9/5. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a tentative agenda for its event titled "open meeting" scheduled for September 26, 2013. It is scheduled to adopt an NPRM regarding towers and birds, an NPRM regarding its TV ownership rule, and a MOO that resolves Bloomberg's two year old complaint against Comcast for allegedly violating the neighborhooding condition imposed with the approval of the Comcast NBCU transaction. There will also be a staff update on LPFM.

Birds. The FCC is scheduled to adopt a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding its antenna structure registration (ASR) program, and environmental processing.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which is codified at 42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq., requires all federal agencies, including the FCC, to identify and take into account environmental effects when deciding whether to authorize or undertake a major federal action.

Hence, the FCC must comply with the NEPA in proceedings pertaining to the effect of communications towers on migratory birds. The FCC opened a proceeding back on August 20, 2003 with a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) [18 pages in PDF]. See, story titled "FCC Release NOI On Communications Towers and Migratory Birds" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 723, August 21, 2003. The FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [40 pages in PDF] on November 7, 2006.

The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir), construing the NEPA, issued an opinion on February 18, 2008, in which it vacated an FCC order that denied a petition for protection of birds. See, American Bird Conservancy v. FCC, which is reported at 516 F.3d 1027.

The FCC adopted an Report and Order (R&O) [58 pages in PDF] on December 6, 2011. It released that order on December 9, 2011. It is FCC 11-181 in WT Docket No. 08-61 and WT Docket No. 03-187.

The FCC's rules for "Construction, Marking and Lighting of Antenna Structures" are codified at 47 C.F.R. Part 17. Its ASR rules are codified at 47 C.F.R. § 17.4.

On March 13, 2012, the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) released a document [166 pages in PDF] titled "Final Programmatic Environmental Assessment for the Antenna Structure Registration Program". The FCC outsourced the writing of that document to the URS Group, Inc.

The Department of the Interior's (DOI) Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) wants the FCC to impose a more onerous ASR regulatory regime upon communications companies for the purpose of reducing the number of collisions of migratory birds with communications towers. See, March 2013 filing [15 pages in PDF].

The DOI wants the FCC to "create a programmatic approach to authorizing communication towers that, along with its goal of avoiding and minimizing hazards to air navigation, explicitly seeks to avoid or minimize bird mortality. The FCC could begin by revising the ``Purpose´´ section to include a goal of reducing adverse effects to migratory birds, in particular, birds of conservation concern (BCC) that are drawn from the list of 1,007 species that are presently protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). Accordingly, the alternatives considered would then incorporate measures that are designed to avoid or minimize the environmental damages associated with those actions. We recommend that the FCC use the present opportunity to coordinate with the FWS to formulate systematic, consistent, and verifiable measures that would reduce bird mortalities at facilities regulated under the ASR."

Several interest groups (Defenders of Wildlife, Audubon Society, and American Bird Conservancy) advocate enhanced regulation. See, January 14, 2011 filing [12 pages in PDF].

Verizon Wireless wants the FCC to exempt temporary cells on light trucks (COLTs) and cells on wheels (COWs) from the antenna structure notice requirements adopted in the 2011 R&O. See, October 26, 2012 filing.

There is also Congressional activity pertinent to this topic. Members of the House -- mostly Republicans and mostly members of the House Judiciary Committee (HJC) -- have introduced legislation that would ease various environmental permitting processes. These bills are primarily directed at regulation of the oil and gas industry, but may also impact bird based regulation of communications. For the 112th Congress, see HR 4377 [LOC | WW], the "Responsibly And Professionally Invigorating Development Act of 2012", or "RAPID Act". For the 113th Congress, see, HR 2641 [LOC | WW], also titled the "RAPID Act", introduced on July 10, 2013, by Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA) and others.

Rep. Marino stated in a release that the NEPA "requires federal agencies to analyze the environmental impacts of new federal actions. While the goals of NEPA are worthy, there are no checks or limits on the process.  As often happens with an over-expansive federal government, over the years the machinery has slowed as more and more bureaucrats have gotten involved in the process."

Media Ownership. Second, the FCC is scheduled to adopt an NPRM regarding one of its many regimes for regulating ownership of media. This NPRM pertains to the FCC's national television rule, which limits any entity from owning TV stations that cumulatively reach more that 39 percent of TV households nationwide.

The current rule counts TV stations on UHF channels (14 and above) differently from TV stations on VHF channels (13 and below). The NPRM may propose changing the rule to end the current 50% UHF discount for the purpose of estimating a TV station's national audience reach.

The FCC's media ownership rules are old and obsolete. They are repugnant to the First Amendment, and fail to recognize the proliferation of new platforms for distribution of news, programming, information, and other things.

However, there are well organized lobbies for media ownership regulation, and the U.S. Court of Appeals (3rdCir), which has ruled in challenges to the FCC's media ownership rules, does not recognize the veracity of the preceding paragraph.

47 C.F.R. § 73.3555(e) provides in part that "No license for a commercial television broadcast station shall be granted, transferred or assigned to any party (including all parties under common control) if the grant, transfer or assignment of such license would result in such party or any of its stockholders, partners, members, officers or directors having a cognizable interest in television stations which have an aggregate national audience reach exceeding thirty-nine (39) percent."

It further provides that "National audience reach means the total number of television households in the Nielsen Designated Market Areas (DMAs) in which the relevant stations are located divided by the total national television households as measured by DMA data at the time of a grant, transfer, or assignment of a license. For purposes of making this calculation, UHF television stations shall be attributed with 50 percent of the television households in their DMA market."

Bloomberg v. Comcast. Third, the FCC is scheduled to adopt a Memorandum Opinion and Order (MOO) regarding Bloomberg's complaint to the FCC about Comcast's compliance with merger conditions imposed by the FCC when it approved the Comcast NBCU transaction in January of 2011. Bloomberg asserted that Comcast violated the new neighborhooding condition imposed upon Comcast.

The FCC issued its Memorandum Opinion & Order (MOO) [279 pages in PDF] approving the merger, subject to conditions, on January 20, 2011. It is FCC 11-4 in MB Docket No. 10-56.

That 2011 MOO, in Appendix A, at page 121, sets forth the following condition: "If Comcast now or in the future carries news and/or business news channels in a neighborhood, defined as placing a significant number or percentage of news and/or business news channels substantially adjacent to one another in a system's channel lineup, Comcast must carry all independent news and business news channels in that neighborhood."

Bloomberg filed a complaint with the FCC on June 13, 2011, in which it wrote that "Despite a clear requirement in the FCC Order that Comcast include independent news channels, such as Bloomberg Television ("BTV"), in Comcast's existing news neighborhoods, Comcast refuses to implement the Commission's express direction."

Bloomberg continued that it "has asked Comcast to place BTV in Comcast's existing news neighborhoods on all Comcast systems in the 35 most populous DMAs. Comcast, however, has refused, claiming that it does not currently have any news neighborhoods and, in any event, that the Commission's news neighborhooding condition applies only to neighborhoods that will be created in the future. Neither of these assertions has any merit."

Comcast filed an answer [206 pages in PDF] with the FCC on July 27, 2011. It wrote that Bloomberg is attempting to "extract preferential channel placement on Comcast's cable systems through regulatory gamesmanship", that it has not violated the MOO, and that the complaint should be denied.

This proceeding is MB Docket No. 11-104.

LPFM. Finally, there will be a presentation by personnel of the FCC's Media Bureau regarding the October 15-29, 2013 open filing window for applicants seeking to operate new Low Power FM radio stations.

The event is scheduled for Thursday, September 26, 2013 at 10:30 AM at the FCC headquarters, Room TW-C305, 445 12th Street, SW.

9/3. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) adopted and released a Memorandum Opinion and Order [31 pages in PDF, redacted] that approves numerous 700 MHz spectrum license assignments and leases involving AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Grain, subject to buildout requirements.

This MOO summarizes the applications that it approves. "Verizon Wireless would assign to AT&T 39 full Lower 700 MHz Band B Block licenses and would assign to Grain I three Lower 700 MHz Band B Block licenses, whose spectrum Grain I would then lease to AT&T. For its part, AT&T would assign to Verizon Wireless one full and five partitioned AWS-1 licenses and would assign to Grain II one AWS-1 license, whose spectrum Grain II would lease to Verizon Wireless. In total, the proposed transactions affect spectrum in 72 markets across the country. For the reasons detailed below, we approve the applications, subject to a condition involving the buildout of the AWS-1 licenses and spectrum being acquired by Verizon Wireless that is consistent with a similar condition imposed by the Commission last year."

AT&T's Bob Quinn stated in a release that "Today's approval of the AT&T/VZW/Grain deal within the FCC’s 180-day review period demonstrates that the secondary market continues to work under Acting Chairwoman Clyburn to ensure that under-utilized spectrum is deployed quickly and efficiently."

Quinn added that "We are also continuing to work with the FCC on the ATNI transaction to provide additional information which addresses the remaining open issues so that deal can be resolved in a timely fashion as well." See, story titled "FCC Further Delays AT&T ATNI Transaction" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,590, August 27, 2013.

This MOO is DA 13-1854 in WT Docket No. 13-56.

9/5. The New York Times (NYT) published a story on September 5, 2013 titled "N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web" by Nicole Perlrothy, Jeff Larson and Scott Shane.

This article states that it is based in large part of documents disclosed by Edward Snowden.

The NYT story states that the National Security Agency (NSA) "has circumvented or cracked much of the encryption, or digital scrambling, that guards global commerce and banking systems, protects sensitive data like trade secrets and medical records, and automatically secures the e-mails, Web searches, Internet chats and phone calls of Americans and others around the world, the documents show."

That the NSA breaks encryption is nothing new. NSA personnel have stated in public Congressional hearings that the NSA continually seeks the capacity to decrypt encrypted items, including digital files and communications, and that it enjoys considerable success at this.

However, the NYT story states much more.

The NYT states that the NSA "began collaborating with technology companies in the United States and abroad to build entry points into their products".

This is a particularly vague statement. This statement is not inconsistent with compliance by companies with requirements imposed by the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement (CALEA), as implemented and expanded by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to build their networks in a manner that facilitates lawful law enforcement and intelligence intercepts.

On the other hand, "entry points" is a vague term that could also mean activities unrelated to the CALEA.

The CALEA is codified at 47 USC §§ 1001-1010. See also, story titled "FCC Amends CALEA Statute" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,191, August 9, 2005.

The NYT states that the NSA "hacked into target computers to snare messages before they were encrypted".

The NYT states that "companies say they were coerced by the government into handing over their master encryption keys or building in a back door."

The article does not list any such companies. Nor does it list which agencies engaged in coercion.

Nor does the article disclose what it means by "coerced". For example, it does not state whether or not being "coerced" means compliance with lawfully issued court orders. Indeed, late in the article, the NYT refers to "forcing their cooperation with court orders".

On the other hand, being "coerced" could mean submission in the face of unlawful or improper government actions. For example, it does not state whether government agencies withheld approvals, such as merger approvals by the Department of Justice (DOJ) or license transfer approvals by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to coerce companies. Similarly, coercion could mean improper threat of Sherman Act Section 2 single firm conduct actions, or other improper threats of regulatory action.

The NYT also accuses the NSA of "surreptitiously stealing their encryption keys".

The article suggests that the NSA may accomplish this by "hacking into companies' computer servers". The article does not mention breaking and entering, bribing or blackmailing company employees, or other methods. And, it does not identify any companies.

The NYT also accuses the NSA of surreptitiously "altering their software or hardware".

The NYT states that the NSA "used its influence as the world's most experienced code maker to covertly introduce weaknesses into the encryption standards followed by hardware and software developers around the world".

It adds that the NSA "has been deliberately weakening the international encryption standards adopted by developers".

The Center for Democracy and Technology's (CDT) Joseph Hall stated in a release that "These revelations demonstrate a fundamental attack on the way the Internet works. In an era in which businesses, as well as the average consumer, trust secure networks and technologies for sensitive transactions and private communications online, it's incredibly destructive for the NSA to add flaws to such critical infrastructure".

Hall continued that "The NSA seems to be operating on the fantastically naïve assumption that any vulnerabilities it builds into core Internet technologies can only be exploited by itself and its global partners. The NSA simply should not be building vulnerabilities into the fundamental tools that we all rely upon to protect our private information".

The NYT states that the NSA works with industry "to insert vulnerabilities into Internet security products".

The article does not list any internet security companies, or describe any vulnerabilities.

The NYT also states that the NSA has worked with equipment makers to build in back doors.

The article does not list any equipment makers, or describe the nature of any "back doors".

The article states that "the Sigint Enabling Project had found ways inside some of the encryption chips that scramble information for businesses and governments, either by working with chipmakers to insert back doors or by exploiting security flaws, according to the documents. The agency also expected to gain full unencrypted access to an unnamed major Internet phone call and text service; to a Middle Eastern Internet service; and to the communications of three foreign governments."

More Reaction. Ed Black of the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) stated in a release that "This is a tragic case of myopia on the part of the NSA, and the surveillance infrastructure throughout the government. Our surveillance agencies have been so focused on succeeding in its own narrow (and noble) mission, that it seems the agency will allow no loosely-crafted law and no cybersecurity door to stand in its way. This gives us little confidence that, where legal restraints are concerned, the NSA won't continue to seek ways to evade oversight and disregard Constitutional rights."

Black added that "There are also practical concerns around the NSA's efforts. By secretly embedding weaknesses into encryption systems in order to create a ``back door´´ for surveillance access, the NSA creates a road map for similar cyber-incursions by others with less noble intentions. Back doors, of course, can be used by anyone smart enough to find them."

The ACLU's Christopher Soghoian stated in a release that "The encryption technologies that the NSA has exploited to enable its secret dragnet surveillance are the same technologies that protect our most sensitive information, including medical records, financial transactions, and commercial secrets"

He added that "Even as the NSA demands more powers to invade our privacy in the name of cybersecurity, it is making the internet less secure and exposing us to criminal hacking, foreign espionage, and unlawful surveillance. The NSA's efforts to secretly defeat encryption are recklessly shortsighted and will further erode not only the United States' reputation as a global champion of civil liberties and privacy but the economic competitiveness of its largest companies."

9/5. There are many broad statements in the New York Times' (NYT) September 5, 2013 story about government collaboration with, cooperation from, and coercion of, software, security, communications and chip making companies. However, the article lacks both explanation, and corroborating facts, regarding industry cooperation.

There is an argument to be made, without recourse to any disclosures by Edward Snowden, the NYT or the Guardian, that for at least the last 15 years (TLJ has been reporting for 15 1/2 years) there has been an observable correlation between the treatment that companies have received from federal law enforcement, regulatory and tax agencies, and the extent of their cooperation on surveillance related matters.

Companies that have been in a position to offer U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies assistance in their surveillance efforts, and have done so, have fared better before government agencies than companies generally. Conversely, companies that have been in a position to offer surveillance assistance, but have resisted, have fared worse than other companies generally.

Similarly, technologies, business models and practices that have facilitated government surveillance efforts have fared well before government agencies, while technologies, business models and practices that have frustrated surveillance efforts have received unfavorable treatment from government agencies.

These patterns have persisted across the administrations of Clinton, Bush and Obama, and changes in partisan control in the House and Senate.

The most significant agencies involved (other than intelligence and law enforcement) would be the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust, Tax, Criminal Divisions, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

These patterns are not inconsistent with the hypothesis that the federal government has both rewarded and advanced companies and technologies that assist the government, and punished and retarded those that do not. And, if this hypothesis is correct, and understood by the key corporate officers and investors, it would provide a huge incentive to cooperate and collaborate in matters described in the just published NYT article.

Neither government officials nor corporate employees write or state as much publicly. Also, it is often difficult to identify when a company is cooperating or resisting. Such an argument would be based in significant part upon an analysis of the nature, underlying merits, and consequences of a huge number of government prosecutions, administrative proceedings, civil actions to which the U.S. is a party, rulemakings, and other public proceedings.

9/4. The TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 5,595 included a story titled "FTC Administrative Complaint Asserts Authority to Regulate Data Security Practices". The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has not yet released its complaint, or a redacted copy of the complaint. Subsequent to the publication of that story, the FTC's Robert Schoshinski told TLJ that the complaint alleges violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act (15 U.S.C. § 45), and that it relies upon the unfairness prong, but not the deception prong.

Tech Law Journal publishes a free access web site and a subscription e-mail alert. The basic rate for a subscription to the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert is $250 per year for a single recipient. There are discounts for subscribers with multiple recipients.

Free one month trial subscriptions are available. Also, free subscriptions are available for federal elected officials, and employees of the Congress, courts, and executive branch. The TLJ web site is free access. However, copies of the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert are not published in the web site until two months after writing.

For information about subscriptions, see subscription information page.

Tech Law Journal now accepts credit card payments. See, TLJ credit card payments page.

TLJ is published by David Carney
Contact: 202-364-8882.
carney at techlawjournal dot com
3034 Newark St. NW, Washington DC, 20008.

Privacy Policy
Notices & Disclaimers
Copyright 1998-2013 David Carney. All rights reserved.

The House will not meet.

The Senate will meet in pro forma session only.

8:30 AM. The Department of Labor's (DOL) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is scheduled to release its August 2013 unemployment data.

9:00 - 10:00 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee for the 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference's Informal Working Group 1 (Maritime, Aeronautical and Radar Services) will meet by teleconference. See, FCC's August 22, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1790 in IB Docket No. 04-286). The call in numbers are 888-858-2144 or 646-746-3008. The access code is 8672480.

10:00 AM. The Senate Intelligence Committee (SIC) will hold a closed hearing on undisclosed matters. See, notice. Location: Room 219, Hart Building.

10:00 - 11:30 AM. The Brookings Institution (BI) will host a panel discussion titled "Securing a More Sustainable Growth Path for China". The speakers will be Eswar Prasad (BI), Marcus Rodlauer (International Monetary Fund), David Dollar (BI) and Stephen Roach (Yale University). See, notice. Location: BI, 1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:15 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host an on site and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Does Aspen Skiing Apply to Intellectual Property Rights?". See, Supreme Court's 1985 opinion in Aspen Skiing v. Aspen Highlands, 472 U.S. 585, and amicus curiae brief [25 pages in PDF] filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with the U.S. District Court (DNJ) in Actelion Pharmaceuticals v. Apotex. The speakers will be Koren Ervin (FTC), Jonathan Gleklen (Arnold & Porter), Markus Meier (FTC), and Ali Stoeppelwerth (Wilmer Hale). Prices vary. No CLE credits. See, ABA notice. Location: Arnold & Porter, 555 12th St., NW.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) regarding proposed revisions to the sample reseller certification language and accompanying sections of the FCC Form 499-A instructions. See, Public Notice, DA 13-1700 in WC Docket No. 06-122. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 160, August 19, 2013, at Pages 50415-50416.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding Time Warner Cable's (TWC) August 8, 2013 Petition for Preemption [30 pages in PDF] of the North Carolina Rural Electrification Authority (NCREA) with respect to the arbitration of an interconnection agreement between TWC and Star Telephone Membership Corporation. See, FCC's August 16, 2013 Public Notice, DA 13-1772 in WC Docket No. 13-204.

Deadline for AT&T, Leap Wireless and others to submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) oppositions to the FCC's order that they disclose their Numbering Resource Utilization and Forecast (NRUF) and local number portability (LNP) data for inclusion in the FCC's record in its review of AT&T's planned acquisition of Leap. See, FCC's August 29, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1842 in WT Docket No. 13-193 and CC Docket No. 99-200). AT&T filed its request for FCC approval of this transaction on August 1, 2013. The deadline to submit petitions to deny and comments is September 27. The deadline to submit oppositions is October 7. The deadline to submit replies is October 15. See, FCC August 28, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1831). See also, the FCC's Office of General Counsel's (OGC) web page for this merger review.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the July 15, 2013 ex parte presentation [91 pages in PDF] of LightSquared regarding GPS, and particularly its terrestrial wireless handsets in the 1626.5-1660.5 MHz Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) uplink portion of the L-band. See, FCC's August 7, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1717 in IB Docket Nos. 12-340, 11-109, etc.)

The House will return from its August recess. See, House calendar for the 113th Congress, 1st Session.

The Senate will return from its August recess. See, Senate calendar for the 113th Congress, 1st Session.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Verizon v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 11-1355, the challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) December 2010 Report and Order (R&O) [194 pages in PDF] that adopted rules regulating broadband internet access service (BIAS) providers. The order is FCC 10-201 in GN Docket No. 09-191 and WC Docket No. 07-52. See, stories in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,186, December 22, 2010, and TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,188, December 24, 2010. Verizon filed its brief on July 2, 2012. The FCC filed its brief [121 pages in PDF] on September 10, 2012. See, story titled "FCC Files Brief with DC Circuit in Challenge to BIAS Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,445, September 11, 2012. See also, FCC's surreply brief [15 pages in PDF] filed on January 15, 2013. Judges Rogers, Tatel, and Silberman will preside. This is the first item on the Court's agenda. Location: USCA Courtroom, 4th floor, Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Mondis Technology Ltd. v. Innolux Corporation, App. Ct. No. 13-1178. Panel C. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:30 AM. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) will hold a hearing in its Section 301 investigation of the intellectual property related actions of government of Ukraine. Section 301 is the statutory means by which the U.S. asserts its international trade rights, including its rights under World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements. In particular, under the "Special 301" provisions of the Trade Act of 1974, the OUSTR identifies trading partners that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. artists and industries that rely upon intellectual property protection. See, 19 U.S.C. § 2242. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 143, July 25, 2013, at Page 45011. Location: OUSTR, 1724 F St., NW.

12:00 NOON. The Tech Freedom (TF) will host a panel discussion titled "Recap Luncheon After Net Neutrality Appellate Arguments". The speakers will be Robert McDowell (Hudson Institute), Matt Brill (Latham & Watkins), Sherwin Siy (Public Knowledge), Markham Erickson (Steptoe & Johnson), Fred Campbell (Competitive Enterprise Institute), and Berin Szoka (TF). Free. Open to the public. See, registration page. Lunch will be served. Location: TF, 110 Maryland Ave., NE.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) regarding its proposed changes to its Export Administration Regulations covering military electronics and other technologies. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 143, July 25, 2013.

8:30 AM - 6:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the Executive Office of the President's (EOP) Office of Science and Technology Policy's (OSTP) Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 146, July 30, 2013, at Pages 45992-45993. Location: Department of Agriculture Conference & Training Center, Patriots Plaza III, 355 E St., SW.

9:00 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee (RPTAC) will hold a partially closed meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 166, August 27, 2013, at Page 52904. Location: DOC, Room 3884, Hoover Building, 14th Street between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, NW.

? POSTPONED SEVERAL TIMES. 9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host an event titled "Is Technology Responsible for American Job Loss?". The speakers will be Robert Atkinson (ITIF), Andrew McAfee (MIT business school), and Edward Luce (Financial Times). McAffee is a co-author of the book [Amazon Kindle edition] titled "Race Against The Machine: How the Digital Revolution is Accelerating Innovation, Driving Productivity, and Irreversibly Transforming Employment and the Economy". See, notice. Location: ITIF/ITIC, Suite 610A, 1101 K St., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "Satellite Television Laws in Title 17". Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Vederi v. Google, App. Ct. No. 13-1057, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (CDCal) in a patent infringement case involving Google's Street View. Panel E. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

TIME CHANGE. 2:30 PM. 10:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on Bankruptcy and the Courts will hold a hearing on S 1385 [LOC | WW], the "Federal Judgeship Act of 2013". The bill would increase the number of judgeships on the U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) from 29 to 33. It would also increase the size of the 6th Circuit by one judge. It would not divide the 9th Circuit, or reduce the size of the DC Circuit. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law will host a teleconferenced panel discussion titled "July-August In-House Counsel Antitrust Update". The speakers will be Lisa Fales, Bill Coston, Tom Gilbertsen, David Conway, and Paul Feinstein (all of the Washington DC office of Venable). Free. No CLE credits. See, notice.

2:00 PM. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to initiate preparations for the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference 2014 (PP14). The agenda also includes an "update on the preparations for the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-2014) in light of the Regional Preparatory Meeting (RPM) for the Americas region; as well as the World Summit on the Information Society+10 high level event in conjunction with WTDC-2014". See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 154, August 9, 2013, at Page 48765. Location: 1200 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA.

8:30 AM - 3:00 PM. Day two of a two day meeting of the Executive Office of the President's (EOP) Office of Science and Technology Policy's (OSTP) Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 146, July 30, 2013, at Pages 45992-45993. Location: Department of Agriculture Conference & Training Center, Patriots Plaza III, 355 E St., SW.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Engineering 2.0: Rekindling American Ingenuity". The speakers will be Robert Atkinson (ITIF), Pramod Khargonekar (National Science Foundation), Sridhar Kota (University of Michigan -- Ann Arbor), Helmuth Ludwig (Siemens Industrial), and Dan Mote (National Academy of Engineering). Free. Open to the public. See, notice. Location: ITIF/ITIC, Suite 610A, 1101 K St., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing on five pending judicial nominees: Robert Wilkins (to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir)), James Donato (USDC/NDCal), Beth Freeman (USDC/NDCal), Timothy Brooks (USDC/WDArk), Pedro Hernandez (USDC/DPR). The SJC will provide a live and archived webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Apple v. Motorola, App. Ct. No. 12-1548. Panel G. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in CBT Flint Partners v. Cisco Ironport Systems, App. Ct. No. 13-1036, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (NDGa) in a patent infringement case. At issue is the award of discovery costs. See, Business Software Alliance's (BSA) amicus curiae brief. Panel H. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:30 AM. The Senate Appropriations Committee's (SAC) Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government will hold a hearing on the FY 2014 appropriation for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The witnesses will be Mignon Clyburn, Ajit Pai and Jessica Rosenworcel. See, notice. Location: Room 138, Dirksen Building.

2:00 PM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology (SCT) will hold a hearing titled "Innovation Versus Regulation in the Video Marketplace". The witnesses will be __. See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies will hold a hearing titled "The Threat to Americans’ Personal Information: A Look into the Security and Reliability of the Health Exchange Data Hub". See, notice. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a program titled "How to Litigate a Patent Infringement Case 2013". The speaker will be Patrick Coyne (Finnegan Henderson). The price to attend ranges from $89 to $129. CLE credits. For more information, call 202-626-3488. The DC Bar has a history of barring reporters from its events. See, notice. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

Deadline to submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) oppositions to the petition for reconsideration [21 pages in PDF] filed by the American Association for Justice (an interest group that represents plaintiffs' trial lawyers) of the FCC's order [202 pages in PDF] regarding human exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields. The FCC adopted this order on March 27, 2013, and released its on March 29. It is FCC 13-39 in ET Docket No. 03-137. See, FCC Public Notice, and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 166, August 27, 2013, at Page 52893.

? Deadline to submit initial statements supporting or opposing the Fiber to the Home Council Americas' (FTTHCA) July 23, 2013 petition for rulemaking [57 pages in PDF] regarding creating a new universal service subsidy program which it titles "Universal Service Gigabit Communities Race-to-the-Top Program". The FTTHCA wants subsidies to "support the deployment of ultra-high-speed networks with symmetrical gigabit services for community anchor institutions and their surrounding related neighborhoods in Tier II and Tier III markets". See, FCC's August 12, 2013 Public Notice, which sets no deadline. (47 CFR § 1.405(a) sets 30 days from Public Notice as the deadline for initial statements in support of or in opposition to a petition for rule making.)

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission will hold one in a series of meetings to review and edit its 2013 annual report to the Congress. Open to the public. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 151, August 6, 2013, at Pages 47829-47830. Location: Room 231, Hall of the States, 444 North Capitol St., NW.

9:00 AM. The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) will hold a partially closed meeting. The open portion of the meeting will be held from 9:00 AM to 12:00 NOON. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 160, August 19, 2013, at Page 50404. Location: National Academy of Sciences, Room 120, 2101 Constitution Ave., NW.

9:30 - 10:30 AM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a speech and panel discussion regarding the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Lifeline universal service tax and subsidy program. The event is titled "Communications Safety Net: How Lifeline Connects Families and Communities". Mignon Clyburn (FCC Chairman) will give a speech. The panel will be Chanelle Hardy (National Urban League), Catherine Sandoval (California Public Utilities Commission), Jessica Gonzalez (National Hispanic Media Coalition), Olivia Wein (National Consumer Law Center), and Gene Kimmelman (Global Partners). See, notice. Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda again includes consideration of S 987 [LOC | WW], the "Free Flow of Information Act of 2013". Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in JuxtaComm-Texas Software v. Tibco Software, App. Ct. No. 13-1004. Panel I. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Richard Williamson, on behalf of and as Trustee for At Home Bondholders' Liquidating Trust v. Citrix Online, LLC, et al., App. Ct. No. 13-1130. Panel I. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will host a presentation by Yevgen Borodin (Stony Brook University) titled "Improving Accessibility for the General Public". See, FCC notice. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

12:00 NOON. The Tech Freedom (TF) will host a panel discussion titled "What to Do about Data Security? A Discussion of the FTC's LabMD & Wyndham Cases". The speakers will be Mike Daugherty (LabMD) and __. Free. Open to the public. See, registration page. See also, story titled "FTC Administrative Complaint Asserts Authority to Regulate Data Security Practices" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,595, September 4, 2013. Lunch will be served. Location: TF, 110 Maryland Ave., NE.

1:00 - 5:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council (CSRIC) will meet. See, August 15, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1762), and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 148, August 1, 2013, at Pages 46582-46583. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Trademark Fundamentals: Managing Your IP in a World of Social Media". The speakers will be Fawn Horvath (Macy's), John McKeown (Goldman Sloan Nash & Haber), Britt Anderson (K&L Gates), and Chrissie Scelsi (Scelsi Entertainment & New Media Law). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

Deadline to file requests to appear at the U.S. International Trade Commission's (USITC) September 25, 2013 hearing titled "Digital Trade in the U.S. and Global Economies". See, USITC release, and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 162, August 21, 2013, at Pages 51744-51746. See also, story titled "USITC Releases First Report on Digital Trade" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,589, August 26, 2013.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its August 29, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1846 in WC Docket No. 10-90) that requests comments regarding its Version 3.2 of the Connect America Fund Phase II Cost Model, and especially model costs for undersea cable connecting non-contiguous areas to the contiguous U.S.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission will hold one in a series of meetings to review and edit its 2013 annual report to the Congress. Open to the public. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 151, August 6, 2013, at Pages 47829-47830. Location: Room 231, Hall of the States, 444 North Capitol St., NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument en banc in Lighting Ballast Control v. Philips Electronics North America , App. Ct. No. 12-1014, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (NDTex) in a patent infringement case. At issue is claim construction, and the 1998 opinion of the Federal Circuit in Cybor v. FAS Technologies, 138 F.3d 1448. The Court's March 15, 2013 order granting en banc rehearing requests briefing on three questions: (1) should Cybor be overruled?, (2) "Should this court afford deference to any aspect of a district court’s claim construction?", and (3) "If so, which aspects should be afforded deference?". See also, amicus curiae brief of the AIPLA, amicus curiae brief of the IPO, amicus curiae brief of Microsoft, amicus curiae brief of the ABA, and amicus curiae brief of universities. Panel A. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

Target date for the Department of Health and Human Services' (DHHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to announce the winners of its contest for the development of web applications, mobile apps, and other information technology based products that help prevent high risk drinking among college students. The awards are $60,000 for first place, $30,000 for second place, and $10,000 for third place. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 101, May 24, 2013, at Pages 31571-31572.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) regarding proposed revisions to the sample reseller certification language and accompanying sections of the FCC Form 499-A instructions. See, Public Notice, DA 13-1700 in WC Docket No. 06-122. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 160, August 19, 2013, at Pages 50415-50416.

Deadline to submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reply comments to the May 16, 2013 Petition [14 pages in PDF] of the Coalition of E-Reader Manufacturers (Amazon, Kobo and Sony) for a waiver of the FCC's disability access rules for e-readers. See, August 1, 2013 Public Notice, DA 13-1686 in CG Docket No. 10-213.