Source: http://www.techlawjournal.com/alert/2010/12/02.asp
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 04:43:13+00:00

Document:
TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,166, December 2, 2010.
December 2, 2010, Alert No. 2,166.
11/29. The Supreme Court granted certiorari in Microsoft v. i4i. See, November 29, 2010, Orders List [28 pages in PDF] at page 4. See also, Supreme Court docket.
i4i Limited Partnership is a software consulting company. It filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court (EDTex) against Microsoft alleging that Microsoft's Word infringed its U.S. Patent No. 5,787,449. Microsoft unsuccessfully raised the defense of invalidity. The District Court entered judgment of infringement, and awarded i4i damages of $200 Million.
The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) reissued its opinion [51 pages in PDF] on March 10, 2010, affirming the judgment of the District Court.
The Supreme Court states that the question presented is as follows: "The Patent Act provides that ``[a] patent shall be presumed valid´´ and that ``[t]he burden of establishing invalidity of a patent or any claim thereof shall rest on the party asserting such invalidity.´´ 35 U.S.C. § 282. The Federal Circuit held below that Microsoft was required to prove its defense of invalidity under 35 U.S.C. § l02(b) by ``clear and convincing evidence,´´ even though the prior art on which the invalidity defense rests was not considered by the Patent and Trademark Office prior to the issuance of the asserted patent. The question presented is: Whether the court of appeals erred in holding that Microsoft's invalidity defense must be proved by clear and convincing evidence."
The Supreme Court's order states that "The Chief Justice took no part in the consideration or decision of this petition."
This case is Microsoft Corporation v. i4i Limited Partnership, et al., Supreme Court of the U.S., Sup. Ct. No. 10-290, a petition for writ of certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, App. Ct. No. 2009-1504. Judge Sharon Prost wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Schall and Moore joined. The Court of Appeals heard an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, D.C. No. 07-CV-113, Judge Leonard Davis presiding.
12/1. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) amended and approved S 3728 [LOC | WW], the "Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Protection Act". See, amendment in the nature of a substitute [10 pages in PDF].
This bill would amend 17 U.S.C. § 1301. This section, which was added to the Copyright Act in 1998 by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), currently protects water vessel hull designs.
This bill would add fashion apparel designs items, including clothing, purses, and eye glasses. However, the term of protection would be only three years. The bill also includes an exception for home sewing of a single copy.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) introduced this bill on August 5, 2010. Rep. William Delahunt (D-MA) introduced the related bill in the House on April 30, 2009. It is HR 2196 [LOC | WW], the "Design Piracy Prohibition Act". Numerous members of the House Judiciary Committee (HJC) are cosponsors. However, the HJC has taken no action on this bill. Rep. Delahunt did not run for re-election in November.
11/24. The U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) issued its opinion [11 pages in PDF] in Shames v. California Travel and Tourism Commission, a case involving state action immunity from antitrust liability.
The Supreme Court created the doctrine in its 1943 opinion in Parker v. Brown, 317 U.S. 341. The Supreme Court announced a two part test for applying the state action doctrine in its 1980 opinion in California Retail Liquor Dealers Association v. Midcal Aluminum, 445 U.S. 97.
State governmental entities sometimes protect consumers and promote consumer welfare. When they do so, there is a rationale for extending antitrust immunity to them. On the other hand, state and federal governmental entities sometimes fulfill rent seeking goals of businesses or groups of businesses. When they do so, in some cases, there is a rationale for allowing private and federal antitrust actions against them to proceed.
This case limits, for the 9th Circuit, the scope of allegedly anticompetitive conduct that may qualify for antitrust immunity.
The California Travel and Tourism Commission (CTTC) was created by the California state legislature. It is chaired by the Secretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. Twelve commissioners are appointed by the Governor. Another twenty-four are selected by private industry sectors, including the car rental industry.
Michael Shames and Gary Gramkow filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court (SDCal) against the CTTC alleging violation Section 1 of the Sherman Act, which is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1, in connection with alleged collusion between the car rental industry and the CTTC to fix car rental prices.
The plaintiffs, who seek class action status, also alleged violation of a California state statute.
The District Court held that the CTTC is shielded from antitrust liability under the state action immunity doctrine. It also declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state claim. It dismissed the complaint without reaching the question of whether there was a violation of the Sherman Act. This appeal followed. The Court of Appeals issued its first opinion on June 8, 2010, affirming the judgment of the District Court.
In the just released opinion, the Court of Appeals, withdrew its June 8, 2010, opinion, reversed and remanded.
The Court of Appeals wrote that in Parker v. Brown the Supreme Court "reasoned that the Sherman Act was primarily concerned with individual anticompetitive action, not states acting in their sovereign capacity."
It wrote that, under Midcal, state involvement can be eligible for immunity if, first, the challenged restraint is one clearly articulated and affirmatively expressed as state policy, and second, the policy is actively supervised by the state itself. The Court of Appeals reversed on the basis of the first prong, and did not address the second.
The Court of Appeals first wrote about the proper standard in evaluating the first prong of the Midcal test. It stated that "a state may unintentionally create a scheme that in some way fosters anticompetitive conduct. But this unintended consequence -- even if foreseeable -- does not satisfy the ``clear articulation´´ prong of Midcal because the underlying scheme does not indicate an intention to displace competition."
It then wrote that "In this case, there is no indication California authorized interference by the CTTC with normal industry competition. There is no authorization by the California legislature of anticompetitive regulation or monopoly in the rental car field. The CTTC is not a regulatory body and has no control over the prices established by the rental car companies. The legislature merely imposed an assessment on the rental car companies and gave the CTTC the authority to spend these funds to promote California tourism."
"Individual action may be permitted by this provision, but the CTTC's alleged interference with market forces is not." (Footnote omitted.) Hence, the Court of Appeals reversed.
This case is Michael Shames and Gary Gramkow v. California Travel and Tourism Commission, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, App. Ct. No. 08-56750, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, D.C. No. 3:07-cv-02174-H-WMC, Judge Marilyn Huff presiding. Judge Michael Hawkins wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Sidney Thomas and Margaret McKeown joined.
Commissioners and employees of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have long expressed concerns about antitrust state action immunity. See for example, December 10, 2002, speech of former FTC Chairman Timothy Muris.
The plaintiffs' antitrust bar also has concerns. The American Antitrust Institute (AAI) filed an amicus curiae brief [27 pages in PDF] in which it urged the Court of Appeals to reverse.
12/2. Glen Fine, the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Inspector General, will leave the DOJ. His last day at the DOJ will be January 28, 2011. He has not announced his future plans.
Fine was nominated in 2000 by former President Clinton. The position requires Senate confirmation. President Obama has not announced a replacement.
Fine, and the DOJ Office of the Inspector General (OIG), have investigated a wide range of DOJ activities and operations. In particular, under his tenure, the DOJ/OIG has exposed long running and large scale violations of federal communications surveillance statutes by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Valerie Caproni, the FBI's General Counsel since 2003, has overseen the FBI's statutory violations, and testified to the Congress about them. She remains in her position.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC), stated in a release on November 29, 2010, that "Glenn Fine is to be commended for his years of dedicated government service, particularly his excellent work over the last decade as the Inspector General at the Department of Justice. Inspectors General play a crucial role in ensuring that government agencies and their employees operate efficiently, effectively, within the scope of the law, and with integrity and commitment to American values."
Sen. Leahy continued that "All Americans should appreciate Inspector General Fine's audits of the use of surveillance authorities under the Patriot Act. These investigations led to greater public accountability and triggered important reforms by the FBI in its use of National Security Letter and other authorities."
Fine testified before the House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security on February 24, 2010, and again before the HJC's Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties on April 14, 2010, regarding the DOJ/OIG reports on illegal surveillance activities. See, his prepared testimony [PDF] and prepared testimony [PDF].
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), the Chairman of the HJC, wrote in his opening statement for the April 14 hearing that "Just this last January, the Inspector General completed the third in a series of reports concerning the use and misuse of national security and exigent letters by the FBI on hundreds of occasions. It is no understatement to say that taken as a whole, these reports paint an agency that has violated the law and our citizens' civil liberties. They have sought personal information -- including personal information concerning reporters -- without proper authorization, and that they had not statutory or constitutional entitlement to. This member will do everything in his power to ensure that these reports do not gather dust, but rather that they serve as a blueprint to rein in the FBI and protect our precious rights and liberties."
Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), who was the HJC Chairman when the Congress enacted the USA PATRIOT Act, sat next to Rep. Conyers at the hearing. He said that "I was the author of the PATRIOT Act and the PATRIOT Act reauthorization of 2006, and I withstood the assaults of my friend seated to my right in both of those cases."
He told the FBI's Caproni, who also testified at that hearing, that "I am extremely disappointed that every time Congress has tried to plug potential civil rights and civil liberties violations in our counterterrorism activities, the FBI seems to have figured out a way to get around it. You know, I came to this whole issue as your friend, more than my Subcommittee and full Committee Chairs, and I feel betrayed."
He added that "I was concerned about this type of evasion when I put the annual inspector general's report in the PATRIOT Act, simply because I was afraid that having the fox guard the chicken coop down the street was going to result in activities that would end up embarrassing the government when they are in the middle of a sensitive counterterrorism investigation."
12/2. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the House Majority Leader, announced in a release that "Rep. Jim Matheson will join the Democratic Whip team in the next Congress. He will join the current Whip team that is staying in place. Rep. John Lewis will serve as our Senior Chief Deputy Whip, and our Chief Deputy Whips will continue to serve our caucus: Rep. G.K. Butterfield, Rep. Joe Crowley, Rep. Diana DeGette, Rep. Ed Pastor, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and Rep. Maxine Waters."
12/2. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) hired Justin Brookman to be the Director of its Project on Consumer Privacy. See, CDT release.
12/1. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) held an executive business meeting at which it again held over the nomination of Robert Chatigny to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (2ndCir). He is again on the agenda for the SJC's executive business meeting of Wednesday, December 8, 2010.
12/1. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) approved the nomination of Susan Carney to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (2ndCir) by a vote of 17-2.
12/1. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) approved the nomination of James Graves to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (5thCir).
12/1. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) approved the nominations of James Boasberg and Amy Jackson to be Judges of the U.S. District Court (DC).
12/1. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) approved seven other nominees to the U.S. District Courts: Edward Davila (USDC/NDCal), Amy Totenberg (USDC/NDGa), James Shadid (USDC/CDIll), Sue Myerscough (USDC/CDIll), Paul Holmes (USDC/WDArk), Anthony Battaglia (USDC/SDCal), Diana Saldana (USDC/SDTex).
12/1. The Library of Congress's (LOC) Copyright Office (CO) extended the comments deadlines for its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding federal coverage of sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) requested the extension. The deadline for initial comments has been extended from December 20, 2010, to January 31, 2011. The deadline for reply comments has been extended from January 19, 2011, to March 2, 2011. See, original notice in the Federal Register, November 3, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 212, at Pages 67777-67781; correction notice in the Federal Register, November 18, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 222, at Pages 70704-70705; and extension notice in the Federal Register, December 1, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 230, at Pages 74749-74750. This proceeding is LOC Docket No. 2010-4. See also, story titled "Library of Congress Issues NOI on Extending Copyright Act to Pre 1972 Sound Recordings" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,150, November 8, 2010.
12/1. The Library of Congress's (LOC) Copyright Royalty Judges published a notice in the Federal Register that announces a cost of living adjustment (COLA) of 1.2% in the royalty rates that colleges, universities, and other nonprofit educational institutions that are not affiliated with National Public Radio pay for the use of published nondramatic musical compositions in the ASCAP, BMI and SESAC repertories. See, Federal Register, December 1, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 230, at Pages 74623-74624.
The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The House will hold a postponed suspension vote on S 2847 [LOC | WW], the "Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act" or "CALM Act". See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for the week of November 29, and schedule for December 2.
The Senate will meet at 9:30 AM.
8:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Day two of a two day partially closed meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) National Science Board. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 26, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 227, at Pages 72843-72844. Location: Room 1235, NSF, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA.
The House may meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for the week of November 29.
10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties will hold a hearing titled "Civil Liberties and National Security". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.
The Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) will host an event titled "PTO Day: 21st Annual Conference on U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Law and Practice". See, notice. Location: The Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center.
8:30 AM - 12:30 PM. The Brookings Institution (BI) will host an event titled "Internet Policymaking in its Third Decade". Location: BI, 1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW.
1:30 - 4:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will host an event titled "scoping meeting". This is a hearing in its proceeding regarding its Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) of its Antenna Structure Registration (ASR) program. See, November 12, 2010, Public Notice (PN). This PN is DA 10-2178 in WT Docket No. 08-61 and WT Docket No. 03-187. See also, notice in the Federal Register, November 17, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 221, at Pages 70166-70168. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.
2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Office of Strategic Plans and Policy Analysis will host presentation by Joel Waldfogel (University of Minnesota) titled "Pop Internationalism: Has a Half Century of World Music Trade Displaced Local Culture?". To request permission to attend, contact Jonathan Levy at 202-418-2030 or jlevy at fcc dot gov. Free. See, notice. Location: FCC, 445 12th St., SW.
5:00 PM. Extended deadline to submit comments to the National Telecommunications and Information Adminitration's (NTIA) Internet Policy Task Force (IPTF) regarding government policies that restrict global information flows on the internet. See, original notice in the Federal Register, September 29, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 188, at Pages 60068-60073, and story titled "NTIA Seeks Comments on Governments' Restrictions of Free Flow of Information on the Internet" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,137, October 1, 2010. See also, extension notice in the Federal Register, November 18, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 222, at Page 70714.
Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) regarding small and medium enterprises' (SMEs) understanding of and compliance with export controls maintained pursuant to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). See, notice in the Federal Register, October 6, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 193, at Pages 61706-61707.
8:30 AM - 3:00 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Board of Overseers will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 17, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 180, at Page 56994. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Lecture Room B, Gaithersburg, MD.
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM. The American Antitrust Institute (AAI) will host an event titled "4th Annual Future of Private Antitrust Enforcement". At 12:45 PM Jonathan Leibowitz (FTC Chairman) will give a lunch speech. The price to attend is $100. CLE credits. For more information, contact Sarah Frey at 410-897-7028. See, notice and agenda [PDF]. Location: National Press Club, Ballroom, 529 14th St., NW.
10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in OPTi, Inc. v. Apple, Inc., App. Ct. No. 2010-1129, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (EDTex) in a patent case regarding computer memory cache technology. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.
10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in McKesson Information Solutions v. Epic Systems Corp., App. Ct. No. 2010-1291, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (NDGa) in a patent case regarding internet based doctor patient communications software. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.
12:00 - 1:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "The IP Enforcement Agenda: Why the Focus on Enforcement, and What Does It Mean for IP Practitioners?". The speakers will be John Bergmayer (Public Knowledge), David Green (NBC Universal), Chun Wright (attorney), and Mitchell Stoltz (Constantine Cannon). The price to attend ranges from $15 to $25. For more information, contact 202-626-3463. See, notice. Reporters are barred from most DC Bar events. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.
The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Auction 89, regarding 218-219 MHz and Phase II 220 MHz Services licenses, is scheduled to commence.
8:30 AM - 5:15 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advisory Committee for Cyberinfrastructure. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 26, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 227, at Page 72843. Location: Room 1235, NSF, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA.
9:00 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee (RPTAC) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 22, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 224, at Page 71075. Location: Room 3884, Hoover Building, 14th Street between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, NW.
9:00 AM - 12:45 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship will meet by teleconference. The call in number is 888-942-9574; the passcode is 6315042. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 24, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 226, at Page 71670.
9:00 AM. The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 22, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 224, at Page 71188. Location: IRS, Room 2116, 1111 Constitution Ave., NW.
10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of numerous judicial nominees: Robert Chatigny (USCA/2ndCir), Max Cogburn (USDC/WDNC), Marco Hernandez (USDC/DOre), Michael Simon (USDC/DOre), and Steve Jones (USDC/NDGa). The SJC rarely follows its published agendas. The SJC will webcast this event. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.
10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Michael S. Sutton Ltd. v. Nokia Corp., App. Ct. No. 2010-1218, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (EDTex) in a patent case regarding technology for sending 8 bit byte messages over radio paging networks that have been configured to send 7 bit byte messages. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.
1:00 - 4:15 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host an event titled "International Broadcasting and Public Media: Mission and Innovation in the Digital Environment". See, notice and registration page. Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.
Day one of a two day event sponsored by the SANS Institute titled "What Works in Incident Detection & Log Management Summit 2010". See, notice. Location: Dupont Hotel, 1500 New Hampshire Ave., NW.
8:30 - 11:45 PM. Day two of a two day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advisory Committee for Cyberinfrastructure. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 26, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 227, at Page 72843. Location: Room 1235, NSF, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA.
10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Alexsam, Inc. v. Interactive Communications International, Inc., App. Ct. No. 2010-1267, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (EDTex) in a case regarding enforcement of a settlement agreement regarding patent licensing. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.
2:40 PM. The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Bureau of Economics will host a presentation titled "Diversity, Social Goods Provision, and the Firm". See, paper [PDF] with the same title. The speaker will be Wallace Mullin (GWU). For more information, contact Loren Smith at lsmith2 at ftc dot gov or Tammy John at tjohn at ftc dot gov. Location: Room 8089, 1800 M St., NW.
3:00 - 5:00 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host an event titled "Network Nation: How Business, Technology, and Government Shaped American Telecommunications". The speakers will include Richard John (Columbia University journalism school), author of the book [Amazon] titled "Network Nation: Inventing American Telecommunications". See, notice and registration page. Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.
6:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "24th Annual FCC Chairman’s Dinner". The speaker will be FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. A reception begins at 6:00 PM. Dinner begins at 7:30 PM. Prices vary. Location: Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Ave., NW.
Day two of a two day event sponsored by the SANS Institute titled "What Works in Incident Detection & Log Management Summit 2010". See, notice. Location: Dupont Hotel, 1500 New Hampshire Ave., NW.
Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its October 25, 2010, Public Notice (PN) regarding its closed captioning rules. This PN is DA 10-2050 in CG Docket 05-231, ET Docket No. 99-254. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 17, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 221, at Pages 70168-70169.

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