Whatever the Federal Election Commission (FEC) decides on Internet campaigning rules next week (WID Feb 24 p8), the decision will be a net plus for speech online, a leading blogger and political campaign strategist told us Mon. night. U. of Tenn. Law Prof. Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit.com and former Howard Dean Campaign Mgr. Joe Trippi were speaking to a National Press Club gathering on the Internet’s impact on the relationship between individuals and institutions in society, such as the media, Hollywood and the workplace. Reynolds was also flacking for his new book on the empowerment of individuals online, An Army of Davids.
Govt. use of data is “way oversimplied” when presented as a tradeoff between privacy and security, Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) Secy. Michael Chertoff told the DHS Data Privacy & Integrity Advisory Committee Tues. It’s better to consider different dimensions of privacy and the contrasting approaches between the U.S. and Europe, he said: DHS is still a “young and comparatively immature” agency, but its privacy initiatives could be “a very good template for what government must do in general.”
SAN FRANCISCO -- AT&T’s proposed BellSouth takeover adds to hurdles Bells face in seeking video franchising reform, a cable industry executive said at a Practising Law Institute seminar here Mon. and Tues. That AT&T can float a $67 billion purchase but says it can’t afford universal buildout of its Project Lightspeed network “will be suspect to people,” said Jeffery Sinsheimer, Cal. Cable & Telecom Assn. vp-law & public policy. The cable law program was dominated by the views of attorneys for cable companies and cities; AT&T personnel were on hand but generally said little about the criticism.
The Senate Commerce Committee will review the $89.4 billion AT&T-BellSouth merger, according to a statement released Mon. from the committee. Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska) and committee staff will examine the merger during coming weeks, “a process which will include meetings with involved parties,” the statement said. Several Hill sources said the committee’s March 15 hearing on competition and convergence could be a forum for reviewing the buyout.
A trial could begin by March 2007 in Nano-Proprietary’s suit alleging Canon violated terms of a licensing agreement for part of the technology behind its surface conductor electron emitter displays (SEDs), Nano-Proprietary said in a 10-Q report filed with the SEC. Nano-Proprietary sued Canon last year (CED April 13 p2) alleging it violated an agreement signed in 1999 by improperly transferring patent rights to Toshiba. The Canon-Toshiba joint venture, SED Inc., is expected to ship a 55W display later this year. The case against Canon hinges on 2 patents granted Nano-Proprietary in 1997 and 1998 covering techniques for making a carbon nanotube-based field emitter and triode structure flat panel display employing flat-field emission cathodes. A federal judge in Oct. dismissed Nano-Proprietary’s claims for tortuous interference and violations of the Latham Act, but kept its breach of covenant and fair dealings allegations intact, the SEC filing says. Meanwhile, Nano-Proprietary said it sold 750,000 shares in Feb., raising $1.5 million that will provide the company with liquidity until it breaks even. Nano-Proprietary’s Applied Nanotech unit is expected to generate revenue of $5 million this year including $1.7 million from govt. contracts, it said. The company can achieve cash flow breakeven with revenue of $6 million, it said. Nano-Proprietary had a $2.7 million revenue backlog as of Dec. 31, most of that from 6 govt. programs, the company said. Nano-Proprietary’s net loss for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31 widened to $4.66 million from $4.61 million a year earlier as revenues rose to $565,500 from $382,522. The revenue included $208,211 in expense reimbursement under U.S. govt. contracts, down from $305,721 a year earlier. It ended the year with $2.5 million in commitments for additional govt. contracts. Nano-Proprietary completed development of a nanotube-based 25” color TV last fall and has said it expects to start pilot production this year (CED Dec 19 p3).
The Senate Commerce Committee will review the $89.4 billion AT&T-BellSouth merger, according to a statement released Mon. from the committee. Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska) and committee staff will examine the merger during coming weeks, “a process which will include meetings with involved parties,” the statement said. Several Hill sources said the committee’s March 15 hearing on competition and convergence could be a forum for reviewing the buyout.
Conventional wisdom on the AT&T-BellSouth merger is that it faces a smooth regulatory path, especially in light of recent mega-mergers led by SBC’s takeover of AT&T late last year. But questions remain about how the arrival of Comr. Robert McDowell could affect FCC handling of the merger.
GENEVA -- Strong Internet patent quality was urged by experts and lobbyists at an Open Forum on the Substantive Patent Law Treaty (SPLT) at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) here last week. The SPLT was intended to become a Treaty to harmonize patent law on a global scale by the U.S., EU and Japan, but resulted in heated discussions about patent standards and subjects for patentabilty, including the much-discussed software patents. Some developing countries outrightly rejected the need for harmonization, claiming there are flaws in the existing systems, especially the U.S. patent system.
Broadband providers are growing increasingly concerned that FCC attention to protecting customer proprietary network information (CPNI) means a pending rulemaking probably will produce a requirement that they protect such data. Cramming, slamming and truth in billing also were raised in a notice of proposed rulemaking the FCC released in Sept.
Broadband providers are growing increasingly concerned that FCC attention to protecting customer proprietary network information (CPNI) means a pending rulemaking probably will produce a requirement that they protect such data. Cramming, slamming and truth in billing also were raised in a notice of proposed rulemaking the FCC released in Sept.