Adelstein Discusses Universal Service Support for Broadband Internet Services

3/5. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein gave a speech titled "Meeting the Challenges of Rural Telecommunications". He discussed, among other things, universal service support for broadband internet services.

Adelstein (at right) stated that "Another issue that will occupy a great deal of our time is whether the FCC should treat the provision of broadband services by incumbent local exchange carriers as a telecommunications service regulated under Title II of the Communications Act -- which is the Common Carrier portion of the Act -- or as an information service under Title I -- the general provisions of the Act. This seemingly simple difference can have huge ramifications for universal service."

He continued that "If these broadband services are classified as information services, the FCC could lose much of the oversight that comes with Title II. And information service providers don’t now contribute to universal service. An information service classification would raise a lot of questions. Does it mean, for example, that revenues from these services couldn’t contribute toward universal service? Would carriers be able to use the normal cost recovery mechanisms to recover their costs of providing these advanced services? What are the national security implications? We’ve got to think hard about this at a time when the demands on the fund are increasing and contributions are decreasing."

Adelstein added that "Although I haven't yet decided whether, or how, to change the universal service system, I’m committed to ensuring that the fund will continue to meet the demands placed on it."

Bush Nominates Chertoff for Third Circuit

3/5. President Bush nominated Michael Chertoff to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He is currently an Assistant Attorney General in the Department of Justice (DOJ) in charge of the Criminal Division. He has played a pivotal role in fighting terrorism, and in drafting the USA PATRIOT Act. See, story titled "Chertoff Discusses Electronic Surveillance Under USA PATRIOT Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 317, November 29, 2001.

As head of the Criminal Division, he has overseen the Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS). Also, he submitted prepared testimony to the House Crime Subcommittee on internet gambling on November 29, 2001. However, he did not attend the hearing. See, story titled "House Committee Holds Hearing on Internet Gambling Bills" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 318, November 30, 2001.

Before his appointment to the DOJ he was a partner in the Newark, New Jersey, office of the law firm of Latham & Watkins. In 1995 and 1996 he was the Special Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee conducting the Whitewater Investigation. See, White House release.

Trade News

3/5. The House approved, without amendment, HR 1047, titled the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2003, by a vote of 415-11. See, Roll Call No. 45. On February 27, the Senate Finance Committee approved its bill titled the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2003, a collection of individual bills organized as a single package. Title III of the Senate bill pertains to intellectual property rights (IPR). See, summary [5 pages in PDF] prepared by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Committee.

3/5. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a final rule in the Federal Register implementing the 2002 Wassenaar Arrangement List of Dual-Use Items. This rule revises entries controlled for national security reasons in Categories 2, 3, 4, 5 Part I (telecommunications), 5 Part II (information security), 6, 7, 8, and 9 to conform with changes in the List of Dual-Use Goods and Technologies maintained and agreed to by governments participating in the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies. See, Federal Register, March 5, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 43, at Page 10586-10608.

3/5. The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on the Bush administration's trade agenda. See, opening statement [2 pages in PDF] of Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Committee, and opening statement [4 pages PDF] of Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), the ranking Democrat on the Committee. See also, prepared testimony [PDF] of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), Robert Zoellick. Sen. Grassley said that "I'd also like to see the Administration take a more aggressive stance toward China's implementation of its WTO commitments." He also stated that "I want to make it clear that while I support the Administration’s efforts to negotiate new bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements, we can’t let these agreements supplant our efforts in the WTO. To me, successful completion of the Doha round is critical, not only to the growth of the American economy, but also to the world economy."

More People and Appointments

3/5. President Bush nominated three persons to be federal judges in New York. He nominated Richard Wesley to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. Wesley is currently an Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals of New York. Bush nominated Kevin Castel to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Castel is currently a partner is the law firm of Cahill Gordon & Reindel. Bush also nominated Stephen Robinson to be a Judge in the Southern District of New York. Robinson was the U.S. Attorney for Connecticut from 1998 through 2001. He was Deputy General Counsel of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 1993 through 1995. See, White House release.

3/5. President Bush nominated Samuel Der-Yeghiayan to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. See, White House release.

More News

3/5. The Senate Finance Committee approved the nominations of Charlotte Lane and Daniel Pearson to be members of the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC). See, Sen. Grassley release.

3/5. Jack Valenti, P/CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), gave a speech in Las Vegas, Nevada. He addressed, among other things, the "menace is thievery". He stated that "Its seedbed is mainly Internet abuse, and recently the counterfeiting of DVDs. Attacking this thievery at its core, and greatly reducing it is the highest priority of the MPAA and its member companies. We are hard at work challenging the complexities of arcane issues such as the Broadcast Flag, closure of the Analog Hole and, most importantly, the so-called ``file-swapping´´ sites which siphon off hundreds of thousands of our films every day. " He added that "We will need the help of those who make computers, chips, and consumer electronic devices. We will succeed. We will succeed because it is in the long term best interests of this nation to preserve the vitality of America’s most wanted trade export. It is in the long-term interests of everyone who creates and markets intellectual property to stand guard against the theft of valuable creative works in the tomorrows that will soon be upon us."

3/5. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it has released PatentIn 3.2.2, an improved version of PatentIn 3.2. PatentIn 3.1 is a computer program designed to expedite the preparation of patent applications containing nucleic acid and amino acid sequences. See, USPTO release.

3/5. The Senate Commerce Committee's Communications Subcommittee held a hearing on implementation of E-911 services for wireless phones. See, joint statement [PDF] of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioners Kathleen Abernathy and Jonathan Adelstein. See also, prepared testimony in PDF of witnesses: David Koon (New York State Assembly), Jenny Hansen (State of Montana Public Safety Services Office, Information Technology Services Division), John Melcher (National Emergency Number Association), Thera Bradshaw (Association of Public Safety Communications Officials International), Michael Amarosa (TruePosition), and Mark Tuller (Verizon Wireless).

3/5. Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and others introduced HR 1086, a bill to encourage the development and promulgation of voluntary consensus standards by providing relief under the antitrust laws to standards development organizations. The bill was referred to the House Judiciary Committee, which Rep. Sensenbrenner chairs.

3/5. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL) proposing that T-Mobile USA be held liable for a $1.25 Million forfeiture for violations of its Enhanced 911 Phase I rules. See, FCC release.

3/5. The Supreme Court heard oral argument in U.S. v. American Library Association, No. 02-361. This is the CIPA case.

Supreme Court Rules in Trademark Dilution Case

3/4. The Supreme Court issued its opinion [21 pages in PDF] in Moseley v. Victoria's Secret, a case involving whether the plaintiff in a lawsuit for violation of the Federal Trademark Dilution Act (FTDA) must show actual economic loss. The Sixth Circuit held that economic harm may be inferred. The Supreme Court reversed.

Victoria's Secret sells overpriced women's lingerie and other clothing by catalogue and through over 750 stores. Victor Moseley runs a smut shop named "Victor's Little Secret" in a strip mall outside of Louisville, Kentucky. He sells women's lingerie, among other items.

Victoria's Secret filed a complaint in U.S. District Court (WDKent) against Victor Moseley alleging trademark infringement and violation of the Federal Trademark Dilution Act (FTDA), 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c), in connection with his use of the name "Victor's Little Secret" for a lingerie and adult toy business. The District Court granted summary judgment to Moseley on the federal trademark infringement claims, finding that Victoria's Secret had not provided sufficient evidence to establish a likelihood of confusion between the two marks. The District Court also found that the Victor's Little Secret mark both blurred and tarnished the Victoria's Secret mark under the FTDA and enjoined Moseley from making further use of the Victor's Little Secret mark.

Moseley appealed the District Court's FTDA ruling. The U.S. Court of Appeals (6thCir) issued its opinion on July 30, 2001, affirming the District Court. It held that economic harm may be inferred.

Various federal circuits have reached different conclusions on this issue. See, for example, Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey v. Utah, 170 F.3d 449 (4th Cir. 1999), the "greatest snow on earth" case, which required a showing of actual harm, and Nabisco v. PF Brands, 191 F.3d 208 (2d Cir. 1999).

The Supreme Court reversed, and remanded. Justice Stevens wrote the opinion of the Court. He wrote that "The relevant text of the FTDA ... provides that ``the owner of a famous mark´´ is entitled to injunctive relief against another person's commercial use of a mark or trade name if that use ``causes dilution of the distinctive quality´´ of the famous mark. 15 U. S. C. §1125(c)(1) (emphasis added). This text unambiguously requires a showing of actual dilution, rather than a likelihood of dilution."

Stevens added, "Of course, that does not mean that the consequences of dilution, such as an actual loss of sales or profits, must also be proved. To the extent that language in the Fourth Circuit’s opinion in the Ringling Bros. case suggests otherwise, see 170 F. 3d, at 460–465, we disagree. We do agree, however, with that court's conclusion that, at least where the marks at issue are not identical, the mere fact that consumers mentally associate the junior user's mark with a famous mark is not sufficient to establish actionable dilution. As the facts of that case demonstrate, such mental association will not necessarily reduce the capacity of the famous mark to identify the goods of its owner, the statutory requirement for dilution under the FTDA. For even though Utah drivers may be reminded of the circus when they see a license plate referring to the ``greatest snow on earth,´´ it by no means follows that they will associate ``the greatest show on earth´´ with skiing or snow sports, or associate it less strongly or exclusively with the circus. ``Blurring´´ is not a necessary consequence of mental association. (Nor, for that matter, is ``tarnishing.´´)"

Some groups filed amicus curiae briefs in support of Victoria's Secret. For example, the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) filed an amicus brief [18 page PDF scan] in which it argued that "Relief under the FTDA should not hinge on whether the owner of a famous and distinctive trademark can prove tangible economic loss or harm at the hands of an unauthorized user. Such a requirement would impose a daunting standard that could be rarely met and is not supported by the statutory language."

Similarly, the International Trademark Association (INTA) filed an amicus curiae brief [39 pages in PDF] in which it argued that the act "does not refer to ``actual harm´´ or to an ``actual lessening´´ of selling power -- and none of the principles of statutory construction that petitioners espouse mandate adding those words to give plain meaning to the law."

Rep. Lofgren Re-Introduces Digital Fair Use Bill

3/4. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced HR 1066, the "Benefit Authors without Limiting Advancement or Net Consumer Expectations (BALANCE) Act of 2003". This is substantially the same bill as HR 5522, the Digital Choice and Freedom Act of 2002, which Rep. Lofgren introduced late in the 107th Congress. See, TLJ story titled "Rep. Lofgren Introduces Digital Fair Use Bill", October 2, 2002.

Rep. Lofgren's bill adds a reference to "analog or digital transmissions" to § 107 (the fair use section) of the Copyright Act. Second, the bill creates a new § 123 in the Copyright Act that limits the basic exclusive rights of § 106. This new section allows copying of lawfully obtained copies for storage, or for use on a preferred digital media device. Third, the bill limits the enforceability of non-negotiable license terms. Fourth, the bill expands the § 109 right of sale to digital works. Fifth, the bill limits the anti circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

Rep. Lofgren (at right) stated in a release that "There is wide agreement to fight piracy, and it is something that needs to be stopped. But individual consumers are being denied their legitimate rights in the digital age ...We can solve this problem, but lawsuits and locking down content are not the solutions." She added that "This legislation would ensure that consumers are able to buy content that is compatible across platforms, thereby encouraging technological development and competition ... Specifically, it will allow consumers to make backup copies and display digital works on their preferred digital media devices."

In addition to having a new title, this bill has a new cosponsor, Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), who is also the sponsor of HR 107, the Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act of 2003.

Rep. Lofgren also released a list of supporters of her bill. It includes the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), Digital Future Coalition (DFC), Home Recording Rights Coalition, US Internet Industry Association, Public Knowledge, Association of Research Libraries, American Association of Law Libraries, Medical Library Association, American Library Association (ALA), Lawrence Lessig (Stanford Law School), and Pamela Samuelson (Berkeley Law School).

Bush Administration Announces Digital Freedom Initiative

3/4. Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans, other Bush administration officials, and others announced the launch of a Digital Freedom Initiative. The initiative involves foreign aid for developing countries to develop information and communication technology (ICT), training by Peace Corps volunteers, and involvement by U.S. technology companies, such as Cisco and HP. This launch event pertained to the African nation of Senegal. See, DOC release.

The participants' descriptions of the initiative were long on superlatives, aspirations, and plans for expansion to other countries, but short on specifics. It will involve foreign aid grants from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). A release from the White House press office stated that the estimated budget for the Senegal program over three years is $6.5 Million. It will also involve contributions from Cisco and HP, primarily in the form of training and "human capital", as opposed to free equipment and money.

While the initiative carries the description "digital freedom", the Bush administration announced nothing regarding freedom to communicate via the web, or freedom from barriers to electronic commerce or discriminatory taxation of e-commerce, internet access or computers. See, full story.

People and Appointments

3/4. President Bush announced his intent to nominate William Moschella to be Assistant Attorney General at the Department of Justice (DOJ) in charge of Office of Legislative Affairs (OLA). He is currently the Chief Legislative Counsel and Parliamentarian for the House Judiciary Committee. Jamie Brown is the Acting Assistant Attorney General for OLA. See, White House release.

3/4. President Bush announced his intent to appoint Mark Forman to be Administrator of the Office of Electronic Government at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). He is currently Associate Director for Information Technology and E-Government at OMB. See, White House release.

More News

3/4. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) announced that he, Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), Rep. James Moran (D-VA), and others, will hold a press conference to announce the introduction of a class action reform bill. They sponsored HR 2341, the Class Action Fairness Act of 2002, in the 107th Congress. That bill would have added new sections to Title 28 to ensure that class members are treated fairly in settlements. It provided that if a settlement provides that the class members would receive non cash benefits, the court must make "a written finding that, the settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate for class members". It would have amended 28 U.S.C. § 1332, regarding diversity of citizenship. It would have provided federal jurisdiction in certain class actions where "any member of a class of plaintiffs is a citizen of a State different from any defendant" and the aggregated claims exceed $2 Million. It passed the House on March 13, 2002 by a vote of 233-190. See, Roll Call No. 62 and story in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 388, March 14, 2002. See also, story titled "House Committee Holds Hearing on Abusive Class Action Litigation" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 363, February 7, 2002. However, the bill did not pass in the Senate.

3/4. The U.S. District Court (DC) issued an opinion [PDF] in Pro-Football Inc. v. Susan Harjo, No. 99-1385. This memorandum opinion is solely on the issue of pre-trial discovery regarding the value of a trademark and the financial effect cancellation of the mark may have on a franchise.

3/4. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein announced the agenda for another field hearing on FCC media ownership rules. This one will be held in Seattle, Washington, on March 7, 2003. See, release.

3/4. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it entered into a Consent Decree with the Verizon under which Verizon admitted that it violated a federal ban on marketing long distance services in its local service region prior to receiving FCC Section 271 authorization. Verizon agreed to pay a $5.7 Million fine. See, FCC release and statement of FCC Chairman Michael Powell. See also, Order approving a Consent Decree, adopted February 28, 2003, and released on March 4, 2003.

3/4. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published a notice in the Federal Register stating that it proposes to withdraw seventeen Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). The list of FIPS publications proposed for withdrawal includes FIPS 73, Guidelines for Security of Computer Applications; FIPS 83, Guideline on User Authentication Techniques for Computer Network Access Control; FIPS 102, Guideline for Computer Security Certification and Accreditation; FIPS 112, Password Usage; and FIPS 127-2, Database Language SQL (ANSI X3.135-1992). Comments are due by June 2, 2003. See, Federal Register: March 4, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 42, at Pages 10204-10205.

3/4. The General Accounting Office (GAO) released a report [69 pages in PDF] titled "Information Technology Training: Practices of Leading Private-Sector Companies".

3/4. The U.S. District Court (DC) entered a permanent injunction against Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products (L&H) in the case SEC v. Lernout & Hauspie on February 28. See, SEC release. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged in its complaint that L&H "engaged in a variety of undisclosed and deceptive transactions to inflate L&H's reported income and, consequently, the price of its stock. These deceptive transactions included guaranteed and conditional sales and sales that were secretly financed by L&H. The eventual result of this fraudulent conduct was the destruction of L&H as an operating company and a financial loss, borne by investors in the U.S., Belgium and elsewhere, of at least $8 billion in market capitalization." The SEC also released an order instituting an administrative proceeding against L&H. The order revokes the registration of L&H's common stock.

3/4. The House Homeland Security Committee held its organizational meeting. It established five subcommittees: (1) Cyber Security, Science, and Research & Development, (2) Infrastructure and Border Security, (3) Rules, (4) Emergency Preparedness and Response, and (5) and Intelligence and Counterterrorism.

Solicitor General to Participate in Oral Argument in Lanham Act Case

3/3. The Supreme Court granted the motion of the Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae in Dastar Corporation v. Twentieth Century Fox Film, No. 02-428. See, Order List [11 pages in PDF], at page 2. The case is scheduled for oral argument on April 2, 2003.

This is a Lanham Act, reverse passing off, case. However, some of the participants' briefs offer arguments regarding copyright law and the patent and copyright clause of the Constitution. Dastar made a video that copied extensively, without crediting the source, from a TV program of Twentieth Century Fox, which had failed to renew the copyright, thus allowing the program to enter into the public domain. (The book publisher of the book upon which the program was based did renew its copyright, but that is not at issue in this Supreme Court proceeding.) Twentieth Century Fox prevailed below on a Lanham Act claim. The U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) did not require a finding of likelihood of consumer confusion.

Hence, this appeal involves whether Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a), requires an independent showing that consumers will likely be confused by a defendant’s false designation of origin or false or misleading description or representation of fact?

See, brief [69 pages in PDF] of Dastar. See also, amicus curiae brief [29 pages in PDF] of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) urging reversal, and amicus brief [38 pages in PDF] of the International Trademark Association (INTA) urging reversal.

See also, amicus brief of the American Library Association (ALA), Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), Public Knowledge, and other groups, and Bloomberg L.P. urging reversal. The ALA brief argues that "In Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Serv. Co., 499 U.S. 340 (1991), the Court held that the Constitution’s Intellectual Property Clause precluded copyright protection for facts. A publisher may copy raw facts at will and include them in a new database. The lower courts' interpretations of Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act could sharply limit the practical effect of Feist by requiring a publisher to provide detailed attribution of the source of each fact that it included in its new database. This could have a negative impact on scientific research and commercial activity."

The ALA brief further argues that "Feist already is in danger of death from a thousand cuts: shrink-wrap licenses, trespass to chattels, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and sui generis database legislation. The Court should not compound this danger by allowing Section 43(a) to impose an attribution requirement on facts copied from another source."

GAO Reports on Internet Based Training at DOD

3/3. The General Accounting Office (GAO) released its report [69 pages in PDF] titled "Military Transformation: Progress and Challenges for DOD's Advanced Distributed Learning Programs". The report examines the Department of Defense's (DOD) use of Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Programs, which replace schoolhouse based training with computer and Internet based training.

The report states that "The increased rate of deployments in recent years of DOD’s forces, which often involve rapid, unplanned movements to locations around the world, highlights the need for the services to provide training on demand to soldiers and units deployed worldwide." It also states that the DOD has responded by developing its ADL program.

However, the report finds that the "DOD faces cultural, technological, policy and financial challenges that affect the ADL programs' ability to fully achieve the benefits of enhanced learning and performance and of improved readiness."

The cultural problem is that "not all senior military and civilian leadership is committed to ADL, preferring the traditional, schoolhouse-focused approach to learning." The technological problems are that "bandwidth is generally insufficient to support interactive, multimedia learning content and simulations; and unresolved network security concerns stifle utility." The policy problem is that "Some of DOD's training policies are obsolete". Finally, there are financial limitations: "DOD program officials project that over $2.2 billion will be needed for ADL programs through fiscal year 2007 but currently have programmed about $1.6 billion, a more than $600 million funding gap."

GAO Report on Cyber Threats to Financial Services Sector

3/3. The General Accounting Office (GAO) released its report [59 pages in PDF] titled "Critical Infrastructure Protection: Efforts of the Financial Services Sector to Address Cyber Threats".

The report concludes that "The types of cyber threats that the financial services sector faces are similar to those faced by other critical infrastructure sectors: attacks from individuals and groups with malicious intent, such as crime, terrorism, and foreign intelligence. However, the potential for monetary gains and economic disruptions may increase its attractiveness as a target. At the same time, sector representatives believe that financial institutions recognize and work to mitigate the threat in order to adhere to federal and state regulations and maintain public confidence in their ability to protect and manage customer assets. However, financial services institutions have experienced cyber incidents that have had some impact on their operations, which demonstrates a continuing threat to the industry. In addition, the financial services sector faces vulnerability because of its dependence on other critical infrastructures. For example, threats facing the telecommunications and power sectors could directly affect the financial services industry."

The report also reviews federal involvement. It also recommends that "Treasury should assess the need for grants, tax incentives, regulation, or other public policy tools to assist the industry in meeting the sector's goals."

People and Appointments

3/3. Rashmi Doshi was named Chief of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Office of Engineering and Technology's (OET)  Laboratory Division. This Division is responsible for performing technical studies and designing test procedures for equipment in support of regulatory policies. See, FCC release [PDF].

3/3. The Senate confirmed Marian Horn to be a Judge of the Court of Federal Claims for a term of fifteen years.

More News

3/3. The U.S. District Court (EDVa) approved the proposed settlement of a civil antitrust lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) against MathWorks and Wind River Systems. The DOJ filed a complaint on June 21, 2002 alleging violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. It alleged that MathWorks and Wind River were competitors in the development and sale of dynamic control system design software tools, and that they entered into an agreement that gave MathWorks the exclusive right to sell Wind River's MATRIXx products and required Wind River to stop its own development and marketing. See, DOJ June 21 release. Pursuant to the settlement, MATRIXx will be sold to National Instruments Corporation. See, DOJ March 3 release.

3/3. The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) published a notice in Federal Register announcing its Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program application window for funding in FY2003. $17 Million is available for grants; $200 Million is available for loans; and $110 Million is available for combination grants and loans. Applications for grants must be postmarked by May 2, 2003. Applications for loans or combination loans and grants may be submitted at anytime up to July 31, 2003, and will be processed on a first come, first serve basis. See, Federal Register, March 3, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 41, at Page 9973.

3/3. U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), Robert Zoellick held a joint press conference with EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy. See, transcript [6 pages in PDF].

3/3. The U.S. District Court (SDFl) found Shlomo Malka to be in civil contempt in connection with his continued operation of an unlicensed radio station in violation of 47 U.S.C. § 301, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules, and a prior court injunction. See, FCC release.

Go to News from February 25-28, 2003.