2/24. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released an annual report [101 pages in PDF] titled "Consumer Sentinel Network Databook January - December 2009". It summarizes consumer complaints made to the FTC and other agencies and entities.

In summarizing a total of 1.3 Million complaints aggregated by the Consumer Sentinel Network (CSN), the FTC report states that "Identity theft was the number one complaint category in the CSN for calendar year 2009 with 21% of the overall complaints, followed by Third Party and Creditor Debt Collection (9%); Internet Services (6%); Shop-at-Home and Catalog Sales (6%); Foreign Money Offers and Counterfeit Check Scams (5%); Internet Auction (4%); Credit Cards (3%); Prizes, Sweepstakes and Lotteries (3%); and Advance-Fee Loans and Credit Protection/Repair (3%)."

The category of "Television and Electronic Media" received 2% of the total complaints.

The categories of "Computer Equipment and Software" and "Telecom Equipment" came in further down the ranking, each with 1.7% of the complaints. The category of "Telephone and Mobile Services" came in still further down the list with less than one percent of the complaints.

Out of 1.3 Million complaints, only 1,185 pertained to video games.

The FTC's category of "Internet Services" is unfair and deceptive. It combines complaints against internet service providers, with complaints regarding spyware, malware, and adware. Similarly, the FTC's category of "Computer Equipment and Software" combines complaints against computer equipment and software makers who have sold products to consumers, with complaints regarding unauthorized software downloads.

The FTC has long produced annual reports on consumer complaints. However, it is not possible to observe long tern trends, or to assess the success of FTC and other agency enforcement efforts, because the FTC changes the data categories.

2/23. Google announced in a release that the European Commission (EC) notified Google that it has received complaints against Google from Microsoft, Foundem, and ejustice.fr. Google, which is also adept at using regulatory authorities for its benefit, stated that "This kind of scrutiny goes with the territory when you are a large company."

Google stated that Foundem is a "UK price comparison site". In addition, Google stated that "Foundem -- a member of an organisation called ICOMP which is funded partly by Microsoft -- argues that our algorithms demote their site in our results because they are a vertical search engine and so a direct competitor to Google."

ejustice is a French legal research web site. Google stated that the nature of its complaint is similar to Foundem's.

2/24. Attorney General Eric Holder gave a speech in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil regarding the need for enforcement of intellectual property rights. He said that "This is a priority concern for President Obama" and "this is a priority matter for my government".

"Our countries each need strong enforcement of criminal laws to protect intellectual property rights if we are to continue to foster innovation and creativity, safeguard consumers, and create economic growth."

Holder (at right) Intellectual property is a critical component of the economies of both Brazil and the United States. If we cannot provide strong protection of intellectual property rights, our creative industries will suffer.

He said that "digital content such as business software and movies can be distributed to a worldwide market almost instantaneously". But, Holder continued, the "digital marketplace has also attracted criminals who seek to exploit and misappropriate the intellectual property of others. The same technologies that have created unprecedented opportunities for growth in legitimate economies have also created global criminal organizations that are eager to steal the creativity and profits from our domestic industries and workers".

He enumerated numerous problems, including "widespread online piracy of music, movies, video games, business software and other copyrighted works", "well-funded corporate espionage", "sales of counterfeit ... electronics, both on street corners and through Internet auction sites", and "counterfeit pharmaceuticals and other goods that pose a substantial risk to the health and safety of our consumers".

Moreover, he said that "IP crime has increasingly become the province of international organized crime".

After discussing enforcement efforts in the U.S. and Brazil, he concluded, "Brazil and the United States have taken leadership roles in the world in tackling the problems of counterfeiting and piracy, and as leaders we should work together at every opportunity to reach our goals.  It is against this backdrop, that I am very excited to work with Brazil on developing a regional approach that brings together law enforcement experts from across the Americas with a mutual goal of increasing international cooperation in combating IP crime in the region."

On February 23, 2010, the Property Rights Alliance (PRA) released an annual report [79 pages in PDF] that contains an International Property Rights Index (IPRI). One of the components of this index is an Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) index that ranks 125 nations on the basis of their patent and copyright regimes.

In the just released index the U.S. is tied for first place in the IPR index. Brazil is tied for 52nd place.

On February 18, 2010, the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) submitted its annual Special 301 recommendations to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) regarding countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property (IP) rights, or deny market access to IP based companies.

It recommended that Brazil remain on the OUSTR's Watch List. It did not recommend that Brazil be placed on the higher Priority Watch List, which includes such nations as the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Russia.

The IIPA estimates in this submission that the piracy rate in Brazil in 2009 for business software was 56%, down from 58 % in 2008, and that the piracy rate for records and music was 48%. The IIPA estimates for these piracy rates in the PRC are 80% and 90%, respectively.

See also, stories titled "Creative Industries Submit Special 301 Recommendations to OUSTR" and "Public Knowledge Submits Special 301 Comment to OUSTR" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,048, Febraury 22, 2010.

2/22. A collection of telecom and cable companies and groups submitted a letter [14 pages in PDF] to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opposing proposals to regulate broadband internet access services as Title II telecommunications services.

The Public Knowledge (PK) argued in a January 26, 2010, filing [17 pages in PDF] that the FCC should "reclassify broadband access as a Title II service".

In response, companies and groups involved in providing broadband internet access wrote that "certain groups advocating an extremist form of ``net neutrality´´ regulation have now asked the Commission to steer the debate in a radical new direction. They want the Commission to reverse a long series of decisions dating all the way back to the Kennard Commission in 1998 and classify broadband Internet access service, for the first time, as a ``telecommunications service´´ subject to legacy common carrier regulation under Title II of the Communications Act. Regulating the Internet as these parties propose would be a profound mistake with harmful and lasting consequences for consumers and our economy." (Footnote omitted.)

"Broadband providers have already invested hundreds of billions of dollars in private risk capital to deploy next-generation networks ... in reliance on the Commission's Title I classification decisions". Moreover, they argue that reclassification would threaten continued investment.

These companies and groups also argue, given the Communications Act's definitions, and the FCC's decisions, the courts would not uphold such a reclassification.

The entities that signed the letter are AT&T, CTIA, Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance, National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), Qwest, Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), Time Warner Cable, U.S. Telecom Association, and Verizon.

The letter references three FCC proceedings: Preserving the Open Internet, GN Docket No. 09-191, Broadband Industry Practices, WC Docket No. 07-52, and A National Broadband Plan for Our Future, GN Docket No. 09-51.

Gigi Sohn, head of the PK, stated in a release that "This is a transparent attempt to bully the FCC", and that "The telecommunications industry has now shown that it cares nothing for consumers."

2/24. President Obama nominated Goodwin Liu to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. See, White House news office release. He is a law professor at the University of California at Berkeley. His curriculum vitae lists articles, speeches, and testimony related to Constitutional law, race, desegregation, and related educational issues. However, it reflects no publications, background, or expertise in any technology related areas of law.

2/24. President Obama nominated Judge Robert Chatigny to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. See, White House news office release. He is a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. He was appointed in 1994 by former President Clinton.

2/23. The Executive Office of the President's (EOP) Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator published a notice in the Federal Register requesting public comments regarding coordination of federal efforts to enforce intellectual property rights. The deadline to submit comments is 5:00 PM on March 24, 2010. See, Federal Register, February 23, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 35, at Page 8137-8139.

2/23. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO published a notice in the Federal Register requesting, within 60 days, nominations of individuals to serve on the National Medal of Technology and Innovation Nomination Evaluation Committee. This notice states that the twelve members of this Committee "are responsible for reviewing nominations and making recommendations for" the National Medal of Technology and Innovation (NMTI). See, Federal Register, February 23, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 35, at Pages 8043-8044. See also, stories titled "Bush Awards National Medals of Technology and Science", "House Democrats Promote Their Innovation Agenda", and "Commentary: National Medal of Technology Program" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,312, February 17, 2006.

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The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The schedule for the week includes consideration of HR 2701 [LOC | WW], the "Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010". See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of February 22.

The Senate will meet at 9:30 AM. It will resume consideration of HR 2847 [LOC | WW], an appropriations bill affecting numerous federal agencies.

8:30 AM - 5:15 PM. The Catholic University of America's (CUA) Columbus School of Law will host a one day conference titled "Implementing the National Broadband Plan: Perspectives from Government, Industry and Consumers". Prices vary. See, registration form. Location: Wiley Rein, 1776 K St., NW.

9:00 - 11:00 AM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed hearing titled "Google Hacking Incident". See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304, Capitol Building.

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. The The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's HIT Standards Committee will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 3, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 22, at Pages 5595-5596. Location: Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert St., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will hold a hearing titled "Recent Inspector General Reports Concerning the FBI". See, notice. See also, January 20, 2010 redacted report [PDF], and story titled "Another DOJ Inspector General Report Finds FBI Misconduct in Obtaining Phone Records" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,037, January 20, 2010. And see, March 13, 2008, report [PDF] titled "A Review of the FBI’s Use of National Security Letters: Assessment of Corrective Actions and Examination of NSL Usage in 2006", and story titled "DOJ Inspector General Releases Second Report on FBI Misuse of National Security Letters" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,730, March 12, 2008, and March 9, 2007, report [PDF] titled "A Review of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Use of National Security Letters", and story titled "DOJ IG Releases Reports on Use of NSLs and Section 215 Authority" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,551, March 13, 2007. The HJC will webcast this event. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection and Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet will hold a joint hearing titled "The Collection And Use Of Location Information For Commercial Purposes". See, notice. Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) will hold a hearing titled "Monetary Policy and the State of the Economy". The witness will be Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. See, notice. Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee (SHSGAC) will hold a hearing titled "Department of Homeland Security's Budget Submission for Fiscal Year 2011". The witness will be Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) will host a news conference to discuss "the global challenges to Internet freedom". The CDT will also teleconference this event. The call in number is 1-800-377-8846; the participant code is 92 87 41 58#. Location: CDT, 11th floor, 1634 I St., NW.

11:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host an event pertaining to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) drafting of a document titled "National Broadband Plan". The main speaker will be FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. The other speakers will be Steve Coll (NAF), Sacha Meinrath (NAF), Chris McCabe (CTIA), Julie Kearney (CEA), Ben Scott (Free Press), and Matt Wood (Media Access Project). This event is free and open to the public. See, notice and registration page. Location: NAF, 1899 L St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Annual Seminar Committee will host a brown bag lunch for planning purposes. Location: Wilkinson Barker Knauer, Suite 700, 2300 N St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a closed lunch. The speaker will be Marybeth Peters, Register of Copyright. The price to attend ranges from $55 to $65. Most DC Bar events are not open to the public. Reporters are barred from this event. See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3463. Location: City Club of Washington at Franklin Square, 1300 I St., NW.

2:00 PM. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's (HOGRC) Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census and National Archives will hold a hearing titled "The 2010 Census Communications Contract: The Media Plan in Hard to Count Areas". See, notice. Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing on the nominations of Josephine Tucker (to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California), Brian Jackson (USDC/MDLa), Elizabeth Foote (USDC/WDLa), and Marc Treadwell (USDC/MDGa). See, notice. The SJC will webcast this event. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

2:00 PM. The Senate Appropriations Committee's (SAC) Subcommittee on Homeland Security will hold a hearing on the FY 2011 budget for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The witness will be Janet Napolitano. Location: Room 192, Dirksen Building.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a presentation titled "Protecting Content on the Internet". The speaker will be Jay Westermeier (Finnegan Henderson). The price to attend ranges from $89 to $129. Most DC Bar events are not open to the public. See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3488. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

Day one of a two day event hosted by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) titled "Homeland Security Conference". Howard Schmidt (nominee for Cyber Security Coordinator) may speak at 9:30 - 10:00 AM. There will be a panel at 10:00 AM titled "Cyber Security". The speakers may include Greg Shaffer (Assistant Secretary, DHS Office of Cyber Security and Communications), Bruce McConnell (DHS), Van Hitch (Department of Justice CIO), and/or Dave Wennergren (Department of Defense Deputy CIO). There will be a panel at 11:15 AM titled "Emerging Social Media & Transparency Gap". See, conference web site. Location: Ronald Reagan International Trade Center.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of February 22.

9:00 AM. The Senate Banking Committee (SBC) will hold a hearing titled "The Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress". The sole witness will be Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board (FRB). See, notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

9:00 - 11:00 AM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed hearing titled "Cyber Security Defense". See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304, Capitol Building.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of International Law will host a panel discussion by teleconference titled "Around the World in 90 Minutes: New Developments in Merger Review". The price ranges from $10 to $20. Registration is required. See, notice.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda once again lists consideration of the nomination of Dawn Johnsen to be Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). The agenda also includes consideration of Lucy Koh to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. See, story titled "Obama Picks Lucy Koh to Replace Ron Whyte on District Court" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,038, January 25, 2010. The agenda also includes consideration of several other judicial nominees: Gloria Navarro (USDC/DNev), Audrey Fleissig (USDC/EDMO), Jon Deguilio (USDC/NDInd), Tanya Pratt (USDC/SDInd), and Jane Stinson (USDC/SDInd). The SJC rarely follows its published agendas. The SJC will webcast this event. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will hold a hearing titled "Competition in the Media and Entertainment Distribution Market". The witnesses will be Brian Roberts (Ch/CEO of Comcast), Jeff Zucker (P/CEO of NBC Universal), Jean Prewitt (Independent Film & Television Alliance), Thomas Hazlett (George Mason University School of Law), Mark Cooper (Consumer Federation of America), Larry Cohen (President of the Communications Workers of America). See, notice. The HJC will webcast this event. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Appropriations Committee's (HAC) Subcommittee on Homeland Security will hold a hearing on the FY 2011 budget for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The witness will be Janet Napolitano (Secretary of Homeland Security). The HAC will webcast this event. Location: Room 2359, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's HIT Policy Committee's Adoption/Certification Workgroup will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 9, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 26, at Pages 6398-6399. Location: Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert St., NW.

10:00 - 10:45 AM. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski and Jamie Barnett (Chief of the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau) will hold a news conference regarding the drafting of a national broadband plan. The FCC notice states that "Credentialed reporters who plan to attend should contact Robert Kenny" at robert dot kenny at fcc dot gov. Location: FCC, Room 7B-516, 445 12th St.,  NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The Heritage Foundation will host an event titled "Telecosm Revisited: Why the Government Should Not Set Rules of the Road for the Internet". The speakers will be George Gilder, author of the book titled "Telecosm", and James Gattuso (Heritage). See, notice. Location: Heritage, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Engineering and Technical Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Spectrum Policy and Capital Formation For New Wireless Technologies". The speakers will include Bryan Tramont (Wilkinson Barker Knauer) and Toni Bush (Skadden Arps). For more information, contact Tami Smith at 202-736-8257 or tesmith at sidley dot com. Location: Sidley Austin, 1501 K St., NW.

1:30 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Intellectual Property Law will host a panel discussion by teleconference titled "What Companies Need to Know NOW About Social Networking, Privacy Protection, and the Latest Legal & Regulatory Developments". The speakers will by Andra Dallas (Children's Advertising Review Unit) and Liisa Thomas (Winston Strawn). Prices vary. Registration is required. See, notice.

RESCHEDULED FROM FEBRUARY 11. 2:00 PM. the House Homeland Security Committee (HHSC) will hold a hearing titled "The President’s FY 2011 Budget Request for the Department of Homeland Security". The witness will be Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

2:00 - 3:30 PM.  The New America Foundation (NAF) will host an event titled "Shaping Media Policy for the 21st Century: A Conversation with the FCC's Steve Waldman". The speakers will be Steve Waldman (FCC), Steve Coll (NAF), and Michael Kinsley (The Atlantic magazine). This event is free and open to the public. See, notice and registration page. Location: NAF, 1899 L St., NW.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) regarding "other matters" discussed at its January 20, 2010, public roundtable. The USPTO is considering revising its rules of practice before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) in ex parte patent appeals. Comments on the notice of proposed rulemaking are due by February 12, 2010. However, comments on "other matters discussed at the roundtable" are due by February 25, 2010. See also, story titled "USPTO Seeks Comments on Rules of Practice before the BPAI in Ex Parte Appeals" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,026, December 22, 2009.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host an event titled "Happy Hour". For more information, contact Cathy Hilke at chilke at wileyrein dot com or Micah Caldwell at mcaldwell at fh-law dot com. Location: James Hoban's Irish Restaurant & Bar, 1 Dupont Circle, NW.

Day two of a two day event hosted by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) titled "Homeland Security Conference". At 2:15 PM, there will be a panel titled "Information/Intelligence Sharing -- Balancing Privacy". See, conference web site. Location: Ronald Reagan International Trade Center.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of February 22.

8:30 AM - 12:30 PM. The District of Columbia will host an event titled "DC Community Broadband Summit". For more information, contact Ayanna Smith at 202-724-5178 or Ayanna dot smith at dc dot gov. Locations: Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, and the Marriott Learning Complex, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave.,  NW.

9:30 - 11:00 AM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a panel discussion titled "Searching for Saddam: What Social Networks Mean for Modern Warfare". The speakers will include Chris Wilson (Slate magazine), Scott Helfstein (U.S. Military Academy), and Peter Bergen (NAF). This event is free and open to the public. See, notice and registration page. Location: NAF, 1899 L St., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a business meeting. The agenda includes mark up of HR 4098 [LOC | WW], the "Secure Federal File Sharing Act". See, notice. Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

11:00 AM - 1:00 PM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed hearing titled "FY11 Intelligence Budget for Research and Development". See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304, Capitol Building.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Technology Policy Institute (TPI) will host a panel discussion titled "Increasing Spectrum For Broadband: What Are The Options?". The speakers will be Kathleen Ham (T-Mobile), Matthew Hussey (office of Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)), Evan Kwerel (FCC), John Leibovitz (FCC), Kevin Werbach (University of Pennsylvania business school), Lawrence White (NYU business school), and Thomas Lenard (TPI). This event is free and open to the public. Lunch will be served. Registration is requested. See, notice. Location: Room B-338, Rayburn Building.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit certain applications to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for planning and construction grants for public telecommunications facilities under the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PFFP) for FY 2010. This deadline applies to applications for new FM stations filed during the February 2010 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) FM Window. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 2, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 230, at Pages 63120-63122.

EXTENDED FROM FEBRUARY 23. 5:00 PM. Extended deadline for foreign governments to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) to assist it in making determinations that identify countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection. The OUSTR is required to make these Special 301 determinations by Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974, which is codified at 19 U.S.C. § 2242. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 15, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 10, at Pages 2578-2580. See, notice of extension.

EXTENDED FROM FEBRUARY 12. 5:00 PM. Extended deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) regarding its proposal to revise its rules of practice before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) in ex parte patent appeals. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 22, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 244, at Pages 67987-68004. See also, story titled "USPTO Seeks Comments on Rules of Practice before the BPAI in Ex Parte Appeals" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,026, December 22, 2009. And see, notice of extension in the Federal Register, February 1, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 20, at Pages 5012-5013.

Deadline to submit comments to the Copyright Royalty Judges (CRJ) regarding the motion of Phase I claimants for partial distribution in connection with the 2004 through 2007 satellite royalty funds. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 27, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 17, at Pages 4423-4424.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Dow Jones & Company v. Ablaise Ltd., App. Ct. No. 2009-1524, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (DC) in a patent infringement case regarding web page personalization. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Golden Hour Data Systems, Inc. v. emsCharts, Inc., App. Ct. No. 2009-1306, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (EDTex) in a patent infringement case. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding self-regulatory guidelines submitted by i-safe under the safe harbor provision of the Children's Online Privacy Protection rule. See, i-safe's application [22 pages in PDF], proposed guideline requirements [30 pages in PDF], and chart [10 pages in PDF] comparing sections of the rule to the proposed guidelines. See also, FTC release and notice [6 pages in PDF]. See, story titled "FTC Seeks Comments on Proposed COPPA Safe Harbor" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,033, January 6, 2010.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (2ndFNPRM) regarding the Emergency Alert System (EAS) The FCC adopted this item on January 12, 2010, and released the text [23 pages in PDF] on January 14. It is FCC 10-11 in EB Docket No. 04-296. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 29, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 19, at Pages 4760-4768.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Going Mobile: Technology and Policy Issues in the Mobile Internet". The speakers will be Robert Atkinson (ITIF), Richard Bennett (ITIF), Harold Feld (Public Knowledge), Morgan Reed (Association for Competitive Technology), and Barbara Esbin (Progress & Freedom Foundation). See, notice. This event is free and open to the public. The ITIF will webcast this event. Location: ITIF, Suite 610A, 1101 K St., NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in iLight Technologies, Inc. v. Fallon Luminous Corp., App. Ct. No. 2009-1342, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (MDTenn) in a patent infringement case involving LED lighting technology. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

RESCHEDULED FROM FEBRUARY 10. 11:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee for the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 14, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 9, at Page 2141. See also, FCC notice of postponement, FCC notice of rescheduling, and notice of rescheduling in the Federal Register, February 19, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 33, at Page 7480. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law will host a panel discussion by teleconference titled "Basics of Copyright, Trade Secrets and Trademarks". The speakers will by Gary Weiss (Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe), Randi Singer, Weil, Gotshal, & Manges), Pierre Davis (McGraw-Hill Companies), Arman Oruc (Simpson Thacher & Bartlett), and Andrea D’Ambra (Drinker Biddle & Reath). The event is free, but registration is required. See, notice.

2:00 PM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument en banc in Princo Corp. v. USITC, App. Ct. No. 2007-1386, a case regarding importation of compact discs. See, April 20, 2009, panel opinion [pages in PDF] of the Court of Appeals. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) will hold a hearing to assist it in making determinations that identify countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection. The OUSTR is required to make these Special 301 determinations by Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974, which is codified at 19 U.S.C. § 2242. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 15, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 10, at Pages 2578-2580. Location: U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E St., SW.

11:00 AM - 6:00 PM. The Association of American Publishers (AAP) will hold an event titled "AAP General Annual Meeting". There will be a panel discussion titled "The Future of Copyright". The speakers will include Marybeth Peters (Register of Copyright), Mark Helprin (author of the book [Amazon] titled "Digital Barbarism: A Writer's Manifesto"), and Pamela Samuelson (UC Berkeley). There will also be a panel titled "Navigating Changes in Business Models in the Emerging Digital World". See, agenda. Location: Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, Columbia Room A & B, 400 New Jersey Ave., NW.