9/21. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced S __ [PDF], the "Internet Radio Fairness Act of 2012" in the Senate. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) introduced HR 6480 [LOC | WW], a substantially identical bill in the House.

Sen. Wyden issued a release that states that "Since the passage of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in 1998, Internet Radio providers have been forced to pay royalty rates for the songs they broadcast that are considerably higher than their competitors in this digital marketplace. These unfair and discriminatory royalty rates have stifled innovation, competition and the growth of the music marketplace."

Currently, Copyright Royalty Judges set royalty rates for cable and satellite radio under one standard, and royalty rates for internet radio under another. These bills would put internet radio under the same standard as cable and satellite.

Rep. Chaffetz and Rep. Polis issued a release that states that "The long-established method (known as the 801(b) standard) that copyright judges use to determine royalty rates for satellite and cable providers enables a broader and balanced set of factors to be considered. HR 6480 puts Internet radio under this 801(b) standard. The 801(b) standard helps strike the appropriate balance to promote the creation of copyrighted works and encourage copyright users to develop new markets for these works. The 801(b) standard is used for all other forms of statutory royalty rate setting, including for cable and satellite radio and for determining the royalties paid by the recording industry to music publishers and songwriters, and has worked successfully since 1976." (Parentheses in original.) See, 17 U.S.C. § 801.

The Computer and Communications Industry Association's (CCIA) Ed Black stated in a release that "As consumers demand new ways to listen to music using the latest technology, we need to update the laws to ensure that new competitors do not face discrimination as they enter the marketplace. Charging different rates for different digital radio providers is fundamentally unfair and goes against the interests of an economy that has time and again chosen to boost competition and innovation."

The CCIA's Matt Schruers added that "The current system we have to set royalty rates is the result of piecemeal legislation that favors some digital radio providers over others. Language in the Copyright Act actually directs those setting royalty rates to “minimize any disruptive impact” on current industries -- or in other words -- support incumbents and discourage competition from new players."

He said that "This legislation would update the law to no longer discourage competition since technology has enabled different distribution methods for radio offerings."

The Consumer Electronics Association's (CEA) Michael Petricone stated in a release that "Under today’s outdated rules, Internet radio providers are forced to pay a significantly larger percentage of royalties than their competitors. In some cases, Internet radio providers pay half of their annual revenues in performance royalties, while other music providers pay less than 10 percent. This irrational and unfair royalty system hinders investment and innovation in Internet radio." He added that these bills "will drive innovation, investment and jobs, not just in Internet radio but also in the hardware used to access Internet services."

Pandora's Tim Westergren stated in a release that "Royalty rates for different formats of digital radio are astonishingly unequal. Currently, internet radio shoulders the largest royalty burden, far higher than any other form of radio. Last year, Pandora paid roughly 50 percent of its total revenue in royalties, more than six times the percentage paid by SiriusXM. The Internet Radio Fairness Act of 2012 addresses this discriminatory practice of favoring one form of digital radio over another by extending the common standard to include internet radio."

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) stated in a release that the "NAB appreciates the leadership of Reps. Chaffetz and Polis and Sen. Wyden and strongly supports legislative efforts to establish fair webcast streaming rates. NAB will work with the bill's sponsors and all interested parties to create broadcast radio streaming rates that promote new distribution platforms and new revenue streams that foster the future growth of music."

On August 20, 2012, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) released a discussion draft [9 pages in PDF] of a bill to be titled "Interim Fairness in Radio Starting Today Act of 2012", or the "Interim FIRST Act". See, story titled "Rep. Nadler Releases Draft Bill Regarding Performance Rights" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,434, August 22, 2012.

9/20. The Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus (CIAPC) released a report titled ""International Anti-Piracy Caucus Country Watch List".

This report states that it "calls attention in 2012 to copyright piracy problems in China, Russia, Italy, Switzerland, and Ukraine. The lack of enforcement of intellectual property rights in these countries causes grave harm to American creators and to our economy as a whole."

It continues that "China, Russia, and Ukraine were highlighted in 2011 by the Caucus and continue to lag in efforts to combat piracy. Italy and Switzerland make their first appearance on the watch list, though insufficient protections for copyright are a longstanding problem in both nations."

This report adds that "We also note tentative progress in two nations that have been highlighted in past watch lists -- Canada and Spain. Both Canada and Spain have taken positive steps towards putting in place a stronger legal framework for the protection of copyright, and as such we have included them thisyear as countries in transition to acknowledge the progress made, while urging both to follow through strongly on their commitments."

This report announces progress in removing advertising from web sites dedicated to infringing activities. It states that the 2011 report "highlighted the important role of private sector players in reducing copyright infringement, particularly in the online advertising sector. The Caucus called on all actors in the online advertising ecosystem, including advertisers, advertising agencies, and online ad networks to develop mechanisms to prevent online pirates from profiting from their theft. We are pleased that in June 2012 the Association of National Advertisers and the American Association of Advertising Agencies, in consultation with the Interactive Advertising Bureau, released a statement of ``best practices.´´ These principles call on members to each commit to take affirmative steps to avoid placement of their ads on sites dedicated to infringement of intellectual property rights."

The Chairmen of the CIAPC are Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT). Sen. Hatch issued a release, and Rep. Schiff issued a substantially identical release.

Rep. Schiff stated that the purpose of this Watch List is "to alert those pirates and the countries helping them that we are paying attention and we expect our trading partners to protect the intellectual property rights of creators".

Robert Holleyman, head of the Business Software Alliance (BSA), stated in a release that "The total value of pirated software reached more than $63.4 billion worldwide last year, and the countries on this year’s watch list represent nearly a quarter of that amount."

Tom Allen, head of the Association of American Publishers (AAP), praised the report in a release. He stated that "Every sector of the US publishing industry is affected by physical and digital piracy, with Canada and China among our greater concerns. It is imperative that those who learn, enjoy and value US published works recognize that threats to intellectual property rights will divert publishers’ investments in content and innovation." This release adds that Canada "poses significant problems for the publishing industry. While the country’s recently-enacted Copyright Modernization Act brings it closer to prevailing international copyright norms, the Act includes a number of new exceptions that raise questions about compliance with those norms. While the industry also saw some positive developments in China, there remains concern that commercial entities there persist in the unauthorized distribution of US-published scientific, technical and medical journal articles."

See also, RIAA release praising this report.

9/21. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the European Commission (EC) made coordinated announcements that both have approved the merger of Universal Music Group (UMG) and EMI Recorded Music.

The FTC closed its investigation, by a vote of 5-0. It wrote in letters to legal counsel for the merging companies that the FTC's Bureau of Competition (BOC) "has been conducting a nonpublic investigation to determine whether the proposed acquisition by Vivendi, S.A. of EMI Recorded Music may violate Section 7 of the Clayton Act or Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act." (Vivendi is the parent company of UMG.)

The FTC letters state, "Upon further review of this matter, it now appears that no further action is warranted by the Commission at this time. Accordingly, the investigation has been closed. This action is not to be construed as a determination that a violation may not have occurred, just as the pendency of an investigation should not be construed as a determination that a violation has occurred. The Commission reserves the right to take such further action as the public interest may require."

The FTC imposed no conditions. However, the EC conditioned its approval on EMI's divestiture of the Parlophone label and other assets. The EC stated in a release that it "had concerns that the transaction, as initially notified, would have allowed Universal to significantly worsen the licensing terms it offers to digital platforms that sell music to consumers. To meet these concerns, Universal offered substantial commitments. In light of these commitments, the Commission concluded that the transaction would not raise competition concerns anymore."

Section 7 of the Clayton Act, which is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 18, is the statute that gives the FTC and Department of Justice (DOJ) authority to block mergers and acquisitions that may substantially lessen competition, or tend to create a monopoly.

Section 7 of the Clayton Act provides, in part, that "No person engaged in commerce or in any activity affecting commerce shall acquire, directly or indirectly, the whole or any part of the stock or other share capital and no person subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission shall acquire the whole or any part of the assets of another person engaged also in commerce or in any activity affecting commerce, where in any line of commerce or in any activity affecting commerce in any section of the country, the effect of such acquisition may be substantially to lessen competition, or to tend to create a monopoly."

Section 5 of the FTC Act, which is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 45, is an anti-fraud consumer protection statute, which the FTC, under the Chairmanship of Jonathan Leibowitz, now asserts is an all purpose antitrust statute, but without the associated body of case law to limit FTC application.

The FTC also released a two page statement [PDF] by Richard Feinstein, Director of the BOC, that explains the FTC's Clayton Act analysis. It makes no reference to Section 5 of the FTC Act.

It states that FTC "staff did not find sufficient evidence of head-to-head competition to conclude that the combination of Universal and EMI would substantially lessen competition. In the recorded music business, the products are highly differentiated, and companies compete for distribution in multiple ways, including: (1) the sale of new titles in large retailers; (2) the sale of catalog titles; and (3) the opportunity to promote artists and records. Commission staff therefore considered the level of direct competition between Universal and EMI across all of these different types of channels. Universal is very strong in popular new releases, but EMI -- the smallest of the Majors -- has a portfolio much more heavily weighted toward older titles."

This statement also addresses the FTC staff's assessment of "the impact of the acquisition on the development of interactive music streaming services". The conclusion was that "each leading interactive streaming service must carry the music of each Major to be competitive. Because each Major currently controls recorded music necessary for these streaming services, the music is more complementary than substitutable in this context, leading to limited direct competition between Universal and EMI. In the end, insufficient evidence existed showing that Universal and EMI offer products that could be viewed by streaming services as direct substitutes."

The Public Knowledge's (PK) Jodie Griffin wrote a short piece in which she criticized the FTC's decision. She wrote that "UMG has clearly recognized that even if it doesn't stay relevant in today's market by adapting to changing technology and consumer demands, it can maintain its position in the marketplace simply by consolidating gatekeeper power over the businesses that are trying to move the music industry forward. Why earn relevance when you can buy it? This decision by the FTC bodes ill for the foreseeable future of the digital music business. The FTC has enabled the dominant gatekeeper to further entrench itself between musicians and their fans, now with even less competition to pressure UMG to be fair to either."

The Tech Freedom's Berin Szoka praised the approval. He also offered some parting comments for Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI), the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, who is not running for re-election in November.

Szoka wrote that "Senator Herb Kohl isn't happy that the FTC imposed no conditions on the deal. This is hardly surprising, since he's been repeating the same ``Big is Bad´´ mantra for over twenty years. But the entire point of having an expert agency like the FTC is to ensure that mergers are assessed under antitrust law's legal doctrines -- which are grounded in the same law and economics scholarship that has so thoroughly discredited Kohl's visceral loathing of mergers. Let's hope whoever succeeds Kohl as Chairman of the Senate Antitrust Committee is more humble about his ability to out-smart either the FTC or the great ongoing churn of the digital revolution. That, ultimately, is what protects consumers, not political grandstanding."

9/19. Gordon Smith, head of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), gave a speech in Dallas, Texas at the 2012 Radio Show in which he discussed radios in smart phones.

He discussed the role of local broadcasters in providing warnings and information about natural disasters, such as .Hurricane Katrina.

He said, "what better way to inform people of pending danger than through built in radio in their mobile phones? When phone service and the Internet go down because of capacity constraints -- as we saw during Hurricane Katrina -- radio stays on".

He stated that "the wireless carriers are trying to do their part. They have implemented a text message-based wireless emergency alert system to inform people during times of crisis. But its ability is limited. Let's take a look at an example of a wireless emergency alert message. They only have 90 characters to share critical information with the public, and as you can see, they are wise to direct their customers to turn to local media for the full story."

"We are natural partners, and we must work together. Radio can supplement these emergency alert efforts, since our medium doesn't have these type of limitations."

He continued that "all of the top 10 best-selling smartphones in the U.S. were already equipped with radio chips. But, unfortunately, none of them had the chip activated. Now some might see this as terrible news. But I'm an optimist. I think this information simply proves what an easy lift it would be for the wireless carriers to activate this service for the safety and convenience of their customers. These phones represent more than 70 percent of the smartphones sold during the first quarter of this year -- that's 17 million units. Activating these radio chips presents huge opportunities for listeners, wireless companies and broadcasters alike."

Smith also said that "radio's future lies in being incorporated into every new device".

See also, other TLJ stories on radio in mobile devices:

• "Telecom and Tech Groups Oppose Proposed FM in Mobile Mandate" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,128, September 8, 2010.
• "Issa and Eshoo Oppose Radio Tuners Mandate" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,230 May 2, 2011.
• "Representatives Address Hurricanes, Broadcasting, and Radio Tuners in Mobile Phones" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,389, June 4, 2012.

9/22. The Senate adjourned, except for pro forma sessions, until Tuesday, November 13, 2012.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee (SBC), delivered the Weekly Republican Address [YouTube] on Saturday, September 22. He stated that "the Senate Democrat Majority has decided to adjourn through November having utterly failed to meet its most basic obligations. For the last three years, in a time of national crisis, Senate Democrats have deliberately violated the legal requirement to produce a budget plan."

Sen. Sessions added that "They also failed to pass a single annual appropriations bill -- not once, but twice -- the first time a single spending bill wasn’t passed in Senate history. They would not even bring up the crucial national defense authorization bill -- for the first time in 50 years. And they presented no plan to prevent the huge tax hikes and steep cuts to defense known as the fiscal cliff."

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), the Senate Majority Leader, stated in the Senate, "I’ve listened to my Republican colleagues come to the Senate floor to lament how little the Senate has accomplished during the 112th Congress. I share that concern. In fact, it’s a wonder we’ve gotten anything done at all, considering the lack of cooperation Democrats have gotten from our Republican colleagues." See, transcript.

The House will not meet. It will next meet on Tuesday, September 25.

The Senate will not meet. It is in recess, except for pro forma sessions, until November 13, 2012.

The Supreme Court will hold its opening conference for the October Term 2012.

TIME? The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) will hold a hearing regarding Canada's participation in the negotiation of a Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. The OUSTR seeks comments on numerous issues, including "electronic commerce issues" and "trade-related intellectual property rights issues". The deadline to submit written requests to present oral testimony is September 4. The deadline to submit written comments is 12:00 NOON on September 4. See, notice in the Federal Register Vol. 77, No. 141, July 23, 2012, at Pages 43131-43133. Location: OUSTR, Rooms 1, and 2, 1724 F St., NW.

12:00 NOON. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Making the Most of Your IPad/Tablet -- Tools and Tips for Bar Staff". The speaker will be Tom Mighell. Prices vary. No CLE credits. See, notice.

12:00 NOON. Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) to assist it in preparing its annual report to the Congress on the People's Republic of China's (PRC) compliance with its World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 161, August 20, 2012, at Pages 50206-50207. See also, story titled "OUSTR to Receive Comments and Hold Hearing on PRC Compliance with WTO Obligations" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,431, August 17, 2012.

1:00 - 4:00 The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Technological Advisory Council will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 168, August 29, 2012, at Pages 52332-52333. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

1:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 181, September 18, 2012, at Pages 57558-57559. Location: NOAA, auditorium, 1301 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Recommendations from the mHealth Task Force". The speakers will include Julius Genachowski (FCC Chairman), Robert Jarrin (Qualcomm), Julian Goldman (Partners Healthcare System), Douglas Trauner (TheCarrot.com), and Robert Atkinson (ITIF). See, notice. Location: ITIF/ITIC, Suite 610A, 1101 K St., NW.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM.

Yom Kippur begins at sundown.

9:00 AM - 12:30 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) First Responder Network Authority Board will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 178, September 13, 2012, at Pages 56622-56623. Location: DOC, Secretary's Conference Room, 14th and Constitution Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The Heritage Foundation will host an event titled "Supreme Court Preview: 2012 Term". The speakers will be Paul Clement (Bancroft) and Thomas Goldstein (Goldstein & Russell), and Todd Gaziano (Heritage). See, notice. Location: Heritage, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

2:00 - 4:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "The Ethics of Outsourcing E-Discovery". The speakers will be Conrad Jacoby (efficientEDD), Thomas Mason (Zuckerman Spaeder), and Ashish Prasad (Discovery Services). The price to attend ranges from $89 to $129.  CLE credits. See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3488. The DC Bar has a history of barring reporters from its events. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

2:00 - 3:30 PM. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division's (AD) Economic Analysis Group (EAG) will host a presentation titled "Promotional Reviews: An Empirical Investigation of Online Review Manipulation". The speaker will be Judy Chevalier (Yale School of Management and NBER). See, paper with the same title by Chevalier, Yaniv Dover (Dartmouth) and Dina Mayzlin (USC). For more information, contact Gloria Sheu at gloria dot sheu at usdoj dot gov or 202-532-4932 or Nathan Miller at nathan dot miller at usdoj dot gov or 202-307-3773. Location: Liberty Square Building, EAG conference room, LSB 9429, 450 5th St., NW.

4:00 - 5:30 PM. The George Mason University School of Law's Information Economy Project will host a lecture by Bronwyn Howell titled "Regulating Broadband Networks". Free. See, notice. Location: GMU law school, Founder's Hall, Room 111, 3301 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA.

EXTENDED TO OCTOBER 25. Deadline to submit initial comments to the Copyright Office (CO) regarding proposed changes to CO regulations for reporting Monthly and Annual Statements of Account for the making and distribution of phonorecords under the compulsory license. See, original notice in the Federal Register (FR), Vol. 77, No. 145, Friday, July 27, 2012, at Pages 44179-44197, and extension notice in the FR, Vol. 77, No. 176, September 11, 2012, at Pages 55783-55784.

12:00 NOON. The World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Tracking Protection Working Group will meet by teleconference. The call in number is 1-617-761-6200. The passcode is TRACK (87225).

12:30 - 1:30 PM. The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "USPTO Statistics Initiative". The speakers will be Manny Schecter (IBM), Bradley Forrest (Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner), David Wiley (USPTO). CLE credits. Prices vary. See, notice.

12:30 - 2:00 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host an on site and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Recent US Free Trade Agreements: Where We Are and Where We Are Going". The speakers will be Claudia Candela (Director of Trade, Colombia Trade Bureau), Everett Eisensstat (Trade Counsel, Senate Finance Committee), Elif Eroglu (US Customs and Border Protection), and Felicia Nowels (Akerman Senterfitt). No CLE credits. Prices vary. See, notice. Location: Akerman Senterfitt, Suite 750, 750 9th St., NW.

EXTENDED TO OCTOBER 19. Deadline to submit comments to the Copyright Office (CO) in response to its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding creating a small copyright claims process. See, extension notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 179, September 14, 2012, at Pages 56874-56875.

The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Auction 901 is scheduled to begin. This will auction high cost universal service subsidies through reverse competitive bidding. It is also titled "Mobility Fund Phase I Auction". See, Public Notice (PN) [21 pages in PDF] released on February 2, 2012. It is DA 12-121 in AU Docket No. 12-25. See also, notice in the Federal Register (FR), Vol. 77, No. 28, February 10, 2012, at Pages 7152-7162, notice in the FR, Vol. 77, No. 46, March 8, 2012, at Pages 14012-14014, and notice in the FR, Vol. 77, No. 105, May 31, 2012, at Pages 32092-32111. See also, September 14 Public Notice (DA 12-1456), and notice in the FR, Vol. 77, No. 180, September 17, 2012, at Pages 57085-57086.

12:00 NOON - 1:15 PM. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law will host an on site and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Effects of Patent Assertion Entities on Competition and Innovation". The speakers will be Andrea Murino (Wilson Sonsini), Robert Harris (Charles River Associates), Margaret Ward (Jones Day), and Jeffrey Wilder (DOJ Antitrust Division). Free. No CLE credits. See, notice. Location: Wilson Sonsini, 5th floor, 1700 K St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:30 PM. The Federalist Society will host a panel discussion titled "Supreme Court Preview: What Is in Store for October Term 2012?". The speakers will be Tom Goldstein (Goldstein & Russell), Nicholas Rosenkranz (Georgetown University Law Center), Carrie Severino (Judicial Crisis Network), Stuart Taylor (National Journal), Kenneth Wainstein (Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft), and Pete Williams (NBC News). See, notice and registration page. Location: National Press Club, 529 14th St., NW.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Counsel or iCounsel: Ethical and Practical Issues in Using Artificial Intelligence in E-Discovery". The speakers will be John Barkett (Shook Hardy & Bacon), Julia Brickell (H5), Jeffrey Fowler (O’Melveny & Myers), Dera Nevin (McCarthy Tétrault), and Kris Vann (H5). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

5:00 PM. The University of Maryland's (UM) Cyber Security Center will host a presentation titled "The State of the Hack" by Kevin Mandia (CEO of Mandiant). This event is free, and open to the public, but registration is required. See, notice. Location: UM, Kim Engineering Building Lecture Hall, Room 1110, MD.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "An Evening with a Hacker". Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice. The deadline for registrations and cancellations is 12:00 NOON on September 26, 2012. Location: Bingham & McCutcheon, 2020 K St., NW.

10:30 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may hold an event titled "Open Meeting". See, FCC tentative agenda and story titled "FCC Releases Tentative Agenda for September 28 Meeting" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,443, September 7, 2012. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room (Room TW-C305), 445 12th St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Tech Freedom (TF) will host a panel discussion titled "Should the FTC Sue Google Over Search?" The speakers will be Eric Clemons (University of Pennsylvania business school), Allen Grunes (Brownstein Hyatt), Glenn Manishin (Troutman Sanders) and Geoffrey Manne (Lewis & Clark law school). The TF will webcast this event. See, notice and registration page. Location: Monocle Restaurant, 107 D St., NE.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a panel discussion titled "Fair Play: The State of Competition in the Business Broadband Marketplace". The speakers will be Michael Copps, Chip Pickering (Broadband Coalition), Gene Kimmelman (Global Partners), Todd Thibodeaux (CompTIA), Joseph Gillan (Gillan Associates), and Michael Calabrese (NAF). See, notice. Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Intellectual Property Committee will host a brown bag lunch regarding the Aereo service, and the public performance rights and reproduction rights of broadcasters. See, complaint [36 pages in PDF] filed on March 1, 2012, in the U.S. District Court (SDNY) in WNET v. Aereo, D.C. No. 1:12-cv-01543-AJN. The District Court issued its opinion [PDF] on July 11 denying the plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction, citing the U.S. Court of Appeals' (2ndCir) 2008 opinion in Cartoon Network v. CSC Holdings, 536 F.3d 121. See, story titled "2nd Circuit Reverses in Remote Storage DVR Copyright Case" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,806, August 5, 2008. The speakers will be David Wittenstein (Dow Lohnes), Robert Garrett (Arnold & Porter), and Seth Davidson (Edwards Wildman). Location: Wilkinson Barker Knauer, Suite 700, 2300 N St., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making (FNPRM) [67 pages in PDF] regarding Medical Body Area Network (MBAN) coordinators for the 2360-2390 MHz band. The FCC adopted and released this item on May 24, 2012. It is 12-54 in ET Docket No. 08-59. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 143, Wednesday, July 25, 2012, at Pages 43567-43570.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) in response to its July 31, 2012 Public Notice that requests comment on a proposed survey of urban rates for fixed voice and fixed broadband residential services. That DA 12-1199 in WC Docket No. 10-90. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 168, August 29, 2012, at Pages 52279-52292.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in advance of its October 4 meeting of its Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (CSMAC). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 158, August 15, 2012, at Pages 48968-48969. See also, story titled "Spectrum Management Advisory Committee to Meet" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,431, August 17, 2012.

10:00 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) WRC-15 Advisory Committee will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 177, September 12, 2012, at Pages 56207-56208. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room (Room TW-C305), 445 12th St., SW.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [59 pages in PDF] regarding the 4940-4990 MHz (4.9 GHz) public safety band. The FCC adopted and released this FNPRM on June 13, 2012. It is FCC 12-61 in WP Docket No. 07-100, PS Docket No. 06-229, WT Docket No. 06-150. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 148, Wednesday, August 1, 2012, Pages 45558-45571. See also, August 3 Public Notice (DA 12-1268).

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) in response to its Fourth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding establishing and implementing a reconfigured 800 MHz channel plan along the U.S. Mexico border. The PSHSB released its Public Notice [31 pages in PDF] on August 17, 2012. It is DA 12-1343 in WT Docket No. 02-55. See also, August 31 Public Notice, and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 169, August 30, 2012, at Pages 52633-52636.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Media Bureau (MB) regarding TiVo's petition [15 pages in PDF] for waiver and clarification of the FCC's rules regarding set top boxes, codified at 47 C.F.R. § 76.640(b)(4)(iii). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 173, September 6, 2012, at Pages 54910-54911.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) regarding the second draft of Federal Information Processing Standard 140-3, Security Requirements for Cryptographic Modules. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 169, August 30, 2012, at Pages 52692-52693.

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