Source: http://www.techlawjournal.com/alert/2013/09/02.asp
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 05:03:05+00:00

Document:
TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,593, September 2, 2013.
Monday, September 2, 2013, Alert No. 2,593.
9/3. Microsoft and Nokia announced that the Boards of Directors for both companies "have decided to enter into a transaction whereby Microsoft will purchase substantially all of Nokia's Devices & Services business, license Nokia's patents, and license and use Nokia's mapping services". See, Microsoft release and release.
Microsoft elaborated that "Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft will pay EUR 3.79 billion to purchase substantially all of Nokia’s Devices & Services business, and EUR 1.65 billion to license Nokia’s patents, for a total transaction cost of EUR 5.44 billion in cash."
Nokia states in another release that "Nokia will grant Microsoft a 10 year non-exclusive license to its patents as of the time of the closing, and Microsoft will grant Nokia reciprocal rights related to HERE services. In addition, Nokia will grant Microsoft an option to extend this mutual patent agreement to perpetuity".
Nokia's HERE provides mapping and location services.
The transaction requires approval from U.S. and EU antitrust regulators. Nokia stated that "The transaction is subject to ... a USD 750 million termination fee payable by Microsoft to Nokia in the event that the transaction fails to receive necessary regulatory clearances."
Ronald Klingebiel, a professor at the University of Warwick's business school, stated in a release that "Handset markets are commoditising. The action is in software, apps, and soon these will be delivered online. The emergence of html5 is an early indication. Smartphones will then turn into mere windows to the cloud. There will be little that differentiates one black, rectangular touchscreen phone from another, besides perhaps screen quality and battery life. Handset manufacturers without a suitable software platform in the cloud stand to suffer and Nokia is right to divest of its phone business. Blackberry should do the same. As for Microsoft, it remains to be seen whether it can leverage its still significant strength in desktop operating systems and software and migrate its customers to the mobile cloud."
9/3. Vodafone announced in a release that it intends "to sell our US group whose principal asset is its 45% interest in Verizon Wireless (``VZW´´) to Verizon Communications Inc. (``Verizon´´), our joint venture partner in VZW, for a total consideration of US$130 billion (£84 billion)."
It added that "As part of the deal we will also acquire Verizon's 23% interest in Vodafone Italy (Vodafone owns the remaining 77%) at a price of US$3.5 billion (£2.3 billion), thereby securing full ownership of Vodafone Italy."
These transactions require numerous regulatory approvals.
9/2. CBS announced in a release that its has reached an agreement with Time Warner Cable (TWC) and Bright House Networks "for carriage of CBS owned stations on Time Warner Cable systems across the country, as well as Showtime Networks, CBS Sports Network and Smithsonian Channel".
TWC stated in a release that "Our long, frustrating blackout with the CBS Corporation is now over. We have reached an agreement that returns CBS and CBS-owned programming to your channel lineup."
The parties did not disclose the terms of their agreement.
TWC also stated that it calls on the "Congress and the Federal Communications Commission to reassess the 21-year-old rules that allow this sort of broadcaster brinksmanship to happen in the first place."
The retransmission consent regulatory regime was established by the Cable Act of 1992, and is further implemented by rules promulgated by the FCC. 47 U.S.C. § 325 provides that "No cable system or other multichannel video programming distributor shall retransmit the signal of a broadcasting station, or any part thereof, except ... with the express authority of the originating station".
Broadcasters charge cable companies and other MVPDs for retransmission of their programming. The companies have been negotiating retransmission consent contracts for over 20 years. Withholding of consent by broadcasters, and resulting the blackouts, have become common.
See also, story titled "CBS, Time Warner Cable, and Retransmission Consent" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,588, August 7, 2013.
FCC Chairman Mignon Clyburn stated in a release that "I am pleased CBS and Time Warner Cable have resolved their retransmission consent negotiations, which for too long have deprived millions of consumers of access to CBS programming. At the end of the day, media companies should accept shared responsibility for putting their audience's interests above other interests and do all they can to avoid these kinds of disputes in the future."
Matthew Polka, head of the American Cable Association (ACA), stated in a release that "The point that no one should miss is that CBS' massive blackout of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks showed that the retransmission consent market is broken and outdated rules governing these negotiations need to be updated to reflect current market conditions. If CBS can leave millions of pay-TV viewers in the dark for 32 days, no one can say with a straight face that the marketplace is working well for consumers."
Polka added that "The CBS blackout also underscores the broadcast industry's refusal to endorse new rules supported by cable operators that will allow consumers to continue to view programming while broadcasters and pay-TV operators continue to negotiate new contracts."
9/2. Link Hoewing will leave Verizon's government relations staff. He has worked for Verizon and Bell Atlantic since 1985. Hoewing wrote a parting piece regarding policy advocacy.
9/3. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division published a notice in the Federal Register (FR) that announces that the Cable Television Laboratories filed a notification of a change in its membership, pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993, which pertains to limiting antitrust liability of standard setting consortia. See, Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 170, September 3, 2013, at Page 54277.
9/3. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published a notice in the Federal Register (FR) that sets comment deadlines for its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking [94 pages in PDF] regarding the provision and marketing of Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS). The FCC adopted and released this item on August 26, 2013. It is FCC 13-118 in CG Docket Nos. 13-24 and 03-123. Initial comments are due by October 18. Reply comments are due by November 18. See, FR, Vol. 78, No. 170, September 3, 2013, at Pages 54201-54209.
Labor Day. This is a federal holiday. See, OPM list of 2013 federal holidays.
The House will not meet the week of September 2 through September 6. It will return from its August recess on Monday, September 9. See, House calendar for the 113th Congress, 1st Session.
The Senate will not meet the week of September 2 through September 6. It will return from its August recess on Monday, September 9. See, Senate calendar for the 113th Congress, 1st Session.
8:30 AM - 2:00 PM. The President's Committee on the National Medal of Science will hold a closed meeting to review and evaluate nominations. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 154, August 9, 2013, at Page 48724. Location: National Science Foundation (NSF), 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA.
12:00 NOON - 3:00 PM. The Department of Energy's (DOE) Advanced Scientific Computing Advisory Committee will meet via teleconference. The DOE stated in its notice in the Federal Register (FR) that the purpose of the meeting is "to discuss progress of the subcommittee for the exascale challenges charge". See also, DOE letter of July 29, 2013. See, FR, Vol. 78, No. 160, August 19, 2013, at Pages 50404-50405.
Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry (FNPRM & NOI) regarding human exposure to RF electromagnetic fields. The FCC adopted this item on March 27, 2013, and released it March 29, 2013. It is FCC 13-39 in ET Docket Nos. 03-137 and 13-84. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 107, June 4, 2013, at Pages 33654-33687. See also, story titled "FCC Addresses Cellphone RF Exposure" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,543, April 1, 2013.
EXTENDED TO NOVEMBER 4. Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding whether the FCC should "require apparatus manufacturers to ensure that their apparatus synchronize the appearance of closed captions with the display of the corresponding video". This FNPRM is FCC 13-84 in MB Docket No. 11-154. The FCC adopted this item on June 13, 2013, and released the text on June 14. See, original notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 127, July 2, 2013, at Pages 39691-39698. See also, Public Notice (DA 13-1785) extending deadlines. See also, story titled "FCC Again Addresses Closed Captioning Mandates for Video Programming Delivered Using IP" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,578, June 17, 2013.
Deadline to submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) initial comments and oppositions to the May 16, 2013 petition [14 pages in PDF of the Coalition of E-Reader Manufacturers (Amazon, Kobo and Sony) for a waiver of the FCC's disability access rules for e-readers. See, August 1, 2013 Public Notice, DA 13-1686 in CG Docket No. 10-213.
Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its draft SP 800-38 G [30 pages in PDF] titled "Recommendation for Block Cipher Modes of Operation: Methods for Format-Preserving Encryption".
1:00 - 3:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee for the 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference's Informal Working Group 3 (Space Services) will meet by teleconference. See, FCC's August 22, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1790 in IB Docket No. 04-286). The call in numbers are 888-858-2144 or 646-746-3008. The access code is 8672480.
Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Media Bureau (MB) in response to its June 25, 2013 Public Notice (PN) [6 pages in PDF] regarding video description of video programming that is delivered via both television and the internet. This PN is DA 13-1438 in MB Docket No. 11-43. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 129, July 5, 2013, at Pages 40421-40424.
Deadline to submit all comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on matters raised by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) petition for rulemaking [4 pages in PDF] regarding the First Responder Network Authority, aka FirstNet. The FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) released a Public Notice (PN) [4 pages in PDF] on August 19 requesting comments. It is DA 13-1775 in PS Docket Nos. 12-94 and 06-229, and WT Docket No. 06-150. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 167, August 28, 2013, at Pages 53124-53126, which sets the deadline to submit comments to the FCC. See, story titled "FCC Seeks Comments on FirstNet Matters Raised by NTIA" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,591, August 28, 2013.
1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law will host a webcast and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Risk Factors for Second Request Merger Investigations by the DOJ and FTC". The speakers will be Margaret Calvert (Compass Lexecon), Mike Cowie (Dechert), Michael Knight (Jones Day), Darren Tucker (Bingham McCutchen), and Robert Davis (Venable). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.
3:00 - 4:30 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) and the Free Press (FP) will host a panel discussion regarding Verizon v. FCC. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument on September 9. The speakers will be Susan Crawford (Cardozo School of Law), Angie Kronenberg (Comptel), Marti Doneghy (AARP), Matt Wood (FP) and Sarah Morris (NAF). See, notice. Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.
4:00 - 5:00 PM. The Board of the First Responder Network Authority, which is also known as FirstNet, will hold an event titled "Special Meeting". There will be no public access to an on site meeting. There will be public listen only teleconferencing. The call in number is 1-888-469-3306. The access code is FirstNet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 170, September 3, 2013, at Pages 54241-54242.
Deadline to submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) statements supporting or opposing the Administrative Council for Terminal Attachments' (ACTA) June 25, 2013 Petition for Rulemaking [7 pages in PDF]. See, FCC notice (Report No. 2989) and ACTA release of June 28.
8:30 AM. The Department of Labor's (DOL) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is scheduled to release its August 2013 unemployment data.
9:00 - 10:00 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee for the 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference's Informal Working Group 1 (Maritime, Aeronautical and Radar Services) will meet by teleconference. See, FCC's August 22, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1790 in IB Docket No. 04-286). The call in numbers are 888-858-2144 or 646-746-3008. The access code is 8672480.
10:00 - 11:30 AM. The Brookings Institution (BI) will host a panel discussion titled "Securing a More Sustainable Growth Path for China". The speakers will be Eswar Prasad (BI), Marcus Rodlauer (International Monetary Fund), David Dollar (BI) and Stephen Roach (Yale University). See, notice. Location: BI, 1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW.
12:00 NOON - 1:15 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host an on site and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Does Aspen Skiing Apply to Intellectual Property Rights?". See, Supreme Court's 1985 opinion in Aspen Skiing v. Aspen Highlands, 472 U.S. 585, and amicus curiae brief [25 pages in PDF] filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with the U.S. District Court (DNJ) in Actelion Pharmaceuticals v. Apotex. The speakers will be Koren Ervin (FTC), Jonathan Gleklen (Arnold & Porter), Markus Meier (FTC), and Ali Stoeppelwerth (Wilmer Hale). Prices vary. No CLE credits. See, ABA notice. Location: Arnold & Porter, 555 12th St., NW.
Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) regarding proposed revisions to the sample reseller certification language and accompanying sections of the FCC Form 499-A instructions. See, Public Notice, DA 13-1700 in WC Docket No. 06-122. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 160, August 19, 2013, at Pages 50415-50416.
Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding Time Warner Cable's (TWC) August 8, 2013 Petition for Preemption [30 pages in PDF] of the North Carolina Rural Electrification Authority (NCREA) with respect to the arbitration of an interconnection agreement between TWC and Star Telephone Membership Corporation. See, FCC's August 16, 2013 Public Notice, DA 13-1772 in WC Docket No. 13-204.
Deadline for AT&T, Leap Wireless and others to submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) oppositions to the FCC's order that they disclose their Numbering Resource Utilization and Forecast (NRUF) and local number portability (LNP) data for inclusion in the FCC's record in its review of AT&T's planned acquisition of Leap. See, FCC's August 29, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1842 in WT Docket No. 13-193 and CC Docket No. 99-200). AT&T filed its request for FCC approval of this transaction on August 1, 2013. The deadline to submit petitions to deny and comments is September 27. The deadline to submit oppositions is October 7. The deadline to submit replies is October 15. See, FCC August 28, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1831). See also, the FCC's Office of General Counsel's (OGC) web page for this merger review.
The House will return from its August recess. See, House calendar for the 113th Congress, 1st Session.
The Senate will return from its August recess. See, Senate calendar for the 113th Congress, 1st Session.
9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Verizon v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 11-1355, the challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) December 2010 Report and Order (R&O) [194 pages in PDF] that adopted rules regulating broadband internet access service (BIAS) providers. The order is FCC 10-201 in GN Docket No. 09-191 and WC Docket No. 07-52. See, stories in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,186, December 22, 2010, and TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,188, December 24, 2010. Verizon filed its brief on July 2, 2012. The FCC filed its brief [121 pages in PDF] on September 10, 2012. See, story titled "FCC Files Brief with DC Circuit in Challenge to BIAS Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,445, September 11, 2012. See also, FCC's surreply brief [15 pages in PDF] filed on January 15, 2013. Judges Rogers, Tatel, and Silberman will preside. This is the first item on the Court's agenda. Location: USCA Courtroom, 4th floor, Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.
10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Mondis Technology Ltd. v. Innolux Corporation, App. Ct. No. 13-1178. Panel C. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.
10:30 AM. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) will hold a hearing in its Section 301 investigation of the intellectual property related actions of government of Ukraine. Section 301 is the statutory means by which the U.S. asserts its international trade rights, including its rights under World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements. In particular, under the "Special 301" provisions of the Trade Act of 1974, the OUSTR identifies trading partners that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. artists and industries that rely upon intellectual property protection. See, 19 U.S.C. § 2242. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 143, July 25, 2013, at Page 45011. Location: OUSTR, 1724 F St., NW.
Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) regarding its proposed changes to its Export Administration Regulations covering military electronics and other technologies. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 143, July 25, 2013.
8:30 AM - 6:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the Executive Office of the President's (EOP) Office of Science and Technology Policy's (OSTP) Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 146, July 30, 2013, at Pages 45992-45993. Location: Department of Agriculture Conference & Training Center, Patriots Plaza III, 355 E St., SW.
9:00 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee (RPTAC) will hold a partially closed meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 166, August 27, 2013, at Page 52904. Location: DOC, Room 3884, Hoover Building, 14th Street between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, NW.
? POSTPONED SEVERAL TIMES. 9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host an event titled "Is Technology Responsible for American Job Loss?". The speakers will be Robert Atkinson (ITIF), Andrew McAfee (MIT business school), and Edward Luce (Financial Times). McAffee is a co-author of the book [Amazon Kindle edition] titled "Race Against The Machine: How the Digital Revolution is Accelerating Innovation, Driving Productivity, and Irreversibly Transforming Employment and the Economy". See, notice. Location: ITIF/ITIC, Suite 610A, 1101 K St., NW.
10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Vederi v. Google, App. Ct. No. 13-1057, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (CDCal) in a patent infringement case involving Google's Street View. Panel E. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.
12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law will host a teleconferenced panel discussion titled "July-August In-House Counsel Antitrust Update". The speakers will be Lisa Fales, Bill Coston, Tom Gilbertsen, David Conway, and Paul Feinstein (all of the Washington DC office of Venable). Free. No CLE credits. See, notice.
2:00 PM. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to initiate preparations for the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference 2014 (PP14). The agenda also includes an "update on the preparations for the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-2014) in light of the Regional Preparatory Meeting (RPM) for the Americas region; as well as the World Summit on the Information Society+10 high level event in conjunction with WTDC-2014". See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 154, August 9, 2013, at Page 48765. Location: 1200 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA.
2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on Bankruptcy and the Courts will hold a hearing on S 1385 [LOC | WW], the "Federal Judgeship Act of 2013". The bill would increase the number of judgeships on the U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) from 29 to 33. It would also increase the size of the 6th Circuit by one judge. It would not divide the 9th Circuit, or reduce the size of the DC Circuit. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

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