves a multi-faceted role as an important customer, as well as Huawei’s political patron and research and development partner. Both the government and the military tout Huawei as a national champion ..." (Entry reviewed on October 9, 2007.)

Huawei also has a history of incurring claims of intellectual property theft. On January 23, 2003, Cisco Systems filed a complaint [77 page PDF scan] in U.S. District Court (EDTex) against Huawei America, Huawei Technologies, and FutureWei alleging patent infringement, copyright infringement, trade secret misappropriation, and other claims.

The complaint alleged that "This is an action arising from Defendants' systematic and wholesale infringement of Cisco's intellectual property. Huawei, a Chinese company, and its wholly owned United States subsidiaries, Huawei America and FutureWei, manufacture and offer for sale a line of network routers designed to compete with Cisco's network routers."

The complaint continued that "Unlike Cisco, however, which invested substantially in the development of its own proprietary router technology and software, Huawei has chosen to misappropriate and infringe Cisco's intellectual property in an attempt to develop a cheaper, inferior router which Huawei claims is compatible with Cisco's routers. In doing so, Huawei and its U.S. subsidiaries have shown a complete disregard for Cisco's intellectual property rights and the laws which protect those rights."

Cisco also alleged in its complaint that "The extent of Defendants' copying and misappropriation of Cisco's intellectual property is staggering. Defendants have copied Cisco's patented technologies; they have copied the copyrighted user interface for Cisco's routers; they have made verbatim copies of whole portions of Cisco's user manuals; and there is overwhelming evidence that they unlawfully gained access to Cisco's source code and copied it as the basis for the operating system for their knock-off routers. Cisco brings this action to enjoin this wholesale theft of its valuable intellectual property and recover the substantial damages it has incurred from Defendants' illegal conduct."

See also, story titled "Cisco Sues Huawei and FutureWei" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 591, January 27, 2003, and Cisco release.

National Security. Critics of the transaction have argued that it threatens US national security. For example, on October 3, 2007, Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) spoke in the House in opposition to the deal.

He said that the CFIUS "must review and block Bain Capital and Communist China's Huawei Technologies' deal with the 3Com Corporation. If approved, Communist China's Huawei Technologies stake in the 3Com Corporation will gravely compromise our free Republic's national security."

He explained that 3Com "is a world leader in intrusion prevention technologies designed to prevent secure computer networks from hacker infiltration, and our Department of Defense extensively utilizes them. These technologies were severely tested this June when Communist China hacked into our DOD's computer networks and caused a shutdown. Given this and other instances of Communist China's persistent cyberwarfare against us, approving this sale would be an abject abnegation of CIFUS's duty to protect America's vital defense technologies from enemy acquisition." See, story titled "DHS Computers Compromised by Hackers" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,645, September 25, 2007.

Rep. McCotter continued that "Few doubt the aims of Communist China's Huawei Technologies, which was set up in 1988 by a People's Liberation Army officer to build military communications networks."

He elaborated that "At the start of this decade, Huawei violated U.N. sanctions and illegally provided a fiber-optic network to Iraq. This network linked the Iraqi military's air defense network. Moreover, the CIA-led Iraq Survey Group's final report concluded Huawei illicitly participated in providing transmission switches for Iraq's fiber-optic communications. In August 2001, this Chinese-made fiber-optic network was bombed because it was part of the Iraqi air defense missile sites firing at U.S. and allied aircraft which were enforcing a no-fly zone. And also, for the record, this company found time to help the Taliban too."

He concluded that if the "CIFUS approves this sale and its accompanying sensitive defense technologies to Huawei, it will place in Communist China's cyberhacking hands some of the most sensitive technologies employed for our high-tech defense". He urged the CFIUS "to do its job and block this deal". See, Congressional Record, October 3, 2007, at Page H11226-7

The transaction also requires approval under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.

10/9. Congressional Republicans renewed their arguments in favor of passage of the Broadcaster Freedom Act of 2007, which would prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from repromulgating the rules that it previously titled the "Fairness Doctrine".

Last week, Congressional Democrats made vitriolic speeches against Rush Limbaugh, who makes vitriolic speeches about Democrats in his program broadcast by radio.

Congressional Republicans defended Limbaugh, and argued that the Democrats agenda is a return of the policy that the FCC called the "Fairness Doctrine". They urged passage of legislative to block the FCC from returning to its former policy.

On June 28, 2007, Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), and a large number of Republican cosponsors, introduced HR  2905 [LOC | WW], the "Broadcaster Freedom Act of 2007".

This bill provides that the FCC "shall not have the authority to prescribe any rule, regulation, policy, doctrine, standard, or other requirement that has the purpose or effect of reinstating or repromulgating (in whole or in part) the requirement that broadcasters present opposing viewpoints on controversial issues of public importance, commonly referred to as the `Fairness Doctrine', as repealed in General Fairness Doctrine Obligations of Broadcast Licensees, 50 Fed. Reg. 35418 (1985)."

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) introduced the Senate versions of the bill, S 1742 and S 1748 [LOC | WW], also titled the "Broadcaster Freedom Act of 2007", on June 28 and June 29, 2007. S 1748 has a large number of Republican cosponsors.

Rep. Pence spoke in the House on October 3, 2007. He said that "the enmity that exists between American talk radio and the Democratic Congress came into high relief this Monday as leaders in the Senate engaged in repeated and distorted personal attacks of a prominent American commentator. Now, while many see this as more politics as usual in Washington, DC, I see something more. I believe these attacks on talk radio are a precursor for returning censorship to the airwaves of America in the form of the Fairness Doctrine."  See, Congressional Record, October 3, 2007, at Page H11174.

Rep. Pence added that "The freedom of the press should not be a partisan issue. Let's reject the attacks on American radio personalities and ensure that the Fairness Doctrine stays on the ash heap of broadcast history, where it belongs."

Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) spoke in the House on October 4. He said that "there's an even more insidious agenda by liberals going on and that is to reinstitute the so-called Fairness Doctrine, which is actually a way to silence conservatives on the radio waves. Mr. Limbaugh deserves mega-kudos for being a forceful and effective voice on the side of common sense and for being an example of the first amendment in action." See, Congressional Record, October 4, 2007, at Page H11255.

On October 1, 2007, Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) attacked Limbaugh in a speech in the Senate. However, he did not mention FCC regulation of speech or the FCC's "Fairness Doctrine". See, Congressional Record, October 1, 2007, at Pages S12343-4.

Similarly, on October 3, Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) attacked Limbaugh in a speech in the House, but did not mention FCC regulation of broadcast speech either. See, Congressional Record, October 3, 2007, at Page H11230.

10/8. Sprint Nextel announced in a release that its Ch/P/CEO, Gary Forsee, "is stepping down ... effective immediately". It did not announce a replacement for any of these positions. However, it stated that James Hance "will assume the role of acting non-executive chairman of the Board", and that Paul Saleh, the current CFO, "will serve as acting CEO until a permanent replacement for Forsee is named."

10/5. President Bush announced his intent to nominate Gus Coldebella to be General Counsel of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). He is currently the acting General Counsel. Before joining the DHS in 2005 he was a partner in the Boston office of the law firm of Goodwin Proctor. See, White House release and statement by Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff.

10/4. The Senate confirmed Jennifer Elrod to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. See, Congressional Record, October 4, 2007, at S12828.

10/4. The Senate confirmed Richard Jones to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. See, Congressional Record, October 4, 2007, at S12828.

10/4. The Senate confirmed Roslynn Mauskopf to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. See, Congressional Record, October 4, 2007, at S12828.

10/4. The Senate confirmed Sharion Aycock to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. See, Congressional Record, October 4, 2007, at S12828.

10/4. The Senate confirmed Thomas O'Brien to be the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California for the term of four years. See, Congressional Record, October 4, 2007, at S12828.

10/3. Richard Murray was named Chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness (CCMC). The Chamber stated in a release that this initiative is "dedicated to making U.S. capital markets the most fair, efficient, and transparent in the world". Murray is currently Managing Director and Chief Claims Strategist of Swiss Re in New York and Zürich.

10/5. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a brief Public Notice [PDF] regarding the potential for interference from low power devices operating in TV white spaces. It states that the FCC's laboratory "will be conducting additional laboratory and field testing of prototype devices". It adds that "Further details about the testing will be released at a later date", and that "Parties that would like to submit devices for testing should advise OET as soon as possible and should deliver their device at their earliest opportunity." The FCC adopted its First Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making on October 12, 2006. See, story titled "FCC Adopts Order and FNPRM Regarding TV White Space" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,467, October 12, 2006. The just released item is DA 07-4179 in ET Docket No. 04-186

10/5. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released a report titled "Potential Interference From Broadband Over Power Line (BPL) Systems To Federal Government Radiocommunication Systems at 1.7 - 80 MHz: Phase 2 Study".

10/4. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and others introduced HR 3753 [LOC | WW], the "Federal Judicial Salary Restoration Act of 2007". This bill would raise the annual salary of District Court Judges to $233,500, Appeals Court Judges to $247,500, Associate Justices of the Supreme Court to $286,900, and the Chief Justice of the United States to $299,800. The bill has bipartisan support. It was referred to the House Judiciary Committee, which Rep. Conyers chairs.

10/4. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) released its SP 800-73-2, titled "Interfaces for Personal Identity Verification". See, part 1 [43 pages in PDF], part 2 [29 pages in PDF], and part 3 [19 pages in PDF]. The deadline to submit comments is 5:00 PM on November 4, 2007.

9/29. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) released its Draft NIST IR 7328 [51 pages in PDF], titled "Security Assessment Provider Requirements and Customer Responsibilities: Building a Security Assessment Credentialing Program for Federal Information Systems". The deadline to submit comments is Friday, November 30, 2007.

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The House will meet at 12:30 PM for morning hour, and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. It will consider numerous 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.

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

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.

TIME CHANGE. 8:30 AM - 3:00 PM. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will host a conference titled "RFID Solutions: Securing the Commerce of Tomorrow". The speakers will include Ralph Basham (Commissioner of the DHS's Customs and Border Protection), Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), Hugo Teufel (Chief Privacy Officer of the Department of Homeland Security), Bill McDermott (P/CEO of SAP Americas), and David Nabarro (UN Development Group). 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, Majority Leader Hoyer's calendar. Rep. Hoyer also issued a notice that states that no votes are expected on Thursday due to the funeral service for Rep. Jo Ann Davis (R-VA).

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.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The National Economists Club (NEC) will host a lunch titled "Politico-Economic Determinants of American Trade Policy Attitudes". The speaker will be Michael Hoffman (Government Accountability Office). Location: Chinatown Garden Restaurant, 2nd Floor, 618 H St., NW.

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.

2:00 PM. Richard Russell (Department of State) will hold a roundtable discussion to brief reporters on final preparations for the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) to be held on October 22 through November 16, 2007, in Geneva, Switzerland. To request permission to attend, send full name, citizenship, date of birth, and social security number to dmielke at ostp dot eop dot gov For more information, contact John Alden at ja at ftidc dot com or 202-371-6793. To participate by teleconference, call 202-395-6392 or 1-800-568-0174; the passcode is 9989590. Location: Room 5230, New Executive Office Building, 725 17th 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.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Business Software Alliance (BSA) will host panel discussion titled "Wanted: Congressional Help in Cracking Down on Cyber Crime. What Law Enforcement Needs to Defeat Today’s Cyber Criminals". The speakers will be Robert Holleyman (BSA), Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH), Art Coviello (RSA, The Security Division of EMC Corporation), Richard Downing (DOJ's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section), Phil Reitinger (Microsoft), Ron Plesco (National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance), and James Lewis (Center for Strategic and International Studies). A box lunch will be served. For more information, contact Tracey Mills at tracey dot mills at dittus dot com or 202-715-1514. RSVP to rsvp at bsa dot org. Location: Room HC-8, Capitol Building.

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.

Day two 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?

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Wireline Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "IP Enabled Services, Access for People with Disabilities, and § 255". The speakers will be Karen Strauss (Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology) and Jim Kohlenberger (VON Coalition). RSVP to Keisha Warner at kwarner at akingump dot com or 202-416-5082. Location: Akin Gump, 1333 New Hampshire Ave., NW.

5:15 PM. Deadline to submit briefs for, and requests to to appear and testify at, the U.S. International Trade Commission's (USITC) October 30, 2007, public hearing to assist the USITC in preparing a report for the House Ways and Means Committee regarding government policies affecting trade with the People's Republic of China (PRC). The USITC is examining, among other sectors, semiconductors and telecommunications. See, notice in the Federal Register, July 31, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 146, at Pages 41773-41774, and USITC release. This proceeding is titled "China: Government Policies Affecting U.S. Trade in Selected Sectors" and numbered Inv. No. 332-491.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Engineering and Technical Practice Committee will host a panel discussion titled "Manufacturing of Wireless Handsets -- A Tutorial and Discussion of Effects FCC Regulations Have on the Manufacturing Process". The speakers will be Todd Thayer (Nokia), Tom Dombrowsky (Wiley Rein), Ed Thomas (Harris Wiltshire & Grannis), and Peter Corea (ICO Global Communications). This event qualifies for CLE credits. Location: Wiley Rein, Main Conference Center, 1776 K St., NW.

EXTENDED TO NOVEMBER 1. Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding ten studies related to government regulation of media ownership. See, FCC Public Notice [4 pages in PDF], which is DA 07-3470 in MB Docket Nos. 06-121 and 02-277, and MM Docket Nos. 01-235, 01-317, and 00-244, and notice in the Federal Register, August 8, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 152, at Pages 44539-44540. See also, Public Notice [2 pages in PDF] (DA 07-4097) extending deadlines.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding various proposals to promote minority and female ownership in the media industry. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 8, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 152, at Pages 44457-44466.