3/25. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) approved HR 985 [LOC | WW], the "Free Flow of Information Act", by voice vote. The full House is scheduled to take up this bill during the week of March 30, 2009.

This bill limits the ability of the federal entities to compel journalists to provide testimony or documents, or disclose sources, related to their work. It also affects communications service providers.

Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), and others, introduced this bill on February 11, 2009.

Rep. Pence (at left), a former journalist, stated in a release that this bill "provides a qualified privilege of confidentiality to journalists, enabling them to bring forward information to the public that might otherwise never see the light of day. The bill is not about protecting journalists, it's about protecting the public’s right to know."

He also noted that "President Obama pledged his support for a federal media shield when he was serving as a U.S. Senator."

The related, but different, bill in the Senate is S 448 [LOC | WW], also titled the "Free Flow of Information Act".

HR 985 is substantially identical to HR 2102 [LOC | WW], the "Free Flow of Information Act of 2007", as passed by the House in the 110th Congress. The House passed this bill on October 16, 2007. The vote on final approval was 398-21. See, Roll Call No. 973.

See also, story titled "House Approves Boucher-Pence Media Shield Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,656, October 17, 2007. (This story contains a detailed summary.)

The related bill in the Senate in the 110th Congress was S 3035 [LOC | WW].

The Bush administration opposed this legislation. See, story titled "Bush Administration Opposes Pence/Boucher Free Flow of Information Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,757, April 30, 2008.

The NAB's Dennis Wharton stated in a release that "broadcast journalists have demonstrated a commitment to keeping Americans informed with timely investigative reporting on issues of critical importance. Key to this effort is a reporter's ability to retain access to confidential sources without fear of prosecutorial reprisal. NAB thanks Chairman Conyers and Reps. Boucher, Goodlatte and Pence for their continued leadership on this issue, and we look forward to passage by the full House and Senate"

Also, David Rehr, head of the NAB, sent a letter [PDF] to Rep. John Conyers on March 24, 2009.

3/26. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) began its mark up of S 515 [LOC | WW], the "Patent Reform Act of 2009". It approved an amendment [7 pages in PDF].

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the SJC, and sponsor of the bill, issued a release that states that this amendment will "Tighten the language on prior art and derivation proceedings" and "Clarify that first-window post-grant review proceedings must be instituted by the Director".

It adds that this amendment "Corrects drafting errors in the inter partes reexamination section and elsewhere" and "Adds a provision that permits patent holders to ``virtually mark´´ a product by providing the address of a publicly available website that associates the patented article with the number of the patent".

This release also states that Sen. Leahy, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and others "are working to resolve issues including damages, post-grant review, and others".

The SJC is scheduled to continue this mark up on Tuesday, March 31, 2009, at 10:00 AM.

3/27. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a annual report [110 pages in PDF; 10 MB] titled "The FTC in 2009". This is a largely retrospective look at recent FTC actions, rather than a statement of what the FTC's prospective objectives or plans may be.

The report reviews antitrust activities at length, including antitrust enforcement affecting information technology companies. (See, pages 26-28.)

It states that the FTC "has remained vigilant against conduct that seeks to distort competition in these dynamic markets and has been particularly attentive to opportunistic conduct by members of standard setting organizations that distorts competition from competing technologies far into the future."

It notes that the Supreme Court denied its petition for writ of certiorari in its case against Rambus. See, story titled "Supreme Court Denies Cert in Rambus Case" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,903, February 24, 2009.

The report also notes that the FTC "has maintained an active enforcement program to challenge restrictive rules of real estate MLS organizations that impede competition from non-traditional and discount real estate professionals".

Going forward, the report states that "deteriorating economic conditions demand that the Commission remain ever vigilant in protecting competition, which spurs innovation, productivity, growth, and cost effectiveness." The report then predicts in broad strokes its future enforcement efforts in the health care and pharmaceuticals sectors, but not in any other sectors.

The report also addresses consumer protection activities, including those affecting data security and privacy, spyware and adware, the do not call rule, the CAN-SPAM Act, and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. (See, pages 56-59.)

The report states that "Data security and the protection of consumer privacy remain a central focus of the FTC's consumer protection mission. New technologies undoubtedly provide enormous benefits to consumers. At the same time, however, these technologies pose new threats to sensitive consumer data and the security of personal computers and email. The FTC is vigorous in its efforts to protect consumers from these threats."

It also describes the FTC's report titled "Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising". (See, page 64.) See also, story titled "FTC Releases Report on Online Behavioral Advertising" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,899, February 13, 2009.

Going forward, the report states that the FTC "will continue to devote significant resources to building relationships and processes that foster cross-border cooperation and, where appropriate, convergence towards best practices. Building strong international partnerships is essential to the effective enforcement of laws to protect U.S. consumers given the increasingly cross-border nature of fraud, spam, spyware and privacy issues."

3/25. The U.S. and the states of California, Illinois, North Carolina, and Ohio filed a 12 count civil complaint [29 pages in PDF] in the U.S. District Court (CDIll) against Dish Network LLC alleging violation of, among other things, the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR).

This Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint alleges that the Dish Network engaged in "initiating an outbound telephone call to a person's telephone number on the National Do Not Call Registry in violation of the TSR, as codified at 16 C.F.R. § 310.4(b)(1)(iii)(B).

The complaint also alleges that the Dish Network "abandoned or caused telemarketers to abandon an outbound telephone call by failing to connect the call to a sales representative within two (2) seconds of the completed greeting of the person answering the call, in violation of the TSR" as codified at 16 C.F.R. § 310.4(b)(1)(iv).

The plaintiffs seek civil penalties, damages, and injunctive relief.

Eileen Harrington, acting Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, stated in a release that "Since the National Do Not Call Registry was launched, it has been enormously effective at protecting millions of Americans from unwanted telemarketing calls at home ... But because a few bad actors still don’t get it, we want to make it crystal clear. If you call consumers whose numbers are on the Do Not Call Registry, you’re breaking the law. If your authorized dealers call consumers whose numbers are on the Registry, you're breaking the law. Either way, we will protect the privacy of American consumers and we will hold you accountable."

This case is USA, et al. v. Dish Network, LLC, U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Springfield Division, D.C. No. 3:09-cv-03073-JES-CHE.

The U.S. also filed a complaint [8 pages in PDF] in the U.S. District Court (EDMich) against New Edge Satellite, Inc. and Derek LaVictor, alleging violation of the TSR in connection with its telemarketing on behalf of Dish Network. This case is U.S. v. New Edge Satellite, Inc. and Derek LaVictor, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, D.C. No. 2:09-cv-11100-MOB-PJK.

The U.S. also filed a complaint [8 pages in PDF] in the U.S. District Court (EDMich) against Vision Quest LLC and Brian Cavett, alleging violation of the TSR in connection with its telemarketing on behalf of Dish Network. This case is U.S. v. Vision Quest LLC and Brian K. Cavett, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, D.C. No. 2:09-cv-11102-AJT-VMM.

3/26. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) approved the nomination of Christine Varney to be Assistant Attorney General (AAG) in charge of the Antitrust Division.

3/26. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) approved the nomination of Tony West to be Assistant Attorney General (AAG) in charge of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Civil Division.

3/26. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) approved the nomination of Lanny Breuer to be Assistant Attorney General (AAG) in charge of the Criminal Division.

3/25. The Senate confirmed David Kris to be Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) National Security Division (NSD).

3/25. The CTIA hired Scott Bergmann to be Assistant Vice President of Regulatory Affairs begining in mid April. He previously worked at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), including as Legal Advisor to FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein. See, CTIA release.

3/27. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted and released a notice of proposed rulemaking [25 pages in PDF] in its proceeding titled "In the Matter of Jurisdictional Separations and Referral to the Federal-State Joint Board". This NPRM states that "we seek comment on extending until June 30, 2010, the current freeze of Part 36 category relationships and jurisdictional cost allocation factors." (Footnotes omitted.) This NPRM is FCC 09-24 in CC Docket No. 80-286. Initial comments will be due within 14 days of publication of a notice in the Federal Register. Reply comments will be due within 21 days of such publication.

3/26. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Public Notice [PDF] that announces that the FCC will increase FCC application fees, effective April 28, 2009, as a result of changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The actual fees will be listed in the FCC's applications fees web section.

3/26. The U.S. District Court (EDMich) sentenced Douglas Benit to serve 46 months in prison, and to pay $1.34 Million in restitution, following his previous plea of guilty to mail fraud and bank fraud, in connection with his defrauding of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) waste, fraud and abuse plagued e-rate tax and subsidy program. Scott Hammond, acting Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, stated in a release that "Benit exploited his position as a trusted school official and lined his own pockets with money that should have gone to these deserving children".

This issue contains the following items:
 • House Judiciary Committee Approves Media Shield and Communications Services Provider Protection Bill
 • Senate Judiciary Committee Begins Mark Up of Patent Bill
 • FTC Releases Annual Report
 • FTC Sues Dish Network Over Telemarketing

The House will meet at 12:30 PM for morning hour, and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for the week of March 30, and schedule for March 30.

The Senate will meet at 11:00 AM.

The House will meet at 10:30 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. The schedule for the week includes consideration of HR 985, [LOC | WW], the "Free Flow of Information Act of 2009". Rep. Hoyer's schedule for the week of March 30.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. It will continue its mark up of S 515 [LOC | WW], the "Patent Reform Act of 2009". See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Appropriations Committee's (HAC) Subcommittee on Financial Services will hold a hearing on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Location: Room 2358-A, Rayburn Building.

11:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee for the 2011 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-11 Advisory Committee) will meet. See, FCC notice [PDF] and notice in the Federal Register, February 12, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 28, at Pages 7046-7047. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room (TW-C305), 445 12th St., SW.

2:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law will hold a hearing titled "VoIP -- Who Has Jurisdiction to Tax It?". See, notice. This event will be webcast by the HJC. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, and Science and Technology will hold a hearing titled "Do the Payment Card Industry Data Standards Reduce Cybercrime?". Rita Glavin, (acting AAG in charge of the DOJ's Criminal Division), Robert Russo (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards Council), Joseph Majka (Visa), Dave Hogan (National Retail Federation), and Michael Jones (Michaels Stores Inc.). The HHSC will webcast this event. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

POSTPONED. 2:00 - 3:30 PM. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division will host a seminar conducted by Sergei Koulayev (Columbia University) on his paper [PDF] titled "Vertical integration in sequential negotiations". This is a game theoretical paper that also addresses video programming and the News Corp. Directv merger. Location: Bicentennial Building, 600 E St., NW.

6:30 PM. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) will speak at a dinner that is part of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association's (NCTA) Cable Show '09. Location: Constitution A, Level 3B, Grand Hyatt, 1000 H St.,  NW.

Deadline for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) to submit to the President and Congress its annual National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE). This report is required by 19 U.S.C. § 2241.

Deadline for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) to conclude its review of the operation, effectiveness, and implementation of and compliance with trade agreements regarding telecommunications products and services, including the World Trade Organization (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), free trade agreements (FTAs) with Australia, Bahrain, Chile, Morocco, and Singapore, the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States FTAs. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 25, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 228, at Page 71707-71708.

Deadline to submit comments to the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) regarding its various mandates for information collections, notifications, reports, and exchanges. The BIS estimates that these mandates affect 1,427,450 persons or entities. The BIS also asserts that regulated persons and entities can comply with various mandates in a little as "5 seconds". See, notice in the Federal Register, January 30, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 19, at Pages 5637-5638

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The schedule for the week includes consideration of HR 985, [LOC | WW], the "Free Flow of Information Act of 2009". See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for the week of March 30.

10:00 AM. The House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment Hearing will hold a hearing titled "The Future of Fusion Centers: Potential Promise and Dangers". The witnesses will be Leroy Baca (Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department), Robert Riegle (DHS), Russell Porter (Iowa Intelligence Fusion Center), John Bateman (Texas Department of Public Safety), Bruce Fein (The Litchfield Group), Ned Norris (Tohono O’odham Nation), David Gersten (DHS). The DHS's December 11, 2008, report [PDF] titled "Privacy Impact Assessment for the Department of Homeland Security State, Local, and Regional Fusion Center Initiative" identified a number of risks for privacy, including data mining, inaccurate or incomplete information, participation of the private sector, and mission creep. The HHSC will webcast this event. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold a hastily scheduled hearing on the nominations of Judge David Hamilton to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (7thCir) and Robert Weich to be Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Office of Legislative Affairs. See, notice. The SJC will webcast this event. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

Planned implementation date of the Copyright Office's (CO) new fees for registration of claims, special services and Licensing Division services. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 14, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 199, at Pages 60658-60662. See also, story titled "Copyright Office Proposes to Raise Registration Fees" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,843, October 15, 2008.

Day one of a three day event hosted by the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) titled "Cable Show". Location: Washington Convention Center (WCC).

Day one of a three day event hosted by the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) titled "Legal Secretaries and Administrators Conference". See, conference brochure [PDF]. Location: Westin Alexandria Hotel, Alexandria, VA.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding competitive bidding procedures for Auction 79. This is proceeding is AU Docket No. 09-21 (122 FM broadcast construction permits). See, February 27, 2009, Public Notice (DA 09-422), and notice in the Federal Register, March 11, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 46, at Pages 10578-10581.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The schedule for the week includes consideration of HR 985, [LOC | WW], the "Free Flow of Information Act of 2009". See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for the week of March 30.

10:00 AM. 10:00 AM. The House Homeland Security Committee (HHSC) will hold a hearing titled "Homeland Security Policymaking:  HSC at a Crossroads and Presidential Study Directive 1". The witnesses will be Frances Townsend (former homeland security and counterterrorism advisor to President Bush), Kenneth Wainstein (O'Melveny & Myers, former AAG in charge of the DOJ's NSD, and former advisor to Bush), Philip Palin (National Institute for Strategic Preparedness), Bruce Hoffman (Georgetown University), Tom Frazier (Major Cities Chiefs Association). The HHSC will webcast this event. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

1:00 PM. The House Foreign Affairs Committee's (HFAC) Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade will hold a hearing titled "Export Controls on Satellite Technology". The witnesses will be Larry Wortzel (U.S. - China Economic and Security Review Commission), Pierre Chao (Center for Strategic and International Studies), and Patricia Cooper (Satellite Industry Association). See, notice. Location: Room 2175, Rayburn Building.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed hearing titled "SIGINT". See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304.

Day two of a three day event hosted by the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) titled "Cable Show". Location: Washington Convention Center.

Day two of a three day event hosted by the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) titled "Legal Secretaries and Administrators Conference". See, conference brochure [PDF]. Location: Westin Alexandria Hotel, Alexandria, VA.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Council Tree Communications, Inc. v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 07-1454. Judges Brown, Griffith and Silberman will preside. This is one of several cases pertaining to the FCC's eligibility standards for bidding credits for designated entities in spectrum auctions. In this case Council Tree challenges the FCC's 700 MHz auction. See, FCC's brief [57 pages in PDF]. Location: 333 Constitution Ave.

Day three of a three day event hosted by the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) titled "Cable Show". Location: Washington Convention Center.

Day three of a three day event hosted by the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) titled "Legal Secretaries and Administrators Conference". See, conference brochure [PDF]. Location: Westin Alexandria Hotel, Alexandria, VA.

Deadline to submit applications to testify at the Copyright Office's (CO) hearings regarding its triennial DMCA rulemaking proceeding on possible exemptions to the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. The hearings will be held on May 1, 2009, at Stanford law school, in Palo Alto, California, and on May 6-8, 2009, at the CO in Washington DC. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 9, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 44, at Pages 10096-10097. See also, story titled "Copyright Office to Hold Hearings on DMCA Exemptions" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,911, March 10, 2009.

The House will not meet the week of April 6-10 or 13-17.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the Judicial Conference of the United States' Advisory Committee on Rules of Criminal Procedure. This meeting is open to the public for observation, but not participation. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 26, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 15, at Page 4459. Location: Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building, One Columbus Circle, NE.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of Transportation's (DOT) Intelligent Transportation Systems Program Advisory Committee (ITSPAC) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 12, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 47, at Pages 10800-10801. Location: DOT, Conference Room 2, West Building, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and others will host an event titled "USPTO Design Day 2009". See, notice. Location: USPTO, Madison Auditorium, Alexandria, VA.

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