11/10. Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, Co-Chairs of the National Commission for Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (NCFRR), released a document [50 pages PDF] titled "Co-Chairs' Proposal", and an attachment [24 pages in PDF] titled "$200 Billion in Illustrative Savings". Several of their proposals relate to information and communications technology (ICT).

The NCFRR is a Presidential Commission with bi-partisan membership. Simpson is a Republican, and a former Senator from the state of Wyoming. Bowles is a Democrat, and a former Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton.

The 50 page document and 24 page attachment are written by an entity that is merely an advisory commission. The two items are released by the Co-Chairs, not by the full Commission. The document is labeled "draft". It is a collection of large print presentation slides, full of bullet points and line items, but almost no explanation.

The 50 page document states that "Everything Must Be On the Table". (See, page 2.) It proposes to "Cut red tape and inefficient spending that puts a drag on the economy and job creation" and to "Invest in education, infrastructure, and high-value R&D". (See, page 5.)

It proposes to "Extend FCC's authority to auction radio spectrum licenses". (See, page 39.)

This document proposes to "Reduce spending from Universal Services Fund". (See, page 38.) Also, a table lists reductions in "Universal Service Fund" of $29 Billion over ten years. (See, page 40.)

This document also proposes to "Eliminate a number of programs administered by the Rural Utility Service". (See, page 20.) This document does not identify which programs should be eliminated. The Department of Agriculture's (DOA) Rural Utilities Services (RUS) administers, among other things, communications loan, grant and subsidy programs.

However, the attachment provides some elaboration. It states that "In recent years the RUS has increased its focus on expanding broadband access to rural areas, a noteworthy goal. However, the agency also runs a number of programs which are outdated, overlapping, and which provide limited or questionable public policy benefits. These include the Local Television Loan Program among others." (See, page 8.)

The section on defense spending proposes to "Reduce spending on Research, Development, Test & Evaluation by 10 percent". (See, page 19.) Some ICT research is conducted by the Department of Defense (DOD). This document does not state what DOD research and development (R&D) spending could be cut. However, the attachment does. It lists a number of non-ICT programs that could be cut. (See, page 22.)

The attachment also notes that "Between FY2001 and FY2010, DOD received $400 billion in funding (in FY2011 dollars) for Other Procurement, a category that includes communications and electronic equipment (e.g., tactical SINCGARs radios, radars, communications and information security)", among other things. (Parentheses in original. See, page 20.)

This document also states that the "Option 2: Wyden-Gregg Style Reform" includes proposals to "Permanently extend the research credit" and for "International tax reform including a territorial system". (See, page 27.)

The attachment proposes to "Reduce wasteful spending at the Department of Justice", but does not identify any units or programs. (See, page 9.)

The Department of Justice (DOJ) includes many components that are involved ICT issues. The Antitrust Division reviews mergers of communications companies, and brings actions against ICT companies for alleged violations of the Sherman Act and other laws. The Criminal Division prosecutes violations of statutes related to intellectual property protection, computer hacking and cyber security. The Civil Rights Division (CRD) has four rulemaking proceedings under way that would expand its enforcement authority under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to include regulation of ICT. The DOJ's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Criminal Division, National Security Division, and other DOJ components are involved in communications intercepts, accessing data held by communications, internet, and cloud computing companies, and other surveillance and search and seizure matters.

The attachment proposes a merger of the Department of Commerce (DOC) and Small Business Administration (SBA). (See, page 5.)

The attachment also proposes to "Cut funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s primary job is to fund NPR and its member stations (and other public radio stations) and PBS and its member stations. The current CPB funding level is the highest it has ever been. This option would eliminate funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, saving just under $500 million in 2015." (Footnotes omitted. Parentheses in original. See, page 13.)

Additionally, it states that "Congress should end two duplicative public broadcasting programs on President Obama’s termination list: The Public Telecom Facilities Grant Program (PTFP) and USDA’s Public Broadcasting Grants program. In recent years, PTFP has primarily provided funding to help broadcasters transition to digital broadcasts. In FY2010, PTFP received $20 million in appropriations. The President has twice recommended terminating USDA’s Public Broadcast Grants program for the same reason. This program received $5 million in FY10 to provide funding to public broadcast companies to convert to digital transmission as well -- an obsolete task." (Footnote omitted. See, page 13.)

11/11. Motorola Mobility, Inc. (MMI) filed complaints in the U.S. District Court (SDFl) and in the U.S. District Court (WDWisc) against Microsoft alleging patent infringement. Last month, Microsoft sued Motorola.

Motorola, Inc., parent company of MMI, stated in a release that "The Motorola patents directed to PC and Server software relate to Windows OS, digital video coding, email technology including Exchange, Messenger and Outlook, Windows Live instant messaging and object oriented software architecture. The Motorola patents directed to Windows mobile software relate to Windows Marketplace, Bing maps and object oriented software architecture."

On October 1, 2010, Microsoft filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court (WDWash) against Motorola, Inc. alleging patent infringement. See, story titled "Microsoft Alleges That Motorola's Android Smart Phones Infringe Its Patents" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,138, October 4, 2010.

Microsoft's Horacio Gutierrez stated in a release last month that its action pertains to "infringement of nine Microsoft patents by Motorola's Android-based smartphones. The patents at issue relate to a range of functionality embodied in Motorola’s Android smartphone devices that are essential to the smartphone user experience, including synchronizing email, calendars and contacts, scheduling meetings, and notifying applications of changes in signal strength and battery power."

Motorola's Kirk Daily stated in Motorola's November 11 release that "It is unfortunate ... that Microsoft has chosen the litigation path rather than entering into comprehensive licensing negotiations, as Motorola has mutually beneficial licensing relationships with the great majority of technology companies industry-wide."

11/13. The G-20 meeting in Seoul, Korea, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Yokohama, Japan, have concluded. Both were attended by President Obama and senior U.S. trade officials. President Obama also met with Korean President Lee on November 11. In addition, Wendy Cutler of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR), met in Seoul, Korea, with Korean trade officials. Yet, the Obama administration failed to conclude negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) with Korea.

The OUSTR concluded a FTA with Korea back in 2007. See, story titled "US and Korea Announce FTA" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,559, April 2, 2007. However, Congressional Democrats blocked approval.

President Obama stated in two speeches in June that he would negotiate an FTA with Korea. He said then that "I want to make sure that everything is lined up properly by the time that I visit Korea in November. And then in the few months that follow that, I intend to present it to Congress." See, story titled "Obama Addresses US Korea FTA" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,101, June 30, 2010.

The 2007 FTA contains sections on telecommunications, information technology, and intellectual property. See, text of the 2007 FTA, and sections regarding telecommunications [17 pages in PDF], electronic commerce [4 pages in PDF], and intellectual property rights [35 pages in PDF].

The matters upon which the US and Korea did not reach agreement in the latest round involve beef and autos.

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee (SFC), stated in a release that "The U.S.-Korea FTA has the potential to increase American exports and create American jobs ... Presidents Obama and Lee agreed in June to resolve the outstanding beef and autos issues by today's G20 summit so we could get this deal done. While it's disappointing we were unable to resolve these issues, the President and his negotiating team clearly deserve praise for fighting for a good deal for our exporters and for new markets for American products. We'll continue to work to make sure these negotiations yield an agreement that works for ranchers, farmers and businesses in Montana and across the nation."

President Obama and President Lee held a joint news conference in Seoul on November 11. See, transcript.

President Lee (at left) stated that "President Obama and I agreed that we will give my trade minister and the U.S. Trade Representative more time so that they can finalize the technical issues. And President Obama and I will continue to work together so that we can have a mutually acceptable agreement at the earliest possible date."

He added, in response to a question, that "I expect it won't take too long."

President Obama said that "we discussed the need to keep moving forward towards a U.S.-Korea free trade agreement. ... So we have asked our teams to work tirelessly in the coming days and weeks to get this completed, and we are confident that we will do so."

Obama said that an FTA would create jobs, increase exports, raise living standards and prosperity, and ensure "strong protections for workers' rights and the environment".

One reporter referenced Americans with "LG phones in their pockets, Samsung televisions on their walls", and then asked President Lee "What assurances can you give the American people ... that they will finally get the ability to freely and fairly compete for the South Korean consumers with your conglomerates?"

President Lee noted that "when you look at a cell phone made by the LG, the core technology and the goods that are used by these LG companies to build one single cell phone, most of them are imported goods or parts. And many of them come from the United States and other countries, so you cannot say that it is 100 percent Korean manufactured."

11/9. Mary Schapiro, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), gave a speech at Northwestern University regarding, among other topics, "discovery, creativity, and innovation". She said that innovation can be "used for good or ill", and "creates a challenge for regulators". She also lamented the SEC's lack of information technology (IT) based capabilities.

As is common at government agencies after a change in party control in Washington, regardless who which party is in, and which party is out, she owned up to the mistakes and failings of her predecessors, and argued that she is starting to make things right. She said that when she was appointed Chairman in early 2009, the SEC "had lost focus on its core mission" and was "behind, and falling further behind".

She gave a long and wide ranging speech, in which she also covered SEC enforcement, activity in recent rulemaking proceedings, the "100 rules" that the recently enacted HR 4173 [LOC | WW], the "Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act", requires the SEC to write, the events of May 6 and circuit breakers, and other topics. Her statements about those other topics are not covered in this article.

This article focuses only on her statements regarding innovation and IT.

Public securities markets, which are regulated by the SEC, are fundamental to enabling innovators and entrepreneurs to develop and bring to market products and services based upon new technologies. In this speech, the head of the SEC disclosed that the SEC has been unable to avail itself of the potential benefits of new IT for key regulatory functions. Moreover, she disclosed her own wariness of innovation and adoption of IT by others, particularly in securities markets.

Schapiro (at right) stated that "While Wall Street was harnessing computers so powerful that only the speed of light held them back, budget shortfalls between 2004 and 2007 forced the SEC to cut IT investment by more than half. Only in the last fiscal year have we been able to begin investing in several new or improved IT projects and systems."

She continued that "The SEC regulates the largest markets in the world, where roughly 8 billion shares of listed stocks are traded on an average day. But we don't have routine access to data and tools that would allow us to quickly and efficiently reconstruct trading to determine what causes events like the flash crash of May 6. We don't have the capacity to identify new trading strategies and determine if they are making markets more stable or less."

She also addressed innovation and use of IT in the marketplace. "This marketplace demands that we constantly find new approaches and strategies, build new tools and think of new ways to out-compete the competition."

"This push for innovation constantly changes the face of the financial industry, as smart minds discover new ways to create wealth or manage risk. No doubt, great good can come from this. It can enable vibrant markets where entrepreneurs can access the capital they need to transform their vision into new products and personal success."

But, she continued, "It can foster incredibly complex financial products that fail to live up to buyers' expectations, but generate fees for their creators and sellers. This complexity can bury important information needed for effective decision-making, so that even the most sophisticated are unable to make informed judgments about risk and payoff. Finally, it can mask old-fashioned manipulation and fraud."

One point that she did not make was that there was nothing innovative about Bernard Madoff's decades of fraud. He operated an old fashioned ponzi scheme. Schapiro did concede that the SEC "allowed this fraud to go undetected over a number of years", and added that it occurred before her watch.

Nor did she note that the SEC has always had ample resources to bring celebrity cases that do little to reduce fraud in securities markets. These case have often been unfounded. They have often been against information technology innovators, such as Henry Samueli and Mark Cuban.

For more on the Samueli case, see stories titled "SEC Files Complaint Against Samueli and Other Broadcom Officers" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,767, May 15, 2008, and "SEC Drops Case Against Samueli" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,046, February 17, 2010, and other TLJ stories cited therein.

For more on the Cuban case, see stories titled "SEC Charges Mark Cuban with Insider Trading" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,858, November 18, 2008, and "Cuban Rebuts Some SEC Allegations" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,859, November 19, 2008. See also, law professors' amicus curiae brief urging dismissal of the complaint, opinion (634 F.Supp.2d 713) of the U.S. District Court (NDTex) dismissing the complaint, and September 21, 2010, opinion [13 pages in PDF] of the U.S. Court of Appeals (5thCir) vacating the judgment of the District Court, and allowing the SEC to proceed with discovery.

11/13. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the current House Majority Leader, stated in a release that when House Democrats hold leadership elections on Wednesday, November 17, 2010, he will run for "Democratic Whip, the number two position in Democratic Leadership in the 112th Congress", and that he wants Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) "to continue serving our Caucus as the third ranking Member of our Leadership."

11/12. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published a notice in the Federal Register that sets comment deadlines for its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding expanding the FCC's universal service program to subsidize certain 3G and next generation wireless services. The FCC calls this its "Mobility Fund". Initial comments are due by December 16, 2010. Reply comments are due by January 18, 2010. The FCC adopted and released this item on October 14, 2010. It is FCC 10-182 in WT Docket No. 10-208. See, Federal Register, November 12, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 218, Page 69374-69395. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts NPRM Regarding Universal Service Subsidies for 3G and Next Generation Wireless" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,142, October 19, 2010.

11/11. The Department of Commerce (DOC) announced in a release that Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Akihiro Ohata met on November 11, 2010, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial in Japan. The release states that they "discussed renewing the U.S.-Japan Economic Framework and re-establishing the DOC-METI Initiative to help further expand commercial relations and create jobs in the United States and Japan."

11/8. The Association of American Publishers (AAP) announced in a release that books sales "for the month of September decreased by 12.1 percent on the prior year to $1.1 billion". However, "E-book sales continue to grow, with a 158.1 percent increase over September 2009 ($39.9 million); year-to-date E-book sales are up 188.4 percent. Downloaded Audio Books also saw an increase of 73.7 percent over last year, with sales of $7.7 million this September; and the category was also up 34.1 percent year-to-date. Physical Audio Book sales decreased 42.6 percent in September with sales totaling $11.6 million; sales for the year to date are down 12.6 percent." (Parentheses in original.)

The House will meet at 2:00 PM for legislative business. It will consider numerous items under suspension of the rules, including S 3689 [LOC | WW], the "Copyright Cleanup, Clarification, and Corrections Act of 2010", HR 5264 [LOC | WW], the "Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2011", and a resolution providing for the concurrence by the House in the Senate amendment to HR 5566 [LOC | WW], the "Prevention of Interstate Commerce in Animal Crush Videos Act of 2010". Votes will be postponed until 6:00 PM.

The Senate will meet at 2:00 PM for morning business.

9:00 AM. The House Ethics Committee (House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct) will hold its "adjudicatory hearing" in the matter of Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY). See, notice [PDF].

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in American Bar Association v. FTC, App. Ct. No. 10-5057. Judges Rogers, Griffith and Edwards will preside. This case pertains to the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) attempt to regulate attorneys as "creditors" within the meaning of Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, Public Law No. 108-159. See, FTC brief. Location: Courtroom 11, Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

11:30 AM - 2:00 PM. The American Constitution Society (ACS) will host an event titled "National Security, Government Transparency and the First Amendment". Beth Noveck (Deputy Chief Technology Officer in the Executive Office of the President) will give the keynote speech. There will also be a panel discussion. The speakers will be Adam Liptak (New York Times writer), Melanie Sloan (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington), Vincent Warren (Center for Constitutional Rights), David Rivkin (Baker Hostetler), and Jerome Barron (George Washington University law school). Lunch will be served. This event is free. Registration is required. See, notice and registration page. Location: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1779 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. Phil Bond (head of the Tech America) will host a news conference by teleconference to "present the technology industry's priorities for the lame duck session of the 111th U.S. Congress and to take questions from the media", including revising and extending the research and development tax credit. The call in number is 1-800-201-2375, the participant passcode is 151592. To register, contact Please contact Charlie Greenwald, 202.682.4443 or charlie dot greenwald at techamerica dot org or Anne Savoie 703-284-5305 at anne dot savoie at techamerica dot org to register.

12:30 - 2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Engineering and Technical and Wireless Committees will host a brown bag lunch titled "The Spectrum Inventory: Status and Implications". For more information, contact Christy Hammond, chammond at wileyrein dot com or 202-719-7365. Location: Wiley Rein, 1750 K St., NW.

12:30 - 2:00 PM. The Brookings Institution (BI) will host an event titled "Internet Governance and Regulation: What Should be the Government's Role?". See, notice and registration page. Location: BI, 1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Internet Policy Task Force (IPTF) regarding government policies that restrict global information flows on the internet. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 29, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 188, at Pages 60068-60073, and story titled "NTIA Seeks Comments on Governments' Restrictions of Free Flow of Information on the Internet" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,137, October 1, 2010.

The House will meet at 12:30 PM for morning hour, and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. The schedule for the week includes consideration of numerous items under suspension of the rules, and a motion to concur in the Senate Amendment to HR 1722 [LOC | WW], the "Telework Enhancement Act of 2010", a bill pertaining to teleworking at federal agencies only.

8:00 - 10:00 AM. The Broadband Census News LLC will host a breakfast and panel discussion titled "Public Safety's Role in and the Need for Better Quality Broadband". The speakers will be Steven Berry (Rural Cellular Association), Harlin McEwen (International Association of Chiefs of Police), Lawrence Krevor (Sprint Nextel), Charles Dowd (New York Police Department), and Paul Kirby (TR Daily). The price to attend is $47.12. See, notice and registration page. This event is also sponsored by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). Location: Clyde's of Gallery Place, 707 7th St., NW.

9:00 AM - 6:30 PM. The US Telecom will host an event titled "USTelecom Voice Innovation Summit". The price to attend ranges from $395 to $495. See, notice. For more information, contact Amanda Taylor at 202-326-7361 or ataylor at ustelecom dot org. Location: US Telecom, Suite 400, 607 14th St., NW.

2:00 - 3:30 PM. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division's (AD) Economic Analysis Group (EAG) will host a presentation titled "Spectrum Auction Design". The speaker will be Peter Cramton (University of Maryland). For more information, contact Thomas Jeitschko at 202-532-4826 or atr dot eag at usdoj dot gov. Location: Liberty Square Building, 450 5th St., NW.

2:30 PM. The Senate Banking Committee (SBC) will meet in executive session to consider the nomination of Peter Diamond to be a Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. See, notice. Location: Room 538 Dirksen Building.

5:30 - 6:00 PM. The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) will host an onsite and teleconferenced event titled "Q&A for the Media" with Benoît Battistell, President of the European Patent Office (EPO). To register to attend, and receive the number and passcode, contact press at aipla dot org or 703-412-1315. Location: AIPLA, 241 18th South, Suite 700, Arlington, VA.

4:00 - 7:00 PM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and Time Warner Cable will host an event titled "Perspectives on the Future of Digital Communications". The moderators will be Robert Atkinson (ITIF) and Fernando LaGuarda (Time Warner Cable). Dale Hatfield (University of Colorado at Boulder) will present a paper [16 pages in PDF] titled "The Challenge of Increasing Broadband Capacity". John Palfrey (Harvard law school) will present a paper [10 pages in PDF] titled "The Challenge of Developing Effective Public Policy on the Use of Social Media by Youth". Nicol Lee (Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies) will present a paper [12 pages in PDF] titled "The Challenge of Increasing Civic Engagement in the Digital Age". Scott Wallsten (Technology Policy Institute) will present a paper [8 pages in PDF] titled "The Future of Digital Communications Research and Policy". Christopher Yoo (University of Pennsylvania law school) will present a paper [16 pages in PDF] titled "The Challenge of New Patterns in Internet Usage". See, notice. This event if free and open to the public. Location: Chandelier Room, St. Regis Hotel, 16th and K Streets, NW.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM legislative business.

9:00 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Materials Processing Equipment Technical Advisory Committee (MPETAC) will hold a partially closed meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 28, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 208, at Pages 66356-66357. Location: DOC, Room 6087B, 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold an oversight hearing on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

10:00 - 11:00 AM. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and Kaufman Foundation (KF) will host a panel discussion titled "The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Congress: Policy Challenges and Opportunities in 2011". The speakers will be Gary Shapiro (CEA), Robert Litan (KF), John Backus (New Atlantic Venture Partners), Michael Beirne (Voice of Entrepreneurs), and Jake Sigal (Livio Radio). See, notice. Location: Room 402, Cannon Building, Capitol Hill.

10:30 AM. The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee (SHSGAC) will hold a hearing titled "Securing Critical Infrastructure in the Age of Suxtnet". Stuxnet is a complex worm, discovered by cyber security workers in July of 2010, that targets industrial control systems in order to take control of industrial facilities, such as power plants. It primarily attacked computers located in Iran and a few other countries. It may have been part of an operation of state sponsored cyber warfare. See, Symantec's web page titled "W32.Stuxnet". The witnesses will be Sean McGurk (acting Director of the Department of Homeland Security's National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center), Michael Assante (National Board of Information Security Examiners), Dean Turner (Symantec), and Mark Gandy (Dow Corning). See, notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Heritage Foundation (HF) will host a panel discussion titled "WikiLeaks: A Danger to U.S. National Security". See, notice. The HF will webcast this event. Location: HF, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

2:00 PM. The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee (SHSGAC) will hold a hearing on the nomination of Eugene Dodaro to be the Comptroller General of the Government Accountability Office (GAO). See, notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee's (SCC) Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "Television Viewers, Retransmission Consent, and the Public Interest". See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing on four pending judicial nominees: Max Cogburn (USDC/WDNC), Marco Hernandez (USDC/DOre), Michael Simon (USDC/DOre), and Steve Jones (USDC/NDGa). See, notice. The SJC will webcast this event. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) will preside. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

4:00 - 5:30 PM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed meeting. James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence (DNI) will give a briefing. See, notice. Location: Room HVC 304, Capitol Building.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM legislative business.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of S 3804 [LOC | WW], the "Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act", and S 3728 [LOC | WW], the "Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Protection Act". The agenda also includes consideration of numerous judicial nominees: Robert Chatigny (USCA/2ndCir), Susan Carney (USCA/2ndCir), James Graves (USCA/5thCir), James Boasberg (USDC/DC), Amy Jackson (USDC/DC), Edward Davila (USDC/NDCal), Amy Totenberg (USDC/NDGa), James Shadid (USDC/CDIll), Sue Myerscough (USDC/CDIll), Paul Holmes (USDC/WDArk), Anthony Battaglia (USDC/SDCal), Diana Saldana (USDC/SDTex). The SJC rarely follows its published agendas. The SJC will webcast this event. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

1:00 PM. The Senate Finance Committee's (SFC) Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs and Global Competitiveness will hold a hearing titled "International Trade in the Digital Economy". The witnesses will be Ed Black (Computer and Communications Industry Association), Daniel Burton (Salesforce.com), Catherine Mann (Brandeis University), Mike Sax (Association for Competitive Technology), and Greg Slater (Intel). See, notice. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

1:00 - 2:00 PM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and will host an event to release a report titled "The 2010 State New Economy Index". The speakers will be Robert Atkinson (ITIF) and Robert Litan (Kaufman Foundation). See, notice. This event is free and open to the public. Location: ITIF/ITIC, 6th floor, 1101 K St., NW.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "The 21st Century Communications and Video Programming Accessibility Act". See, notice. CLE credits. Prices vary. Location: Arnold & Porter, 555 12th St., NW.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The US Telecom will host a panel discussion titled "Rules of the Road for Behavioral Advertising: Balancing Consumer Privacy and Internet Innovation". The speakers will be Genie Barton (US Telecom), Christopher Olson (FTC), Stuart Ingis (Venable, counsel to Digital Advertising Alliance), and Kathleen Zanowik (Verizon). Breakfast will be served. See, notice. Location: US Telecom, Suite 400, 607 14th St., NW.

Day one of a three day event hosted by the Federalist Society titled "2010 National Lawyers Convention". See, notice and agenda. Location: Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Ave., NW.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM legislative business.

TIME? The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) will hold a public hearing regarding Malaysia's participation in ongoing negotiation of a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. The OUSTR seeks comments on, among other things, "electronic commerce issues" and "trade-related intellectual property rights issues that should be addressed in the negotiations". See, notice in the Federal Register, October 20, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 202, at Pages 64778-64779. Location: OUSTR, Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F St., NW.

11:00 AM. The Broadcasting Board of Governors will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 12, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 218, at Pages 69397-69398. Location: Cohen Building, Room 3321, 330 Independence Ave., SW.

Day two of a three day event hosted by the Federalist Society titled "2010 National Lawyers Convention". See, notice and agenda. Location: Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Ave., NW.

Deadline for the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) to submit its report to the Senate Finance Committee (SFC) in its proceeding titled "China: Intellectual Property Infringement, Indigenous Innovation Policies, and Frameworks for Measuring the Effects on the U.S. Economy". See, notice in the Federal Register, May 10, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 89, at Pages 25883-25884.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in response to its request for comments regarding creating a "fast-track ex parte reexamination voucher pilot program to create incentives for technologies and licensing behavior that address humanitarian needs". See, notice in the Federal Register, September 20, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 181, at Pages 57261-57262.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Internet Policy Task Force regarding the relationship between the availability and protection of online copyrighted works and innovation in the internet economy. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 5, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 192, at Pages 61419-61424.

Day three of a three day event hosted by the Federalist Society titled "2010 National Lawyers Convention". See, notice and agenda. Location: Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON. Deadline to submit written comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) regarding Malaysia's participation in ongoing negotiation of a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. The OUSTR seeks comments on, among other things, "electronic commerce issues" and "trade-related intellectual property rights issues that should be addressed in the negotiations". See, notice in the Federal Register, October 20, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 202, at Pages 64778-64779.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [79 pages in PDF] regarding expanding the FCC's disability access technology mandates. The FCC adopted and released this item on August 5, 2010. It is FCC 10-145 in WT Docket No. 07-250. See, notice in the Federal Register: September 8, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 173, at Pages 54546-54560. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts Disability Access Policy Statement, Order, and NPRM" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,120, August 6, 2010.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry [102 pages in PDF] regarding the use of microwave for wireless backhaul. The FCC adopted and released this item on August 5, 2010. It is FCC 10-146 in WT Docket Nos. 10-153, 09-106, and 07-121. See, story titled "FCC Adopts Wireless Backhaul NPRM and NOI" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,120, August 6, 2010, and notice in the Federal Register, August 24, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 163, at Pages 52185-52209.

Deadline to submit comments to the Copyright Office (CO) regarding its proposed rules changes affecting deposit account holders. The CO notice states that it proposes to "set the minimum level of activity required to hold a deposit account at 12 transactions per year; require deposit account holders to maintain a minimum balance in that account; mandate the closure of a deposit account the second time it is overdrawn; and offer deposit account holders the option of automatic replenishment of their account via their bank account or credit card." See, notice in the Federal Register, October 8, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 195, at Pages 62345-62348.

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