Source: http://www.techlawjournal.com/alert/2005/04/08.asp
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 10:20:18+00:00

Document:
TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,111, April 8, 2005.
April 8, 2005, 9:00 AM ET, Alert No. 1,111.
4/7. The World Trade Organization's (WTO) Appellate Body issued its report [146 pages in PDF] titled "United States -- Measures Affecting the Cross-Border Supply of Gambling and Betting Services". This report reverses key parts of a previous WTO decision that determined that U.S. laws affecting internet gambling violate the U.S.'s treaty obligations.
4/6. The U.S. Court of Appeals (8thCir) issued its opinion [7 pages in PDF] in Bockelman v. MCI WorldCom, a dispute regarding use of railroad land for fiber optics communications. The District Court, and the Court of Appeals, held that the railroad held the land in fee sample, rather than a mere easement for railroad lines, and therefore could lease the land to MCI WorldCom for fiber optic communications, over the objections of adjacent landowners.
MCI WorldCom leased, from Union Pacific Railroad Company's predecessor, rights to install fiber optic cable underneath a strip of land, and to construct an above-ground fiber optic regeneration station on the strip of land.
A distant predecessor of Union Pacific Railroad Company acquired title to the 100 foot wide strip of land back in 1902 by deed. The grantor, for the consideration of $350, conveyed title to a 100 wide strip of land to give the railroad title to the land upon which it build its railroad line. There is no longer any railroad traffic over this strip of land. MCI WorldCom now uses this land for fiber optic communications.
The deed provided that the grantors "grant, bargain and sell, convey and confirm ... strip of land one hundred (100) feet wide ... TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the same together with all the rights, immunities, privileges and appurtenances. The deed further warrants "title to the premises".
Martin Mockelman and others now own land adjacent to this 100 foot wide strip. They assert that the 1902 deed only gave the railroad, and its successors, title to use the land for building a railroad. They assert that the title conveyed a mere easement.
Bockelman and others filed a complaint in state court in Missouri against MCI WorldCom and Union Pacific seeking declaratory judgment that the deed only created an easement for building a railroad.
MCI WorldCom and Union Pacific removed the case to the U.S. District Court (WDMo), based upon diversity of citizenship.
The District Court held that the deed conveyed fee simple interest in the strip of land. The grantee, and its successors in title, can do what they want with it. The Court of Appeals, construing the deed according to property law of the state of Missouri, affirmed.
This case is Martin Bockelman v. MCI WorldCom, Inc. and Union Pacific Railroad Company, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, App. Ct. No. 02-2075, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Judge Howard Sachs presiding. Judge Wollman wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges McMillian and Benton joined.
4/7. The U.S. Court of Appeals (6thCir) issued an amended opinion [PDF] in Wireless Income Properties v. Chattanooga, a case regarding the construction of wireless communications towers and 47 U.S.C. § 332(c)(7).
The Court of Appeals issued an earlier opinion [PDF] on February 24, 2005. See, story titled "6th Circuit Rules in Cell Tower Case" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,084, February 28, 2005.
The Appeals Court held in its February 24 opinion that a violation of § 332 gives rise to an action for violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. On March 22, 2005, the Supreme Court issued its opinion [22 pages in PDF] in Rancho Palos Verdes v. Abrams. The Supreme Court held that an individual who brings an action to enforce the limitations on state and local authority to regulate the location, construction, and modification of wireless communications facilities under 47 U.S.C. § 332, cannot also recover damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. See also, story titled "Supreme Court Holds That Individuals Who Sue Under §332 Cannot Also Recover Damages Under §1983" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,101, March 23, 2005.
Hence, the Court of Appeals, in the present amended opinion, amended its holding with respect to Section 1983, to conform to the holding of the Supreme Court.
4/6. The House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property (CIIP) held a hearing titled "Digital Music Interoperability and Availability".
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the Chairman of the Subcommittee, wrote in his opening statement that "Legitimate questions have been raised regarding the impact of digital interoperability on consumers." For example, "music purchased from the iTunes Music Store will only work on Apple's iPod music player."
He explained that "Music purchased from Real cannot be accessed on the iPod. Last year, both companies became involved in a dispute over Real’s attempt to offer software called Harmony that would have allowed legal copies of music purchased from Real's online music store to be playable on Apple’s iPod music player. Apple objected to this effort, calling it “hacker like” and invoking the DMCA. Apple blocked Real’s software from working a short time afterwards."
See also, story titled "Apple and RealNetworks Dispute Legality of Harmony Technology" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 950, August 2, 2004.
Rep. Smith (at right) added that "As a result of disputes like the one between Apple and Real, some have suggested that efforts to boost digital music interoperability should be encouraged by regulation or legislation."
William Pence, Chief Technology Officer of Napster, wrote in his prepared testimony that "each digital song file has two essential components -- the audio format software and the digital rights management software -- that can each be a source of incompatibility".
He said that audio format softwares, or codecs, have historically been incompatible. However, now "only two or three codecs are relevant in the online music industry today, and interoperability is considered essential and is made possible by licenses that are easily available and economically reasonable".
He continued that "DRM interoperability has emerged recently as the center of debate in the online music industry. In the last several years high-quality DRM technologies have been developed and offered by dozens of companies, including Liquid Audio, AT&T Labs, Universal Music, RealNetworks, IBM, Microsoft, Contentguard, Intertrust, Verance and Macrovision."
He wrote that "the market's immaturity is driven by the technology's immaturity, as DRM technology is still in a stage of rapid innovation ... and I encourage Congress to welcome and promote this innovation and the improved music offerings that result. It is my belief, and the essential point of my participation today, that marketplace forces will continue to drive innovation in the DRM arena with attendant consumer benefits -- new ways to enjoy digital music at a variety of different price points -- while also gradually ‘solving’ the interoperability problem."
Napster's Napster to Go, a $15 per month service, allows consumers to download or stream an unlimited quantity of music. In contrast, Apple's iTunes service charges on a per song basis. Napster uses DRM10 technology from Microsoft.
No representative of Apple testified at this hearing. Rep. Smith stated that "Apple was invited to testify today."
Pence also said that Apple has "chosen not to license their technology platform under any terms to services and manufacturers eager to offer innovative business models to consumers. Perhaps Apple is confident that its market-leading position is best maintained by promoting a closed environment, and that is a legitimate business decision that some endorse and others may question. Napster believes that allowing the iPod to work with multiple service offerings would benefit consumers. Nevertheless, I do not see Government intervention as the solution, as it would stifle competition and innovation that will benefit consumers and copyright owners at a very early stage of the market’s development."
However, Pence added that "Congress has a critical role to play in facilitating the legitimate online music marketplace, by modernizing the Copyright Act -- in particular, Sections 115 and 112 as they relate to music publishing rights and royalties. Napster and our legitimate online music competitors compete with pirate services, and it is critical to creators and all who support them that royalty-paying services win the day."
Ray Gifford, President of the Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF), wrote in his prepared testimony that "Standards and interoperability can be achieved through a variety of institutions: within single firms, within private consortia, with government blessing and with government mandate. Standards can be open and non-propriety, or closed and proprietary, and gradations in between these extremes. In digital music markets we see all of these models, to varying degrees."
He continued that "standard setting is hard. We do not know ex ante the optimal method for standard setting, or the optimal model. Are open standards preferable? In some cases, yes; in others, no -- you are making a trade-off. Are proprietary or non-proprietary standards going to give the greatest amount of innovation? We cannot be sure. Do we prefer competition for a standard or competition within a standard? Depends ..."
Hence, he recommended that "Because there are undeniable trade-offs from any standard-setting decision, governments should be: a) wary of thinking they have sufficient foresight to make proper standard-setting decisions; and b) deferential to private attempts at standard setting."
He said that Congress should not "give into platform envy and mandate some sort of interoperability. Antitrust law and the common law-like doctrines of intellectual property law are adequately suited to address the challenges from new digital music platforms." And, "the best course would be to resist calls for mandates or technology limitations in this dynamic space."
He also argued that "A final value for public policy should be to ratify the acceptability and use of digital rights management or DRM technologies." Thus, he criticized HR 1201, the "Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act of 2005", sponsored by Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA). He said that this bill "would in effect remove DRM as a marketplace option. By permitting consumers to circumvent copy-protection mechanisms, currently a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, any contract between a consumer and a content provider involving a fixed payment for a fixed set of rights could be unilaterally voided by the consumer."
See also, following story titled "Reps. Boucher, Doolittle and Barton Reintroduce Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act".
Michael Bracy, Policy Director of the Future of Music Coalition, raised a number of issues in his prepared testimony that were not directly related to the subject of the hearing. He asked "Will Congress listen to the concerns of the music community by addressing consolidation of the commercial radio industry and accusations of structural payola that limit the songs that appear on the public airwaves? Will the FCC be permitted by Congress to expand the wildly popular non-commercial Low Power Radio licenses to urban markets? Will Digital Audio Broadcasting be implemented in a way that addresses the fundamental concerns about localism, competition and diversity in the radio marketplace? And will digital radio be brought in line with other non-interactive digital transmission platforms that are required to pay an additional performance royalty to performers? Most importantly, will Congress be able to defend the ability of musicians and songwriters to compete in the marketplace by ensuring access to high speed networks?"
3/9. On March 9, 2005, Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), and Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) introduced HR 1201, the "Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act of 2005".
This is a reintroduction of HR 107 from the 108th Congress. HR 107 (108th), in turn, was based upon a bill introduced in the 107th Congress. For a summary of this legislation, see stories titled "Reps. Boucher and Doolittle Introduce Digital Media Consumer Rights Act" and "Summary of the Digital Media Consumer Rights Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 532, October 4, 2002; and story titled "Reps. Boucher and Doolittle Introduce Digital Fair Use Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 582, January 14, 2003.
See also, stories titled "Chairman Barton Says Commerce Committee Will Mark Up Boucher Doolittle Bill in July", "House Commerce Committee's Primary Jurisdiction Over HR 107", and "Judiciary Committee Leaders Condemn Jurisdictional Power Grab" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 924, June 23, 2004.
Rep. Barton is the Chairman of the House Commerce Committee (HCC). Rep. Boucher is a senior member of both the HCC and the House Judiciary Committee.
Rep. Boucher obtained the bill number 107 in the 108th Congress because 17 U.S.C. § 107 is the codification of the fair use exception to the exclusive rights of copyright. In the present Congress, Rep. Boucher waited to reintroduce his bill in order to obtain bill number 1201. 17 U.S.C. § 1201 is the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA.
TLJ experienced technical difficulties yesterday and today. There was no issue of the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert on Thursday, April 7. Today's issue is late. TLJ apologizes.
12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a panel discussion titled "The Indecency Debate: Should Congress Extend Broadcast Rules to Other Media?". The speakers will be Adam Thierer (PFF), Jill Luckett (National Cable Telecommunications Association), and Jerald Fritz (Allbritton Communications). Press contact: Patrick Ross at 202 289-8928. See, notice and registration pages. Location: Room B389, Rayburn Building, Capitol Hill.
9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing "to examine securing electronic personal data, focusing on striking a balance between privacy and commercial and governmental use". Press contact: Blain Rethmeier (Specter) at 202 224-5225, David Carle (Leahy) at 202 224-4242 or Tracy Schmaler (Leahy) at 202 224-2154. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.
RESCHEDULED FROM APRIL 6. 10:00 AM. The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on the U.S. Dominican Republic Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). Location: Room 628, Dirksen Building.
6:00 - 8:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) program titled "How to Prosecute a Trademark Before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office". The scheduled speakers are Leigh Ann Lindquist (Sughrue Mion), Mark Bergsman (Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky), and Jody Drake (Sughrue Mion). See, notice. Prices vary from $70 to $115. For more information, call 202 626-3488. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.
RESCHEDULED FOR APRIL 28. 9:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold a meeting. The event will be webcast by the FCC. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Room TW-C05 (Commission Meeting Room).
10:00 AM. The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing titled "United States-China Economic Relations and China's Role in the World Economy". See, notice. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.
12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Cable Practice Committee and Common Carrier Practice Committee will jointly host a brown bag lunch titled "Phone Companies' Entry into Video". The speakers will be Libby Beatty (National Association of Telecommunications Officers & Advisors), Neal Goldberg (National Cable & Telecommunications Association), and Bill Richardson (Wilmer Cutler). RSVP to Quyen Truong at ttruong at dowlohnes dot com or 202 776-2058. Location: Dow Lohnes & Albertson, Suite 800, 1200 New Hampshire Ave., NW.
4:00 PM. Pamela Samuelson (University of California at Berkeley School of Law) will present a draft paper titled "Why Congress Excluded Processes and Systems from the Scope of Copyright". See, notice of event. This event is part of the Spring 2005 Intellectual Property Workshop Series sponsored by the Dean Dinwoodey Center for Intellectual Property Studies at the George Washington University Law School (GWULS). For more information, contact Robert Brauneis at 202 994-6138 or rbraun@law.gwu.edu. The event is free and open to the public. Location: GWULS, Faculty Conference Center, Burns Building, 5th Floor, 716 20th St., NW.
6:00 PM. Day one of a two day conference hosted by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), Münchner Kreis, and Georgetown University titled "The Future of Telecommunications Industries: Transatlantic Symposium". See, notice. Registration required by April 8. See, registration page. Location: Riggs Library, Main Campus, Georgetown University, 37th and O Streets, NW.
8:45 AM - 5:15 PM. Day two of a two day conference hosted by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), Münchner Kreis, and Georgetown University titled "The Future of Telecommunications Industries: Transatlantic Symposium". See, notice. Registration required by April 8. See, registration page. Location: Riggs Library, Main Campus, Georgetown University, 37th and O Streets, NW.
9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in U.S. International Trade Commission v. ASAT Inc., No. 05-5009. See, U.S. International Trade Commission's (USITC) proceeding conducted pursuant to Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, 19 U.S.C. § 1337, titled "In the Matter of Certain Encapsulated Integrated Circuit Devices and Products Containing Same" and numbered 337-TA-501. See also ASAT web site. Judges Ginsburg, Rogers and Tatel will preside. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Technological Advisory Council will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 25, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 57, at Page 15316. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Commission Meeting Room (TW-C305).
Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding TSA Stores, Inc.'s Petition for Declaratory Ruling to preempt a provision of the statutes of the state of Florida as applied to interstate telephone calls. This is CG Docket No. 02-278, which pertains to rules implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA). See, notice in the Federal Register, March 1, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 39, at Pages 9875-9876.
4/7. President Bush nominated Gordon England to be Deputy Secretary of Defense. If confirmed by the Senate, England will replace Paul Wolfowitz. See, White House release.
4/6. President Bush nominated Timothy Adams to be An Under Secretary of The Treasury. If confirmed by the Senate, he will replace John Taylor. See, White House release.
4/4. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced the appointment of members of its Technological Advisory Council (TAC) for 2005. See, FCC release.
4/7. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) issued its opinion [7 pages in PDF] in VM Tech v. Compaq, affirming the judgment of the District Court dismissing VM Tech's patent infringement action for lack of prosecution. This case is VM Tech Inc. v. Compaq Computer Corporation and Hewlett Packard Company, Inc., U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 04-1436.
4/7. A grand jury of the U.S. District Court (NDCal) returned an indictment that charges six companies and five individuals with fraud, collusion, aiding and abetting, and conspiracy in connection with bid rigging and project allocation schemes related to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) e-rate subsidy program. See, Department of Justice release.
4/7. Ruben Moreno plead guilty in U.S. District Court (EDVa) to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud his former employer, America Online, of $100,000. He conspired to pay $100,000 to an outside consultant for non-existent work. Another conspirator, Gregory Horton, previously plead guilty. See, plea agreement [15 pages in PDF] and Department of Justice release [PDF].
4/7. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that "FCC website documents and E-Filing systems will be unavailable from 10:00 PM (EDT) on Sunday April 10 until 6:00 AM (EDT) on Monday April 11 due to scheduled maintenance."
4/7. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a public notice (DA 05-1011) [20 pages in PDF] that describes and contains the recommendations of the World Radiocommunication Conference Advisory Committee (WRC-07 Advisory Committee) on a number of issues that will be considered by the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-07).

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