12/9. President Obama signed HR 1722 [LOC | WW], the "Telework Enhancement Act of 2010". See, White House news office release.

Rep. Ed Towns (D-NY), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (HOGRC), stated in a release that "This bipartisan legislation benefits both taxpayers and the federal government by promoting cost savings, reducing energy consumption and traffic congestion, and preventing a loss in productivity when homeland security emergencies occur. It also promotes a healthy work-life balance for federal employees and will help the government recruit the best and brightest into the civil service."

This is a very limited bill. This bill requires federal agencies to establish a plan that authorizes employees to telework. It does nothing to promote, or reduce barriers to, teleworking in the private sector.

The House passed an earlier version of this bill on July 14, 2010, by a vote of 290-131. See, Roll Call No. 441. See, story titled "House Passes Government Telework Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,104, July 14, 2010.

The Senate amended and passed the bill on September 29, 2010. See, story titled "Senate Passes Government Telework Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,137, October 1, 2010.

On November 18, the House passed HRes 1721, a motion to concur in the Senate Amendment to HR 1722  The House approved the motion on a vote of 254-152. It was a nearly straight party line vote. Democrats voted 240-3. Republicans voted 14-149. See, Roll Call No. 578. See, story titled "House Approves Government Telework Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,159, November 18, 2010.

The 111th Congress is about to conclude without enacting legislation that would address significant private sector telework related issues. See also, story titled "Congress Inactive on Private Sector Telework Bills" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,104, July 14, 2010.

12/9. President Obama signed HR 5566 [LOC | WW], the "Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010". See, White House news office release.

This is a bill to protect animals from cruelty. It does this by criminalizing the sale of certain videos. The Congress enacted a similar statute in 1999. See, 18 U.S.C. § 48. However, the Supreme held that it was unconstitutional for being overbroad. See, April 20, 2010, opinion [52 pages in PDF] in U.S. v. Stevens.

The sponsor of the bill, Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA), issued a release that states that "Crush videos graphically depict the abuse and killing of animals. In 1999, President Clinton signed into law a Gallegly bill to outlaw the videos and for 10 years the industry disappeared. However, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the law earlier this year and videos reappeared on the market."

He added that HR 5566 "will prevent video depictions of drowning, impaling, burning and crushing of animals. After careful restructuring, both House members and senators believe Gallegly's new bill addresses the U.S. Supreme Court’s constitutional concerns."

12/9. President Obama signed S 3689 [LOC | WW], the "Copyright Cleanup, Clarification, and Corrections Act of 2010". See, White House news office release. The bill makes numerous changes to the Copyright Act. However, none are controversial.

The Senate passed this bill on August 2, 2010. See, story titled "Senate Passes Copyright Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,117, August 3, 2010. The House amended and passed the bill on November 15, 2010. See, "House Passes Copyright Act Amendments Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,157, November 16, 2010. (The bill is summarized in these stories.)

This may be the most significant intellectual property bill enacted in the 111th Congress. The 111th Congress again considered, but did not enact, comprehensive patent reform legislation. See, HR 1260 [LOC | WW], the "Patent Reform Act of 2009", and S 515 [LOC | WW].

It considered, but did not enact, the "Performance Rights Act", which would end terrestrial broadcasters' exemption from paying copyright royalties when they play copyrighted songs. See, HR 848 [LOC | WW].

It considered, but did not enact, a bill to expand the Department of Justice's (DOJ) ability to seize domain names, and take related actions, to protect intellectual property rights. See, 3804 [LOC | WW | PDF], the "Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act", or "COICA".

Nor did the 111th Congress approve concluded free trade agreements that include sections on intellectual property protection.

12/10. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) filed an amicus curiae brief [40 pages in PDF] with the U.S. Court of Appeals (2ndCir) in Viacom v. YouTube, a copyright infringement case involving the scope of the safe harbor protection of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), codified at 17 U.S.C.§ 512(c).

On June 23, 2010, the District Court issued its opinion and order [30 pages in PDF] granting summary judgment to the defendants. It held that the activities of YouTube at issue in this action fall within the Section 512 safe harbor. Viacom has appealed to the Court of Appeals.

The MPAA and IFTA argue that the District Court opinion "radically upends the fundamental balance that Congress codified in the DMCA's ``safe harbors.´´ The DMCA provides safe harbor limitations on copyright infringement liability only for those service providers who are innocent concerning infringing activity that as a technical matter occurs on or through their sites. The statute retains liability for culpable service providers, including those who know or are aware of infringing activity on their site but fail to act expeditiously to stop it. The district court’s decision shifts the balance decisively to provide protection for service providers who are culpable."

"The decision instead incentivizes service providers to willfully blind themselves to apparent ``red flags´´ of mass infringing activity." The brief continues that "It is an inversion of the DMCA -- and also fundamentally unfair -- to interpret the statute to allow service providers to induce infringement, to reap the benefits of that infringement, and then to have no responsibility for dealing with the infringement they have induced unless and until copyright owners send them individual takedown notices."

The brief argues that the District Court erred in three ways.

First, it erred "in holding that a service provider who may be liable for inducing infringement under" MGM v. Grokster "may as a matter of law qualify for § 512(c)'s safe harbor protection."

See, Supreme Court's June 27, 2005, opinion [55 pages in PDF] in MGM v. Grokster, regarding vicarious copyright infringement by the distributors of peer to peer (P2P) systems. The Supreme Court held that "one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright, as shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement, is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties." See also, story titled "Supreme Court Rules in MGM v. Grokster" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,163, June 28, 2005.

Second, the brief argues that the District Court erred in "effectively writing out of the DMCA the ``actual knowledge´´ and ``awareness´´ tests for knowledge that are embedded in § 512(c)(1)(A)."

The statute provides, in part, that "A service provider shall not be liable ... for infringement of copyright by reason of the storage at the direction of a user of material that resides on a system or network controlled or operated by or for the service provider, if the service provider ... does not have actual knowledge that the material or an activity using the material on the system or network is infringing ..."

Third, the brief argues that the District Court erred "by writing into the language of another requirement for safe harbor protection a knowledge test that does not exist".

See also:

• "Viacom Files Appeal Brief in YouTube Copyright Infringement Case" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,172, December 8, 2010.
• "District Court Grants Summary Judgment to YouTube in Copyright Infringement Case" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,100, June 23, 2010.
• "Viacom Files Complaint Against Google and YouTube Alleging Violations of Copyright Law" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,551, March 13, 2007.

12/10. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) of the State of Connecticut announced in a release that it "demanded that Google provide access to data its Street View cars improperly collected from unsecured Connecticut personal and business wireless computer networks".

The Connecticut Attorney General is Richard Blumenthal. Blumenthal was elected in November to the open Senate seat currently held by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT). He takes office in January of 2011.

"Google initially claimed that the data was fragmented, but has since acknowledged that entire emails and other information may have been improperly captured". The OAG added that "Google has allowed Canadian and other regulatory authorities to review similar data, but refused to provide Blumenthal's office the same access."

Blumenthal stated in this release that "We are compelling the company to grant my office access to data to determine whether emails, passwords, web-browsing and other information was improperly intercepted, for the same reasons that other law enforcement agencies abroad have done so. Reviewing this information is vital because Google’s story changed, first claiming only fragments were collected, then acknowledging entire emails."

For more on this topic, see also:

• "FCC Is Investigating Google" and "Consumer Watchdog Urges House Commerce Committee to Hold Hearing on Google Wi-Fi Surveillance" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,154, November 12, 2010.
• "UK Finds Google's Wi-Fi Surveillance Violated UK Data Protection Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,152, November 10, 2010.
• "FTC Ends Investigation of Google WiFi Intercepts" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,147, October 28, 2010.
• "Google Intercepted E-Mail Content and Passwords" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,146, October 25, 2010.
• "Canada Finds Google Violated Its Privacy Law" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,145, October 22, 2010.

12/9. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) released a paper [19 pages in PDF] titled "Browser Privacy Features: A Work in Progress". It reviews and compares Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Apple's Safari, and Opera's Web browser.

It states that no one browser is best for privacy, privacy features are being improved overall, but browsers are also creating new ways for users to be tracked.

The paper also discusses do not track regimes, and comprehensive privacy legislation. See also, stories titled "Divided FTC Proposes Do Not Track Regime" and "House Commerce Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Do Not Track Proposal" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,169, December 5, 2010.

The report states that "Providing browser privacy controls that are robust, easy to find, and simple to use is crucial to empowering consumers to maintain their privacy online."

"In the last six months, all of the major browser makers have released versions of their products with new privacy features", and "these companies are competing to provide better privacy protections". However, "No one browser stands out as the clear privacy leader. All have relative strengths and all have relative weaknesses; depending on how you use the Web (e.g. for location-enabled services or for ``private browsing´´ mode), a different browser may be the most privacy protective for you. In general, all five browsers now offer more user controls for privacy than they did when CDT last issued this report in August of 2009." (Parentheses in original.)

This paper states that "One potential solution to the complexity of user choices would be the implementation through the browser of a ``Do Not Track´´ mechanism that would allow consumers to set persistent and global tracking preferences. If done correctly, the incorporation of a ``Do Not Track´´ feature in the browsers could represent an improvement for consumers who wish to exercise more control over their information sharing online."

"The online advertising industry has been discussing ways to create such controls through self-regulation, and Congress is considering whether ``Do Not Track´´ should be included as a part of a general baseline privacy law. Both Microsoft and Mozilla have announced promising efforts in recent days to eventually offer these sorts of global opt-out options to consumers. However implemented, ``Do Not Track´´ is not a replacement for baseline privacy legislation, which is needed to address the full range of privacy issues, not just Web-based behavioral advertising."

12/10. December 10, 2010, was the deadline to submit pubic comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) regarding its Special 301 out of cycle review of Thailand and Philippines. 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. The OUSTR's 2010 Special 301 Report [54 pages in PDF], released on April 30, 2010, stated that "Thailand will remain on the Priority Watch List in 2010 with an Out-of-Cycle Review (OCR) to be conducted this year" (page 27) and "The Philippines will remain on the Watch List in 2010 with an Out-of-Cycle Review to be conducted this year" (page 36). The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) submitted a comment [PDF] to the OUSTR) on December 10 in which it states that it has not seen sufficient progress in Thailand: "neither anti-camcording legislation, nor landlord liability legislation, nor the copyright amendments, have proceeded to passage by or even introduction into the Parliament". The IIPA comment also states that there have been "cooperative agency efforts" in the Philippines, but "key problems remain unresolved, such as lack of implementation of the new anti-camcording law (which is very low on the list of PNP priorities), lack of political willingness at the highest levels to take steps to eradicate Internet infringements, lack of adequate funding for the activities of the Optical Media Board, and the unwillingness of any agency to take ownership over growing Internet piracy. The most disappointing development in 2010 is the introduction of a significantly weakened draft copyright amendment legislation, which fails to fully implement the WIPO Copyright Treaty and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, to which the Philippines is already a party, and contains other weakened provisions compared with the bills that have been introduced in previous years". (Parentheses in original.)

12/9. Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (SHSGAC), commented on WikiLeaks in a release. He said that "Companies that are cutting off their services to Wikileaks in the wake of its release of 250,000 stolen and classified State Department cables are doing the right thing as good corporate citizens and deserve the support of the American people. The Wikileaks data dump has jeopardized U.S. national interests and the lives of intelligence sources around the world. This is no time for business as usual. While corporate entities make decisions based on their obligations to their shareholders, sometimes full consideration of those obligations requires them to act as responsible citizens. We offer our admiration and support to those companies exhibiting courage and patriotism as they face down intimidation from hackers sympathetic to Wikileaks' philosophy of irresponsible information dumps for the sake of damaging global relationships." He did not mention companies by name. He could have named MasterCard, Visa, Amazon, and PayPal. See also, stories titled "WikiLeaks and Cyber Security", "Senators Introduce Bill to Amend Espionage Act to Reach WikiLeaks and Others", "Commentary: Expansion of Espionage Law", and "WikiLeaks and Copyright Infringement" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,174, December 10, 2010.

12/8. Janet Napolitano (Secretary of Homeland Security) and Eric Holder (Attorney General) met with Viviane Reding (EU Vice President for Justice, Fundamental Rights, and Citizenship) and Cecilia Malmström (EU Commissioner for Home Affairs). The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated in a release that the issues discussed included cyber security. The DHS stated that Napolitano "highlighted the United States and the European Union ongoing, coordinated efforts to protect vital cyber networks from attacks through the U.S.-EU Cyber Working Group -- formalized by President Obama in the Nov. 20 U.S.-EU Summit Declaration -- which facilitates the continued sharing of cybersecurity best practices and security standards and enhances collaboration on public-private partnerships; cyber incident management; public awareness; and combating cyber crime." Other topics of discussion included aviation security and the U.S.-EU Passenger Name Record (PNR) agreement.

12/8. Gordon Smith, head of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), commended the selection of Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) to be Chairman of the House Commerce Committee (HCC) in the 112th Congress. He stated in a release that "Fred Upton has served Congress with class and integrity, and has shown a willingness to find meaningful solutions to real problems that confront the American people. We welcome his chairmanship and the opportunity to make the case in his committee for preserving and enhancing free and local broadcasting." Smith is a former member of the Senate Commerce Committee (SCC).

12/8. The American Association of Publishers (AAP) announced in a release that publishers' book sales tracked by the AAP "for the month of October decreased by 0.9 percent on the prior year to $721 million and were up by 3.4 percent for the year to date". It added that e-book sales from "participating reporting publishers continue to grow, with a 112.4 percent increase over October 2009 ($40.7 million) compared to $19.2 million in October 2009. January-October 2010 year-to-date E-book sales are up 171.3 percent reaching $345.3 million compared to 127.3 million from January-October 2009." (Parentheses in original.)

The House will meet at 10:00 AM in pro forma session only. See, Rep. Hoyer's notice.

The Senate will meet at 2:30 PM. The Senate will resume consideration of HR 4853 [LOC | WW], the vehicle for extending certain expiring tax provisions.

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.

9:00 AM. 9:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council (CSRIC) will meet. See, original notice in the Federal Register, November 30, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 229, at Pages 74050-74051, and supplemental notice in the Federal Register, December 8, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 235, at Pages 76465-76466. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room (Room TW-C305), 445 12th St., SW.

9:30 AM. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the House Democratic Leader, will give a speech. Location: National Press Club.

11:00 AM - 2:00 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (SMAC) 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. The agenda includes discussion of a report of the SMAC's Incentives Subcommittee, including spectrum fees, strengthening OMB Circular A11, and the Spectrum Innovation Fund.

TIME? Michael Punke (Deputy USTR and representative to the WTO) and other officials of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) officials will hold a closed meeting with officials of the People's Republic of China to discuss the Doha Development Agenda. See, OUSTR calendar.

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.

Deadline for Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Michael Copps to respond to Rep. Joe Barton's (R-TX) interrogatories regarding his proposal that broadcasters be subjected to a public value test (PVT). See, story titled "Copps Wants to Impose Public Value Test on Broadcasters" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,168, December 4, 2010. See also, Rep. Barton's letter and story titled "Barton Questions Copps Regarding Public Value Test" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,171, December 7, 2010.

The House will meet at 12:30 PM for morning hour, and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:00 PM. The schedule for the week also includes HR 4853 [LOC | WW], the vehicle for extending certain expiring tax provisions. See, Rep. Hoyer's notice.

RESCHEDULED FOR FEBRUARY 8. 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.

TIME? U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, and others will participate in a closed meeting of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT). See, OUSTR calendar.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The schedule includes consideration of S 30 [LOC | WW], the "Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009", and S 3386 [LOC | WW], the "Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act". The schedule for the week also includes HR 4853 [LOC | WW], the vehicle for extending certain expiring tax provisions. See, Rep. Hoyer's notice.

9:30 AM. The Common Cause will host a news conference regarding Senate filibuster reform. For more information, contact Mary Boyle at 202-736-5770 or mboyle at commoncause dot org. Location: National Press Club.

RESCHEDULED FOR DECEMBER 21. 10:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may hold an event titled "open meeting". The agenda may include adoption of a network neutrality order. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host an event titled "Intellectual Property Law 2010: Year in Review Series: Patent Update". The speakers will be Eric Wright (Stites & Harbison) and Bradley Wright (Banner & Witcoff). 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.

Deadline to submit applications to participate in the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Auction 90, regarding certain VHF construction permits. See, FCC September 8, 2010, Public Notice (DA 10-1351 in AU Docket No. 10-147) and notice in the Federal Register, September 23, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 184, at Pages 57947-57952. See also, November 1, 2010, Public Notice (DA 10-2008 in in AU Docket No. 10-147). And see, notice in the Federal Register, December 1, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 230, at Page 74719-74731.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The schedule for the week also includes HR 4853 [LOC | WW], the vehicle for extending certain expiring tax provisions. See, Rep. Hoyer's notice.

9:30 AM - 5:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) North American Numbering Council (NANC) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 30, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 229, at Pages 74051-74052. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room (Room TW-C305), 445 12th St., SW.

9:30 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will hold a hearing titled "Espionage Act and the Legal and Constitutional Issues Raised by WikiLeaks". See, notice. The HJC will webcast this event. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

9:30 AM - 4:00 PM. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Civil Right Division (CRD) will hold a hearing regarding its four notice of proposed rulemakings (NPRMs) that propose to expand the scope of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to regulate certain communications and information technologies. See, story titled "DOJ/CRD Releases Advance NPRMs Proposing Expansion of ADA" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,111, July 26, 2010. Location: U.S. Access Board, 1331 F St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) will host a lunch. The speaker will be Erwin Chemerinsky. The topic will be "Approaches to First Amendment regulations with the distinctions between traditional mediums disappearing with a lot of discussion of the Fox indecency case". The price to attend ranges from $25 to $40. See, registration form. Registrations and cancellations are due by 12:00 NOON on December 14. Location: Hogan Lovells, 555 13th St., NW.

5:30 - 7:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Homeland Security and Emergency Communications Committee will host an event titled "Holiday Happy Hour Mentoring Opportunity for Young Lawyers. The speakers will include James Barnett (Chief of the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau). For more information, contact Jeff Cohen at jeff dot cohen at mail dot house.gov or Mark Brennan at mark dot brennan at hoganlovells dot com. Location: Mandarin Hotel, Empress Lounge, 1330 Maryland Ave., SW.

TIME? U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and European Commissioner for Trade Karel DeGucht will hold a closed meeting. See, OUSTR calendar.

TIME? Miriam Sapiro (Deputy USTR) will hold a closed meeting with the member companies of the Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC). See, OUSTR calendar.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [58 pages in PDF] regarding universal service subsidies and certain 3G and next generation wireless services. The FCC adopted and released this item on October 14, 2010. It is FCC 10-182 in WT Docket No. 10-208. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 1, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 210, at Pages 67060-67077. 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.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to 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". The FCC adopted and released this item on October 14, 2010. It is FCC 10-182 in WT Docket No. 10-208. See, notice in the 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.

The House may meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. The schedule for the week also includes HR 4853 [LOC | WW], the vehicle for extending certain expiring tax provisions. See, Rep. Hoyer's notice.

10:00 AM. Deadline for foreign governments to submit 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.

12:00 NOON. Deadline to submit initial comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) regarding its review of the operation, effectiveness, and implementation of and compliance with various telecommunications agreements, including the World Trade Organization (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 18, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 222, at Pages 70770-70771.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding the appropriate date for the termination of analog operations in the low power television and Class A television services. The FCC adopted and released this item on September 17, 2010. This item is FCC 10-172 in MB Docket No. 03-185. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 18, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 200, at Pages 63766-63773.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding assignment of telephone numbers associated with internet based Telecommunications Relay Service (iTRS), Video Relay Service (VRS) and IP Relay. The FCC adopted this item on September 16, 2010, and released the text on September 17. It is FCC 10-161 in CG Docket No. 03-123, WC Docket No. 05-196, and WC Docket No. 10-191. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 2, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 211, at Pages 67333-67341.

EXTENDED TO JANUARY 31. Deadline to submit initial comments to the Library of Congress's (LOC) Copyright Office (CO) in response to its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding federal coverage of sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 3, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 212, at Pages 67777-67781. This proceeding is LOC Docket No. 2010-4. See also, story titled "Library of Congress Issues NOI on Extending Copyright Act to Pre 1972 Sound Recordings" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,150, November 8, 2010. See also, extension notice in the Federal Register, December 1, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 230, at Pages 74749-74750.

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