7/17. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) issued its opinion [18 pages in PDF] in Ad Hoc Telecommunications Users Committee v. FCC, a case regarding the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) regulation of special access broadband lines that connect individual businesses to their incumbent local exchange carriers. The Court of Appeals denied the petitions for review.

The Court of Appeals wrote that "Applying its statutory forbearance authority, the FCC largely eliminated what the Commission refers to as dominant-carrier pricing regulation with respect to AT&T’s special access lines -- as well as those of two smaller ILECs, Embarq and Frontier. But at the same time, the FCC maintained basic Title II common-carrier regulation on those ILECs’ special access lines, including requirements for interconnection and that ILECs' prices be just, reasonable, and not unreasonably discriminatory."

The Ad Hoc Telecommunications Users Committee and others filed petitions for review in which they argued that the FCC must continue to impose common carrier regulation and dominant carrier pricing regulation on ILECs with respect to their special access lines.

The Court of Appeals concluded that "The FCC reached a hotly debated and eminently debatable, but ultimately reasonable, conclusion that eliminating the extra layer of dominant-carrier pricing regulation on the ILECs' special access lines -- while leaving in place basic Title II common-carrier regulation -- will better promote competition and the public interest. We find no legal basis to upset the FCC's policy judgment."

This case is Ad Hoc Telecommunications Users Committee, et al. v. FCC and USA, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, App. Ct. No. 07-1426, consolidated with 07-1427, 07-1429, 07-1430, 07-1431, 07-1452, 07-1484, and 07-1503, petitions for review of a final order of the FCC. Judge Kavanaugh wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Sentelle and Edwards joined.

7/17. The US Telecom released a paper [96 pages in PDF] titled "High-Capacity Services: Abundant, Affordable, and Evolving".

Walter McCormick, head of the US Telecom, stated in a release that "A growing array of companies are investing in diverse technologies and successfully competing in this wide-open marketplace. In a sector characterized by entrepreneurism, growth, investment and competition, there is no rational basis to impose the drastic price controls that some are proposing, and doing so would be inconsistent with incentivizing increased investment in our nation's broadband networks."

This paper states that "some parties have sought to tie to the broadband policy engine their demands for government mandated price reductions in special access, a type of dedicated high-capacity service used by enterprises and communications providers".

This paper argues that "the publicly available data confirm that the market for high-capacity services is vibrantly competitive".

It continues that "high-capacity services are characterized by growing demand, expanding competition, declining prices, continued investment, and ongoing innovation. This is due, at least in part, to the current regulatory regime set in place by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1999. Under that regime, while all special access services remain subject to ``just and reasonable´´ pricing requirements and the vast majority of areas remain under strict price controls, the FCC has lifted direct price controls only in certain areas that meet certain triggers establishing that competitors have made irreversible, sunk investments in the facilities needed to provide high-capacity services."

"Despite this evidence, some users of high-capacity communications services are calling for new price controls that mandate unjustified price reductions on one component of the broader high-capacity service market known as ``special access.´´ But, for years, most of the competitive providers have refused to supply regulators the data necessary to accurately evaluate the competitiveness of high-capacity services, particularly the location of their high-capacity facilities."

It concludes that it is "essential for the FCC to undertake a comprehensive data collection and analysis that captures all sources of competitive supply, including self-supply, before contemplating new price controls."

7/16. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPCC) released a report [113 pages in PDF] titled "Report of Findings into the Complaint Filed by the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) against Facebook Inc. Under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act".

The Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) submitted a complaint [PDF] on May 30, 2008, in which it made numerous allegations regarding whether social networking web site Facebook provided a sufficient knowledge basis for meaningful consent.

The OPCC report finds that some allegations are not well founded, that some allegations were well founded but resolved, and that some practices of Facebook contravene the Act.

The just released report concludes, for example, "regarding third-party applications... Facebook did not have adequate safeguards in place to prevent unauthorized access by application developers to users’ personal information, and furthermore was not doing enough to ensure that meaningful consent was obtained from individuals for the disclosure of their personal information to application developers."

7/17. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report [66 pages in PDF] titled "Information Security: Agencies Continue to Report Progress, but Need to Mitigate Persistent Weaknesses".

It states that "Over the past few years, 24 major federal agencies have reported numerous security incidents in which sensitive information has been lost or stolen, including personally identifiable information, which has exposed millions of Americans to a loss of privacy, identity theft, and other financial crimes."

This report finds that "Weaknesses in information security controls continue to threaten the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the sensitive data maintained by federal agencies. These weaknesses, including those for access controls, configuration management, and segregation of duties, leave federal agency systems and information vulnerable to external as well as internal threats."

It adds that "until agencies fully and effectively implement information security programs and address the hundreds of recommendations that we and agency inspectors general have made, federal systems will remain at an increased and unnecessary risk of attack or compromise."

7/17. Harold Feld, of the Public Knowledge, stated in a release that "Earlier today, Verizon announced a policy of ending exclusive handset arrangements for wireless carriers with fewer than 500,000 customers after a period of six months." He continued that "Verizon's gesture should be seen for what it is -- an inadequate attempt to influence legislation and regulation. It should not be up to Verizon to decide the terms and conditions under which consumers can have the benefit of wireless handset competition." He urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Department of Justice (DOJ), and Congress to eliminate the practice of exclusive handset arrangements.

7/17. The Copyright Office published a notice in the Federal Register that announces and recites an agreement that sets rates and terms for the reproduction and performance of sound recordings made by certain specified webcasters, under two statutory licenses. See, Federal Register, July 17, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 136, at Pages 34796-34802.

7/16. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing that it "is reformatting the certificates of registration issued for registered marks", and that "The reformatted registration certificates will begin issuing in September 2009. See, Federal Register, July 16, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 135, at Page 34559.

7/14. The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), NetCoalition, Public Knowledge, and several library groups sent a letter [PDF] to Ron Kirk, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), regarding ongoing negotiation of an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). They wrote that "ACTA negotiations could harm a significant portion of the economy as well as consumer interests". They urged Kirk to delete "Internet-specific provisions of ACTA", make draft ACTA documents available to the public, and establish advisory committees to represent "Internet and civil society constituencies". See also, story titled "Transparency: EFF and PK Complain About OUSTR's Secret ACTA" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,935, May 6, 2009. On April 6, 2009, the OUSTR released a document [6 pages in PDF] that describes the ACTA. It is titled "The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement -- Summary of Key Elements Under Discussion". See, story titled "OUSTR Releases Summary of Proposed ACTA" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,925, April 13, 2009.

7/14. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) released its draft Special Publication (SP) 800-65 Revision 1 [56 pages in PDF] titled "Recommendations for Integrating Information Security into the Capital Planning and Investment Control Process (CPIC)". Comments are due by August 14, 2009.

7/6. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) released a report [86 pages in PDF] titled "Eighth Report to the Leaders on the U.S.-Japan Regulatory Reform and Competition Policy Initiative". The OUSTR stated in a release that "Some of the specific key areas of progress seen in Japan that are identified in today's report include ... Strengthening protections for music and motion pictures by amending the Copyright Law to make illegal Internet downloads knowingly made from unauthorized sources".

7/17. A grand jury of the U.S. District Court (NDCal) returned an indictment that charges Gregory Alexander with unauthorized computer access in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1030. The Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California stated in a release that "Alexander used a username and password belonging to Randall Hough, a member of the United States Chess Federation's Board of Directors, to access Hough’s private email account on 34 separate occasions spanning from November 2007 to June 2008." This case is USA v. Gregory Alexander, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, D.C. No. CR-09 00719 RMW. There has also been related civil litigation in state court in California. See, U.S. Chess Federation, Inc., et al. v. Susan Polgar, Gregory Alexander, et al., California Superior Court, County of San Francisco, No. CGC-08-476777.

7/16. The U.S. District Court (CDCal), following a bench trial, convicted Dongfan Chung of conspiracy to commit economic espionage, six counts of economic espionage to benefit a foreign country, one count of acting as an agent of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and one count of making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The Department of Justice (DOJ) stated in a release that "Chung took and concealed Boeing trade secrets relating to the Space Shuttle and the Delta IV rocket" for the benefit of the PRC.

7/15. The U.S. District Court (SDTex) sentenced Danielle Duann to serve two years in prison following her plea of guilty to one count of unauthorized computer access in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1030. The Department of Justice (DOJ) stated in a release that Duann was the director of information technology for the LifeGift Organ Donation Center, but was terminated by her employer. She then used a home computer to remotely access the computer network of LifeGift. She deleted "organ donation database records, accounting invoice files, database and accounting software applications and various backup files, without authorization. LifeGift is the sole provider of organ procurement services for more than 200 hospitals throughout 109 counties in North, Southeast and West Texas." She also "disabled the computer logging functions on several LifeGift computer servers and erased the computer logs that recorded her remote access to the LifeGift network".

7/13. The Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California announced in a release the unsealing of an indictment returned by a grand jury of the U.S. District Court (SDCal) that charges Jung Kwak, Phillip Allison, and Robert Ward with criminal conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 371) to violate the anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) in connection with their efforts to break the latest DISH encryption scheme, known as Nagra 3. This release states that the indictment alleges that "Mr. Kwak authorized Messrs. Allison and Ward to locate persons to work on cracking Nagra 3. Mr. Kwak agreed to provide funding and a substantial reward for success. Among other things, as charged in the indictment, Mr. Kwak funded the purchase of a specialized microscope used in dissecting and analyzing smart cards and paid $20,000 in cash for photographs of a dissected smart card purported to be a Nagra 3 card. Mr. Kwak offered a reward of $250,000 if the EPROM (eraseable programmable read-only memory) for the Nagra 3 card could be obtained." (Parentheses in original.)

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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 week of July 20, and schedule for July 20.

The Senate will meet at 1:00 PM. It will resume consideration of of S 1390 [LOC | WW], the "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010".

Day one of a two day conference hosted by the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) titled "2009 Patent Cooperation Treaty Seminar". See, notice. Location?

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host an event titled "Structuring an Energy Technology Revolution". The speaker will be William Bonvillian (MIT). This event is free and open to the public. A light breakfast will be served. Location: ITIF, Suite 610, 1101 K St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Technology Policy Institute (TPI) will host a panel discussion titled "Reforming Universal Service". The speakers will be Robert Crandall (Brookings Institution), Howie Hodges (One Economy), Jonathan Nuechterlein (Wilmer Hale), F.J. Pollak (P/CEO, TracFone Wireless), Gregory Rosston (Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research). This event is free. Lunch will be served. See, registration page. Location: Room B-340, Rayburn Building.

12:15 - 1:00 PM. The Department of Commerce (DOC), AAP, BSA, IFTA, IIPA, MPAA, NMPA, and RIAA will host an event to release a report titled "Copyright Industries in the U.S. Economy: The 2003-2007 Report". Registration required. Contact Molly Torsen at molly dot torsen at mail dot doc dot gov or 202-482-0849. Location: Auditorium, DOC, 1401 Constitution Ave., NW.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding reinstating an exemption for 4.9 GHz band applications from coordination via a certified frequency coordinator. This item is FCC 09-29 in WP Docket No. 07-100. See, notice in the Federal Register, May 21, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 97, at Pages 23816-23822.

The House will meet at 10:30 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. The schedule includes consideration of HR 2728 [LOC | WW], the "William Orton Law Library Improvement and Modernization Act" under suspension of the rules. See, story titled "House Bill Provides Funds for LOC Law Library to Catalog and Archive Electronically in Nonproprietary Format" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,951, June 10, 2009. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of July 20.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a three day closed meeting of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Homeland Security Science and Technology Advisory Committee (HSSTAC). See, notice in the Federal Register, June 25, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 121, at Page 30301. Location: Strategic Analysis, Inc., Executive Conference Center, 3601 Wilson Blvd., Suite 600, Arlington, VA.

9:30 AM - 5:00 PM. The District of Columbia Bar Association will host an event titled "Eighth Annual Hot Topics in Patent Law Symposium". The speakers will include John Doll (acting head of the USPTO), Judge Paul Michel (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit), Lynn Levin (USITC), and Judge Liam O'Grady (USDC/EDVa). Prices vary. Most DC Bar events are not open to the public. See, notice. Location: FDIC Virginia Square Seidman Center, 3501 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA.

10:00 AM. The House Ways and Means Committee's (HWMC) Subcommittee on Trade will hold a hearing titled "Trade Advisory Committee System". See, notice. Location: Room B-318, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The only item on the agenda is consideration of the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be a Justice of the Supreme Court. See, notice. Location: Room 216, Hart Building.

10:30 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Heritage Foundation will host a panel discussion titled "The New Strategic and Economic Dialogue with China: Fresh Start or Waste of Time?". The speakers will be Steven Dunaway (Council on Foreign Relations), Edward Gresser (Democratic Leadership Council), Taiya Smith (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace), and Derek Scissors (Heritage). See, notice. Location: Heritage, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

2:00 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship will hold a hearing titled "Ensuring a Legal Workforce: What Changes Should be Made to Our Current Employment Verification System?". The SJC will webcast this event. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

2:00 PM. The House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, Science and Technology will hold a hearing titled "Securing the Modern Electric Grid from Physical and Cyber Attacks". The HHSC will webcast this event. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of the nominations of Mignon Clyburn and Meredith Baker to be members of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

Day two of a two day conference hosted by the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) titled "2009 Patent Cooperation Treaty Seminar". See, notice. Location?

Extended deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Inquiry [59 pages in PDF] regarding the drafting of a "national broadband plan", as required by Section 6001(k) of HR 1 [LOC | WW], the huge spending bill passed by the Congress in February. See also, "Broadband Plan Statute: Public Law No. 111-5, § 6001(k)" and stories titled "FCC Releases NOI on Broadband Plan" and "Additional Questions Asked by FCC's Broadband Plan Notice of Inquiry" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,924, April 11, 2009. This NOI is FCC 09-31 in Docket No. GN 09-51. See, notice of extension [PDF].

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of July 20.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a three day closed meeting of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Homeland Security Science and Technology Advisory Committee (HSSTAC). See, notice in the Federal Register, June 25, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 121, at Page 30301. Location: Strategic Analysis, Inc., Executive Conference Center, 3601 Wilson Blvd., Suite 600, Arlington, VA.

9:30 AM. The Partnership for Public Service will host a news conference to release a report on cyber security. For more information, contact Ralph Huber at 202-775-2757 or showe at ourpublicservice dot org. Location: Zenger Room, National Press Club, 13th Floor, 529 14th St. NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee's (SCC) Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance will hold a hearing titled "Advertising Trends and Consumer Protection". See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Promoting Job Creation and Foreign Investment in the United States: An Assessment of the EB-5 Regional Center Program". The SJC will webcast this event. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Banking Committee (SBC) will hold a hearing titled "Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress". The witness will be Ben Bernanke (Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board). Location: Room 106, Dirksen Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Rethinking the Children's Television Act for a Digital Media Age". See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

3:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Crime will hold a hearing titled "Over-Criminalization of Conduct/Over-Federalization of Criminal Law". See, notice. Location: Room 2237, Rayburn Building.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The District of Columbia Bar Association will host an event titled "Speed Mentoring for Consumer Law and Antitrust Attorneys". The DC Bar states that this is "designed to mimic speed dating", and will be followed by "a wine and cheese reception". For more information, call 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of July 20.

9:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Day three of a three day closed meeting of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Homeland Security Science and Technology Advisory Committee (HSSTAC). See, notice in the Federal Register, June 25, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 121, at Page 30301. Location: Strategic Analysis, Inc., Executive Conference Center, 3601 Wilson Blvd., Suite 600, Arlington, VA.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "Oversight of the Federal Communications Commission". See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

10:30 AM. The House Foreign Affairs Committee's (HFAC) Subcommittee on Europe will hold a hearing titled "Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America: Soft Power and the Free Flow of Information". The witnesses will include Jeffrey Gedmin (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) and Danforth Austin (Voice of America) See, notice. Location: Room 2172, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Corporate Tax Reform for the Innovation-Based, Global Economy". The speakers will be Pete Engardio (Business Week), Robert Atkinson (ITIF), Robert Shapiro (Sonecon), and Fritz Foley. See, notice. This event is free and open to the public. Lunch will be served. Location: Room 485, Russell Building, Capitol Hill.

CANCELLED. 6:00 - 8:00 PM. The  The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Professional Responsibility Committee will host an event titled "Lobbying Rules for the New Administration". Location: Wiley Rein, 1776 K St.,  NW.

The House may meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of July 20.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Technology Policy Institute (TPI) will host a panel discussion titled "Information and Privacy: What are the Tradeoffs?". The speakers will be Alessandro Acquisti (Carnegie Mellon University), Leslie Harris (Center for Democracy and Technology), and Paul Rubin (Emory University). This event is free. Lunch will be served. See, registration page. Location: Room B-340, Rayburn Building.

Deadline to submit applications to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for membership on its Homeland Security Information Network Advisory Committee (HSINAC). See, notice in the Federal Register, June 9, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 109, at Page 27338.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) in which it proposes to modify its cost sharing requirements for the 2 GHz BAS band. The FCC adopted this FNPRM on June 10, 2009, and released the text on June 12, 2009. It is FCC 09-49 in WT Docket No. 02-55 and ET Docket Nos. 00-258 and 95-18. See, notice in the Federal Register, June 23, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 119, at Pages 29636-29650.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a panel discussion titled "Online Child Safety, Privacy, and Free Speech: An Overview of Challenges in Congress & the States". The speakers will include Adam Thierer (PFF), Parry Aftab (WiredSafety.org), Todd Haiken (Common Sense Media), Jim Halpert (DLA Piper), and Berin Szoka (PFF). Lunch will be served. See, notice. Location: Room SVC-208, Capitol Visitor Center.

3:00 PM. Deadline to submit applications to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for money to under its Measurement Science and Engineering Research Fellowship Program. See, notice in the Federal Register, June 1, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 103, at Pages 26206-26209.

Deadline to submit Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to it Fourth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding whether or not to modify FCC Form 323-E, the Ownership Report filed by noncommercial educational (NCE) licensees of AM, FM, and TV broadcast stations, to obtain gender, race, and ethnicity data. This 4thFNPRM is FCC 09-33 in MB Docket Nos. 07-294, 06-121, 02-277 and 04-228, and MM Docket Nos. 01-235, 01-317, and 00-244. See, notice in the Federal Register, May 27, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 100, at Pages 25205-25208.