Obama Administration Opposes R&D
Tax Credit Bill |
5/6. The Executive Office of the President's (EOP) Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) stated in a
release that "the Administration strongly opposes House passage of
H.R. 4438", and "If the President were presented with H.R. 4438,
his senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill."
The EOP released this statement the week the House leadership scheduled
consideration of HR 4438
[LOC |
WW, the
"American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2014", a bill to revise and make
permanent the research and development tax credit, which is codified at
26 U.S.C. § 41.
President Obama has approached the R&D tax credit as he has the issue of
visas for skilled tech workers. That it, he has publicly advocated a position that wins praise
from the tech sector, and then when presented with an actual bill that embodies his
previously stated positions, he has opposed and worked to prevent the bill from
becoming law.
On November 30, 2012, the House passed HR 6429
[LOC
| WW],
the "STEM Jobs Act of 2012", by a vote of 245-139. See, story titled "House
Passes STEM Visas Bill" in
TLJ Daily E-Mail
Alert No. 2,480, December 1, 2012. That bill would have enabled aliens who
obtain advanced degrees in STEM fields from US universities to obtain visas, and
therefore remain in the US, and contribute to innovation and economic
development. Two days before the House voted on this bill, the EOP released a
statement announcing that "the Administration opposes House passage of H.R.
6429". See also, story titled "Obama Opposes STEM Visas Bill" in
TLJ Daily E-Mail
Alert No. 2,478, November 29, 2012.
On April 29, 2014, the House Ways and Means
Committee (HWMC) held a mark up session at which it amended and approved this R&D
tax credit bill. See,
amendment in the nature of a substitute, and story titled "House Ways and Means
Committee Approves Bill to Make R&D Tax Credit Permanent" in TLJ Daily E-Mail
Alert No. 2,652, May 2, 2014.
On May 6, the House Rules Committee (HRC)
adopted a closed rule for consideration of the bill. That is, no amendments can
be offered during floor consideration. Also, debate will be limited to 90
minutes. The House is scheduled to consider this bill on Wednesday, May 7.
Republican and Democratic Presidents, Representatives and Senators have
publicly advocated making the R&D tax credit permanent for decades. Numerous
such bills are introduced in each Congress. However, the Congress continues to
enact mostly one year extensions. Moreover, it often allows the credit to
expire, and retroactively extends it. The last extension of the R&D tax credit
expired on December 31, 2013. HR 4438 is retroactive to that date.
There are reasons for this continuous series of short term and retroactive
extensions. First, by keeping the credit temporary, administration and
Congressional budget staff, in making revenue projections, can pretend that tax
revenues will be higher. That is, setting retroactive and temporary extensions
of the R&D tax credit is part of the ongoing budgetary smoke and mirrors
process.
Second, by keeping the issue on the agenda, candidates for federal office,
and especially incumbents, can rely upon a continuous flow of endorsements and
campaign contributions from supporters of the credit.
It is highly unlikely that the 113th Congress will enact a permanent
extension of the R&D tax credit. The House Republican leadership understands
this. Moving this bill at this time may be in part a way to portray President Obama and the Democratic Party as opponents of the credit, economic growth, and
maintaining the competitiveness of the US tech sector, going into the November
2014 Congressional elections.
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House Commerce Committee to Mark Up STELA
Reauthorization Bill |
5/6. Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), the Chairman
of the House Commerce Committee's (HCC)
Subcommittee on Communications and Technology (SCT), announced in a
release that "bipartisan agreement has been
reached" on legislation to reauthorize the Satellite Television Extension and
Localism Act (STELA). However, he did not release the legislative text that
embodies this agreement.
The HCC is scheduled to mark up this bill on Wednesday and Thursday, May 7
and 8, 2014. The HCC will meet at 4:00 PM on May 7 for opening statements, and
at 10:00 on May 8 for the mark up.
Rep. Walden, Rep. Ann Eshoo (D-CA), Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) and Rep. Henry Waxman
(D-CA) introduced HR 4572
[LOC |
WW] on Tuesday,
May 6, 2014.
As of publication of this issue, this text of this bill had not yet been published
in the Library of Congress's Thomas web site. Rep. Walden stated in his release that
this bill will "Reauthorize the law for five years", "Include limitations
on joint retransmission consent negotiations", "Provide stability to
broadcasters in response to the FCC's changes on the attribution of joint sales
agreements under the media ownership rules", "Eliminate the ``sweeps´´ week
prohibition on signal change", and "Eliminate the set-top box integration
ban".
On March 25 the HCC/SCT marked up a draft version of this bill. This main provision
of that draft bill is reauthorization of the STELA. It provides for a five year extension.
However, that draft bill also addressed the FCC's media ownership rules, retransmission
consent, sweeps week, the integration ban, and other issues.
See,
discussion draft of the bill, the HCC's
draft summary, and TLJ bill summary in story titled "HCC/SCT to Mark Up STELA
Reauthorization Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,635, March 24, 2014. See also,
story titled
"HCC/SCT Marks Up STELA Reauthorization Bill" in
TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No.
2,636, March 25, 2014.)
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CRJs Propose Record Keeping Requirements for
Webcasters |
5/2. The Copyright Royalty Judges (CRJ) published a
notice in the
Federal Register (FR) announces, describes, recites, and requests comments on, proposed
rules regarding "filing notice of use and the delivery of records of use of sound
recordings under two statutory licenses of the Copyright Act". This pertains to
"reports of use of sound recordings for the statutory licenses set forth in sections
112 and 114 of the Copyright Act". The CRJs also published a second
notice
in the FR that reaffirms the 2009 rules.
These notices are not clear for those not involved in this process. The CRJ proposes to
revise its rules governing how digital music services (webcasters and others) must report the
songs that they play to SoundExchange. This
rulemaking is not about the important issue of rates. Rather, it is about the burdensome
task of record keeping and reporting. SoundExchange wants much more data. The CRJs want
public comments.
The deadline to submit initial comments is June 2, 2014. The deadline to
submit reply comments is June 16, 2014.
David Oxenford
(Wilkinson Barker Knauer) has written a more detailed
summary of this CRJ FR notice.
Those who own copyrights in sound recording have a performance right for most but not
all types of performances. Digital music services (webcasters and others) do not need to
negotiate a license to perform sound recordings. The perform copyrighted sound recordings
pursuant to the statutory licenses of Section 112 and 114 of the Copyright Act. The CRJ
sets rates. Webcasters pay royalties to an intermediary (SoundExchange), which distributes
money to rights holders.
The notice states that back on October 6, 2006 the CRJ released interim
regulations. Then, on October 13, 2009, the CRJ released its final rule,
"establishing requirements for census reporting for all but those broadcasters
who pay no more than the minimum fee for their use of the license". See,
notice in the
FR, Vol. 74, No. 196, October 13, 2009, at Pages 52418-52427.
SoundExchange filed a petition for rulemaking
on October 13, 2013. It is a performance rights organization (PRO) that represents sound
recording copyright owners (SRCO), such as record companies, in the collection of performance
royalties for digital performances under the statutory licenses codified at
17 U.S.C. § 112 and
17 U.S.C. § 114.
SoundExchange wants more data to be collected and reported. It also wants shorter
deadlines for reports, and imposition of late fees.
Also, on October 28, 2009, the CRJ received a filing from the
College Broadcasters, Inc. (CBI), American Council
on Education (ACE), and Intercollegiate Broadcasting Systems, Inc. (IBSI). The CRJ states
that the petitioners' description of this item as a petition for clarification is incorrect.
It requests substantive changes, and is therefore a petition for rulemaking.
This is Docket No. 14-CRB-0005 (RM). See, FR, Vol. 79, No. 85, May 2, 2014,
at Pages 25038-25049.
The CRJ also simultaneously published a second
notice in the
FR this states that its 2009 rules are reaffirmed. It did this because there has been
litigation regarding various issues, including the Constitutionality of the manner in
which the CRJs were appointed.
Hence, the notice recites the history of the rule, and the litigation, and
then states that "In light of the foregoing proceedings, the Judges recognize
the need to clarify the effectiveness of the final regulation. Consequently, the
Judges performed a de novo review of the comments underlying the final
regulation and affirm the adoption of this regulation as published at 74 FR
52418 on October 11, 2009, in its entirety and without change (including the
reasons set forth in the preamble thereto), thereby removing any doubt as to the
effectiveness of the final regulation. Such affirmation also ensures the
continuous effectiveness of the rules concerning notice and recordkeeping for
users of copyrighted sound recordings." (Parentheses in original.)
See, FR, Vol. 79, No. 85, May 2, 2014, at Pages 25009-25010. See also, July 6, 2012
opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals
(DCCir), IBSI v. Copyright Royalty Board, 684 F.3d 1332, holding that the
manner by which the Judges were appointed was unconstitutional.
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People and
Appointments |
5/5. The Senate confirmed Nancy Moritz to be a Judge of the
U.S. Court of Appeals (10thCir) by a vote of
90-3. See,
Roll Call No. 130. She was previously a Justice of the
Kansas Supreme Court
for several years (appointed by then Governor Mark Parkinson). Before that, she was a
Judge of the Kansas Court of Appeals (appointed by then Governor Kathleen Sebelius).
Before that, she worked in the Office of the U.S. Attorney (DKan). And before that,
she worked for the law firm of Spencer Fane Britt & Browne.
5/5. The National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA) released a
notice,
to be published in the Federal Register (FR), that solicits expressions of interest from
people who want to be members of the First Responder Network Authority, which is
also known as FirstNet. This notice states that the terms of four members expire in August
of 2014. The deadline to submit expressions of interest is May 23, 2014.
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More
News |
5/6. The National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) published a
notice in the
Federal Register (FR) regarding cyber security in the financial services
sector. It states that "invites organizations to provide products and technical
expertise to support and demonstrate security platforms for IT asset management for the
financial services sector. This notice is the initial step for the National Cybersecurity
Center of Excellence (NCCoE) in collaborating with technology companies to address
cybersecurity challenges identified under the Financial Services sector program."
See, FR, Vol. 79, No. 87, May 6, 2014, at Pages 25833-25834.
5/6. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and
Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division
announced that they will hold a workshop on conditional pricing arrangements. This
workshop will be on June 23, 2014. The deadline to submit comments is August 22. The FTC
release and DOJ
release
state that they will "explore the economic and legal analysis of conditional
pricing practices among firms in a supply chain. The workshop will focus on conditional
pricing arrangements -- practices in which prices are explicitly or effectively contingent
on commitments to purchase or sell a specified share or volume of a single product or a
mix of multiple products -- such as loyalty or bundled pricing."
5/5. The Information Technology and Innovation
Foundation (ITIF) released a
paper
titled "Why Geoblocking Can Increase Consumer Welfare and Improve Income Equality".
The author is the ITIF's Joe Kennedy.
Geoblocking is the practice of charges different prices in different locations, for example,
for online sales of digital works, such as e-books, movies, music, software, and video
games. This paper argues that "it would be a mistake for policymakers to restrict
such pricing practices"
5/5. The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Customs
and Border Protection (CBP) published a
notice
in the Federal Register that states that its
Advisory Committee on
Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection will meet on May 22, 2014 in
Miami, Florida. The DHS engages in several technology related activities, including
enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) by seizing infringing goods, seizure of
domain names, and warrantless searches of laptops, tablets, phones and other devices at
entry points. The agenda for the meeting includes discussion of "the recommendations
on the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Working Group's work to determine the feasibility
of a Partnership Program for IPR" and "application of the Document Imaging System
as a tool for IPR authentication". A CBP official told TLJ that this meeting will
address CBP seizures of IPR infringing goods, probably between 1:30 and 2:00 PM. However,
domain name seizures and searches of personal devices are not on the agenda. This notice
also states the one "may attend either in person or via webinar after pre-registering".
The Advisory Committee also seeks public comments on the agenda items. The deadline to submit
comments is May 15, 2014. The deadline to register to attend, either on site or online,
is 5:00 PM EST on May 20, 2014. See, FR, Vol. 79, No. 86, May 5, 2014, at Pages 25608-25609.
See also, CBP
notice.
4/21. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Commissioner Luis Aguilar gave
a speech
titled "Looking at Corporate Governance from the Investor's Perspective" in which he
addressed, among other things, electronic shareholder meetings. He stated that
"One innovation that has the potential to increase engagement by retail shareholders
is the use of electronic shareholder forums. To that end, in January 2008, the Commission
adopted rules to facilitate the use of this tool by public companies and their shareholders.
The intent was to facilitate shareholder communications and uphold shareholder rights by
encouraging experimentation, innovation, and greater use of the Internet. Unfortunately,
however, reports suggest that only a small minority of U.S. domestic issuers take
advantage of this innovation. The Commission should investigate this and determine whether
our rules should be amended." (Footnotes omitted.)
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About Tech Law
Journal |
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 1998-2014 David Carney. All rights reserved.
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In This
Issue |
This issue contains the following items:
• Obama Administration Opposes R&D Tax Credit Bill
• House Commerce Committee to Mark Up STELA Reauthorization Bill
• CRJs Propose Record Keeping Requirements for Webcasters
• People and Appointments
• More News
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Washington Tech
Calendar
New items are highlighted in
red. |
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Wednesday, May 7 |
The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at
12:00 NOON for legislative business. The House will
consider HR 4438
[LOC |
WW, the
"American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2014". See, stories
titled "House Ways and Means Committee Approves Bill to Make R&D Tax Credit
Permanent" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,652, May 2, 2014, and "Obama
Administration Opposes R&D Tax Credit Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No.
2,655, May 7, 2014. See, Rep. Cantor's
schedule.
The Senate will meet at 9:30 AM.
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the Federal
Aviation Administration's (FAA) Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee.
See, notice
in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 63, April 2, 2014, at Page 18605. Location:
National Transportation Safety Board Conference Center, 429 L'Enfant Plaza, SW.
9:00 - 11:00 AM. The Information
Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled
"University Research Funding: Still Lagging Behind and Showing No Signs of
Improvement". The speakers will be Robert Atkinson (ITIF), William Bonvillian
(MIT), and Kathleen Kingscott (IBM). See,
notice.
Location: Room 325, Russell Building.
9:00 AM - 5:15 PM. Day two of a three day event hosted by the
National Science Foundation's (NSF)
Networking and Information Technology Research
and Development Program (NITRDP), DARPA, NSA, and others titled "High
Confidence Software and Systems Conference". See,
conference web site. Location:
Annapolis, MD.
10:00 AM. The House
Financial Services Committee (HFSC) will meet to mark up 15 bills, and adopt a
resolution authorizing the issuance of subpoenas for records by the Department of
Justice (DOJ) and the Department of the Treasury (DOT). Several of these bills would
make it easier for small and startup companies in the tech sector to raise capital. See,
notice of hearing, and HFSC
memorandum
summarizing the bills to be considered. Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.
10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Federal
Trade Commission (FTC) will hold an event titled "Seminar on Privacy
Implications of Consumer Generated and Controlled Health Data". There will be a
presentation titled "Health Data Flows" by Latanya Sweeney (FTC Chief Technologist). There
will be a presentation titled "A Snapshot of Data Sharing by Select Health and Fitness
Apps" by Jared Ho (FTC Mobile Technology Unit). There will then be a panel discussion.
The speakers will be Cora Han and Kristen Anderson (both of the FTC's Division of Privacy
and Identity Protection), Christopher Burrow (Humetrix), Joseph Hall (Center for Democracy
& Technology), Sally Okun (PatientsLikeMe), Heather Patterson (New York University), and
Joy Pritts (DHHS).See,
notice. Location: FTC Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.
10:00 AM. The U.S.
Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Samsung Electronics v.
USITC, App. Ct. No. 13-1519. Panel H. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison
Place, NW.
12:00 NOON. The Cato
Institute will host a discussion of the
book titled "Intellectual Privilege: Copyright, Common Law and the Common
Good". The speakers will be the author,
Tom Bell (Chapman University
School of Law),
Chirstopher Newman (George Mason University School of Law), and and
Jim Harper (Cato). Free. Open to the
public. Webcast. See, notice.
Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.
1:00 PM. The House Judiciary
Committee (HJC) will meet to mark up HR 3361
[LOC |
WW], the
"Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ending Eavesdropping,
Dragnet-collection, and Online Monitoring Act'' or "USA FREEDOM Act". See
also, story titled "House Judiciary Committee to Mark Up Surveillance Reform Bill"
in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,654, May 6, 2014. Webcast. Open to the public. See,
notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.
1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American
Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Privacy
and Social Media". The speakers will be Richard Santalesa (The Sm@rtEdgeLaw
Group), Christopher Hearsey (Bigelow Aerospace),
Adrian Fontecilla
(Proskauer Rose), Peter Gillespie (Fisher & Phillips), and Jessica Flanigan (Monument
Policy Group). Prices vary. CLE credits. See,
notice.
2:00 PM. The
Senate Appropriations Committee's (SAC) Subcommittee on Homeland Security will hold
a hearing titled "Investing in Cybersecurity". The witnesses will be
Phyllis Schneck (DHS/NPPD Deputy Under Secretary -- Cyber), Peter Edge (DHS Immigration
and Customs Enforcement), William Noonan (DHS's Secret Service), Jonathan Katz
(University of Maryland), Dave Mahon (CenturyLink), Scott Bowers (Indiana Statewide
Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives), and Christopher Peters (Entergy Corporation).
Webcast. See,
notice. Location: Room 192, Dirksen Building.
2:00 PM. The
Senate Appropriations Committee's (SAC) Subcommittee on Financial Services and
General Government will hold a hearing titled "FY15 Funding for Federal
Information Technology Investments". The witnesses will be Steven VanRoekel
(Office of Management & Budget), Dan Tangherlini (General Services Administration),
Katherine Archuleta (Office of Personnel Management), and David Powner (Government
Accountability Office). Webcast. See,
notice. Location: Room 192, Dirksen Building.
4:00 PM. The House Commerce's
Committee (HCC) will meet to begin its mark up of HR 4342
[LOC |
WW], the
"Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters Act of 2014",
also known as the DOTCOM Act, and a yet to be introduced STELA reauthorization bill.
The Wednesday portion of this meeting is for opening statements only. See,
notice and story titled "House Commerce Committee to Mark Up DOTCOM Bill
and STELA Reauthorization Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,654, May 6,
2014. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.
6:30 PM ET. There will be an online panel
discussion of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler's
yet to be released Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding new rules to
regulate the practices of broadband internet access service (BIAS) providers.
See, stories titled "Wheeler Describes Draft Open Internet NPRM" and "Wheeler
Says NPRM Will Seek Comments But Not Propose Rules on Internet Peering" in TLJ
Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,649, April 29, 2014. The other speakers will be
Rep. Anna Eshoo
(D-CA), Robert McDowell (former FCC Commissioner who dissented when the FCC
adopted the recently overturned rules), Matthew Prince (CloudFlare), Barbara
van Schewick (Stanford Law School), and Cecilia Kang (Washington Post). See,
Google web
page for this event.
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Thursday, May 8 |
The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for
legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's
schedule.
8:30 AM - 2:00 PM. Day two of a two day meeting of the Federal
Aviation Administration's (FAA) Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee.
See, notice
in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 63, April 2, 2014, at Page 18605. Location:
National Transportation Safety Board Conference Center, 429 L'Enfant Plaza, SW.
9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Technology
Policy Institute (TPI) will host a panel discussion titled "The Evolving
Media Landscape: What do the Data Show?". The speakers will include
Michael Smith (TPI and Carnegie Mellon University),
Joel
Waldfogel (University of Minnesota),
Alejandro Zentner (University of Texas
at Dallas), and
Thomas Lenard (TPI).
Breakfast will be served from 8:30 AM. Free. Open to the public. See,
notice. Location:
City Club, 555 13th St., NW.
9:00 - 11:00 AM. The Information Technology
and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host an event titled "Accelerating
Sustainability: Maximizing the Benefits of Connected Cars". See,
notice. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building.
9:00 AM - 4:30 PM. Day three of a three day event hosted by the
National Science Foundation's (NSF)
Networking and Information Technology Research
and Development Program (NITRDP), DARPA, NSA, and others titled "High
Confidence Software and Systems Conference". See,
conference web site. Location:
Annapolis, MD.
9:30 AM. The House Judiciary
Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and
Antitrust Law will hold a hearing on Comcast's proposed acquisition of
Time Warner Cable. The witnesses will be Robert
Marcus (Time Warner Cable), David Cohen (Comcast), Matthew Polka (American
Cable Association), Scott Hemphill (Columbia Law School), Allen Grunes (Geyer
Gorey), Patrick Gottsch (Rural Media Group), Dave Schaeffer (Cogent
Communications), and Craig Labovitz (DeepField Networks). Webcast. See,
notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.
10:00 AM. The House
Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed meeting to mark up HR 4291
[LOC |
WW], the
"FISA Transparency and Modernization Act of 2014". See also, story
titled "House Intelligence Committee to Hold Closed Mark Up of Its FISA Reform
Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,654, May 6, 2014. Closed to the public. No
webcast. See,
notice. Location: Room HVC-304, Capitol Building.
10:00 AM. The House
Commerce's Committee (HCC) will meet to complete its mark up of HR 4342
[LOC |
WW], the
"Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters Act of 2014",
also known as the DOTCOM Act, and a yet to be introduced STELA reauthorization bill.
See,
notice and story titled "House Commerce Committee to Mark Up DOTCOM Bill
and STELA Reauthorization Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,654, May 6,
2014. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.
10:00 AM. The House Homeland
Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Couterterrorism and Intelligence and
Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protections, and Security Technologies
will hold a hearing titled "Assessing Persistent and Emerging Cyber Threats to
the U.S. Homeland". The witnesses will be __. See,
notice. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.
10:00 AM. The House
Appropriations Committee (HAC) will meet to mark up the FY 2015 Commerce, Justice,
and Science Appropriations Bill, and the Report on the Suballocation of Budget
Allocations for FY 2015. See,
notice. Location: Room 2359, Rayburn Building.
10:00 AM. The Senate
Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda once
again includes consideration of S 1720
[LOC |
WW], the
"Patent Transparency and Improvements Act of 2013". See, stories titled
"Patent Legislation Update" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,637, April 7, 2014,
and "Senate Judiciary Committee Members Still Working on Patent Bill" in TLJ
Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,641, April 17, 2014. The agenda also includes consideration of
four District Court nominees: Carlos Mendoza (MDFl), Darren Gayles (SDFl), Paul Byron
(MDFl), and Beth Bloom (SDFl). Webcast. See,
notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.
10:00 AM. The Senate Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (SHSGAC) will hold a hearing titled
"Identifying Critical Factors for Success in Information Technology
Acquisitions". The witnesses will be __. Webcast. See,
notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.
10:00 AM. The U.S.
Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Cross Atlantic Capital
Partner v. Facebook, App. Ct. No. 13-1596. Panel L. Location: Courtroom 203,
717 Madison Place, NW.
TIME? The Federal Election Commission
(FEC) will meet to consider two advisory opinions regarding application of the
federal election campaign finance regulatory regime to Bitcoins. See,
Draft A and
Draft B. See, story titled "FEC
to Consider Bitcoin Advisory Opinions" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,642, April 18,
2014. Location: FEC, 999 E St., NW.
12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The American
Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law will host an on site and
teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Antitrust Analysis in Digital Platform
Markets: Just One Side of the Story?". The speakers will be Lisa Kimmel (FTC),
Aaron Hoag (DOJ), Pete Levitas (Arnold & Porter), Marc Rysman (Boston University),
and Scott Sher (WSGR). Prices vary. No CLE credits. See,
notice. Location: Arnold & Porter, 555 12th St., NW.
1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American
Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "The
Impact of Regulatory and Industry Standards on Patents". The speakers will be
Logan Breed (Hogan Lovells), Jorge Contreras (American University law school), Michelle
Herman (Intellectual Ventures), and Michael Hawes (Baker Botts). Prices vary. CLE credits.
See, notice.
2:00 PM. The House Judiciary
Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet
will hold a hearing titled "Compulsory Video Licenses of Title 17".
The witnesses will be __. Webcast. See,
notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.
2:00 PM. The House Homeland
Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protections,
and Security Technologies will hold a hearing titled "Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP):
Threat to Critical Infrastructure". The witnesses will be __. See,
notice. Location: Room 311,
Cannon Building.
2:30 PM. The Senate
Intelligence Committee (SIC) will hold a closed hearing on 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 in Buy/Sell Transactions: How to Spot and Avoid
Them". The speakers will be Ted Frank (Arnold & Porter), Alison Bost (Womble
Carlyle), Bernard DiMuro (DiMuro Ginsburg), Saul Singer (District of Columbia
Bar), Lawrence Movshin (Wilkinson Barker Knauer), Marni Byrum (McQuade Byrum),
George Clark, and Michael Frisch (Georgetown University Law Center). CLE
credits. No webcast. Prices vary. The deadline for registrations and
cancellations is 5:00 PM on May 7. See,
notice. Location: Arnold & Porter,
555 12th St., NW.
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Friday, May 9 |
The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep.
Cantor's schedule.
TIME? Day six of a six day event hosted by the
National Science Foundation's (NSF)
Networking and Information Technology Research
and Development Program (NITRDP), DARPA, NSA, and others titled "High
Confidence Software and Systems Conference". Location: Annapolis, MD.
8:30 - 10:30 AM. The
US Telecom will host an on site and
webcast event titled "Voice Interconnection: Yesterday's Framework,
Tomorrow's Service". The opening speakers will be Walter McCormick (USTelecom),
Bennett Ross
(Wiley Rein), and then Curtis Groves (Verizon). There will then
be a panel discussion. The speakers will be Matthew Schwartz (Communications
Daily), Hank Hultquist (AT&T), Karen Reidy (COMPTEL), and
Glenn Richards
(Pillsbury Winthrop). Free. Open to the public. A continental breakfast will be served. See,
notice. Location: US Telecom, Suite 400, 607 14th St., NW.
9:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The
President's Council of
Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) will hold a partially closed meeting. The
agenda includes reports on "science, technology, and innovation in China".
See, notice
in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 81, April 28, 2014, at Page 23340. Location:
National Academy of Sciences, 2101 Constitution Ave., NW.
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC)
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) will hold
a meeting regarding "ways in which the national economic accounts can be
presented more effectively for current economic analysis and recent
statistical developments in national accounting". Open to the public. See,
notice
in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 40, February 28, 2014, at Pages
11400-11401. Location: BEA, 1441 L St., NW.
10:00 AM. The U.S.
Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Fenner Investments, Ltd.
v. Cellco Partnership, App. Ct. No. 13-1640. Panel N. Location: Courtroom 402,
717 Madison Place, NW.
10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of
Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Innovative Biometric Technology
v. Toshiba America, App. Ct. No. 13-1288. Panel M. Location: Courtroom 201,
717 Madison Place, NW.
1:00 - 4:00 PM. The U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) will host a public hearing on its
memorandum
titled "Guidance For Determining Subject Matter Eligibility of Claims Reciting
or Involving Laws of Nature, Natural Phenomena, and Natural Products (Laws of
Nature/Natural Products Guidance)'', released on March 4, 2014. See,
notice in
the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 74, April 17, 2014, at Pages 21736-21738. See also,
story titled "USPTO to Hold Hearing on Subject Matter Eligibility of Claims Reciting
Laws of Nature" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,640, April 16, 2014. Location:
USPTO, Madison Auditorium, 600 Dulany St., Alexandria, VA.
Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal
Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) in response
to its Public Notice
(PN) regarding the FCC's attributable material relationship rule. This PN is DA
14-414 in GN Docket Nos. 12-268 and 13-185 and WT Docket No. 05-211. The FCC released it
on March 27, 2014. See also,
notice
in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 71, April 14, 2014, at Pages 20854-20855.
Deadline to submit initial comments to the
Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau in
response to its
Public Notice (PN) regarding FCC rules that require fax advertisements sent to a
consumer who has provided prior express invitation or permission to include an opt-out
notice. This PN is DA 14-556 in CG Docket Nos. 02-278 and 05-338. The FCC released it
on April 25, 2014.
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Sunday, May 11 |
Mothers Day.
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Monday, May 12 |
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The Center
for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and
Brookings Institution (BI) will host a program titled "35 Years Later:
Assessing the Effectiveness of the Taiwan Relations Act". The speakers will
include Shen Lyushun (Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative). See, CSIS
notice and BI
notice. Location: CSIS, 1616 Rhode Island Ave., NW.
12:00 NOON. Marc
Levoy (Stanford University) will deliver a presentation titled "Google
Glass and the Future of Photography". This is a ticketed event. The price to
attend ranges from free to $5. See,
notice. Location:
National Press Club, 13th Floor, 529 14th St., NW.
CANCELLED. 6:00 - 8:15 PM. The
Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will
host an event titled "Transition to All IP Networks: Update on Issues and Progress
at State Commissions". The speakers will be __. Prices vary. CLE credits. No
webcast. The deadline for registrations and cancellations is 5:00 PM on May 9. See,
notice. Location: __.
EXTENDED TO JUNE 26. Deadline to submit
initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its
Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding whether to eliminate or modify
the network non-duplication and syndicated exclusivity rules. The FCC adopted and
released this FNPRM on March 31, 2014. It is FCC 14-29 in MB Docket No. 10-71. See,
notice in the
Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 69, April 10, 2014, at Pages 19849-19860. See,
Public Notice (DA 14-525) extending deadlines.
Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) in response to its
Further Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding location surveillance. This FNPRM is FCC 14-13 in
PS Docket No. 07-114. The FCC adopted it on February 20, 2014, and released it on February
21. See, notice
in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 60, March 28, 2014, at Pages 17819-17847. See also,
story titled "FCC Proposes Changes to Location Surveillance Rules" in
TLJ Daily E-Mail
Alert No. 2,629, February 24, 2014.
EXTENDED TO JUNE 12. Deadline to submit reply
comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its
Public Notice (PN)
that requests comments to refresh the record regarding the ability of non-English speakers
to access emergency information. This PN is DA 14-336 in EB Docket No. 04-296. The FCC
released it on March 11, 2014. See also,
notice
in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 60, March 28, 2014, at Pages
17490-17493. See, April 24
Public Notice (DA 14-552) extending deadlines.
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Tuesday, May 13 |
9:30 AM. The
Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC)
will hold a hearing titled "Judicial Nominations". Webcast. See,
notice.
Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.
9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals
(DCCir) will hear oral argument in Sorenson Communications v. FCC, App.
Ct. No. 13-1122. This pertains to Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IPCTS).
See also, FCC
brief filed on March 13, 2014. Judges Brown, Griffith and Millett will preside. This
is the third item on the Court's agenda. Location: USCA Courtroom, Prettyman Courthouse,
333 Constitution Ave., NW.
1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar
Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Music Licensing
2014: Songs and Sound Recordings". The speakers will be __. Prices vary. CLE credits.
See, notice.
2:30 PM. The
Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC)
will hold a hearing titled "Economic Espionage and Trade Secret Theft: Are Our
Laws Adequate for Today's Threats?". This hearing was previously scheduled for
March 25, 2014. The witnesses will be __. See,
notice. See also, S 2267
[LOC |
WW], the
"Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2014", and stories titled "Sen. Coons
Introduces Bill to Create Federal Private Right of Action for Misappropriation of Trade
Secrets" and "Summary of S 2267, the Defend Trade Secrets Act" in TLJ
Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,653, May 5, 2014. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.
Deadline to submit comments to the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) regarding whether "whether additional guidance,
clarification, or modification regarding the ``answered´´ and ``ring no answer´´
categories of call attempts described in Appendix C of the Rural Call Completion Order
is necessary." The FCC adopted its
Report and
Order on October 28, 2013, and released it on November 8, 2013. It is FCC 13-135 in
WC Docket No 13-39. See, FCC's April 21, 2014
Public Notice (DA 14-526),
and notice in
the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 87, May 6, 2014, at Pages 25682-25683.
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Wednesday, May 14 |
TIME? The George Mason
University law school's Law and Economics Center (LEC) will host a conference
titled "The Future of Privacy and Data Security Regulation". See,
notice. For more information, call Jeff Smith at jsmithq at gmu dot edu or
703-993-8382. Location: GMU law school, 3301 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA.
1:00 - 3:00 PM. The Information
Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled
"Innovations in Elections: Making Voting Accessible for Everyone". See,
notice. Location: National Press Club, 13th Floor, First Amendment Room, 529 14th
St., NW.
2:00 - 3:00 PM. The Consumer Electronics
Association (CEA) will host a webcast event titled "Quarterly Economic and
Tech Industry Outlook". The speaker will be Shawn DuBravac. Prices vary. See,
notice.
3:00 - 5:00 PM. The DC Bar Association
will host a panel discussion titled "2014 International Trade Law & Policy
Debate". The speakers will be
Elizabeth Drake
(Stewart and Stewart),
Matthew McCullough (Curtis law firm), and
Benjamin Caryl (Kelley
Drye & Warren). The price to attend ranges from $5 to $10. No CLE credits. No webcast.
For more information, call 202-626-3463. The DC Bar has a history of barring reporters
from its events. See,
notice.
Location: U.S. International Trade Commission, Courtroom A, 500 E St., SW.
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