10/7. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) released a report [39 pages in PDF] titled "Restoring America's Lagging Investment in Capital Goods". The authors are the ITIF's Luke Stewart and Robert Atkinson.

It states that investment in new equipment and software has stagnated, and the government must act. "Between 1980 and 1989, business investment in equipment, software and structures grew by 2.7 percent per year on average and 5.2 percent per year between 1990 and 1999. But between 2000 and 2011 it grew by just 0.5 percent per year". Moreover, it states that investment in the computer sector has declined.

The paper recommends that the "Congress should use the tax code to more strongly encourage investment in machinery, equipment and software, ideally through a new investment tax credit, while the administration should establish a task force on market short-termism to recommend policies to ameliorate it."

More specifically, it recommends that "Congress should enact an investment tax credit (ITC) to provide a 35 percent credit on all capital expenditures made above 75 percent of a base amount. The ITC would be modeled on the Alternative Simplified Research and Experimentation Tax Credit (ASC). The ASC provides a credit of 14 percent on R&D expenditures above 50 percent of the average of the firm's R&D expenditures over the previous three years. Similarly, the base for the ITC would be the average expenditures on qualifying capital equipment over the last three years, with the credit applying to all expenditures made above 75 percent."

Alternatively, "If Congress does not enact an ITC, it should at least allow firms to expense, for tax purposes, the entire cost of equipment and software in the first year instead of having to depreciate the costs over a number of years."

The current R&D tax credit is scheduled expire on December 31, 2013. See, story titled "R&D Tax Credit Extended" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,504, January 7, 2013.

There bills pending in this Congress, as in every Congress, that would extend and/or modify this credit. See for example, stories titled "R&D Tax Credit Bills Introduced", "Sen. Coons Re-Introduces Bill to Allow Start Ups An R&D Payroll Tax Credit", and "Rep. Holt Introduces Bill to Create Tax Credit for Investing in Small Businesses with High Rates of Spending on Research" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,521, February 7, 2013.

This ITIF paper has nothing to say about one tax credit proposal that is pending in the Congress to incent start ups, and the formation of start ups, by allowing a credit against payroll taxes. See, S 193 [LOC | WW], the "Startup Innovation Credit Act of 2013".

9/26. Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH) and Rep. Gene Green (D-TX) introduced HR 3196 [LOC | WW], an untitled bill that would end the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) integration ban for multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs).

The FCC created integration ban currently prohibit MVPDs from making available to consumers devices that contain both navigation of video content functions and security functions.

Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) joined as a cosponsor on September 30. The bill was referred to the House Commerce Committee (HCC). All three sponsors are members.

Bill Summary. This bill would amend Section 629 of the Communications Act, which is codified at 47 U.S.C. § 549, and which pertains to "Competitive availability of navigation devices".

Subsection (a) provides, in part, that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) shall "adopt regulations to assure the commercial availability, to consumers of multichannel video programming and other services offered over multichannel video programming systems, of converter boxes, interactive communications equipment, and other equipment used by consumers to access multichannel video programming and other services offered over multichannel video programming systems, from manufacturers, retailers, and other vendors not affiliated with any multichannel video programming distributor."

Subsection (f) currently provides, in full, that "Nothing in this section shall be construed as expanding or limiting any authority that the Commission may have under law in effect before February 8, 1996."

This bill would change subsection (f) to read, "Except as provided in subsection (g), nothing in this section shall be construed as expanding or limiting any authority that the Commission may have under law in effect before February 8, 1996."

Then, this bill would add a new subsection (g) that would provide, in full, as follows: "Integrated Devices -- Nothing in this section or any other provision of this Act authorizes the Commission to adopt any rule or policy that prohibits a multichannel video programming distributor from placing into service navigation devices for sale, lease, or use that perform both conditional access and other functions in a single integrated device. Any such rule or policy adopted by the Commission prior to the date of enactment of this subsection shall cease to be effective on such date of enactment, and the Commission shall remove any such rule or policy from the rules of the Commission." (Emphasis added.)

Comments on Bill. Rep. Green (at right) stated in a release that "The bill will unleash new innovative solutions by ridding the rule books of an antiquated tech mandate. At the same time, the bill is a surgical approach that preserves FCC authority in the retail set top box market."

The National Cable and Telecommunications Association's (NCTA) Michael Powell stated in a release that "We applaud Reps. Latta and Green for introducing this important legislation. This targeted and bipartisan bill will retire an outdated FCC rule -- known as the integration ban -- that burdens cable consumers and operators with needless costs, wastes energy and violates principles of competitive neutrality. This is common sense legislation that recognizes the significant harms imposed by the integration ban, which since 2007 has forced consumers with leased set top boxes to bear over $1 billion in unnecessary costs."

John Bergmayer of the Public Knowledge (PK) stated in a release that "This bill would make it more difficult for consumers to obtain and use CableCARDs, as well as reducing CableCARD's appeal as a technology third-party developers can take advantage of. Set-top box rental fees, not CableCARD support, remain the biggest driver for consumer costs in this area. The best way forward would be for policymakers to address this problem by promoting consumer choice in video devices. Public Knowledge supports efforts to modernize the FCC's approach to this issue, and to eventually move beyond CableCARD, but this bill has very little upside."

Related Developments. The FCC advanced its "AllVid" proposal in 2010. See, Notice of Inquiry (NOI) [28 pages in PDF], adopted and released on April 21, 2010. That NOI is FCC 10-60 in MB Docket No. 10-91, CS Docket No. 97-80, and PP Docket No. 00-67. (As of publication of this issue, the FCC has taken this and other public documents offline.) See also, story titled "FCC's AllVid Proposal Disputed" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,213, March 31, 2011.

However, the FCC has not yet followed up that AllVid NOI with an NPRM.

On January 15, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) issued its opinion in Echostar v. FCC, granting the petitions for review of the FCC's encoding rules for satellite companies. See, story titled "DC Circuit Grants Petitions for Review in Echostar v. FCC" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,508, January 15, 2013.

On October 3, 2013, the Wall Street Journal published an article by Greg Bensinger titled "Amazon Readies Set Top Box for Holidays".

On September 20, 2013 Verizon announced in a release that its "enhanced FiOS Mobile App ... enables Verizon FiOS TV customers to watch live linear content as well as video on demand while away from home ... via select iOS and Android mobile devices and tablets, and Kindle Fire ..." There is no set top box.

On August 27, 2013 Time Warner Cable (TWC) and Microsoft announced in a release that "the TWC TV app has launched on Xbox 360 today, delivering up to 300 of the most popular TV channels to Xbox Live Gold members in the U.S. who are also TWC subscribers". There is no set top box.

10/4. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the House Commerce Committee (HCC), sent a letter to Glenn Britt, CEO of Time Warner Cable (TWC) that relates to the intersection of partisan politics and communications regulation.

The HCC has jurisdiction over the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and regulation of both communications and health care.

This letter is a rare example of an HCC member publicizing one aspect of communications regulation that is usually understood, but rarely mentioned. Federal regulation of communications media, including broadcasters and cable companies, has long been intertwined with efforts to influence speech, including news content and political opinion.

Rep. Waxman's (at right) letter to Britt references an email message. The ranking Democrat published the email in the HCC Democrats web site, but redacted most all of it. The unredacted portion discloses that it came from the email domain twcable.com, and that it was sent on September 27. Most of the message is the list of recipients. Rep. Waxman stated that the email was sent to Republicans.

The subject line of the email is "Networks". The body of the message is "next time you think about helping the broadcasters -- particularly the networks -- read this". There is then a hyperlink to a September 27, 2013 article by Daniel Halper published in the Weekly Standard titled "NBC Launches Week of Programming to 'Help' Obamacare Succeed".

Halper's article begins with the statement that "NBC announced today that it would be launching a week of programming to help Obamacare get off its feet ..."

Broadcasters and cable companies sometimes seek conflicting outcomes in the drafting of legislation by the Congress, and in both rulemaking and adjudicatory proceedings at the FCC. For example, they have recently sparred over the retransmission consent regime.

See for example, stories titled "Rep. Eshoo Releases Draft of Bill to Alter Retransmission Consent Regime" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,599, September 11, 2013, "CBS Reaches Carriage Agreement with Time Warner Cable" in TLJ Daily E-mail Alert No. 2,593, September 2, 2013, and "CBS, Time Warner Cable, and Retransmission Consent" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,588, August 7, 2013.

The TWC email brings to the attention of Republicans what many Republicans would consider to be biased reporting by a broadcaster that favors the Democrats' over the Republicans' position on Obamacare.

Rep. Waxman complained in his letter about "the reckless Republican extremists that seem to be running the House of Representatives".

He also asked Britt, "Could you please explain why this email was sent and what purpose it serves?"

Rep. Waxman did not explain what purpose is served by his publicizing his unkind characterization of his colleagues, or by exposing the political and partisan underside of communications regulation.

10/5. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts published a statement in its website on October 2, 2013 titled "Judiciary Open During Government Shutdown".

It states that "Following a government shutdown on October 1, 2013, the federal Judiciary will remain open for business for approximately 10 business days. On or around October 15, 2013, the Judiciary will reassess its situation and provide further guidance. All proceedings and deadlines remain in effect as scheduled, unless otherwise advised. Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) will remain in operation for the electronic filing of documents with courts."

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC), spoke in the Senate on October 5. He stated that "with the ongoing shutdown of the entire federal government, a handful of ideologues in the House of Representatives are holding the entire judicial system hostage and this threatens our entire democracy. " See, full statement.

Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will hold an event, in the nature of a hearing, titled "Forum: Examining the Impact of the Government Shutdown and Sequestration on the Provision of Justice" on Tuesday, October 8, 2013. See, notice.

10/7. President Obama nominated Kelly Welsh to be General Counsel of the Department of Commerce (DOC). See, White House news office release and release. She is General Counsel of Northern Trust, where she has worked since 2000. Before that, she worked for Ameritech, one of the Regional Bell Operating Companies formed by the breakup of AT&T 30 years ago. Ameritech merged with Southwestern Bell in 1999, and that entity merged with AT&T in 2006. Federal Election Commission (FEC) records disclose that Welsh has long been a generous financial contributor to Democratic campaigns, like the Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzger.

10/7. President Obama nominated Arun Madhavan Kumar to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service. See, White House news office release and release. Kumar recently worked for KPMG.

10/7. The Georgetown University's (GU) McDonough School of Business's (MSB) Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy announced senior policy scholars, fellows, and affiliates. See, release.

10/3. Tech America (TA) named Dan Rosensweig, P/CEO of Chegg, its "2013 Entrepreneur of the Year". See, TA release.

10/3. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a notice in the Federal Register (FR) that contains six pages of "corrections" to the changes to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) published on April 16, 2013. The effective date is October 15, 2013. See, FR, Vol. 78, No. 192 October 3, 2013, at Pages 61743-61748. See also, notice in the FR, Vol. 78, No. 73, April 16, 2013, at Pages 22659-22740. The Department of State (DOS) published a parallel notice in the FR that contains thirteen pages of "corrections" to the changes to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) published on April 16. See, FR, Vol. 78, No. 192, October 3, 2013, at Pages 61749-61761, and notice in the FR, Vol. 78, No. 73, April 16, 2013, at Pages 22740-22759.

10/1. The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), which is a de facto trial court with jurisdiction to issue Section 337 exclusion orders to protect intellectual property rights, announced in its web site that it "will shut down its investigative activities for the duration of the absence of appropriation", including "investigations and ancillary proceedings conducted under the authority of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930". It added that "During shutdown, the schedules and deadlines for all investigative and pre-institution activities will be tolled. All hearings and conferences will be postponed".

Monday, October 7.

Day three of a three day event titled "APEC Summit". See, event web site. Location: Bali, Indonesia.

Tuesday, October 8.

2:00 - 7:30 PM. The University of Colorado's Silicon Flatirons (SF) will host a conference titled "Software Patents and Their Challenges". The first panel at 2:15 - 3:30 PM is titled "Software Patents and Their Effect on Innovation). The speakers will be Michael Kallus (RPX Corporation), Pat Kennedy (Cellport Systems), Allen Lo (Google), Jason Mendelson (Foundry Group), Pamela Samuelson (UC Berkeley), and Phil Weiser (SF). The second panel at 3:45 - 5:00 PM is titled "Judicial and Administrative Proposals". The speakers will be David Jones (Microsoft Michelle Lee (Director of the USPTO's Silicon Valley office), Arti Rai (Duke University law school), Don Rosenberg (Qualcomm), Evan Rothstein (Brownstein Hyatt), and Harry Surden (University of Colorado law school). The third panel 5:15 - 6:30 PM is titled "Legislative and Self-Help Proposals". The speakers will be Mark Chandler (Cisco), David Kappos (Cravath Swaine & Moore), Randy Milch (Verizon Communications), and Paul Ohm (University of Colorado law school). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice. Location: University of Colorado Law School, Room 101, Wolf Law Building, 2450 Kittredge Loop, Boulder, Colorado.

Wednesday, October 9.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Kilopass Technology, Inc. v. Sidense Corporation, App. Ct. No. 13-1193, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (NDCal) in a patent infringement case. Panel C. Location: U.S. District Court, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in InTouch Technologies v. VGo Communications, App. Ct. No. 13-1201, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (CDCal) in a patent infringement case. Panel C. Location: U.S. District Court, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

2:00 PM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in In Re Motorola Mobility, App. Ct. No. 13-1222, an appeal from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Panel D.  Location: Villanova University School of Law, 299 North Spring Mill Road, Villanova, Pennsylvania.

Thursday, October 10.

6:30 - 8:00 AM Beijing Time. (6:30 - 8:00 PM ET.) The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law will host an on site and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Antitrust Principles & Institutional Design". This is the first in a series titled "U.S. Antitrust Law Fundamentals for Chinese Practitioners Series". The speakers will be Yan Luo (Covington & Burling), William Kovacic (George Washington University Law School, and former Chairman of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission), Wan Xiaoye (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Hunan University). Free. Open to the public. No CLE credits. See, notice. Location: Covington & Burling, 2301 Tower C Yintai Centre, 2 Jianguomenwai Avenue, Beijing, People's Republic of China.

8:00 AM - 5:15 PM PT. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law and Stanford University law school will host an event titled "Antitrust and Intellectual Property Conference". There will be panels titled "Patent Pools Face New Antitrust Threats", "Enforcing IP Rights and Defending Business Practices at Home and Abroad", "Anti-Social Media? Existence and Exercise of Market Power in Social Networking Platforms", "Surviving Merger Review Involving Strategic IP", and "Should Holders of FRAND-Encumbered SEPs be Able to Seek Injunctions?" The lunch speakers will be William Baer (DOJ) and Julie Brill (FTC). The other speakers will include Renetta Hesse (DOJ), Mark Lemley (Stanford), Alfred Pfeiffer (Latham & Watkins), Daniel Sokol (University of Florida College of Law), Susan Creighton (WSGR), Carl Shapiro (UC Berkeley), and others. Prices vary. CLE credits. No webcast. See, notice and agenda. Location: Stanford University, Paul Brest Hall, 555 Salvatierra Walk, Stanford, California.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Centillion Data Systems v. Qwest Communications, App. Ct. No. 13-1084, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (DInd) in a patent infringement case. Panel E. Location: U.S. District Court, Wilmington, Delaware.

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The House will meet at 12:00 NOON for morning hour, and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. It will consider HJRes 77, the "Food and Drug Safety Act, 2014". See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

The Senate will meet at 2:00 PM.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a five day meeting of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) RTCA Special Committee 159, Global Positioning Systems. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 182, September 19, 2013, at Pages 57672-57673. Location: RTCA, Inc., Suite 910, 1150 18th St., NW.

11:00 AM. The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Chadbourne & Parke v. Troice (Sup. Ct. No. 12-79), Willis or Colorado v. Troice (Sup. Ct. No. 12-86), and Proskauer Rose v. Troice (Sup. Ct. No. 12-88), cases involving the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act of 1998 (SLUSA). See, question presented, and Supreme Court October calendar.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Intellectual Property Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Copyright Policy, Creativity, and Innovation in the Digital Economy". The speakers will be Shira Perlmutter (USPTO) and John Morris (National Telecommunications and Information Administration). Free. No CLE credits. No webcast. This event will proceed. The USPTO has not ceased operations. Location: Wilkinson Barker Knauer, Suite 700, 2300 N St., NW.

12:30 - 5:00 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will host an event titled "ConnectED Workshop". See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 176, September 11, 2013, Pages 55684-55685. It states that participants will "discuss the growing bandwidth needs of K-12 schools as more schools use mobile devices to enrich the learning experience; as teachers increasingly integrate Web video and other digital content into the curriculum; and as classroom management software tools move everything from homework assignments to testing into the cloud". Location: American Institute of Architects, 1735 New York Ave., NW.

4:00 - 4:30 PM. The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) will hold a brief public meeting by teleconference. The sole item on the agenda is a PCAST report on cyber security. The deadline to register is 12:00 NOON on October 4, 2013. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 186, September 25, 2013, Page 59013.

Day two of a four day event hosted by the George Mason University law school and the American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law titled "Antitrust Law and Economics Institute". See, notice. For more information, call Kayla Lahti at 703-993-8008. Location: GMU law school, 3301 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) regarding extension of its foreign policy based export control regulations. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 172, September 5, 2013, at Pages 54623-54625.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) regarding the request of the Laboratory Accreditation Bureau (LAB) for accreditation by the FCC. See, FCC's August 23, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1795 in ET Docket No. 13-208).

Deadline to submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) oppositions to petitions to deny AT&T's planned acquisition of Leap Wireless. See, FCC August 28, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1831 in WT Docket No. 13-193). See also, the FCC's Office of General Counsel's (OGC) web page for this merger review.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding Purple Communications' July 11, 2013 Emergency Petition for Limited Waiver [6 pages in PDF], in connection with FCC's VRS reform order, due to other providers of IP Relay service exiting the IP Relay marketplace. See, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking [160 pages in PDF] adopted on June 7, 2013, and released on June 10, 2013. It is FCC in 13-82 in CG Docket Nos. 10-51 and 03-123. See, also the FCC's August 27, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1814), and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 176, September 11, 2013, at Pages 55696-55697.

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day event hosted by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advisory Committee for Mathematical and Physical Sciences' Synchrotron Subcommittee. The agenda includes items related to scynchrotrons, which have applications for burning computer chip designs into metal wafers and for semiconductor materials research. Open to the public. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 185, September 24, 2013, at Page 58569. Location: Residence Inn, 650 N. Quincy St., Arlington, VA.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Advanced Scientific Computing Advisory Committee (ASCAC). The ASCAC will discuss Exascale. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 179, September 16, 2013, at Page 56871. Location: American Geophysical Union, 2000 Florida Ave., NW.

9:00 AM - 1:45 PM. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 183, September 20, 2013, at Page 57839. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Portrait Room, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a five day meeting of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) RTCA Special Committee 159, Global Positioning Systems. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 182, September 19, 2013, at Pages 57672-57673. Location: RTCA, Inc., Suite 910, 1150 18th St., NW.

LOCATION AND SPEAKERS CHANGES. 9:00- 10:30 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "The Future of Cloud Services". The speakers will include Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), Daniel Castro (ITIF), Jim Blakely (Intel), and Max Peterson (Amazon). Free. Open to the public. See, notice. Location: Room 121, Cannon Building, Capitol Hill. ITIF/ITIC, Suite 610A, 1101 K St., NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Futurewei Technologies v. Acacia Research, App. Ct. No. 13-1090, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (CDCal) in a patent infringement case involving wireless communications. Panel H. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Mass Media Committee will hold a brown bag lunch titled "Completion of the FCC Form 323 Biennial Ownership Reports". The speakers will be Dorann Bunkin (FCC Media Bureau's Video Division's Chief Policy Counsel), Jake Riehm (FCC's MB's Industry Analysis Division), Robert Folliard (Dow Lohnes), and Matthew Gibson (Paul Hastings). Location: Dow Lohnes, 5th Floor Conference Room. 1200 New Hampshire Ave., NW.

1:00 - 2:00 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Privacy and Information Security Update". The speakers will be Andrea Arias (FTC's Division of Privacy and Identity Protection), and Dana Rosenfeld, Matthew Sullivan, Sherrie Schiavetti, Crystal Skelton, and Katie Riley (all of Kelley Drye). Prices vary. No CLE credits. A PowerPoint presentation will be emailed to registrants. See, notice.

2:00 PM. Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will hold an event, in the nature of a hearing, titled "Forum: Examining the Impact of the Government Shutdown and Sequestration on the Provision of Justice". The witnesses will be John Silkenat (President of the American Bar Association), Royal Furgeson (Dean of the forthcoming UNT Dallas College of Law), A.J. Kramer (Federal Public Defender of the District of Columbia), Robert Kengle (Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law), and Don Saunders (National Legal Aid and Defenders Association). Webcast. Open to the public. See, notice. Location: Room 2237, Rayburn Building.

6:00 PM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a meeting titled "Member Access Request". See, notice. The HIC states that this meeting is "Open" but "may close". The HIC sometimes advertises as open events that are in fact closed. Location: Room HVC-304, Capitol Visitor Center.

6:00 - 7:30 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a discussion of the book [Amazon] titled "Smart Cities: Big Data, Civic Hackers, and the Quest for a New Utopia". The speakers will be Anthony Townsend (author), Joshua Breitbart (NAF), Reid Cramer (NAF), Greta Byrum (NAF), and Lina Khan (NAF). Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.

CANCELLED. 6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) State and Local Practice Committee will host an event titled "Appealing the FCC’s Transformation Order: Challengers and Defenders Hone Their Arguments for the Tenth Circuit". This case is Windstream v. FCC, U.S. Court of Appeals (10thCir), App. Ct. No. 11-9900, a petition for review of the FCC's Second Order an Reconsideration (FCC 11-161), regarding universal service taxes. Oral argument is scheduled for November 19, 2013. There will be two panels. The speakers will be __. Prices vary. No webcast. CLE credits. See, notice. Location: __.

Day three of a four day event hosted by the George Mason University law school and the American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law titled "Antitrust Law and Economics Institute". See, notice. For more information, call Kayla Lahti at 703-993-8008. Location: GMU law school, 3301 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to AT&T's July 22, 2013 request for an interim waiver [30 pages in PDF] of FCC rules, pending disposition of AT&T's February 19, 2012 petition for rulemaking, to permit the use of Power Spectral Density (PSD) measurements for certain of its Florida station operations in the Cellular Radiotelephone Service. See, FCC's August 22, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1743 in WT Docket No. 13-202).

Deadline for the public to submit comments to the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) regarding the complaint filed by Furuno Electric Co., Ltd. and Furuno U.S.A. Inc. against various Garmin companies and others that alleges violation of Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. § 1337) in connection with the importation into the US of certain GPS devices, mapping systems, software and related items. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 189, September 30, 2013, at Pages 59973-59974.

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a three day meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 171, September 4, 2013, at Page 54454. See also, story titled "NIST ISPAB to Hold Three Day Meeting" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,594, September 3, 2013. Location: U.S. Access Board, Suite 800, Conference Room, 1331 F St., NW.

8:00 - 11:30 AM. Day one of a two day event hosted by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advisory Committee for Mathematical and Physical Sciences' Synchrotron Subcommittee. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 185, September 24, 2013, at Page 58569. Open to the public. Location: Residence Inn, 650 N. Quincy St., Arlington, VA.

9:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. Day two of a two day meeting of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Advanced Scientific Computing Advisory Committee (ASCAC). The ASCAC will discuss Exascale. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 179, September 16, 2013, at Page 56871. Location: American Geophysical Union, 2000 Florida Ave., NW.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day three of a five day meeting of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) RTCA Special Committee 159, Global Positioning Systems. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 182, September 19, 2013, at Pages 57672-57673. Location: RTCA, Inc., Suite 910, 1150 18th St.,  NW.

9:00- 10:30 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Next Gen Data Centers: Bringing Energy Efficiency to Government". The speakers will be Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Robert Atkinson (ITIF), Colin Coyle (Hewlett Packard), Dean Garfield (Information Technology Industry Council), Eric Masanet (Northwestern University), and Kathrin Winkler (EMC Corporation). Free. Open to the public. See, notice. Location: Room 121, Cannon Building, Capitol Hill.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing on the pending judicial nominations of __. See, notice. Webcast. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM - 4:30 PM. The Cato Institute will host an on site and webcast conference titled "NSA Surveillance: What We Know; What to Do About It". The speakers will include Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), and Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI). See, notice. Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

5:30 - 9:00 PM. The Public Knowledge (PK) will host an event titled "10th Annual IP3 Awards". Location: Pavilion Room, Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.

FILING WINDOW SUSPENDED. 6:00 PM. Deadline to submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) FCC Form 180 (short form applications) in connection with FCC Auction 902, the Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support reverse auction. See, FCC's August 7, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1672 in AU Docket No. 13-53), and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 179, September 16, 2013, at Pages 56875-56895. See also, FCC's September 25, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1978). See, notice (DA 13-2014 in AU Docket No. 13-53) of suspension of filing window.

Day four of a four day event hosted by the George Mason University law school and the American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law titled "Antitrust Law and Economics Institute". See, notice. For more information, call Kayla Lahti at 703-993-8008. Location: GMU law school, 3301 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding Imperium LLC's proposed parental consent method and the FTC's rules implementing the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 177, September 12, 2013, at Pages 56183-56184.

Deadline to submit to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) nominations for membership on its DHS Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee. This committee provides advice regarding "programmatic, policy, operational, administrative, and technological issues within DHS that relate to personally identifiable information (PII), as well as data integrity and other privacy-related matters". See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 174, September 9, 2013, at Pages 55088-55089.

7:30 AM - 12:15 PM. The George Mason University law school will host a conference titled "Competition Among Online Platforms". See, notice. For more information, call Jeff Smith at 703-993-8382. Location: GMU law school, Founders Hall, 3351 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA.

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a three day meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 171, September 4, 2013, at Page 54454. See also, story titled "NIST ISPAB to Hold Three Day Meeting" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,594, September 3, 2013. Location: U.S. Access Board, Suite 800, Conference Room, 1331 F St., NW.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day four of a five day meeting of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) RTCA Special Committee 159, Global Positioning Systems. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 182, September 19, 2013, at Pages 57672-57673. Location: RTCA, Inc., Suite 910, 1150 18th St., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed meeting titled "Ongoing Intelligence Activities". See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304, Capitol Visitor Center.

10:30 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Brookings Institution (BI) will host an event titled "NSA Surveillance Programs and the Najibullah Zazi Terrorist Threat". The speaker will be Matt Apuzzo (Associated Press). See, notice. Location: BI, 1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

2:30 PM. The Senate Intelligence Committee (SIC) will hold a closed meeting to mark up undisclosed legislation, and/or dispose of other undisclosed matters. See, notice. Location: Room 219, Hart Building.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "Conflicts of Interest and Unauthorized Practice: Pitfalls for FCC Lawyers to Avoid". The speakers will be Gregg Skall (Womble Carlyle), Barry Cohen (Crowell & Moring), Grif Johnson (Telecommunications Law Professionals), Cynthia Wright (Assistant U.S. Attorney and Chair of the Unauthorized Practice of Law of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals), Lawrence Movshin (Wilkinson Barker Knauer), Thomas Mason (Zuckerman Spaeder), and Julia Porter (Senior Assistant Bar Counsel, District of Columbia). Prices vary. No webcast. CLE credits. See, notice. Location: Bingham McCutchen, 2020 K St., NW.

6:30 - 8:00 PM ET. (6:30 - 8:00 AM Beijing Time.) The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law will host an on site and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Antitrust Principles & Institutional Design". This is the first in a nine part series titled "U.S. Antitrust Law Fundamentals for Chinese Practitioners Series". The speakers will be Yan Luo (Covington & Burling), William Kovacic (George Washington University Law School, and former Chairman of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission), Wan Xiaoye (Hunan University). Free. Open to the public. No CLE credits. See, notice. Location: Covington & Burling, 2301 Tower C Yintai Centre, 2 Jianguomenwai Avenue, Beijing, People's Republic of China.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the proposed merger involving Globecomm Systems, Telaurus Communications, and Wasserstein Cosmos. See, FCC's September 26, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1987 in WC Docket No. 13-235).

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding DISH Network Corporation's September 9, 2013 Petition for Waiver and Request Extension of Time [22 pages in PDF] regarding the FCC's AWS-4 rules applied to offering terrestrial broadband service. See, FCC's September 13, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1877 in WT Docket No. 13-225) and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 188, September 27, 2013, at Pages 59633-59635.

Supreme Court conference day. See, October Term 2013 calendar.

TIME? The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "The Impacts of the Government Shutdown on Our Economic Security". The witnesses will be __. Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

Day one of a two day event hosted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) titled "18th Annual Independent Inventor Conference". See, notice. Location: USPTO Campus, Madison North Auditorium, 600 Dulany St., Alexandria, VA.

8:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. Day three of a three day meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 171, September 4, 2013, at Page 54454. See also, story titled "NIST ISPAB to Hold Three Day Meeting" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,594, September 3, 2013. Location: U.S. Access Board, Suite 800, Conference Room, 1331 F St., NW.

POSTPONED. 9:00 - 10:30 AM. The US Telecom will host an on site and webcast panel discussion titled "The National Cybersecurity Framework -- The First Major Milestone". Patrick Gallagher, head of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will give an opening speech. There will then be a panel comprised of Charlie Mitchell (Inside Cybersecurity), Donna Dodson (NIST), Adam Sedgewick (NIST), Robert Dix (Juniper Networks), Sara Andrews (Verizon Communications), and Rosemary Leffler (AT&T). Larry Clinton (Internet Security Alliance) will give a closing speech. Free. Open to the public. Breakfast will be served. See, notice. Location: First Amendment Room, National Press Club, 529 14th St., NW.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day five of a five day meeting of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) RTCA Special Committee 159, Global Positioning Systems. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 182, September 19, 2013, at Pages 57672-57673. Location: RTCA, Inc., Suite 910, 1150 18th St., NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Motorola Mobility v. USITC, App. Ct. No. 12-1666, an appeal from the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC). Panel L. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold an event titled "Spectrum, Medical Devices, and Broadband for Rural Health Care: An Introduction to FCC Programs and Initiatives Affecting Health Care". The speakers will be Matthew Quinn (FCC Director of Health Care Initiatives) and Linda Oliver (Deputy Chief of the FCC's WCB's Telecommunications Access Policy Division). Free. Bring your own lunch. No webcast. No CLE credits. The FCBA asserts sponsorship. Location: CTIA, 6th floor, 1400 16th St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law will host a teleconferenced panel discussion titled "September Antitrust Update for In-House Counsel". The speakers will be Carter Simpson (SNR Denton), and Allan Van Fleet, Warren Rosborough, Alison Smith, and Andrea Hamilton (all of McDermott Will & Emery). The price to attend ranges from free to $25. No CLE credits. See, notice.

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 (EAR). The proposed changes, among other things, would require exporters to file an Automated Export System (AES) record for all exports subject to the EAR involving a party or parties to the transaction who are listed on the Unverified List, aka UVL. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 176, September 11, 2013, Pages 55664-55671.

EXTENDED TO OCTOBER 25. Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) to assist it in preparing a report on the internet and physical notorious markets that exist outside the US and that may be included in the OUSTR's 2013 Notorious Markets List. See, notice in the Federal Register (FR), Vol. 78, No. 183, September 20, 2013, at Pages 57924-57925, and story titled "USTR Seeks Comments on Notorious Foreign Markets" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,606, September 27, 2013. See also, September 23 release which extends the deadline to October 25, and extension notice in the FR, Vol. 78, No. 190, October 1, 2013, at Page 60367. The docket number is USTR-2013-0030.

Deadline for 12 operators of consumer facing web sites to respond to interrogatories sent by Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV). See, September 24, 2013 letter, and story titled "Sen. Rockefeller Queries Consumer Facing Web Sites About Their Data Collection and Sharing Practices" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,606, September 27, 2013.

Day two of a two day event hosted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) titled "18th Annual Independent Inventor Conference". See, notice. Location: USPTO Campus, Madison North Auditorium, 600 Dulany St., Alexandria, VA.

Columbus Day. This is a federal holiday. See, OPM list of 2013 federal holidays.

The House will not meet the week of October 14 through October 18. It will return from its Columbus Day recess on Monday, October 21. See, House calendar for the 113th Congress, 1st Session.

The Senate will not meet the week of October 14 through October 18. It will return from its Columbus Day recess on Monday, October 21. See, Senate calendar for the 113th Congress, 1st Session.