Lobbying
Industry Coalition Endorses Senate-Passed Internet Tax Bill
     House and Senate negotiators reached agreement on legislation to temporarily revive a ban on Internet-related taxation. The Senate tweaked the version of the bill it passed earlier this year, and the House is expected to clear the measure to the president Friday. As amended, the measure generally would revive the tax ban through November 2007. The action came after a collection of 38 technology and telecommunications industry groups urged the House to clear the Senate-passed Internet tax moratorium, even though many prefer the House bill. Organized as the Consumer Internet Access Coalition, the groups said if Congress adjourns without passing the bill, S. 150, "further delay will expose American consumers to new taxes."

On The Hill
House Passes Bills On Copyright Arbitration, Supercomputing
     The House cleared for the president two technology-related bills. One measure, H.R. 1417, would overhaul the arbitration system for disputes over copyright royalties. The legislation would replace the current system of copyright arbitration royalty panels with a permanent panel of three judges at the Copyright Office. The House also cleared a Senate-amended version of a bill, H.R. 4516, intended to maintain America's leadership in supercomputing. The measure would require the Energy Department to create high-end computing facilities and conduct advanced study on supercomputers that researchers at universities, companies, federal agencies and national laboratories can access. It would authorize $165 million over three years for supercomputing labs.

Labor
Lobbyists Push Congress For Action On H-1B Visas
     Lobbyists worked toward a congressional decision over temporary visas for high-skilled workers before the close of the 108th Congress. Even before the 65,000 cap on such H-1B visas was reached Oct. 1, groups on both sides of the issue had urged Congress to take a stand. Sources said that lobbying on the issue is intense and that there is likely to be a "rider" addressing the issue attached to the must-pass omnibus appropriations bill lawmakers must debate. If the H-1B visa issue is added to the bill, questions remain over what form it will take. Lawmakers could increase the cap to allow more H-1B visas or could exempt from the cap foreign students who receive advanced degrees from U.S. universities.

Budget
Industry Groups Revive Push To End Patent-Fee Diversion
     A broad coalition of intellectual property and business associations made a last-ditch attempt to persuade appropriations negotiators to adopt language from a House bill concerning user fees for the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). If the lawmakers cannot agree to the language that would let PTO keep all of the fees generated by its work, the coalition said in a letter to the leaders of the House Appropriations Committee that they should drop language to increase user fees for patent applications. It also appears likely that the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) may be given another reprieve. House and Senate appropriators are expected to provide funding for existing grantees in the Commerce Department program but not for new ATP grantees. The grants enable small technology companies to conduct high-risk research in technologies that promise great commercial payoff.

Telecom
Adelstein Appears Likely To Win Bid To Stay At FCC
     FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein appeared headed for re-confirmation this week after receiving a positive reception from both Republicans and Democrats during a Senate Commerce Committee hearing. Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., predicted the Senate would confirm Adelstein's bid to stay at the FCC before lawmakers adjourn. Unless reconfirmed, Adelstein must leave the commission. Also this week, Education Secretary Roderick Paige, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, Secretary of State Colin Powell and Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman announced their resignations. President Bush chose Margaret Spellings, his adviser for domestic policy, to be Education secretary and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice to be secretary of state. Meanwhile, Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed Pennsylvania Republican Arlen Specter to be chairman of their committee.

Telecom
Court Hears Debate Over FCC Order On Number Portability
     FCC and telecommunications industry attorneys clashed in front of an appeals court over the agency's November 2003 order giving consumers the right to keep their telephone numbers when they switch providers, a process known as number portability. A lawyer for the U.S. Telecom Association argued that the order constituted a rulemaking and that the FCC violated the federal procedures for such rulemakings. The three judges peppered the attorney with questions on the distinctions between "orders" and "rules," and how the companies would have reacted differently to comply with FCC action if it had followed a rulemaking procedure. FCC attorneys argued that the order was not a rulemaking but a clarification of a rule first established in 1996. Also in the courts, Petco, a pet supply and services retailer, settled with the FTC over charges that the company's Web site violated its own policy and federal law for not ensuring customer privacy.

E-Commerce
At Urging Of Cities, EBay Restricts Use Of Derogatory Words
     Sellers at the online auction site eBay no longer will be able to use derogatory terms in auction listings, under a new policy that outlaws sellers of historical pieces to describe them using such terms. Some exceptions will be made, but they will not be extended to "hate literature." EBay was approached about its listings policy by the National Black Caucus of Locally Elected Officials, an affiliate of the National League of Cities, and originally was surprised by the complaints. But Henry Gomez, a president at eBay, said discussions helped officials realize that letting buyers search for items by citing derogatory terms could have a "negative impact."

Security
Public-Interest Groups Say E-Voting Needs Improvement
     Leaders from several public-interest groups called for more secure e-voting systems, pointing to new legislation, voter verified paper receipts for e-votes and e-voting standards as some of the steps that are needed. E-voting technology "has no safety net," David Dill, founder of the Verified Voting Foundation, said during a presentation of the Election Verification Project. There is "always going to be abuse" in elections, added Chellie Pingree, president and CEO of Common Cause. But there is a difference when that abuse is attributed to people and fraud and when it is attributed to malfunctioning machines.

Intellectual Property
Movie Industry Files Piracy Lawsuits Against File Swappers
     The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) announced a series of lawsuits against online traders of illegally copied movies. MPAA spokesman Matthew Grossman provided few details, declining to specify the number of individuals targeted or the jurisdictions where the suits were filed. MPAA previously had said it was working with both its member and non-member studios to sue people based on the infringement of specific movie titles but that the anonymous defendants in the "John Doe" lawsuits allegedly copied many more titles than those named in the lawsuits. The individuals are users of the major file-sharing networks.