5/1. The U.S. Court of Appeals (8thCir) issued its opinion [10 pages in PDF] in Vonage v. Nebraska Public Service Commission, affirming the judgment of the District Court, which enjoined enforcement of a Nebraska state tax on nomadic interconnected voice over internet protocol (VOIP).

Background. The Court of Appeals offered this explanation of nomadic and fixed VOIP services. "Nomadic service allows a customer to use the service by connecting to the Internet wherever a broadband connection is available, making the geographic originating point difficult or impossible to determine. Fixed VoIP service, however, originates from a fixed geographic location."

In 1997 the Nebraska legislature enacted the Nebraska Telecommunication Universal Service Fund Act, also known as the NUSF. It established a state universal service tax and subsidy program.

In 2006 the FCC imposed a universal service tax on interconnected VOIP service providers. The FCC taxes only the interstate portion. The FCC arbitrarily determined that interstate interconnected VOIP revenue is 64.9 percent of total revenue. The FCC adopted that order on June 21, 2006, and released the text [151 pages in PDF] on June 27, 2006. It is FCC 06-94 in Docket Nos. 06-122, 04-36, 96-45, 98-171, 90-571, 92-237, 99-200, 95-116, 98-170.

See also, story titled "FCC to Tax Interconnected VOIP Service Providers" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,397, June 22, 2006, and story titled "FCC Releases Order and NPRM Regarding VOIP and Universal Service Taxes" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,403, June 29, 2006.

In 2007, the Nebraska Public Service Commission (NPSC) issued an order requiring nomadic VOIP providers to collect and remit a surcharge on intrastate VOIP services under the NUSF. It followed the FCC's arbitrary 64.9 and 35.1 percent allocation, and taxed 35.1 percent of revenue associated with users with Nebraska billing addresses.

Vonage provides nomadic VOIP services. Vonage did not pay the Nebraska tax.

Jeffrey Pursley, Director of the Nebraska Telecommunications Infrastructure and Public Safety Department of the Public Service Commission, filed a complaint with the NPSC seeking to enforce the order.

Vonage filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court (DNeb) seeking a declaration that the NUSF is preempted by federal law, and an injunction prohibiting Nebraska from enforcing the NUSF.

The District Court held that the NUSF is preempted by 47 U.S.C. § 152(b)'s impossibility exception, and enjoined its enforcement.

Court of Appeals. Nebraska brought the present appeal. The Court of Appeals affirmed.

It wrote that "Under the impossibility exception, the FCC may preempt all state regulation of services which would otherwise be subject to dual control if it is impossible or impractical to separate the service's interstate and intrastate components, and the state regulation interferes with valid federal rules or policies."

It continued that "Because Vonage's nomadic interconnected VoIP service cannot be separated into interstate and intrastate usage, the impossibility exception is determinative."

The Court of Appeals also wrote that "A reasonable interpretation of this language is the FCC has determined, given the impossibility of distinguishing between interstate and intrastate nomadic interconnected VoIP usage, it must have sole regulatory control. Thus, while a universal service fund surcharge could be assessed for intrastate VoIP services, the FCC has made clear it, and not state commissions, has the responsibility to decide if such regulations will be applied."

The Court of Appeals added that the "potential for conflict between state regulations militates in favor of finding preemption".

Vonage Preemption Order. The Court of Appeals relied upon the FCC's Vonage Preemption Order, and the 8th Circuit's rejection of a petition for review of that order.

On November 9, 2004, the FCC adopted a Memorandum Opinion and Order [41 pages in PDF] that addressed Vonage's Petition for Declaratory Ruling regarding its VOIP service in the state of Minnesota, which is in the 8th Circuit.

The FCC found that Vonage's VOIP service, named DigitalVoice, is an interstate service, and that Minnesota cannot regulate as it had proposed in a September 2003 order. Although, that order pertained to regulation of 911 service, rather than universal service taxation of VOIP service.

See, story titled "FCC Adopts Order on Vonage's VOIP Petition" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,015, November 10, 2004, and story titled "FCC Releases Vonage VOIP Order" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,018, November 15, 2004. This MO&O is FCC 04-267 in WC Docket No. 03-211.

The 8th Circuit upheld the FCC in its March 21, 2007 opinion [22 pages in PDF]. See, story titled "8th Circuit Denies Petitions for Review of FCC's Vonage VOIP Order" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,555, March 21, 2007.

That case is Minnesota Public Utilities Commission v. FCC, and consolidated cases, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, App. Ct. Nos. 05-1069, 05-1122, 05-3114, and 05-3118, petitions for review of a final order of the FCC.

The present case is Vonage Holding Corp. and Vonage Network, Inc. v. Nebraska Public Service Commission, et al., U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, App. Ct. No. 08-1764, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska, Judge Laurie Camp presiding. Bye wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Wollman and Riley joined.

5/1. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) issued its opinion [19 pages in PDF] in Globalstar v. FCC, denying a petition for review of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) order reassigning Big LEO band spectrum from Globalstar to Iridium.

This low earth orbit (LEO) spectrurm, at 1610-1626.5 MHz and 2483.5-2500 MHz, was assigned by the FCC in 1994 for mobile satellite services (MSS) that provide voice and data communications.

Globalstar runs a CDMA based system. Iridium runs a TDMA based system. In 2004, the FCC issued a Report and Order that ordered Iridium and Globalstar to share a block of Big LEO spectrum that was previously reserved for Globalstar's use. Globalstar sought reconsideration of the 2004 Order. The FCC, on reconsideration, ordered the reassignment of a block of spectrum to Iridium.

Globalstar brought the present petition for review. Iridium intervened. See also, the FCC's brief [67 pages in PDF].

The Court of Appeals held that the order on reconsideration was not promulgated in violation of the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), codified at 5 U.S.C. § 553, and that it was not arbitrary and capricious, under 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A).

This case is Globalstar, Inc. v. FCC, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, App. Ct. No. 08-1046, a petition for review of a final order of the FCC. Judge Edwards wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Sentelle and Garland joined.

5/6. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Public Knowledge (PK) issued a joint release in which they complained about the lack of transparency in the activities and operations of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) related to a proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).

The EFF and PK described the ACTA as "a secret intellectual property trade agreement with broad implications for privacy and innovation around the world".

The EFF and PK have sought information from the OUSTR. On June 11, 2008, they submitted a request pursuant to the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which is codified at 5 U.S.C. § 552.

On September 17, 2008, they filed a complaint [PDF] in the U.S. District Court (DC) against the OUSTR alleging violation of the FOIA in connection with its failure to produce responsive records. This case is EFF and PK v. OUSTR, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, D.C. No. 1:08-cv-01599, Judge Rosemary Collyer presiding.

The EFF's David Sobel stated in the joint EFF/PK release that "We are very disappointed with the USTR's decision to continue to withhold these documents ... The president promised an open and transparent administration. But in this case and others we are litigating at EFF, we've found that the new guidelines liberalizing implementation of the Freedom of Information Act haven't changed a thing."

The release adds that "Other publicly available information shows that the treaty could establish far-reaching customs regulations over Internet traffic in the guise of anti-counterfeiting measures. Additionally, multi-national IP industry companies have publicly requested that ISPs be required to engage in filtering of their customers' Internet communications for potentially copyright-infringing material, force mandatory disclosure of personal information about alleged copyright infringers, and adopt ``Three Strikes´´ policies requiring ISPs to automatically terminate customers' Internet access upon a repeat allegation of copyright infringement."

For prior TLJ coverage of the ACTA, see:

• "US, EU, Japan and Others to Negotiate Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,660, October 23, 2007.
• "OUSTR to Hold Meeting on Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No 1,828, September 19, 2008.
• "OUSTR Holds Meeting Regarding ACTA" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No 1,830, September 23, 2008.
• "Senators Ask USTR Not to Negotiate Too Broad an ACTA" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,837, October 2, 2008.
• "More Trade News" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,844, October 16, 2008.
• "OUSTR Releases Summary of Proposed ACTA" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,925, April 13, 2009.

See also, the EFF's web page with hyperlinks to documents related to the ACTA.

TLJ spoke with the PK's Sherwin Siy on May 6, 2009. He stated that the ACTA may be negotiated as an executive agreement, rather than a treaty requiring legislative approval; hence, there may never be a public review process.

He characterized the use of secret negotiation of executive agreements, rather than the legislative process, as "shifting the forum" and "policy laundering". He added that "The industries are pushing this. They are the ones doing the laundering."

Kira Alvarez, Chief Intellectual Property Negotiator at the OUSTR spoke at an event in Washington DC organized by the Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) on April 30, 2009. She discussed the ACTA and other activities of the OUSTR. She also received comments from persons present at the event. Representatives of copyright based companies and industries, and diplomats from other countries, made up a majority of the attendees.

TLJ was present, and audio recorded Alvarez's statements, and comments by attendees. Alvarez asserted authority to unilaterally impose, and imposed, a prior restraint on publication of news stories, directed at TLJ and the National Journal's Congress Daily, which was also present at the event.

5/5. The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) published a notice in the Federal Register that announces, describes, recites, and sets the effective date (May 5, 2009) for, its changes its rules regarding fiber optic cable. See, Federal Register, May 5, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 85, at Pages 20559-20577. This notice states that the RUS "is revising its regulation: on fiber optic cable specifications used by borrowers, their consulting engineers, and cable manufacturers; updates the specifications to meet current industry standards; includes additional requirements in the specifications to meet the construction requirements of fiber-to-the-home construction; clarifies certain existing definitions; separates the regulation into two distinct specifications for cables covering backbone and distribution plant, as well as for service entrance cables covering subscribers' drops; and includes new definitions."

5/4. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) International Trade Administration (ITA) published a notice in the Federal Register regarding the Section 337 complaint filed by SPH America, LLC against Kyocera Corporation, Kyocera Wireless Corporation, Kyocera Sanyo Telecom, MetroPCS Communications, Metro PCS Wireless, Spring Nextel, America Movil, Anahuac Mexico, TracFone Wireless, and Virgin Mobile USA. See, Federal Register, May 4, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 84, at Pages 20500-20501.

4/30. The U.S. Court of Appeals (3rdCir) issued its opinion [PDF] in Institutional Investors Group v. Avaya, a putative class action securities case. The plaintiffs allege that statements about earnings growth potential and pricing pressure by the defendants, communications products and services provider Avaya, and its officers, violated Section 10b-5 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. The District Court dismissed the complaint for failure to meet the heightened pleading requirements set by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA). The Court of Appeals affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. This case is Institutional Investors Group and Howard Charatz v. Avaya, Inc., et al., U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, App. Ct. No. 06-4595, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, D.C. No. 05-cv-2319, Judge Mary Cooper presiding. Judge Scirica wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Fisher and Roth joined.

5/5. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Privacy Office published a notice in the Federal Register announcing that it seeks applications for appointment to the DHS Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee. The deadline is June 8, 2009. See, Federal Register, May 5, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 85, at Pages 20718-20719.

5/4. President Obama nominated Philip Mudd to be Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). See, White House news office release.

5/4. President Obama nominated John Sullivan to be a member of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for a term expiring April 30, 2013. See, White House news office release.

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The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of May 4.

10:00 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee on Diversity for Communications in the Digital Age will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 23, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 77, at Page 18576. Location: FCC, Room TW-C305, 445 12th St., SW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of S 417 [LOC | WW], the "States Secret Protection Act", and HR 985 [LOC | WW] and S 448 [LOC | WW], both titled the "Free Flow of Information Act of 2009". See, stories titled "Senate Judiciary Committee to Consider State Secrets Bill" and "9th Circuit Rules in State Secrets Case" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,933, April 29, 2009. The SJC rarely follows its published agendas. The SJC will webcast this event. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Laserfacturing v. Daimler Chrysler, App. Ct. No. 2009-1013. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Netcurrents Information Systems v. Dow Jones, App. Ct. No. 2009-1019. This is an appeal from the U.S. District Court (CDCal), D.C. No. 07-4027, in a patent infringement case involving fast internet real-time search technology (FIRST) for use in monitoring information on web pages, message boards, chat rooms, discussion groups, e-mail messages, and other communications over the internet. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a discussion of the paper titled "The Rise and Fall of Fast Track Trade Authority". The speakers will be the authors, Lori Wallach and Todd Tucker. See, notice. Location: NAF, 4th Floor, 1899 L St., NW.

2:30 PM. The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Bureau of Economics will host an untitled seminar by Jonathan Levin (Stanford University). He is an economist who has written about competition, auctions, and information technology. He has authored papers titled "Winning Play in Spectrum Auctions" and "The Impact of Information Technology in Consumer Credit Markets". Location: FTC Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

6:00 - 8:30 PM. The Copyright Office (CO) will hold a meeting regarding its DMCA anti-circumvention exemptions rulemaking proceeding, its Section 115 compulsory license rulemaking proceeding, and other CO matters. Marybeth Peters (Register of Copyright), Steve Ruwe (Attorney Advisor, CO), Robert Kasunic (Principal Legal Advisor, CO), Ben Golant (Assistant General Counsel, CO), and Ted Hirakawa (Assistant Chief, Literary Division, Registration & Recordation, CO) will preside. The price to attend ranges from $25 to $150. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) asserts that this is an FCBA event, and titles it "The Copyright Office Speaks". Location: Dow Lohnes, 1200 New Hampshire Ave., NW.

Day two of a three day hearing of the Copyright Office (CO) in Washington DC regarding its triennial DMCA rulemaking proceeding on possible exemptions to the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. 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. Location: Copyright Hearing Room (LM-408), James Madison Building, Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave., SE.

Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of May 4 states that "no votes are expected in the House.

8:30 - 11:00 AM. The Technology Policy Institute (TPI) will host an event titled "ICANN at a Crossroads: Privatization, Reform, Both, or Neither?". See, registration page. For more information, contact Ashley Creel at 202-828-4405 or events at techpolicyinstitute dot org. Location: National Press Club, 13th Floor, 529 14th St. NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Finance Committee (SFC) will hold hearing on the nomination of Neal Wolin to be Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. See, notice. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Wedgetail v. Huddleston Deluxe, App. Ct. No. 2009-1045. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Garber v. Chicago Mercantile Exchange, App. Ct. No. 2009-1047. Location: Courtroom 203, 717 Madison Place, NW.

Day three of a three day hearing of the Copyright Office (CO) in Washington DC regarding its triennial DMCA rulemaking proceeding on possible exemptions to the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. 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. Location: Copyright Hearing Room (LM-408), James Madison Building, Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave., SE.

Deadline to submit replies to oppositions to the numerous petitions for reconsideration (PFRs) of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) white space order. This is the Second Report and Order Memorandum Opinion and Order [130 pages in PDF] in its proceeding titled "In the Matter of Unlicensed Operation in the TV Broadcast Bands" and numbered ET Docket No. 04-186), and its proceeding titled "Additional Spectrum for Unlicensed Devices below 900 MHz and in the 3 GHz Band", and numbered ET Docket No. 02-380. This order is FCC 08-260. The FCC adopted it on November 4, 2008, and released the text on November 14, 2008. See for example, PFR [144 pages in PDF] of the NCTA, PFR [10 pages in PDF] of Dell and Microsoft, PFR [46 pages in PDF] of Motorola, PFR [10 pages in PDF] of Sprint Nextel, Comptel, and the RTG, PFR [PDF] of Dish and Directv, PFR [PDF] of the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association, PFR [PDF] of the Wi-Fi Alliance, and PFR [28 pages in PDF] of the New America Foundation, Public Knowledge, Open Source Wireless Coalition, and others. See, story titled "FCC Adopts White Space Order" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,852, November 4, 2009. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 13, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 69, at Page 16870.

Attorney General Eric Holder will give a commencement speech at Howard University's law school.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host an event titled "Co-Chair Election & Brown Bag Lunch Planning Meeting". Send nominations to Tarah Grant at tsgrant at hhlaw dot com and Cathy Hilke at chilke at wileyrein dot com by Monday, May 4, 2009. Location: Wiley Rein, 1776 K St., NW.

8:00 AM - 6:00 PM. Day one of a three day meeting of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Homeland Security Information Network Advisory Committee (HSINAC). See, notice in the Federal Register, April 24, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 78, at Page 18737. Location: Bolger Center, 9600 Newbridge Drive, Potomac, MD.

9:15 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the Social Security Administration's (SSA) Future Systems Technology Advisory Panel (FSTAP). The FSTAP seeks public written or oral comments regarding the "SSA's systems in the area of Internet application". See, notice in the Federal Register, April 21, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 75, at Page 18273. Location: Westin Alexandria, 400 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA.

9:30 AM - 1:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host an event titled "Essential Checklist for Electronic Discovery". The speakers will include John Facciola, (U.S. District Court), Conrad Jacoby (efficientEDD), and Courtney Barton (Crowell & Moring). The price to attend ranges from $89 to $129. See, notice. This event qualifies for continuing legal education credits. The DC Bar Association has a history of excluding persons from its events. For more information, call 202-626-3488. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee (SHSGAC) will hold a hearing on the nomination of Cass Sunstein to be Administrator of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. See, notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

2:00 - 3:30 PM. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division will host a seminar conducted by Marius Schwartz (Georgetown University) and Yongmin Chen (University of Colorado at Boulder) on their paper titled "Product Innovation Incentives: Monopoly vs. Competition". To request permission to attend, contact Patrick Greenlee at 202-307-3745 or atr dot eag at usdoj dot gov. Location: Bicentennial Building, 600 E St., NW.

2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing on the nominations of Gerard Lynch (to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit) and Mary Smith (to be Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Tax Division). See, notice. The SJC will webcast this hearing. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

EXTENDED FROM MAY 4. 5:00 PM. Extended deadline to submit reply comments to the Copyright Office (CO) and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in response to their notice of inquiry (NOI) regarding facilitating access to copyrighted works for blind or disabled people. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 26, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 57, at Pages 13268-13270, notice in the Federal Register, April 17, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 73, at Page 17884, and notice of extension in the Federal Register, Federal Register, April 27, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 79, at Page 19108.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Mass Media Practice Committee will host an event titled "The Future of Broadcast Spectrum -- Opportunities and Challenges". The first panel will be titled "Spectrum for all?". The speakers will be Bryan Tramont (Wilkinson Barker Knauer), David Donovan (Association for Maximum Service Television), Gigi Sohn (Public Knowledge), Dean Brenner (Qualcomm), and Mark Lipp (Wiley Rein). The second panel is titled "Is there a consumer demand for the proposed use of the spectrum?" The speakers will be Bryan Tramont, Lynn Claudy (NAB and Ion Media/Urban Television), and Wayne Leighton (Empiris). The price to attend ranges from $25 to $150. See, notice. Location: Wiley Rein, 1776 K St., NW.

8:00 AM - 6:00 PM. Day two of a three day meeting of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Homeland Security Information Network Advisory Committee (HSINAC). See, notice in the Federal Register, April 24, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 78, at Page 18737. Location: Bolger Center, 9600 Newbridge Drive, Potomac, MD.

8:45 - 11:00 AM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a panel discussion titled "Who Pays for the News: Media Business Models and the Role of Philanthropy". The keynote speaker will be Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD). The panel speakers will be Steve Coll (NAF), Paul Glastris (Washington Monthly), Alex Jones (Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy), Jeffrey Leonard (Global Environment Fund), Douglas McGray (NAF), and John Thornton (Austin Ventures). See, notice and registration page. Location: NAF, 4th floor, 1899 L St., NW.

8:30 AM - 12:00 NOON. Day two of a two day meeting of the Social Security Administration's (SSA) Future Systems Technology Advisory Panel (FSTAP). The FSTAP seeks public written or oral comments regarding the "SSA's systems in the area of Internet application". See, notice in the Federal Register, April 21, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 75, at Page 18273. Location: Westin Alexandria, 400 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Transactional Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Representing Communications Companies in Bankruptcy". The speakers will include Stewart Block (FCC Office of the General Counsel). For more information, contact Marc Knox at mknox at wbklaw dot com. The FCBA has a history of excluding persons from its lunches. Location: Wilkinson Barker Knauer, Suite 700, 2300 N St., NW.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) regarding its review of U.S. equipment industry access to the European Community's Galileo program and European markets for related goods and services. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 15, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 71, at Pages 17548-17549.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Science Foundation (NSF) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding amendments to its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) rules. See, notice in the Federal Register: April 13, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 69, at Pages 16815-16823.

Deadline to submit comments to the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in response to President Obama's March 9, 2009, memorandum regarding "Scientific Integrity". See, notice in the Federal Register, April 23, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 77, at Pages 18596-18597.