3/24. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski gave a speech [8 pages in PDF] in Brussels, Belgium titled "The Cloud: Unleashing Global Opportunities" in which he addressed some of the policy issues associated with the advent of cloud computing.

He touched on allocating more spectrum for mobile broadband, incentive auctions, regulation of broadband internet access service providers, promoting privacy and security in an environment in which there is both the "motive and the means for thieves to steal identities and intellectual property", data flows across international borders, "inconsistent laws and policies in different countries, as well as legal uncertainty", and other topics.

He also mentioned the 1997 World Trade Organization (WTO) telecommunications agreement. He urged governments not to adopt "unduly restrictive and protectionist policies that limit market entry".

Also, he asked rhetorically, "To what degree do rigid, in-country data center requirements undercut the efficiency and cost savings offered by cloud computing?"

He said that there is a "role for government to play in facilitating global information flows, including by cooperating on baseline policies and reducing barriers to the full deployment of cloud computing".

He did not address the affect of government surveillance, and search and seizure of stored data, on the development and adoption of cloud computing.

3/29. Nokia announced that it has filed another complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) against Apple alleging violation of 19 U.S.C. § 1337 in connection with its importation into the U.S. of items that infringe Nokia's patents.

Nokia stated in a release that "This second ITC complaint follows the initial determination in Nokia's earlier ITC filing, announced by the ITC on Friday, March 25. Nokia does not agree with the ITC's initial determination that there was no violation of Section 337 in that complaint and is waiting to see the full details of the ruling before deciding on the next steps in that case". See also, story titled "Nokia Files Section 337 Complaint Against Apple" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,030, December 30, 2009.

Nokia has also filed complaints in the U.S. District Court (DDel), and courts in Germany, United Kingdom, and the Netherlands.

Paul Melin, Nokia's IP VP, stated that "Our latest ITC filing means we now have 46 Nokia patents in suit against Apple, many filed more than 10 years before Apple made its first iPhone".

3/10. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), and Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA) introduced HR 1009 [LOC | WW], the "Federal Communications Commission Collaboration Act", a bill to enable secrecy and reduce transparency at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). It would create an FCC loophole to the federal open meetings act.

Rep. Eshoo (at left) issued a release that states that her bill would "modify the FCC's Closed Meeting Rule".

The FCC has promulgated no "Closed Meeting Rule". Rather, the Congress has enacted an open meetings act that applies to the FCC and numerous other agencies.

The 94th Congress enacted this statute in 1976 as one of the cornerstones of the post Watergate reforms. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the HCC, is one of the few remaining members of the post Watergate Congress, first elected in November of 1974.

This statute requires federal agencies headed by a collegial body composed of two or more individual members to "conduct or dispose of agency business" in meetings that are publicly announced at least one week in advance, and are open to the public.

This statute is codified at 5 U.S.C. S 552b. It applies to the FCC, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Federal Election Commission (FEC), and numerous other federal agencies.

Rep. Eshoo's bill would amend the Communications Act to provide an exception to the open meetings act for the FCC, but not for any other federal agencies.

Her bill provides that "Notwithstanding section 552b of title 5, United States Code, 3 or more Commissioners may hold a meeting that is closed to the public" if "a vote or any other agency action ... is not taken" and "each person present at such meeting is a Commissioner or an employee of the Commission".

No law prevents FCC Commissioners from meeting to discuss, debate or take action in any matter. The law only requires that such meetings be public. However, FCC Commissioners refuse to hold public meetings. Its events titled "Open Meeting" are largely ceremonial events.

The FCC's Commissioners do not wish to conduct business in a public and transparent manner. Hence, they do not meet.

While the five Commissioners cannot by law meet in secret, nothing in the statute prohibits them from conducting deliberations through a series of written communications or communications relayed through their staff members. Current and past Commissioners and staff have referenced this awkward and time consuming process in public statements. This process degrades the capacity of the Commission members to act in a prompt and orderly manner. And, this is one of the causes of delay in Commission decision making.

Rep. Eshoo's bill recites in its findings that "Commissioners have relied primarily on an inefficient combination of written messages, communications among staff, and a series of meetings restricted to 2 Commissioners at each such meeting to discuss complex telecommunications matters pending before the Commission".

FCC Commissioner Michael Copps has long advocated legislation that would allow Commissioners to meet in secret. See for example, story titled "Copps and Stevens Advocate Less Transparency at FCC" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,272, December 14, 2005.

3/28. Tyrone Pipkin pled guilty in U.S. District Court (EDLa) to conspiracy in connection with his defrauding the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) fraud, waste and abuse plagued e-rate tax and subsidy program. The Department of Justice (DOJ) stated in a release that "Pipkin participated in the conspiracy to provide bribes and kickbacks to school officials and employees responsible for the procurement of Internet access services at certain schools in Arkansas, Illinois and Louisiana. In return, those individuals ceded control of the E-Rate competitive bidding process to Pipkin and his co-conspirator, ultimately allowing them to ensure E-Rate contracts at these schools were awarded to their companies."

3/25. The U.S. District Court (NDCal) sentenced Srinivasa Chennupati to serve six months in prison following his plea of guilty to eleven counts of making false statements in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001 in connection with his applications for H1B visas for high tech workers. See, Department of Justice (DOJ) release. This case is U.S. v. Srinivasa Chennupati, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, D.C. No. CR 10-00712 DLJ.

3/24. The U.S. District Court (SDNY) awarded a civil judgment of just over $4 Million under the False Claims Act against D.B. Karron for using Department of Commerce (DOC) research grant funding for personal expenses. The Department of Justice (DOJ) stated in a release that Karron, "who holds a Ph.D. in mathematics, obtained research funding for a project involving the application of computer technology and advanced mathematics to medical uses", but used the grant funding "to pay rent and for apartment-related expenses, including a cleaning service" and for "psychotherapy, dental work and electrolysis".

3/18. The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a criminal complaint in the U.S. District Court (NDCal) against Samsung SDI Company Ltd. alleging price fixing and market allocation in the market for color display tubes (CDTs). The DOJ added in a release that Samsung "has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $32 million criminal fine for its role in a global conspiracy to fix prices, reduce output and allocate market shares".

3/18. The U.S. District Court (NDTex) sentenced Jesse William McGraw to 110 months in prison following his plea of guilty to two counts of violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1030 in connection with his unauthorized access to, and transmission of malicious code to, a protected computer system. The Department of Justice (DOJ) stated in a release that he was contract security guard at the North Central Medical Plaza in Dallas, Texas, when he "gained physical access to more than 14 computers, including a nurses' station computer on the fifth floor and a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) computer located in a locked room". The DOJ added that he "installed, or transmitted, a program to the computers that he accessed that allowed him, or anyone with his account name and password, to remotely access the computers. He also impaired the integrity of some of the computer systems by removing security features, e.g., uninstalling anti-virus programs, which made the computer systems and related network more vulnerable to attack. He also installed malicious codes (sometimes called ``bots´´) on most of the computers." (Parentheses in original.)

3/18. The U.S. District Court (SDNY) sentenced Sergey Aleynikov to serve 97 months in prison following his plea of guilty to theft of trade secrets and interstate transportation of stolen property in connection with his theft of proprietary computer code concerning a high-frequency trading platform from his former employer, Goldman Sachs, just before moving to new employment with Teza Technologies. The Department of Justice (DOJ) stated in a release that on his last day of work at Goldman Sachs, he "transferred substantial portions of the firm’s proprietary computer code for its trading platform to an outside computer server in Germany. He encrypted the files and transferred them over the Internet without informing Goldman Sachs. After transferring the files, he deleted the program he used to encrypt them and deleted his computer's ``bash history,´´ which records the most recent commands executed on his computer." The DOJ added that throughout his employment, he also "transferred thousands of computer code files related to the firm's proprietary trading program from the firm's computers to his home computers, without the knowledge or authorization of Goldman Sachs." The indictment also included a charge of unauthorized access to a protected computer system in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1030. See, "More Tech Crimes" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,048, February 22, 2010.

3/3. The U.S. Attorneys Office (USAO) for the Southern District of New York announced the arrest of Brian McCarthy on charges of criminal copyright infringement. The USAO stated in a release that he "illegally streamed live, copyrighted sporting event telecasts, Pay-Per-View events, and other television programming through Channelsurfing.net, a website he operated." On February 1, 2011, the U.S. District Court (SDNY) issued a seizure warrant for the domain name.

2/28. Paul Devine pled guilty in U.S. District Court (NDCal) to wire fraud, conspiracy and money laundering in connection with a scheme to defraud Apple. The Department of Justice (DOJ) stated in a release that "the fraudulent scheme involved Devine transmitting Apple's confidential information, such as product forecasts, roadmaps, pricing targets, product specifications, and data obtained from Apple's business partners, to suppliers and manufacturers of Apple parts. In return, the suppliers and manufacturers paid Devine kickbacks, including payments determined as a percentage of the business they did with Apple. The scheme enabled the suppliers and manufacturers to, among other things, negotiate more favorable contracts with Apple than they would have been able to obtain without the confidential information." This case is U.S. v. Paul Devine, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division, D.C. No. CR 10-00603 JW.

2/28. The U.S. District Court (NDCal) sentenced Ming Shao to probation and home detention following her plea of guilty to one count of unauthorized access to a protected computer system, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1030(a)(2)(C) and (c)(2)(B)(iii). The Department of Justice (DOJ) stated in a release that she accessed the e-mail system of her former employer, cloud computing company Panterra Networks. This case is U.S. v. Ming Shao, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, D.C. No. CR 10-748.

2/8. A trial jury of the U.S. District Court (EDVa) returned a verdict of guilty against Iheanyi Frank Chinasa on charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud,  and obstruction of an official proceeding. The Department of Justice (DOJ) stated in a release that he engaged in a scheme to defraud Cisco Systems. The DOJ stated that he "manufactured counterfeit computer networking and telecommunications equipment", and then claimed to Cisco that he was "having trouble with a Cisco product covered by a warranty. Cisco would issue replacement parts".

2/7. A trial jury of the U.S. District Court (MDLa) returned a verdict of guilty against Wen Chyu Liu, aka David W. Liou, on one count of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft and one count of perjury. The Department of Justice (DOJ) stated in a release that he stole trade secrets from Dow Chemical Company and then sold them to companies in the People's Republic of China (PRC).

2/1. The U.S. District Court (EDMich) unsealed a superseding indictment that charges Gregg M. Berger with one count of conspiracy in connection with his participation in a securities e-mail pump and dump scheme. See, Department of Justice (DOJ) release. This is yet another indictment in a long running series of related prosecutions. Other defendants have already been convicted under various federal statutes, including the federal CAN-SPAM Act (18 U.S.C. § 1037). See also, stories titled "Ralsky Sentenced to Four Years in Prison" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,017, November 23, 2009, "DOJ Prosecutes Operators of Pump and Dump Securities Scheme Under CAN-SPAM and CFAA" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,695, January 4, 2008, "Ralsky, Bown and Others Plead Guilty in CAN-SPAM and CFAA Case" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,960, June 23, 2009, and "SPAM Software Designer Pleads Guilty in Ralsky Case" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,968, July 9, 2009.

1/31. The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in a release that Oracle has agreed to give the federal government $46 Million to settle claims that Sun Microsystems, which Oracle acquired in 2010, submitted false claims to the General Services Administration (GSA) and other federal agencies in violation of the Federal Claims Act.

3/28. The Senate confirmed Mae D'Agostino to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court (NDNY) by a vote of 88-0. See, Roll Call No. 46.

3/24. Anne Small was named Deputy General Counsel of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), effective "next week". See, SEC release. She will replace Mark Cahn, who was named SEC General Counsel in February. Small previously worked in the New York City office of the law firm of Wilmer Hale.

3/24. A grand jury of the U.S. District Court (DCD) returned an indictment that charges Douglas Hampton, a former administrative assistant to Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee (SCC), with seven counts of violating the conflict of interest laws in connection with his alleging lobbying within one year of leaving Sen. Ensign's employment in 2008. See, Department of Justice (DOJ) release. This case is being handled by the DOJ's Criminal Division's Public Integrity Section, a unit with a checkered record of adherence to federal law.

3/28. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published a notice in the Federal Register that sets comment deadlines for its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [52 pages in PDF] regarding retransmission consent negotiations. The deadline to submit initial comments is May 27, 2011. The deadline to submit reply comments is June 27, 2011. The FCC adopted and released this NPRM on March 3, 2011. It is FCC 11-31 in MB Docket No. 10-71. See, Federal Register, March 28, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 59, at Pages 17071-17088.

3/28. The National Science Foundation (NSF) published a notice in the Federal Register on behalf of the National Coordination Office for Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NCO/NITRD) announcing a workshop on May 17, 2011, on cyber security research titled "Distributed Data Schemes Provide Security". This notice announces the workshop, calls for participation, set the date (but not the time or place), and sets the deadline to apply to participate (April 15, 2011). See, NITRD issue summary and notice in the Federal Register, March 28, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 59, at Page 17158-17159.

3/22. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Enforcement Bureau (EB) issued a document [2 pages in PDF] titled "FCC Enforcement Advisory" regarding FCC regulation of broadcasters' advertising contracts. It states again that "Licensees of commercial broadcast stations must certify that their advertising sales agreements do not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity and that all such agreements contain nondiscrimination clauses." The documents notes reports that some contracts contain "no urban/no Spanish" clauses.

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The House will return from its March recess. It will meet at 2:00 PM for legislative business. It will consider several non-technology related items. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. See Rep. Cantor's schedule for week of March 28.

The Senate will meet at 10:00 AM. It will resume consideration of S 493 [LOC | WW], the "SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011".

8:30 AM - 12:30 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) National Science Board's (NSB) Task Force on Data Policies. The agenda for this meeting includes discussion of "Data-Intensive Science" and "High Performance Cyberinfrastructure". See, notice in the Federal Register, March 21, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 54, at Pages 15349-15350. Location: NSF, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Room 1235, Arlington, VA.

2:00 - 3:30 PM. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division will host a presentation titled "Coordinated Effects in the 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines". The speaker will be Bob Marshall (Penn State) co-author of a paper [PDF] with the same title. 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.

POSTPONED. 2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Economic Ramifications of Cyber Threats and Vulnerabilities to the Private Sector". The witnesses will be Gordon Snow (Federal Bureau of Investigation Cyber Division), Harriet Pearson (Chief Privacy Officer at IBM), Sara Santarelli (Chief Network Security Officer at Verizon), and Thomas Kellerman (Core Security Technologies). See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

4:00 - 6:30 PM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed hearing titled "Ongoing Intelligence Activities". Location: Room HVC-304, House Visitor Center.

Deadline to submit comments to the Copyright Office (CO) in response to its Request for Information regarding commercial television broadcast stations that qualify as as specialty stations. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 28, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 19, at Pages 5213-5214.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. It will consider several non-technology related items. See Rep. Cantor's schedule for week of March 28.

8:45 AM - 2:30 PM. The U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCESRC) will hold a meeting titled "Chinese State-Owned Enterprises and U.S.-China Bilateral Investment". See, notice in the Federal Register, March 25, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 58, at Pages 16856-16857. Location: Room 538, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation". The witness will be Robert Mueller (FBI Director). The SJC will webcast this event. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security will hold a hearing titled "The Permanent Provisions of the PATRIOT Act". The witnesses will be Todd Hinnen (acting Assistant Attorney General in charge of the DOJ's National Security Division), Kenneth Wainstein (O'Melveny & Myers), and Mike German (ACLU). See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Homeland Security Committee (HHSC) will hold a hearing titled "Public Safety Communications: Are the Needs of Our First Responders Being Met?". The witnesses will be William Carrow, President (Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International), Jack Parow (International Association of Fire Chiefs), and Paul Fitzgerald (National Sheriffs' Association). See, notice. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a web cast panel discussion titled "Data Breach Response: Real-World Examples of Why the Best Defense Is a Good Offense". The price ranges from $95-$115. CLE credits. See, notice.

12:30 - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a lunch. The speaker will be Austin Schlick, General Counsel of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). This event is closed to reporters. See, notice. The price to attend ranges from free to $209. For more information, call 202-626-3463. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

1:00 - 4:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Technological Advisory Council will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 15, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 50, at Pages 14009-14010. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

1:30 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet will hold a hearing on HR __, the "America Invents Act", the yet to be introduced House version of S 23 [LOC | WW], which the Senate passed on March 8, 2011. See, story titled "Senate Passes Patent Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,202, March 10, 2011. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The House Appropriations Committee's (HAC) Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government will hold a hearing on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) FY 2012 budget request. The witness will be Julius Genachowski, FCC Chairman. See, HAC schedule for week of March 28. Location: Room 2359, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The House Appropriations Committee's (HAC) Subcommittee on Homeland Security will hold a hearing on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) science and technology FY 2012 budget request. The witness will be Tara O’Toole, Under Secretary for Science & Technology Science & Technology. See, HAC schedule for week of March 28. Location: Room 2362-A, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The House Foreign Affairs Committee's (HFAC) Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing titled "Is America’s Foreign Broadcasting Consistent with Our Nation’s Interests and Our Commitment to Freedom?". See, notice. Location: Room 2172, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The USTelecom will host a webcast panel discussion titled "FCC Insight on USF and Intercarrier Compensation Reform". The speakers will be Rebekah Goodheart (FCC), Carol Mattey (FCC), and Jon Banks (USTelecom). See also, FCC NPRM [289 pages in PDF] adopted on February 8, 2011. It is FCC 11-13 in WC Docket No. 10-90, GN Docket No. 09-51, WC Docket No. 07-135, WC Docket No. 05-337, CC Docket No. 01-92, CC Docket No. 96-45, and WC Docket No. 03-109. Free. See, notice.

TIME CHANGE. 2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Nominations". The witness will include Donald Verrilli (nominated to be DOJ Solicitor General) and Virginia Seitz (nominated to be Assistant Attorney General in charge of the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel). See, story titled "Obama Picks Seitz for OLC" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,194, January 6, 2010. The SJC will webcast this event. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "Spectrum Valuation Issues in the Context of The FCC’s National Broadband Plan". The speakers will include Rebecca Hanson (FCC's Media Bureau). The price to attend ranges from $25 to $150. CLE credits. See, notice. Location: Covington & Burling, 1201 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

Day one of a three day conference of the American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law. See, conference web site. Prices vary. CLE credits. Location: JW Marriott Hotel.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [71 pages in PDF] regarding changes to the Form 477 data program. The FCC adopted and released this NPRM on February 8, 2011. It is FCC 11-14 in WC Docket Nos. 07-38, 09-190, 10-132, 11-10. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 28, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 39, at Pages 10827-10852.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. It will consider several non-technology related items. See Rep. Cantor's schedule for week of March 28.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda again includes consideration of Goodwin Liu (to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit) and John McConnell (to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island). Both face substantial opposition. The agenda also includes consideration Kevin Sharp (USDC/MDTenn), Roy Dalton (USDC/MDFl), Claire Cecchi (USDC/DNJ), Esther Salas (USDC/DNJ), Paul Oetken (USDC/SDNY), and Paul Engelmayer (USDC/SDNY). The agenda also includes consideration of S 410 [LOC | WW], the "Sunshine in the Courtroom Act". The SJC rarely follows its published agendas. The SJC will webcast this event. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Appropriations Committee's (HAC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies will hold a hearing on the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) FY 2012 budget request. The witness will be John Holdren, OSTP Director. See, HAC schedule for week of March 28. Location: Room H-309, Capitol Building.

10:00 AM. The House Appropriations Committee's (HAC) Subcommittee on Homeland Security will hold a closed hearing on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cyber security and infrastructure protection FY 2012 budget request. The witnesses will be Rand Beers (Under Secretary of the National Protection & Programs Directorate) and Phil Reitinger (Deputy Under Secretary of National Protection & Programs Directorate). See, HAC schedule for week of March 28. Location: Room H-405, Capitol Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on on Immigration Policy and Enforcement will hold a hearing titled "H-1B Visas: Designing a Program to Meet the Needs of the U.S. Economy and U.S. Workers". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Finance Committee (SFC) will hold a hearing titled "APEC 2011: Breaking Down Barriers, Creating Economic Growth". See, notice. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

1:00 PM. The USTelecom will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Optical Network Edge". The speaker will be Kevin Morgan (Adtran). Free. See, notice.

2:00 PM. The House Foreign Affairs Committee's (HFAC) Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific will hold a hearing titled "Asia Overview: Protecting American Interests in China and Asia". See, notice. Location: Room 2200, Rayburn Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) will hold a hearing on the FY 2012 budget request for the Library of Congress. See, notice. Location: Room 138, Dirksen Building.

Day two of a three day conference of the American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law. See, conference web site. Prices vary. CLE credits. Location: JW Marriott Hotel.

Target date for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) to conclude 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 nominations to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for the award of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation (NMTI). See, notice in the Federal Register, December 30, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 250, at Page 82378.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its draft SP 800-131 C [12 pages in PDF] titled "Transitions: Validating the Transition from FIPS 186-2 to FIPS 186-3".

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its draft SP 800-131 B [11 pages in PDF] titled "Transitions: Validation of Transitioning Cryptographic Algorithm and Key Lengths".

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in response to its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 25, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 38, at Pages 10569-10571.

Deadline to submit comments to the Copyright Royalty Judges regarding the motion filed by the Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), SESAC, and Harry Fox Agency (HFA) for partial distribution of the digital audio recording technology (DART) musical works funds for 2005 through 2008. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 1, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 40, at Pages 11287-11288.

The House may meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. See Rep. Cantor's schedule for week of March 28.

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

9:00 - 11:00 AM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed hearing titled "FY 2012 Budget Overview". Location: Room HVC-304, House Visitor Center.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "Competition and Consolidation in Financial Markets". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:30 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will hold a hearing on HR __, a yet to be introduced bill regarding broadband spending under HR 1 (111th Congress) for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and Rural Utilities Service (RUS). See, notice. Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advisory Committee for Cyberinfrastructure will meet, on site and by teleconference. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 16, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 51, at Page 14436. Location: NSF, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Room 1160, Arlington, VA.

Day three of a three day conference of the American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law. See, conference web site. Prices vary. CLE credits. Location: JW Marriott Hotel.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Commerce (DOC) in response to its Notice and Request for Information regarding the USA's "innovative capacity and international competitiveness". See, original notice in the Federal Register, February 4, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 24, at Pages 6395-6397, and correction notice in the Federal Register, February 17, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 33, at Pages 9320.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The DC Bar Association will host an event titled "Demystifying Social Media -- What Every Lawyer Should Know". The speakers will be Tasha Coleman, Tom Foster, Laura Possessky, Michelle Thomas. See, notice. Free. For more information, contact Daniel Mills at 202-626-1312. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

12:30 - 2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) International Telecommunications Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Internet Ecosystem". The speakers will include Jack Nadler (Squire Sanders), Michael Kende (Analysys Mason USA), Paul Kouroupas (Global Crossing), Eric Loeb (AT&T), and Dennis Weller (Navigant Economics). For more information, contact Jennifer Ullman at jennifer at thejgroupplanning dot com. Location: Squire Sanders, Suite 500, 1201 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding extending to June 30, 2012, the current freeze of jurisdictional separations category relationships and cost allocation factors. This NPRM is FCC 11-34 in CC Docket No. 80-286. The FCC adopted and released it on March 1, 2011. See, Federal Register, March 14, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 49, at Pages 13576-13579.

No events listed.