11/6.The twelve Republican members of the House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection sent a letter [PDF] to Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL), the Chairman of the Subcommittee, requesting that he schedule a hearing on the proposed merger of Google and DoubleClick.

The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) held a hearing on the merger on September 27, 2007. See, prepared testimony of David Drummond (Google), prepared testimony of Brad Smith (Microsoft), prepared testimony of Tom Lenard (Progress & Freedom Foundation), prepared testimony of Scott Cleland, and prepared testimony of Marc Rotenberg (Electronic Privacy Information Center).

The twelve Republicans wrote that that hearing focused on the "competitive impact of the proposed merger", and that "more questions arose than were answered regarding the privacy implications of the merger."

They wrote that "Many companies possess search engines and track consumer habits. These companies may amass consumer information into databases, the likes of which have never before been seen in the history of commerce. One focus of this hearing could be on how this information is used and what could be done to better protect consumer privacy. Google and DoubleClick would have one of the largest search query databases with one of the world's largest online user behavioral profile databases. The privacy implications of such a merger are enormous and without an in-depth examination, we and the American public will not fully understand what all of those implications may be."

Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), the ranking Republican on the HCC, stated in a release that "the more I know about the Google-DoubleClick merger, the more I realize that that the personal privacy of computer users doesn't seem to be much of a priority. Google is an information colossus already, but add on DoubleClick's marketing power and you produce a single commercial entity that can know more about you and me than nearly everybody but mom and the IRS. It looks like the old saw, `I know where you live,´ is only the start. They’ll know where we go, who and what we see, and what we buy, too. And they’ll know it forever."

Rep. Barton continued that "They say they just want their ads to match our behavior, but I wonder if the intentional collection and coordination of all that personal data about us is such a good idea". He added that "policymakers should know more about Google's intentions than we do, and a serious hearing to get at the facts looks like a very good idea."

11/6. The American Antitrust Institute (AAI) released a paper [13 pages in PDF] titled "Google Acquisition of DoubleClick: Antitrust Implications". It argues that the Google DoubleClick merger presents antitrust issues that cannot be resolved by imposing conditions; therefore, it should be blocked.

It argues that there are relevant online advertising markets, and that while the two companies provide different services, they are starting to provide competing services in these markets, so there is a horizontal competition issue. It argues that the two companies are starting to compete in the market for distributing online advertising space of third party non-search web sites, and in the market for publisher ad serving tools.

It argues that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which is reviewing the merger, should consider a "potential competition theory".

The AAI is a Washington DC based group that advocates the interests of the plaintiffs' antitrust bar. It states in its web site that it supports "a more aggressive antitrust agenda".

The AAI paper first addresses what are the relevant markets. It asserts that "online advertising is sufficiently distinct that a monopolist in the sale of online advertising would be able to increase prices a small but significant amount without losing so many sales to offline sources to make the price increase unprofitable."

It adds that "Online advertising offers features -- particularly targeting, performance-based pricing, and measurability -- that other types of advertising cannot match."

And, it states that "if radio and newspaper advertising are each relevant markets because advertisers find value in their unique attributes, as the Justice Department has contended, then there can be little question that online advertising is a separate relevant market." (Footnote omitted.)

The paper continues that "the foregoing is just a starting point for the analysis. For advertisers, there may be narrower relevant markets within the online advertising market based on the type of ads (e.g., search, contextual, profiling) or based on services used by advertisers in connection with buying ads. Likewise, for online publishers selling ads, there may be distinct markets based on the type of ads sold by the publishers and the services used by publishers in selling (or “monetizing”) their ad space."

Google has argued that it does not compete with DoubleClick, and that there can be no antitrust issue.

For example, David Drummond, Chief Legal Officer of Google, wrote in his prepared testimony for the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) hearing on September 27, 2007, that "our purchase of DoubleClick does not raise antitrust issues because of one simple fact: Google and DoubleClick are complementary businesses, and do not compete with each other. DoubleClick does not buy ads, sell ads, or buy or sell advertising space. All it does is provide the technology to enable advertisers and publishers to deliver ads once they have come to terms, and provide advertisers and publishers statistics relating to the ads."

Drummond argued that "The simplest way to look at this is by way of analogy. DoubleClick is to Google what FedEx or UPS is to Amazon.com."

In contrast, the AAI paper argues that "Google and DoubleClick have recently introduced products that make the companies direct competitors in the markets for distributing third-party websites’ online advertising space (or ``inventory´´) and for ad serving services provided to web publishers, and their traditional products compete (albeit somewhat indirectly) in the online advertising distribution market." (Parentheses in original.)

It first explains its online advertising distribution argument. "From a publisher perspective, Google’s AdSense and DoubleClick's DART for Publishers offer alternative solutions for publishers to monetize their ``white space.´´ Google’s contextual-based text ads and DoubleClick's profiling-based display ads are different techniques for targeting ads to consumers, which many advertisers apparently see as substitutes."

It also states that "DoubleClick recently introduced its Advertising Exchange, which competes directly with Google's AdSense network in distributing online advertising inventory of third-party (non-search) web sites. That “intermediation” market includes integrated ad networks such as AdSense (which combine ad serving services with distribution), unintegrated ad networks such as Advertising.com, and other exchanges such as Yahoo’s recently acquired Right Media exchange and Microsoft’s recently acquired AdECN exchange." (Parentheses in original. Footnote omitted.)

The paper then addresses publisher ad serving. It states that "With Google's recent introduction of an ad serving product (apparently in beta form) similar to DoubleClick’s DART for Publishers, Google and DoubleClick also compete directly in the market for publisher-side ad servers and related services. That market also appears to be relatively concentrated, with DART for Publishers the market leader". Although, the AAI paper concedes that "Google’s ad server apparently has a negligible current market share". (Parentheses in original.)

The paper argues that this merger should be viewed "through the lens of potential competition doctrine."

It argues that "Under the non-horizontal merger guidelines, such a merger should be challenged if the markets at issue are concentrated, the firm already in the market has a significant market share, entry is difficult, and efficiencies are not likely to reverse the merger’s potential to harm consumers. As discussed above, the markets at issue appear to be concentrated, Google and DoubleClick appear to have significant market shares in those markets, and entry by others is likely to be difficult." (Footnotes omitted.)

The paper also argues that this merger does not appear likely to result in appreciable merger specific efficiencies. It adds that this merger, viewed as vertical integration, may have exclusionary effects.

It concludes that "The upshot of the merger may be higher costs for web publishers to sell their advertising space, which ultimately may affect the diversity and richness of content available on the Internet".

It also concludes that there is a "a risk of significant foreclosure effects from Google’s control over DoubleClick’s publisher and advertiser tools and integration of those tools with Google’s dominant search engine and contextual advertising network. If foreclosure were the only issue, it might be resolved by placing conditions on the merger, even though there are costs involved in enforcing a regulatory decree. But unless the horizontal concerns are rebutted, AAI believes that the prudent course is for the FTC to block the merger." (Footnote omitted.)

11/6. The House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) held a hearing titled "Yahoo! Inc.’s Provision of False Information to Congress". The witnesses were Jerry Yang (CEO of Yahoo) and Michael Callahan (General Counsel of Yahoo).

Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA) called Yahoo a "spineless and irresponsible" company, whose General Counsel, Michael Callaghan, provided "false information to this Committee" at a hearing in 2006.

Rep. Lantos' criticism was twofold. First, it misled the HFRC about its assistance to the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in identifying a user of Yahoo China. Second, he argued that the underlying assistance to the PRC was abhorrent.

Rep. Lantos is also pushing legislation, HR 275 [LOC | WW], the "Global Online Freedom Act of 2007". Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) is the sponsor, and Rep. Lantos is a cosponsor. The HFAC approved an amendment in the nature of a substitute [29 pages in PDF] on October 23, 2007. However, the full House has not taken up the bill.

See also, story titled "House Committee Approves Global Online Freedom Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,662, October 25, 2007.

Rep. Lantos said in his opening statement on November 6 that Yahoo, without any opposition, "complied with the request from the Chinese political suppression apparatus and provided the necessary identifying information to track down Shi Tao" ... "a young journalist ... who is languishing in a Chinese dungeon on a 10-year sentence because" he used Yahoo China's e-mail service to send a message that the PRC government had issued a "directive forbidding journalists from covering anything related to" the "15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre".

Rep. Lantos said that "I do not believe that America's best and brightest companies should be playing integral roles in China's notorious and brutal political repression apparatus".

Rep. Lantos said that "Callahan testified that Yahoo! had no knowledge of the facts surrounding the Shi Tao case at the time the company provided information to the Chinese authorities" and that "Yahoo! claims that this is just one big misunderstanding, that Yahoo’s false testimony was really just a matter of an internal miscommunication." Rep. Lantos responded, "Let me be clear -- this was no misunderstanding."

Jerry Yang asserted in his prepared testimony [4 pages in PDF] that Yahoo "has been open and forthcoming with this Committee at every step of this investigative process".

Yang asserted that Yahoo is "committed to doing the right thing and to protecting human rights globally".

Yang asserted that Yahoo is "focused on protecting and promoting free expression and privacy in the online world".

Callahan wrote in his prepared testimony [4 pages in PDF] that "my testimony in 2006 has caused confusion about what Yahoo! knew and didn’t know about the contents of a demand for information that Yahoo! China received from the Chinese government in the Shi Tao case. This confusion, and my statements at the 2006 hearing, stem from a lack of information on my part, which I sincerely regret".

He also argued that "Yahoo! China was required to provide the demanded information" and that "I cannot ask our local employees to resist lawful demands and put their own freedom at risk".

11/6. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin commented on the Open Handset Alliance's (OHA) project named Android.

He said in a release [PDF] that "I was pleased to hear the announcement by the Open Handset Alliance of the plans to introduce an open platform for mobile devices. As I noted when we adopted open network rules for our upcoming spectrum auction, I continue to believe that more openness -- at the network, device, or application level -- helps foster innovation and enhances consumers’ freedom and choice in purchasing wireless service."

The FCC adopted its 700 MHz Second Report and Order on July 31, 2007, and released the text [PDF] on August 10, 2007. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts 700 MHz Band Order" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,619, July 31, 2007.

Also, Steve Largent, head of the CTIA Wireless Association, stated in a release that "If ever there was evidence that so-called `net neutrality´ rules were not needed, today's news is it. Because the government has never dictated a single technology or business model, companies big and small are constantly entering the wireless marketplace to put forward innovative mobile products and services that consumers want and need."

He added that because of the OHA's announcement, "it appears that wireless users will soon have yet another mobile operating system to choose from, not to mention an ever-expanding number of applications, providers and handsets."

See also, story titled "Open Handset Alliance Announces Android and New Members" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,670, November 6, 2007.

11/6. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) approved the nomination of Michael Mukasey by a vote of 11-8. The full Senate has not yet voted on this nomination. President Bush stated in a release that "The Justice Department is crucial to both our law enforcement and national security missions, and so we look forward to a vote in the full Senate to confirm Judge Mukasey, allowing us to move to filling the senior leadership positions at the Justice Department."

11/6. President Bush gave a speech in Washington DC regarding trade, free trade agreements, and the Doha round. He articulated basic reasons for supporting trade: "Free trade helps provide American consumers with better choices at better prices" and "Trade is also one of the driving forces behind the strength of our economy." He also discussed trade negotiations. He said that "We will work with Congress to open up new markets for American goods, and services, and farm products", and that "Congress needs to open new markets for trade and investment by approving free trade agreements with Peru, Colombia, Panama, and South Korea." He also said that "The best way to advance new opportunities for trade and investment is through the Doha Round of trade talks. Doha gives us the opportunity to lower trade barriers across the world for America's goods and services." He added that his administration "will continue working to bring the Doha Round of trade negotiations to a successful conclusion."

11/5. U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab and acting Secretary of Agriculture Chuck Connor held a news conference regarding the U.S. Columbia free trade agreement. Schwab said "I don't talk about when the Doha Round is going to succeed". See, transcript [PDF], at page 11.

11/6. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released the text [PDF] of its second order on video franchising. This is its Second Report and Order in its proceeding titled "In the Matter of Implementation of Section 621(a)(1) of the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 as amended by the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992". The FCC adopted, but did release, this item on October 31, 2007. See, story titled "FCC Adopts 2nd Report and Order on Video Franchising" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,668, November 2, 2007. This item is FCC 07-190 in MB Docket No. 05-311.

11/6. The Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF) released a short paper titled "Racketeering Enterprises on Campus". It pertains to copyright infringement by students on an intra-campus network at the University of Maryland. The author is the PFF's Tom Sydnor.

11/1. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) stated in a release on implementation of the REAL ID Act that "Crucial parts of original DHS plans for Real ID have been scrapped, including the requirements that all airline passengers show their Real IDs at the gate. In an effort to save the doomed program from failure, driver’s licenses would no longer have to follow a strict national standard ..." However, the ACLU added that "a weakened Real ID does not mean weakened privacy concerns. Americans’ information would still be stored in national databases available to all levels of law enforcement, and personal information would still be readable on the card."

The House will meet at 10:00 AM, and then immediately recess. At 10:45 AM the House and Senate will hear Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France. Then, the House will consider HR 3688 [LOC | WW], the "United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act". See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for the week of November 5, and schedule for Wednesday, November 6.

The Senate will meet at 10:30 AM, and then proceed as a body to the House to hear Nicolas Sarkozy. It will then consider the conference report on HR 3043 [LOC | WW], the "Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008".

9:00 - 10:15 AM. The Alliance for Public Technology (APT) will host an event titled "Broadband Initiatives: Enhancing Lives & Transforming Communities". 19 case studies will be released. RSVP to rsvp at apt dot org or 202-263-2970. A light breakfast will be served. Location: Room B340, Rayburn Building.

9:00 AM. Day one of a two day partially closed meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee (ISTAC). The November 7 portion of the meeting is open. The agenda includes "SEMI Comments: China Rule, VEU, Industry Forecast", "Industry Encryption Presentation", "Range and Standards", "History of Encryption Hardware", "MIMO Technology Overview", "Discussion: Draft Wassenaar Proposals for 2008", and "Discussion: Comprehensive Review of Commerce Control List". (VEU is an acronym for the BIS's validated end user program. See, SEMI's web page on VEU and the PRC. MIMO is an acronym for multiple input multiple output, a 4G antenna technology that is used both in transmission and receiver equipment for wireless radio communication, for VOIP and other applications. See, Nortel's MIMO web page.) This portion of the meeting will also be teleconferenced. Submit applications to participate by teleconference to Yvette Springer at Yspringer at bis dot doc dot gov by October 31, 2007. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 23, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 204, at Page 60000. Location: Room 4830, Hoover Building, 14th St. between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Matsushita Electric v. Samsung, App. Ct. No. 2007-1156. Location: Courtroom 203.

10:30 AM. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Deborah Majoras and Eugene Thirolf (Director of DOJ’s Office of Consumer Litigation) will hold a news conference to announce the results of a law enforcement sweep targeting companies and individuals who allegedly violated the rules associated with the National Do Not Call Registry for telemarketers. See, notice. Location: Room 432, FTC Headquarters, 600 Pennsylvania Ave.,  NW.

12:30 - 2:30 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Trade, Investment and Politics". The speakers will include Mario Gustavo Guzmán Saldana (Ambassador of Bolivia to the US), Efrén Cocíos (Ambassador of Ecuador to Permanent Mission to the Organization of American States), Bernardo Álvarez (Ambassador of Venezuela to the US), Rep. Gregory Meeks, (D-NY), Everett Eissenstat (Assistant US Trade Representative for the Americas), Thomas Shannon (Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs), and Omar Garcia (BG Consulting, Inc.). The price to attend ranges from $5 to $25. For more information, call 202-626-3463. See, notice. This event was previously scheduled for September 13, 2007. Location: Alston & Bird, 950 F St., NW.

1:30 - 4:00 PM. Day one of a three day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Mathematical and Physical Sciences Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 11, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 196, at Page 57966. Location: Room 375, NSF, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA.

TIME CHANGE. 2:00 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Examining U.S. Government Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights". The witnesses will be Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN), Chris Israel (the Department of Commerce's U.S. Coordinator for International Intellectual Property Enforcement), Chris Moore (Department of State's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Trade Policy and Programs), Kevin O'Connor (Department of Justice's Task Force on Intellectual Property). See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host at seminar titled "Drafting Consumer Contracts" The price to attend is ranges from $25 to $135. Reservations and cancellations are due by 12:00 NOON on November 5. See, registration form [PDF]. This event qualifies for CLE credits. Location: Arnold & Porter, 555 12th St., NW.

6:00 - 8:30 PM. The DC Bar Association will hold a closed event titled "A Practitioner's Guide to the New TTAB Rules". The speakers will include Gerald Rogers (USPTO, TTAB Judge), Linda McLeod (Finnegan Henderson, and former TTAB Judge), and Christianna Barnhardt (Finnegan Henderson). 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.

Day one of a two day conference titled "E-Gov Institute's 8th Security Conference and Exhibition". At 1:15 PM, Hugo Teufel, the DHS's Chief Privacy Officer, will participate in a panel discussion titled "Implementing Effective Agency Privacy Programs: Essential Components". Location: Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave.,  NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding the overall costs, benefits, and regulatory and economic impact of its Mail or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule (MTOR). See, notice in the Federal Register, September 11, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 175, at Pages 51728-51730.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for the week of November 5.

8:00 AM - 6:00 PM. Day two of a three day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Mathematical and Physical Sciences Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 11, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 196, at Page 57966. Location: Room 375, NSF, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA.

9:00 AM. Day two of a two day partially closed meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee (ISTAC). The November 8 portion of the meeting is closed to the public. The agenda is secret. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 23, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 204, at Page 60000. Location: Room 4884, Hoover Building, 14th St. between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, NW.

9:30 AM. Ambassador Richard Russell, head of the U.S. Delegation to the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC), will hold a news conference by teleconference. The dial in number is 1-800-857-4133; the pass code is 52707; Anne Jillson is the Department of State's call leader.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Localism, Diversity and Media Ownership". See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of S 2248 [LOC | WW], the "Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2007", and S 352 [LOC | WW], the "Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2007". The agenda also includes consideration of several judicial nominees: Joseph Laplante (to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire), Reed O'Connor (U.S.D.C., Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division), Thomas Schroeder (U.S.D.C., Middle District of North Carolina), and Amul Thapar (U.S.D.C., Eastern District of Kentucky). See, agenda. The SJC rarely follows its published agenda. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM - 1:15 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will host an event titled "Digital Television Consumer Education Workshop". See, notice [PDF]. The event will be webcast by the FCC. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

1:30 PM. The Task Force on the Future of Innovation (TFFI) will hold a news conference. The speakers will include former NASA astronauts Mae Jemison and Kathryn Sullivan. The TFFI advocates increased federal spending on research and development. Location: Room B-339, Rayburn Building.

2:00 - 3:00 PM. The President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) will meet by teleconference. The meeting will be partially closed. The agenda for the open portion of the meeting includes "an overview of NSTAC's investigation of identity management and emergency communications interoperability for national security and emergency preparedness communications". The agenda of the closed portion of the meeting includes a discussions and votes on an "investigation of the global network infrastructure environment" and an "investigation of commercial systems' reliance on global positioning systems for network timing synchronization". See, notice in the Federal Register, October 12, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 197, at Pages 58110-58111.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) program titled "How to Litigate a Patent Infringement Case". The speakers will be Patrick Coyne and Jerry Ivey (Finnegan Henderson). 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.

Day one of a two day conference titled "E-Gov Institute's 8th Security Conference and Exhibition". Location: Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave.,  NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to assist it in preparing its annual report titled "National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers". See, notice in the Federal Register, August 29, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 167, at Pages 49745-49746.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for the week of November 5.

8:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Day three of a three day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Mathematical and Physical Sciences Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 11, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 196, at Page 57966. Location: Room 1235, NSF, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA.

9:00 AM - 6:00 PM. American Lawyer Media will host a program titled "Innovations in IP Litigation". The price to attend is $450. For more information, contact Sandy Chan at 212-967-0095 ext. 224 or sachan at alm dot com. See, notice. Location: Westin Washington DC City Center, 1400 M St., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its SP 800-61 Revision 1 [147 pages in PDF] titled "Draft Computer Security Incident Handling Guide".

Veteran's Day observed.

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.

2:00 PM. Deadline to file amicus briefs on the merits in support of the petitioner Quanta Computer (or in support to neither party) with the Supreme Court of the US (SCUS) in Quanta Computer v. LG Electronics, a patent infringement case. See, story titled "Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in Patent Exhaustion Case" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,647, September 27, 2007.

Day one of a five day closed meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 23, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 204, at Page 60004. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Lecture Room E, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:15 AM - 1:15 PM. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will host an event titled "Breaking the Barriers: The BIG Business of Nanotechnology". The speakers will include Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Co-Chair of the Senate Nanotechnology Caucus, and John Marburger, Director of the President's Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). See, notice. Prices vary. For more information, contact Drew Preston at 202-463-5500. Location: Chamber, 1615 H St., NW.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Exploring the Scope of Public Performance Rights". Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Mass Media Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Digital Radio". The speakers will be Albert Shuldiner (iBiquity), David Layer (National Association of Broadcasters), and Caryn Mathes (WAMU(FM)). Location: National Association of Broadcasters, 1771 N St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 6:00 PM. Day one of a four day meeting of the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board's (ATBCB) Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, provides at 29 U.S.C. § 794d that each federal agency "developing, procuring, maintaining, or using electronic and information technology" must provide comparable access to disabled federal employees, and to disabled members of the public who have access to and use of information and data of that agency; it further provides that each agency must comply with disability access regulations written by the ATBCB. For more information, contact Timothy Creagan at 202-272-0016 or creagan at access dash board dot gov. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 1, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 211, at Pages 61827-61828. The ATBCB states that attendees must go to the National Science Foundation (NSF), 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA, to pick up security passes. Location: NSF, 4121 Wilson Boulevard, Stafford Place II, Room 555, Arlington, VA.

5:15 PM. Deadline to submit post hearing briefs to the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), following its 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). See, notice in the Federal Register: July 31, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 146, at Pages 41773-41774.

Day two of a five day closed meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 23, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 204, at Page 60004. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Lecture Room E, Gaithersburg, MD.

Deadline to submit written comments to the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division regarding its symposium titled "Voice, Video and Broadband: The Changing Competitive Landscape and Its Impact on Consumers" on November 29, 2007. See, DOJ notice and notice in the Federal Register, October 17, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 200, at Pages 58885-58887. For more information, contact Ashley Becker at 202-514-5835 or Carl Willner at 202-514-5813.

Deadline to submit reply 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.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a four day meeting of the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board's (ATBCB) Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 1, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 211, at Pages 61827-61828. Location: National Science Foundation (NSF), 4121 Wilson Boulevard, Stafford Place II, Room 555, Arlington, VA.

Day three of a five day closed meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 23, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 204, at Page 60004. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Lecture Room E, Gaithersburg, MD.

Deadline to submit reply 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.

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