12/6. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released one paper [9 pages in PDF] titled "Broadband satisfaction: What consumers report about their broadband Internet provider", and another paper [11 pages in PDF] titled "Broadband decisions: What drives consumers to switch -- or stick with -- their broadband Internet provider".

These papers show that the customers of broadband internet access service (BIAS ) like their service, and that few switch from one provider to another.

The FCC conducted a survey of 3,005 adults in April of 2010. It is writing a series of papers on its survey responses.

The first FCC paper states that 92% of respondents were either very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the reliability of their service. 93% were either very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their overall service. 91% were either very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the speed of their service. 82% were either very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with customer service. 74% were either very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the price of their service.

The second paper states that only 36% of consumers had switched their BIAS provider in the 3 years prior to the survey. 26% changed once. 13% changed more than once.

The paper continues that "Just 21% of broadband adopters with a choice of more than one provider say they would seriously consider presently changing their ISP".

The FCC also asked about reasons for switching. "49% said the desire for a faster or higher-performance Internet connection was a major reason for the switch. .. 47% said getting a better price on service was the major reason behind the change. ... 39% said getting a bundle of Internet, TV, and phone services from a single company was the major reason for the switch. ... 28% said poor customer service from their old ISP was the major reason for the change. ... 9% said getting more features such as more email accounts or online storage was the major reason for the switch."

12/3. The Department of Labor's (DOL) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced in its latest monthly unemployment report that "unemployment rate edged up to 9.8 percent in November". The attached tables also provide data on technology related employment.

The BLS reported in the attached Table A-14 that unemployment of "Information" workers was 8.8% in November, up from 7.6% in November of 2009. In contrast, "Government workers" have an unemployment rate of only 4.4%.

The BLS report does not provide unemployment rate data for more specific categories, such as employment in the software sector, consumer electronics manufacturing, or intellectual property based industries. However, it does provide raw data on total employment by certain industry sectors.

The following tables contain data from the BLS's Table B-1. This shows employment in thousands, seasonally adjusted.

Total employment is up from one year ago in the information and communications technology manufacturing sectors.

Total employment is down from one year ago in information services. However, the trends are mixed when viewed by subsector. Employment is up in the movie and record industry, and broadcasting, but down in telecommunications, publishing, and data processing and hosting.

Total employment is up from one year ago in computer systems design and related services. Total employment has held steady in the legal services sector.

The BLS report states in the attached Table A-6 that the unemployment rate for "Persons with a disability" was 14.5% in November of 2010, up from 14.1% in November of 2009. The unemployment rate for "Persons with no disability" was 9.1% in November of 2010, down from 9.2% in November of 2009.

In the past year the federal government has made changes to disability legal regimes, with the policy rationale of, among other things, increasing employment for persons with disabilities. The Congress enacted the "Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010" in September of 2010. See, S 3304 [LOC | WW], and S 3828 [LOC | WW], which contains amendments. See also, story titled "Congress Approves Disability Access Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,135, September 29, 2010.

Also, in July of 2010, the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Civil Rights Division (CRD) announced four new disability related rulemaking proceedings. See, story titled "DOJ/CRD Releases Advance NPRMs Proposing Expansion of ADA" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,111, July 26, 2010.

12/6. Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Michael Copps regarding his speech [8 pages in PDF] on December 2, 2010, proposing subject broadcasters to a "Public Value Test".

Copps railed against media, big companies, gatekeepers, Wall Street and investors. And, for the first time, he proposed that the FCC impose a "Public Value Test" (PVT) on broadcasters. See, story titled "Copps Wants to Impose Public Value Test on Broadcasters" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,168, December 4, 2010.

Copps often gives bombastic speeches in which he flamboyantly impunes companies regulated by the FCC, and companies that he wishes the FCC could regulate. Large phone companies and cable companies have been among his frequent targets. More recently, he has given speeches laced with hyperbole regarding the state of news media. He often suggests that the solutions to the evils that he imagines lie in under-regulated free markets that must be corrected by some new, but barely articulated, FCC regulatory action.

Yet, he does not follow through with leadership at the FCC in taking action, or in developing new regulatory regimes. Copps' railing speeches are often devoid of specific proposals. He does not follow up with the release of proposed rules or proposed legislation, or even descriptions of actions that might be taken. Consequently, these speeches rarely translate into FCC action.

Nevertheless, Rep. Barton promptly responded to Copps' public value test speech. He began, "I do not believe the subjective opinion of five unelected officials should hold sway over the content broadcasters air or the licenses they hold to air it. I am troubled by recent comments you have made suggesting the FCC should have greater oversight regarding the amount, quality, and makeup of certain types of programming."

Rep. Barton also wrote that "I and many others would strongly dispute your assertion that ``we're not producing as much news as we did five, ten years, fifteen years ago.´´ Since the end of regulations such as the Fairness Doctrine, we have seen an explosion in the number of news programs on television and radio. Broadcasters are no longer afraid to address issues of controversy for fear that they will be required to provide airtime to all opposing views. We also have far more television networks now, not to mention the Internet. Talk of bringing newspapers and magazine to devices like the iPad could usher in even more growth."

Rep. Barton propounded three written interrogatories to be answered by Copps in writing by December 13.

He asked, "Do you believe the FCC should reinstate the Fairness Doctrine?"

He also asked, "Do you believe that five commissioners can do a better job of ensuring that Americans have access to a wide diversity of content and viewpoints than Americans can themselves by expressing their preferences through their viewing and listening choices in the vigorously competitive marketplace?"

And, he asked, "Is your Public Value Test meant to bring back the ascertainment rules, or something similar?"

The FCC promulgated its ascertainment rules back in 1971, and phased them out in the early 1980s. The FCC conducted a rulemaking proceeding, and issued a document titled "Primer on Ascertainment of Community Problems by Broadcast Applicants". See, 27 FCC 2d 650 (1971).

The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) wrote in its 1983 opinion in NBMC v. FCC, 706 F.2d 1224, that "The Primer required all new and renewal applicants to first determine the demographics and the economic, social, racial and ethnic composition of the area of license. Based on those determinations, each applicant was required to conduct two surveys within the six-month period prior to filing an application, to ascertain community ``problems, needs and interests´´, as distinguished from program preferences. The surveys involved (1) interviewing community leaders representing a cross-section of the community as revealed by the compositional study; and (2) interviewing a random sample of the general community. At the conclusion of the two surveys, the applicant was required to list all problems ascertained and determine which problems merited attention by the station."

Copps listed and only vaguely described a "Community Discovery" requirement as one element of his proposed PVT. He said that the FCC previously "required licensees to meet occasionally with their viewers and listeners to see if the programs being offered reflected the diverse interests and needs of the community". He added that re-imposing this requirement "would not be difficult to do in this Internet age".

12/3. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) announced that USTR Ron Kirk concluded meetings with Korean Minister for Trade Kim Jong-hoon regarding another US Korea Free Trade Agreement.

Kirk stated in a release that "We've made substantial progress in our discussions. It's time now for the leaders to review this progress before we move forward."

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee (SFC), stated in a release that "I am deeply disappointed that today's deal fails to address Korea's significant barriers to American beef exports, which President Obama identified this June as one of the critical outstanding issues that must be resolved before moving this free trade agreement forward".

Sen. Baucus (at right), who is a free trade proponent, added that "I am deeply committed to righting this wrong and will work with the Administration in the period ahead to ensure that America’s ranchers and farmers are not left behind. I will reserve judgment on the free trade agreement until then."

This FTA would also have sections pertaining technology products, intellectual property rights, electronic commerce, and telecommunications that would benefit the US tech sector and US consumers.

The OUSTR did not release the text of the FTA. However, the White House news office offered cursory descriptions of its contents in a release. "The agreement's provisions on cross-border services, telecommunications, and electronic commerce offer particular advantages to the information and communications technology service sector -- an area where the United States excels -- benefitting small- and medium-sized American enterprises without the resources to establish an office in every market they serve. The agreement also discourages Korea from setting technology standards or other requirements in a way that would give domestic producers an advantage over American service suppliers. And the agreement addresses all service sectors in the Korean market, and all modes of supply, and will apply to new and innovative services that may develop as markets evolve."

Also, "Beyond tariffs, the agreement establishes strong new rules on how Korea will develop regulations applied to U.S. exports, and contains state-of-the-art protections on intellectual property rights (IPRs). Strong protection for intellectual property is critically important for U.S. industry’s knowledge-based manufactured goods."

See also, statement by President Obama.

Phil Bond, head of the Tech America, stated in a release that "South Korea is the seventh largest destination for U.S. high-tech exports. This is despite the fact that South Korea imposes a number of non-tariff barriers on U.S. technology products as well as duties that are typically in the range of eight percent on some high-tech goods that are not covered by the WTO’s Information Technology Agreement. The approval of a strategic Free Trade Agreement between the United States and South Korea would break down many of these barriers, boosting trade and strengthening an already close relationship."

The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) stated in a release that "On the issues of copyright law reform and copyright enforcement, the KORUS FTA is one of the strongest and most progressive trade agreements ever negotiated. It also includes important steps to further open the Korean market to U.S. copyright industries. If these copyright and market access provisions of the FTA come into force, and if they are fully implemented by the Korean government, the positive impact on the copyright sector of the U.S. economy, and thus on U.S. jobs, exports and foreign sales, will be significant."

The IIPA represents the Association of American Publishers (AAP), Business Software Alliance (BSA), Entertainment Software Association (ESA), Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA), Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Robert Holleyman, head of the BSA, stated in a release that "The KORUS FTA is an important agreement with a major trading partner ... This agreement includes world-class intellectual property protections, promotes open, non-discriminatory rules for e-commerce, and creates broad market access for trade in services."

Holleyman continued that "Korea has built a viable software industry and driven growth in its entire IT sector on the strength of a highly effective system for curbing software piracy and protecting intellectual property rights ... Fifteen years ago, 76 percent of the software programs installed on personal computers in Korea were not paid for as they should have been. But with robust enforcement, Korea has since brought down its piracy rate by nearly half to 41 percent."

"Korea's commitment to aggressively pursue software piracy is to be applauded -- and we read the KORUS FTA as both reinforcing and fully compatible with the approach Korea has taken to date though vigorous civil and criminal enforcement," said Holleyman.

The BSA release adds that "Provisions in the KORUS FTA that are important for the software industry include: World-class intellectual property protections that supplement the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The agreement takes account of the ways digital works are licensed and sold on the Internet, and it prohibits the kinds of tools pirates often use hack into protected works such as software. The agreement also promotes open, non-discriminatory rules for e-commerce -- so companies operating in Korea and the United States are treated equally online."

Gary Shapiro, head of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) stated in a release that “The KORUS FTA was concluded on June 30, 2007 but has not yet been sent to Congress for approval. ... CEA commends the Obama Administration on this breakthrough and urges that the agreement be sent forward to Congress for its approval. We must also press forward with the agreements with our friends from Panama and Colombia".

John Engler, head of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), stated in a release that "Trade agreements are critical to manufacturers' competitiveness and our country's economic growth. While the U.S. sits on the sidelines, countries around the globe are moving quickly to put trade agreements in place to give their companies advantages in markets abroad. The European Union, Japan and other competitors are in a race to negotiate free trade agreements with Korea and various nations throughout the world, which could put U.S. manufacturing companies at a significant disadvantage."

Intel's Greg Slater stated in a white House news office release that "Intel is extremely pleased with the Administration's significant efforts to finalize" this FTA.

See also, stories titled "US and Korea Fail to Reach Agreement on Free Trade" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,155, November 14, 2010, and "US Korea Free Trade Agreement" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,150, November 8, 2010.

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The House will meet at 12:30 PM for morning hour, and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. It will consider several non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. Votes will be postponed until 6:00 PM.

The Senate will meet at 10:00 AM.

8:30 AM - 3:00 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Board of Overseers will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 17, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 180, at Page 56994. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Lecture Room B, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:00 - 11:00 AM. The Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA) will host an event titled "A View from Wall Street: Implications of Washington Telecom Policy on Jobs, Investment and Economic Recovery". The speakers will be Michael Powell (Providence Equity Partners), Rebecca Arbogast (Stifel Nicolaus), Craig Moffett (Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.), James Ratcliffe (Barclays Capital), and Jeff Silva (Medley Global Advisors). Breakfast will be served. See, notice and registration page. Location: 8th floor, Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

9:00 AM - 6:00 PM. The American Antitrust Institute (AAI) will host an event titled "4th Annual Future of Private Antitrust Enforcement". At 12:45 PM Jonathan Leibowitz (FTC Chairman) will give a lunch speech. The price to attend is $100. CLE credits. For more information, contact Sarah Frey at 410-897-7028. See, notice and agenda [PDF]. Location: National Press Club, Ballroom, 529 14th St., NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in OPTi, Inc. v. Apple, Inc., App. Ct. No. 2010-1129, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (EDTex) in a patent case regarding computer memory cache technology. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in McKesson Information Solutions v. Epic Systems Corp., App. Ct. No. 2010-1291, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (NDGa) in a patent case regarding internet based doctor patient communications software. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Constitution Project (CP) will host a panel discussion titled "Principles for Government Data Mining: Preserving Civil Liberties in the Information Age". The speakers will include Mary Ellen Callahan (DHS Chief Privacy Officer), Christopher Caine (Mercator XXI), Jim Harper (Cato Institute), Paul Pillar (Georgetown University), and Sharon Franklin (CP). For more information, contact Dallas Jamison at 202 -580-6922 or DJamison at constitutionproject dot org. Location: National Press Club, 13th floor, Murrow Room, 529 14 St., NW.

12:00 - 1:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "The IP Enforcement Agenda: Why the Focus on Enforcement, and What Does It Mean for IP Practitioners?". The speakers will be John Bergmayer (Public Knowledge), David Green (NBC Universal), Chun Wright (attorney), and Mitchell Stoltz (Constantine Cannon). The price to attend ranges from $15 to $25. For more information, contact 202-626-3463. See, notice. Reporters are barred from most DC Bar events. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

2:30 PM. The Senate Intelligence Committee (SIC) will hold a closed meeting. Location: Room 219, Hart Building.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The schedule for the week includes consideration of S 3789 [LOC | WW], the "Social Security Number Protection Act of 2010".

8:30 AM - 5:15 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advisory Committee for Cyberinfrastructure. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 26, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 227, at Page 72843. Location: Room 1235, NSF, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA.

9:00 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee (RPTAC) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 22, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 224, at Page 71075. Location: Room 3884, Hoover Building, 14th Street between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, NW.

9:00 - 11:00 AM. The Copyright Clearance Center will host a panel discussion titled "Copyright and the Economics of Creativity".The speakers will include Stan McCoy (Assistant U.S. Trade Representative) and Jon Baumgarten (Proskauer Rose). See, notice.  Location: Congressional Meeting Room South, Capitol Visitors Center.

9:00 AM - 12:45 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship will meet by teleconference. The call in number is 888-942-9574; the passcode is 6315042. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 24, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 226, at Page 71670.

9:00 AM. The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 22, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 224, at Page 71188. Location: IRS, Room 2116, 1111 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of numerous judicial nominees: Robert Chatigny (USCA/2ndCir), Max Cogburn (USDC/WDNC), Marco Hernandez (USDC/DOre), Michael Simon (USDC/DOre), and Steve Jones (USDC/NDGa). The SJC rarely follows its published agendas. The SJC will webcast this event. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Michael S. Sutton Ltd. v. Nokia Corp., App. Ct. No. 2010-1218, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (EDTex) in a patent case regarding technology for sending 8 bit byte messages over radio paging networks that have been configured to send 7 bit byte messages. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

1:00 - 4:15 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host an event titled "International Broadcasting and Public Media: Mission and Innovation in the Digital Environment". See, notice and registration page. Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.

2:00 - 5:00 PM. The Senate Banking Committee's (SBC) Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment and the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee's (SHSGAC) Subcommittee on Investigations will hold a joint hearing titled "Examining the Efficiency, Stability, and Integrity of the U.S. Capital Markets". This hearing will address the use of computers to engage in high frequency trading, and the flash crash of May 6, 2010. The witnesses will include Manjo Narang (CEO of Tradeworx), Thomas Peterffy (CEO of Interactive Brokers), Mary Schapiro (Chairman of the SEC), Gary Gensler (Chairman of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission), and others. See, SBC notice, SHSGAC notice, and CFTC notice. Location: Room 538, Dirksen Building.

Day one of a two day event sponsored by the SANS Institute titled "What Works in Incident Detection & Log Management Summit 2010". See, notice. Location: Dupont Hotel, 1500 New Hampshire Ave., NW.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The schedule for the week includes consideration of S 3789 [LOC | WW], the "Social Security Number Protection Act of 2010".

8:30 - 11:45 PM. Day two of a two day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advisory Committee for Cyberinfrastructure. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 26, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 227, at Page 72843. Location: Room 1235, NSF, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA.

RESCHEDULED FROM DECEMBER 3. 10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties will hold a hearing titled "Civil Liberties and National Security". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Alexsam, Inc. v. Interactive Communications International, Inc., App. Ct. No. 2010-1267, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (EDTex) in a case regarding enforcement of a settlement agreement regarding patent licensing. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Federal Society will host a panel discussion and lunch titled "Changing the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: Has the Time Come?". See, notice. CLE credits. Location: First Amendment Lounge, National Press Club, 13th floor, 529 14 St., NW.

2:40 PM. The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Bureau of Economics will host a presentation titled "Diversity, Social Goods Provision, and the Firm". See, paper [PDF] with the same title. The speaker will be Wallace Mullin (GWU). For more information, contact Loren Smith at lsmith2 at ftc dot gov or Tammy John at tjohn at ftc dot gov. Location: Room 8089, 1800 M St., NW.

3:00 - 5:00 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host an event titled "Network Nation: How Business, Technology, and Government Shaped American Telecommunications". The speakers will include Richard John (Columbia University journalism school), author of the book [Amazon] titled "Network Nation: Inventing American Telecommunications". See, notice and registration page. Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.

6:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "24th Annual FCC Chairman’s Dinner". The speaker will be FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. A reception begins at 6:00 PM. Dinner begins at 7:30 PM. Prices vary. Location: Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Ave., NW.

Day two of a two day event sponsored by the SANS Institute titled "What Works in Incident Detection & Log Management Summit 2010". See, notice. Location: Dupont Hotel, 1500 New Hampshire Ave., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its October 25, 2010, Public Notice (PN) regarding its closed captioning rules. This PN is DA 10-2050 in CG Docket 05-231, ET Docket No. 99-254. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 17, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 221, at Pages 70168-70169.

The House will not meet.

Supreme Court conference day (discussion of argued cases, and decision on cert petitions). Closed.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Juniper Network Services, Inc. v. SSL Services, Inc., App. Ct. No. 2010-1107, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (NDCal) in a patent case involving the issue of personal jurisdiction. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Alcohol Monitoring Systems, Inc. v. Actsoft, Inc., App. Ct. No. 2010-1250, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (DColo) in a patent case involving the issue of personal jurisdiction. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. Deadline to submit pubic comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) regarding its Special 301 out of cycle review of the Philippines and Thailand. These reviews pertain to identifying 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. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 12, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 218, at Pages 69519-69520.

5:00 PM. Extended 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, original notice in the Federal Register, October 5, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 192, at Pages 61419-61424, and extension notice in the Federal Register, November 26, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 227, at Pages 72790. See also, story titled "Commerce Department Extends Comment Deadline for Online Copyright NOI" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,164, November 24, 2010.

Day one of an eight event sponsored by the SANS Institute titled "SANS Cyber Defense Initiative 2010". See, event web site. On December 10-14, there will be a five day series of courses titled "Law of Data Security and Investigations". The five one day courses will be "Fundamentals of IT Security Law and Policy", "E-Records, E-Discovery and Business Law", "Contracting for Data Security", "The Law of IT Compliance: How to Conduct Investigations", and "Applying Law to Emerging Dangers: Cyber Defense". CLE credits. Location: Marriott Wardman Park, 2660 Woodley Road, NW.

8:30 AM. Day one of a two day partially closed meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Emerging Technology and Research Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 26, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 227, at Pages 72792-72793. Location: Room 3884, DOC, Hoover Building, 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, NW.

9:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Communications Security, Reliability, and
Interoperability Council (CSRIC) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 30, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 229, at Pages 74050-74051. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room (Room TW-C305), 445 12th St., SW.

11:00 AM - 2:00 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Spectrum Management Advisory Committee will meet by teleconference. The call in number is 1-888-769-8761; the passcode is 2684385. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 26, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 227, at Page 72792.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division regarding the proposed final judgment in USA v. American Express, et al., D.C. No. CV-10-4496. The DOJ initiated an action against American Express, MasterCard and Visa alleging violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, which is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1, in connection with their alleged anticompetitive conduct at the point of sale. The settlement, which covers only MasterCard and Visa, requires public notice and comment, and approval by the District Court. The DOJ's notice in the Federal Register states that comments are due within 60 days of publication of its notice in the Federal Register. However, it does not fix an actual date. See, Federal Register, October 13, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 197, at Pages 62858-62874. See also, story titled "DOJ and States Bring Antitrust Action Against Credit Card Companies" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,139, October 5, 2010.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [25 pages in PDF] regarding commercial radio operator licenses for maritime and aviation radio stations who perform certain functions performed within the commercial radio operators service. The FCC adopted this item on August 31, 2010, and released the text on September 8, 2010. It is FCC 10-154 in WT Docket No. 10-177. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 29, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 209, at Pages 66709-66715.

8:00 -10:00 AM. Broadband Census News LLC will host a panel discussion titled "Meet The Chinese Embassy IP Attache". The speakers will be Fuli Chen (Intellectual Property Rights Attache for the Chinese Embassy to the US), Steven Adkins (Orrick), Drew Clark, and others. Breakfast will be served. This event is free and open to the public. See, notice and registration page. This event is also sponsored by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) and the Public Knowledge (PK). Location: Clyde's of Gallery Place, 707 7th St., NW.

8:30 AM. Day two of a two day partially closed meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Emerging Technology and Research Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 26, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 227, at Pages 72792-72793. Location: Room 3884, DOC, Hoover Building, 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, NW.

10:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will host an event titled "Generation Mobile Forum". The speakers will include FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. The topics to be discussed include cyber bullying. Location: McKinley Technology High School, Auditorium, 151 T St., NE.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Mass Media Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Views from the Fourth Estate". The speakers will be Amy Schatz (Wall Street Journal), Cecilia Kang (Washington Post), Kim Hart (Politico), and Dennis Wharton (NAB). The FCBA bars reporters from some of its events. Location: Wiley Rein, 1776 K St., NW.

2:30 PM. The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Bureau of Economics will host a presentation by Wallace Mullin (George Washington University Department of Economics). He will present a paper [PDF] titled "Diversity, Social Goods Provision, and Performance in the Firm". For more information, contact Loren Smith at lsmith2 at ftc dot gov or Tammy John at tjohn at ftc dot gov. Location: Room 8089, 1800 M St., NW.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding practice before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) in ex parte patent appeals. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 15, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 219, at Pages 69827-69849.

6::00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host an event titled "Intellectual Property Law 2010: Year in Review Series:Copyright and Trademark Update". The speakers will be Brian Banner (H&A Intellectual Property Law) and Terence Ross (Crowell & Moring). The price to attend ranges from $89 to $129. For more information, contact 202-626-3488. See, notice. CLE credits. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.