Source: http://www.techlawjournal.com/home/newsbriefs/2002/10e.asp
Timestamp: 2018-04-25 02:39:16
Document Index: 555159148

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1461', '§ 24', '§ 1693', '§ 552', '§ 17', '§ 10', '§ 271', '§ 271', '§ 271', '§ 102']

TLJ News: October 21-25, 2002.
News from October 21-25, 2002
DC Circuit Rules in Comptel v. FCC
The DOJ wrote that "The Commission should review the concerns expressed in this Evaluation, and if it is satisfied that these concerns have been addressed, the Department recommends that the Commission approve BellSouth’s application." The DOJ expressed concerns regarding several areas of the process through which upgrades to operations support systems (OSS) software are developed and prioritized. It also expressed concerns about the measurements used to track the performance of those systems.
He then criticized arguments that have been advanced by civil libertarians. He wrote: "So if gathering as much as information as possible on databases and then sharing it among law enforcement agencies is so effective, why don’t we see more of both? Part of the explanation is the usual bureaucratic inertia and squabbling, but there's a deeper reason. Even after September 11, privacy concerns still carry plenty of clout in this country. Commonsense reforms -- like printing visa expiration dates on the driver’s licenses of immigrants -- are still resisted by many civil liberties groups. And because it’s always easier to stop a new idea than to implement one, the database approach to preventing terrorism is not moving as quickly as it should. This is one of those cases where civil libertarians and the gun lobby are together on the wrong side."
Alter concluded, " ``Database coordination.´´ It's not much of a campaign slogan, but it might save your life."
The Brady Campaign, a pro gun control organization, wrote in its web site that "In the Maryland sniper shootings, police rapidly matched bullet fragments from each victim to prove that the same gun was used in all of the shootings. The technology to match bullets to firearms is known as ``ballistic fingerprinting.´´ It worked and provided police with important crime leads. But what was missing, what police desperately needed, was a nationwide database of the ballistic fingerprint of every gun before it is sold so that police could determine not just that the bullets came from the same gun, but which specific gun -- manufacturer, model, serial number -- the bullets were fired from. That would have helped police trace the sniper after the very first victim." See, item titled "Ballistic Fingerprints Help Solve Crimes".
10/25. The U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) issued its opinion in Bank of America v. San Francisco, affirming the summary judgment of the District Court enjoining cities from enforcing city ordinances prohibiting banks from charging ATM fees to non-depositors. The Appeals Court held that the ordinances were preempted by the Home Owners’ Loan Act (HOLA), 12 U.S.C. §§ 1461-1470, and the National Bank Act, 12 U.S.C. § 24. It also held that the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1693-1693r, does not permit cities to regulate ATM fees as a consumer protection measure.
10/25. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) announced in a release that the WIPO and Educause, the administrator of the .edu top level generic domain, have signed an agreement which makes the WIPO the sole dispute resolution service provider for the .edu domain. The WIPO stated that "WIPO's Arbitration and Mediation Center will apply the .edu Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (eduDRP) -- a modified version of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) -- a low cost and speedy alternative to litigation, in the drive to resolve ``cybersquatting´´ disputes arising in the .edu domain."
10/24. Federal Reserve Board (FRB) Vice Chairman Roger Ferguson gave a speech at the London Business School titled "Productivity Growth: A Realistic Assessment ". He offered his analysis of why productivity has grown in recent years, and even during the recent economic downturn. His analysis is based in large part on developments in, and adoption of, computer and software technologies. FRB Chairman Alan Greenspan also gave a speech on productivity gains on October 23. See, full story.
Colin Powell Addresses Digital Divide
10/24. Secretary of State Colin Powell gave a speech at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Plenary in Los Cabos, Mexico. He made a vaguely worded proposal to "close the digital divide". However, he did not identify what he meant by the phrase "digital divide", and just how he proposes to close it.
Powell stated that "On education, we are taking better advantage of the opportunities created by the information technology revolution to reach out to the peoples of APEC and bridge the digital divide among us. We are developing ``the Asia Pacific Network for Education´´ with the APEC cyber education cooperation consortium. This web portal provides a single entry point for policymakers and teachers to learn about best practices in education throughout the APEC region."
He continued that "U.S. companies are providing computer training to information technology professionals and others from all around the APEC region as part of China's human capacity building promotion program. And the United States has entered into a project with the People's Republic of China to teach English and Chinese using web based technology. Indeed, APEC is increasingly active in connecting our worlds and improving our schools. And by better coordinating our activities, we could realize many more concrete results."
He stated that "I propose that we take our efforts a step further, and ask our officials in APEC to develop a long range strategy on e-learning. The goal would be to help close the digital divide by increasing the number of high quality, low cost educational resources available to the peoples of APEC. The United States will devote time and resources to help the education network develop and implement this strategy. And we would welcome partners in this effort, such as the APEC education foundation."
He concluded that "Teaching people new skills only empowers them, however, if they have the opportunity to use those skills to better their lives. Improved access to financing leads to greater economic well being. In turn, greater economic security allows people to invest in healthcare and to invest in education, and ultimately, in themselves."
EPIC Files Complaint Against DOJ Seeking Records Relating to Implementation of USA PATRIOT Act
10/24. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and others filed a complaint [12 pages in PDF] in U.S. District Court (DC) against the Department of Justice (DOJ) alleging violation of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, in connection with the DOJ's failure to respond to plaintiffs' FOIA request for records pertaining to the DOJ's implementation of the USA PATRIOT Act.
The USA PATRIOT Act was passed late last year in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11. The complaint alleges that "there has been growing public concern about the scope of the Patriot Act and the government’s use of authorities thereunder, particularly in relation to constitutionally protected rights. Plaintiffs seek records that are critical to the public’s ability to evaluate the government’s use of vast new surveillance powers, and whose release can only serve national security, not undermine it."
The complaint requests that the Court order the DOJ "immediately to state which records it intends to disclose in response to plaintiffs’ FOIA request" and "immediately to process plaintiffs' FOIA request and to disclose the requested records".
The other plaintiffs are the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE), the Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF), and the American Civil Liberties Association (ACLU). David Sobel of the EPIC signed the complaint. See also, ACLU release.
10/24. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that USTR Robert Zoellick and Thai Minister of Commerce Adisai Bodharamik "signed a bilateral agreement today to promote the liberalization of trade and investment between the two countries. The Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) creates a Joint Council to further facilitate and liberalize trade and investment, including such areas as intellectual property, information technology, biotechnology policy, and capacity building, as well as coordination in the APEC and the WTO." See, USTR release [PDF]. The USTR has not yet published the agreement in its web site.
The Order permanently enjoins Sidoryk, Gary Camp, Todd Camp, and Siska from future violations of § 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, § 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The Order also requires payment of disgorgement, interest and civil penalties. See, SEC release.
10/23. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it settled two actions pending U.S. District Courts against deceptive spammers for violating of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. See, FTC release. See also, Stipulated Judgment and Order for Permanent Injunction [PDF] in FTC v. Sonya Lockery (U.S.D.C, DConn), and Stipulated Judgment and Order for Permanent Injunction [PDF] in FTC v. Richard Scott (U.S.D.C., EDCal). Both documents were filed in early October. The FTC made its announcement on October 23.
WorldCom, AT&T and others challenged the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) April 16 order approving Verizon's Section 271 application to provide in region interLATA services in the state of Massachusetts. The petitioners argued that the FCC's conclusion that Verizon's rates for unbundled network elements (UNEs) complied with the TELRIC standard (total element long run incremental cost). The Appeals Court concluded that it had already upheld the practices of the FCC in two prior challenges to § 271 approvals, Sprint v. FCC, 274 F.3d 549 (D.C. Cir. 2001), and AT&T v FCC, 220 F.3d 607 (D.C. Cir. 2000).
The Court also rejected petitioners' argument that Verizon failed to satisfy checklist item No. 14 (47 U.S.C. § 271(c)(2)(B)(xiv)) because as of the date of its application, it was not offering CLECs DSL and other advanced services at wholesale rates. Verizon was in compliance by the time the FCC issued its approval. The Court rejected this argument in an earlier opinion. However, the opinion, but not the mandate, preceded the date of Verizon's application, and the FCC relied upon this distinction. In its final analysis, the Court concluded that "no matter whether the issue is a matter of standing, mootness or both, we are sure that the complete want of effect in the real world deprives us of jurisdiction over the intriguing question of how the distinction between opinion and mandate might play out in this context."
However, the Appeals Court did remand one issue to the FCC. Petitioners argued that the FCC failed to consider their claim that the ILEC's UNE rates would create a price squeeze -- that is, prices for CLECs' inputs so high as to largely disable them from competing profitably in the local market with the ILEC, the supplier of those inputs. The Court wrote that "Because of the range of TELRIC compliant UNE rates, a set of fully compliant rates might -- under some analyses and policy judgments, not addressed by the Commission in this record -- impede local competition enough to render a § 271 approval in contravention of the ``public interest.´´ Accordingly, we remand the case for further consideration in the light of" the Sprint case."
Background. Alfred Schumer of Redmond, Washington holds U.S. Patent No. 5,768,492 titled "Digitizer interface". Digitizers are computer peripherals that translate a user’s hand motions or instructions into digital coordinates for use by a computer system. Laboratory Computer Systems (LCS) creates and distributes software drivers to be used with various brands of digitizers distributed by third parties. Wacom makes graphic tablets and interactive pen displays; it is a distributor of digitizers. Wacom was a licensee of LCS software drivers.
District Court. Schumer filed a complaint in 1999 in the U.S. District Court (WDWash) against LCS alleging patent infringement. Wacom then filed a complaint against Schumer seeking a declaratory judgment that its products did not infringe the claims of the ’492 patent and that the asserted claims of the ’492 patent were invalid. The two suits were consolidated. The District Court granted summary judgment to LCS and Wacom. It granted summary judgment of noninfringement of claims 1-10; it also granted summary judgment of invalidity of claims 13 and 14 on the basis of anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b). Schumer appealed.
Powell stated that "In the five years that I have been on the Commission, I have heard a great deal of grumbling about the DTV transition: ``It is a great government give away;´´ ``Consumers do not want it;´´ ``It is an unnecessary industrial policy;´´ and ``It’s too expensive with little return.´´ The cold truth, however, is that we have no choice -- not just because Congress has mandated it (which is reason enough) but because the trends in technology and the forces of change will ultimately demand it of any provider that hopes to be relevant in the digital future." (Parentheses in original.)
Qwest previously withdrew two applications because of concerns of regulators. In the present application, the DOJ concluded that "With respect to most of the issues about which the Department previously had expressed concern, Qwest’s re-filed application demonstrates improvement. The Department reiterates its deference to the Commission's determination whether Qwest’s pricing is appropriately cost based and whether Qwest complies with Section 272."
However, the DOJ also criticized Qwest for possibly withholding information from regulators. It wrote that "finds troubling an affidavit filed by AT&T in which a former Qwest employee declares that Qwest personnel ``diminish[ed] the visibility´´ of certain information to Commission staff who were visiting the Qwest CLEC Coordination Center. The former employee states that a Mechanized Loop Test (``MLT´´) was run routinely as part of the provisioning process for hot-cut loops but that this fact was hidden from regulators. At that time, CLECs were requesting pre-order access to Qwest's MLT capabilities in order to pre-qualify loops for DSL service and also were expressing concerns that Qwest had collected MLT information that it had not loaded into its Raw Loop Data Tool, to which CLECs submit pre-qualification queries."
The FCC has also received substantially identical letters from consumers stating, in part, that "I strongly urge you and the Commissioners to protect my privacy by requiring phone companies to obtain my approval before they sell my customer records."
Nextel submitted a comment [9 pages in PDF]. "First, regarding the FBI’s suggestion for additional Commission regulation of foreign storage of and access to CPNI, such regulation would not significantly improve law enforcement capabilities. Yet, it would prevent companies from pursuing the most cost effective business solutions to serving their customers. Geographic boundaries have little if any relevance in today’s Internet world. The proposed geographic limitations, while interfering with carriers’ efficient operation, would add little protection against entities in cyberspace seeking unauthorized database access."
Nextel also wrote that "with regard to the CPNI implications when a carrier goes out of business, customers’ privacy interests are fully protected by the existing CPNI rules, which would apply to any acquiring carrier to the same extent as to the exiting carrier. The adoption of additional CPNI rules would harm the public interest by imposing unnecessary regulatory costs on the telecommunications industry, particularly the wireless industry, while it is struggling for survival under precarious economic conditions."
Verizon also submitted a Petition for Reconsideration of the Third Report and Order [26 pages in PDF] in which it requested that the FCC "reconsider it order to make clear that all state regulations of customer proprietary network information (``CPNI´´) that are inconsistent with the federal CPNI rules, including any state rules that adopt an opt-in requirement, are preempted."
Go to News from October 16-20, 2002.