5/18. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) introduced HR 5322 [LOC | WW], the "Patent and Trademark Office Funding Stabilization Act of 2010".

This bill would set some fees, give the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) authority to set fees by rules, allow the USPTO to retain and spend all of the fees that it collects, prohibit the diversion of fees to subsidize other government programs, and impose a temporary surcharge of 15 percent through September 30, 2011.

This bill was referred to the House Judiciary Committee (HJC). Rep. Conyers and Rep. Smith are its Chairman and ranking Republican. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) are also cosponsors.

There are also broad patent reform bills pending in the House and Senate. Rep. Conyers (at left) stated in a release that HR 5322 "is not intended to impact the negotiations over the larger patent bill pending in the Senate". He added that "Ranking Member Smith and I remain optimistic and hopeful about the prospects for passage this Congress of comprehensive patent reform. We expect to continue to work with our Senate colleagues on the larger bill."

The Senate bill is S 515 [LOC | WW], the "Patent Reform Act of 2009". The House bill is HR 1260 [LOC | WW], also titled the "Patent Reform Act of 2009". The March 2010 draft [105 pages in PDF] of the Senate bill, at Section 9, gives the USPTO fee setting authority. See also, stories titled "Senators Announce Progress on Patent Reform Legislation" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,051, February 25, 2010, "House Members Comment on Senate Patent Reform Legislation, in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,052, March 1, 2010, and "Senators Release Latest Draft of Patent Reform Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,056, March 5, 2010, and "Patent Reform Bills Introduced" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,908, March 4, 2009.

Rep. Conyers' release explains that "The USPTO is in the midst of a crisis. According to Commerce Department figures, the number of unexamined patents has ballooned to over 750,000. Exacerbating this problem is the fact that hundreds of millions of dollars in fees have been diverted from the USPTO over the years. This year we expect another $200 million to be similarly diverted. This fee diversion robs the USPTO of valuable resources needed to hire and retain qualified examiners and address patent backlog issues. Increased backlogs and poor patent quality affect not only the agency, they hurt American innovation, and delay our economic and jobs recovery."

Fee diversion has long been a problem for inventors and the USPTO, regardless of which political party holds a majority of the seats in the House and or Senate.

See for example, stories titled "House CIIP Subcommittee Holds Hearing on USPTO Fees" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 637, April 4, 2003, "House Intellectual Property Caucus Advocates Ending USPTO Fee Diversion" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 762, October 21, 2003; and "House to Vote on Bill to End USPTO Fee Diversion" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 832, February 9, 2004.

5/26. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), and Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) sent a letter [PDF] to Eric Schmidt, Ch/CEO of Google, asking questions regarding "recent reports that Google has gathered huge amounts of data sent over private Wi-Fi networks while documenting the streets of our country for its Google Street View product".

For example, the three Representative asked Schmidt to "explain why Google chose to collect the data and how it intended to use the data", how it has been used, and how Google plans to use the data.

Rep. Barton and Rep. Markey sent a letter [PDF] to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on May 19, 2010, regarding Google's Wi-Fi data collection. See, story titled "Rep. Markey and Rep. Barton Write FTC Regarding Google Data Collection Activities" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,085, May 20, 2010.

They also asked in the letter to Schmidt, "Has Google at any time conducted a legal analysis regarding the applicability of consumer privacy laws on the monitoring and data collection of Wi-Fi transmissions? If so, please provide a copy of the analysis."

They also asked when Google collected this information, which communities were targeted and why, and how many Wi-Fi networks have been logged.

They also asked whether Google gave any prior notice of this monitoring and data collection, or obtained any consent from consumers.

Finally, they asked if any of the data has been destroyed, and what Google is doing to control the data.

6/2. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced in a release that it has "entered into a no-cost, two-year agreement with Google to make bulk electronic patent and trademark public data available to the public in bulk form.   Under this agreement, the USPTO is providing Google with existing bulk, electronic files, which Google will host without modification for the public free of charge."

See, for example, web page titled "USPTO Bulk Downloads: Patents".

The USPTO added that it "does not currently have the technical capability to provide this public information in a bulk machine readable format that is desired by the intellectual property (IP) community. This arrangement is to serve as a bridge as the USPTO develops an acquisition strategy which will allow the USPTO to enter into a contract with a contractor to retrieve and distribute USPTO patent and trademark bulk public data.  The contractor will be capable of acquiring this bulk data and providing it to the public."

Google wrote in its web site that "When we launched Google Patent Search in 2006, we wanted to make it easier for people to understand the world of inventions, whether they were browsing for curious patents or researching serious engineering. ... The trouble is, that's a lot of information -- terabytes of it -- and in the past the only way to deliver that information was on DVDs and other physical media."

6/2. The World Trade Organization's (WTO) held a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, regarding its third "Trade Policy Review of China" on May 31 through June 2, 2010.

The WTO stated in a release that among the issues addressed were "concern about China's indigenous innovation policies, and their effect in restricting access for foreign products, investors, technology and intellectual property", and "accelerating progress towards China's goal of comparatively high standards for intellectual property rights by 2020".

The European Commission issued a statement on June 2 in which it wrote that it "acknowledged improvements in Intellectual Property Rights protection in China, but emphasised the urgent need for greater enforcement efforts, including effective customs controls and criminal prosecution."

The WTO Secretariat wrote in its April 26 report that "China has become increasingly aware of the importance of IPR protection in facilitating innovation in the economy, and has been strengthening the administration of all main categories of IPR. For much of the past decade, China had double-digit annual growth in its use of the PCT system. Other areas of IP, such as trademarks, had similar growth levels, and the proportion of domestic use of the IP system is among the highest in the world. Such an increase in innovation can be expected over time to increase public awareness of the need to protect IPRs and to make effective use of the IP system as a tool for economic growth. In addition, better protected IPR could encourage technology transfers from those FIEs with more advanced technology. China has identified building an innovative country as a national development strategy." (The relevant section of the report [MS Word] addresses IPR at pages 151-176, on pages 61-68.)

John Clarke, the EU Head of Delegation, gave a speech [4 pages in PDF] on May 31 in which he stated that the People's Republic of China (PRC) "is set to overtake Japan as the world's second largest national economy in 2010" and that the PRC's "domestic policies and measures increasingly affect economic and trading trends globally".

He said that "the level of state interference in the economy is still noticeable and less and less compatible with China's level of economic development". He also called for greater procedural and regulatory transparency, and more protection and enforcement with respect to intellectual property rights.

He said that "Public consultations should be systematically held for all new measures with an effect on trade. And these consultations should provide a reasonable period for comments by both foreign and domestic stakeholders, which does not always happen. An illustrative example was the draft notice on the Indigenous innovation scheme which was initially about to enter into force on 10th of May, the same date as the deadline for comments. This is neither good regulatory practice".

He continued that "We still see this lack of transparency in China's regulatory processes. China's Compulsory Certification Scheme (CCC) continues to be a major obstacle for foreign exporters due to the complexity, costs and length of the procedure. Instead of trying to reduce the administrative burdens and trade disruptions reported by many Members in the TBT Committee, China seems determined to expand the scope of the CCC to new items such as ICT products."

He also said that "fostering innovation goes hand in hand with a solid protection of the related IP rights. EU acknowledges China’s continued efforts and determination in building up its legislative framework and intensifying the enforcement of IPR protection, which is crucial in facilitating domestic innovation. Through its National Intellectual Property Strategy China has set itself a deadline to become by 2020 “a country with a comparatively high level in terms of creation, utilization, protection and administration of IP rights”. We invite China to share its assessment about the success in implementation of this IP Strategy. We remain concerned that enforcement remains insufficient, notably in regional and local levels, and deficiencies and obstacles in solving complaints persist. EU urges China to step up its efforts in enforcing IPR protection, including effective customs control."

The PRC submitted a report [26 pages in MS Word] on April 26, 2010, in which it addressed, among other things, intellectual property.

It wrote that "As a developing country, China still lags behind in its overall development level of science and technology, with quality of scientific research not high enough and funding in the field of science and technology still insufficient. In particular, with respect to import of hi-tech products and transfer of technology, China, like other developing countries, has long been subject to unfair and unreasonable unilateral restrictions imposed by some developed countries having comparative advantages in this regard."

However, this report did not name or explain any of these "unfair and unreasonable unilateral restrictions".

The PRC report also states that "Intellectual property rights are of utmost importance for China in its transformation of the pattern of economic development. In June 2008, the State Council promulgated Outline of National Intellectual Property Rights Strategy. The paper summarized the intellectual property rights system and their protection in China, and made the intellectual property rights strategy a clear and important national strategy. It also proposed to enhance comprehensively the capabilities of creating, using, protecting and managing intellectual property rights to contribute to the innovation capacity of the nation and to the building of an innovative society. Over the past two years, a number of laws and regulations concerning intellectual property rights were improved with new amendments, including for example the Patent Law and its implementation regulations, and the efforts of law enforcement to protect intellectual property rights were also further strengthened."

The report also mentioned telecommunications. "In September 2008, Regulations on Administration of Foreign-Invested Telecommunications Enterprises was amended. The minimum registered capital requirement of a foreign-invested telecommunications enterprise providing basic telecommunications services was reduced by half. The approval procedures for telecommunication enterprises in China to be listed overseas were further simplified."

The PRC also wrote that it welcomes research and development centers in the PRC. Finally, it stated that "The Chinese Government opposes protectionism in any form." It added that "As proven by history, protectionism can only aggravate trade disputes and deepen crises. It never helps to turn around economic recession but instead delays the process of recovery."

5/27. The U.S. and the People's Republic of China (PRC) concluded meetings of the the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) and the U.S.-China Strategic & Economic Dialogue (SED).

Ron Kirk (at right), head of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR), stated in a release that the SED "was a very useful opportunity for candid discussions and direct engagement between those of us from the Obama Administration and our Chinese government counterparts and we agreed on a number of significant outcomes. I am pleased that we have been able to make some progress on the important issue of China's indigenous innovation policy. While much more needs to be done, we will continue our work with China through intensive expert and high-level discussions about innovation policy that we have agreed to hold this summer."

Demetrios Marantis, a Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, stated in a release that "We are focused on addressing indigenous innovation and other discriminatory industrial policies, improving enforcement of intellectual property rights, and ending non science-based regulations that block U.S. agricultural exports."

Francisco Sanchez of the Department of Commerce stated in the same release that the JCCT "will help us promote open trade and cross-border investment, create an open environment for innovation, and enhance transparency and the rule of law".

6/2. President Obama's news office released a statement regarding Japan. "We respect the Japanese political process and Prime Minister Hatoyama's decision to step down. The selection of Japan's next Prime Minister is a matter for the Japanese people and political process. The U.S. - Japan bilateral relationship is very strong and deeply rooted in our common interests and values. Our Alliance has flourished under each Japanese Prime Minister and U.S. President for the past half century and will continue to strengthen in the years to come. We will continue to work closely with the Government of Japan, and the next Prime Minister, across the broad range of issues facing our two nations."

6/2. The European Commission announced in a release regarding unbundling of BT fiber infrastructure. The EC wrote that it has "decided to accept ... the proposal of UK telecoms regulator Ofcom to oblige telecoms operator BT to provide 'virtual' access to its optical fibre infrastructure to alternative operators. Ofcom’s proposal will allow product differentiation and innovation similar to that possible through physical local loop unbundling. Ofcom's plans will maintain competition on UK broadband markets following the roll-out of next generation access (NGA) networks by allowing alternative operators to offer competitive broadband services on these networks. However, the Commission underlined that this should only be a transitional measure and that full fibre unbundling should be imposed as soon as technically and economically possible."

5/25. Karel De Gucht (at left), the European Trade Commissioner, gave a speech in Brussels, Belgium, in which he advocated trade multilateralism and pursuit of the Doha Development Agenda. He explained that "Since the summer of 2008, talks have stalled. However, just as we are not a cause to the blockage, in this phase of the negotiations we can sadly not provide the key to unblocking either. The package on the table in 2008 will not do for the United States, where especially in Congress the feelings towards trade liberalisation are mitigated at best. Other negotiators are using the American intransigence so as not to have to adjust their positions either. And it is not clear what can be done to break the deadlock." Meanwhile, he said, the EC will pursue bilateral free trade agreements.

5/19. The European Commission (EC) announced that it has reached a settlement with ten makers of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips who conspired to fix prices in violation of EU anti-cartel law. The settlement provides for fines totalling over 331 Euros. The companies involved are Micron, Samsung, Hynix, Infineon, NEC, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Toshiba, Elpida, and Nanya. This action follows numerous actions taken over many years by the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division. See, EC release.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. David Kappos, head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), will give a speech titled "Unleashing Intellectual Property to Fuel Growth and Create Jobs". See, notice. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Location: Center for American Progress, 10th floor, 1333 H St., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding whether, how, and under what circumstances federally recognized Native American Tribes and Alaska Native Villages should receive a bidding credit in auctions for new radio stations, and whether and how the Tribal Priority adopted in the First Report and Order (First R&O) in this proceeding might be claimed by Tribes that do not possess defined tribal lands. This FNPRM is FCC 10-24 in MB Docket No. 09-52. The FCC adopted it on January 28, 2010, and released the text [58 pages in PDF] on February 3, 2010. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 4, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 42, at Pages 9856-9859.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding tank level probing radar (TLPR) devices to operate in the 77-81 GHz frequency band on an unlicensed basis under Part 15 of the FCC's rules. This NPRM is FCC 10-14 in ET Docket Nos. 10-23, 07-96, and 06-216. The FCC adopted it on January 14, 2010, and released the text [21 pages in PDF] on January 19, 2010. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 4, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 42, at Pages 9850-9856.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its second draft of IR 7628 [305 pages in PDF] titled "Smart Grid Cyber Security Strategy and Requirements". See also, notice in the Federal Register, April 13, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 70, at Pages 18819-18823.

8:00 AM - 12:15 PM. The Public Knowledge (PK) will host a half day conference titled "Toward a Sustainable Spectrum Policy: Rethinking Federal Spectrum". Location: Washington Court Hotel on Capitol Hill, 525 New Jersey Ave., NW.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) International Telecommunications and Privacy and Data Security Committees will host a brown bag lunch titled "Addressing Privacy Issues Abroad, Including Changes to EU Directives, key issues facing the U.S., EU and Markets Such as Asia, Latin America and Updates on Current Global Privacy Debates". The speakers will be Christopher Boam (Verizon Communications), Timothy Tobin (Hogan & Hartson), Tony Hadley (Experian), Damon Greer (DOC's International Trade Administration), Yael Weinman (Federal Trade Commission). For more information, contact Linda Cicco at Linda dot cicco at bt dot com or Jennifer Ullman at Jennifer dot ullman at verizon dot com. Location: Willkie Farr & Gallagher, 1875 K St., NW.

3:30 PM. David Kappos, head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), will hold a news conference by teleconference to discuss the USPTO's proposed multi-track patent examination initiative. Contact Karen Sewell at Karen dot Sewell at uspto dot gov or 571-272-8400 to request the dial in number and passcode.

10:00 AM. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will hold a seminar on the use of eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) by mutual funds to comply with new rules that require them to file data in the risk/return summary section in XBRL format. See, notice. Location: SEC, auditorium, 100 F St., NE.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Akamai Technologies v. Limelight Networks, a patent infringement case regarding technology for web site hosting, App. Ct. No. 2009-1372, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (DMass). Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Webzero v. Clicvu, a patent infringement case, App. Ct. No. 2009-1483, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (CDCal). Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

2:00 PM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Fujitsu Limited v. Netgear, a patent infringement case regarding wireless internet technology, App. Ct. No. 2010-1045, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (WDWisc). Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a panel discussion titled "The Future of Speech on the Borderless Internet". The PFF states that panelists will discuss "trans-national regulation and litigation of defamation, hate speech, indecency and political dissent". The speakers will be Christopher Wolf (Hogan Lovells), Evgeny Morozov (Foreign Policy magazine), and Berin Szoka (PFF). See, notice and registratio page. This event is open to the public, but registration is required. Location: Hogan Lovells, 555 13th St.,  NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding amending the FCC's amateur radio service rules with respect to amateur radio operations during government sponsored emergency preparedness and disaster readiness drills and tests. The FCC adopted its NPRM on March 18, 2010, and released the text [8 pages in PDF] on March 24, 2010. It is FCC 10-45 in WP Docket No. 10-72. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 22, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 77, at Pages 20951-20954.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking [45 pages in PDF] regarding universal service low income subsidy programs in Puerto Rico. The FCC adopted and released this item on April 16, 2010. It is FCC 10-57 in WC Docket No. 05-337, CC Docket No. 96-45, and WC Docket No. 03-109. See, notice in the Federal Register, May 7, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 88, at Pages 25156-25159.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Bureau of Prisons (BOP) regarding its proposed rule changes regarding prison communications, including prisoner telephone communications. This proceeding does not pertain to delivery or use of unauthorized cell phones in federal prisons. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 6, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 65, at Pages 17324-17329.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in response to its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding the nexus between privacy policy and innovation in the internet economy. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 23, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 78, at Pages 21226-21231.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Finjan v. Secure Computing, a patent infringement case regarding technology for protecting computers and networks from hostile downloadables, App. Ct. No. 2009-1576, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (DDel). Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "CLE Seminar on The Judicial Year in Review and the Impact of the Comcast Decision". The speakers will include Austin Schlick (FCC General Counsel), Mack Armstrong (FCC Associate General Counsel), Richard Welch (FCC Associate General Counsel), Andy Tollin (Wilkinson Barker Knauer), Josh Turner (Wiley Rein), Sam Feder (Jenner & Block), Jon Nuechterlein (Wilmer Hale), and Harold Feld (Public Knowledge). See, notice. Location: Wiley Rein, 1776 K St., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding numerous proposed changes to the FCC's procedural rules and organizational rules. The FCC adopted this item on February 18, 2010, and released the text [23 pages in PDF] on February 22, 2010. It is FCC No. 10-32 in GC Docket No. 10-44. See, notice in the Federal Register: March 25, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 57, at Pages 14401-14409.

Extended deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding making minor changes to its rules pertaining to ex parte communications with the FCC. The FCC adopted this item on February 18, 2010, and released the text [27 pages in PDF] on February 22, 2010. It is FCC No. 10-31 in GC Docket No. 10-43. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 25, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 57, at Pages 14409-14417.

8:15 AM - 4:30 PM. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission may hold a hearing titled "Evaluating China's Role in the World Trade Organization over the Past Decade". This event is open to the public. See, notice in the Federal Register, May 5, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 86, at Page 24775. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building, Capitol Hill.

2:00 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights will hold a hearing titled "Oversight of the Enforcement of the Antitrust Laws". The witnesses will be Christine Varney (Assistant Attorney General in charge of the DOJ's Antitrust Division) and Jonathan Leibowitz (Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission). The SJC will webcast this event. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

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