Intellectual Property
Supreme Court Ruling On MedImmune Case
     The Supreme Court this week voted 8-1 in a ruling that could make it easier for companies to challenge patents. The case, MedImmune v. Genentech, involves a children's respiratory drug for which Genentech owned the patent and MedImmune paid royalties. At issue is whether licensees should be able to dispute the standing of patents absent infringement lawsuits. Writing for the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia said MedImmune's contention that it "had no obligation under the license to pay royalties on an invalid patent" was not "frivolous." He also said that promising to pay royalties on patents while challenging their validity does not indicate a promise not to contest the matter. Justice Clarence Thomas dissented, saying that because MedImmune continued to pay royalties, the company had no case against Genentech.

Lobbying
EIA Weighs Merger With Another Tech Group
     With former Rep. David McCurdy leaving as chief executive of the Electronic Industries Alliance, there are rumors that EIA may merge with another trade group in the technology sector. Officially, EIA has indicated that all options are on the table. "We are currently proceeding with plans to hire a chief executive to serve on a more permanent basis," EIA spokesman Kevin Schweers said. But he said EIA historically has seen mergers as a possibility if member firms would benefit. "For years, EIA has argued in favor of consolidating industry trade associations," Schweers said. Phil Bond, head of the Information Technology Association of America, said ITAA is not back in merger talks with EIA, but he favors consolidating the IT trade associations. "There is a crying need for a bigger, more centralized voice on a lot of issues," Bond said.

Intellectual Property
Electronics Guru Takes Stand For Copyright Reform
     LAS VEGAS -- The dean of the consumer electronics sector, Gary Shapiro, used his opening keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show here to promote "fair use" of copyrighted content for technology users and the Digital Freedom campaign that he helped launch last year. The initiative to oppose "crippling restrictions" on individuals' technology rights, unveiled in October, was met with opposition from the content industry. The project had a major presence at CES. For two decades, Shapiro and his team have fought legislative proposals that would "restrict, tax, ban and hobble" technologies, he said. Those efforts have been successful, but innovators still face "debilitating lawsuits" as consumers and venture capitalists remain worried about the legal limits of new products and services, he said. "We believe that consumers have rights and that copyright laws need to be changed." Also at CES, high-tech executives did not appear hopeful that enacting broad copyright reforms would be an easy feat for the 110th Congress.

E-Commerce
New E-Gambling Ban Remains Subject Of Contention
     LAS VEGAS -- Internet gambling was among the hot topics debated by a panel of Republican congressmen here in a city fueled by poker, blackjack and slot machines. A new law criminalizes the estimated $12 billion e-gambling industry in the United States. Backers of the law say it will fight the ill effects of gambling on society, but Nevada Republican Jon Porter warned at the Consumer Electronics Show that the illegal business will continue to thrive via offshore suppliers. As was the case in the 109th Congress, he called for a further examination of the issue. "It's going to continue to happen ... and I believe that Internet gambling should be taxed and regulated," he said. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., took the position that "we're not equipped to regulate it" because of states' rights to control citizen access to gambling.

Television
Comcast To Challenge FCC Ruling On Cable Boxes
     Comcast will ask the FCC to "immediately" review the agency's rejection of the company's request to be exempted from new rules governing cable set-top boxes. The regulations, which take effect July 1, require cable operators to offer units that accommodate insertable cards with security features designed to block channels and prevent programming theft. The rules are intended to spur a robust marketplace for the devices. Many consumers now rent proprietary boxes from their cable operators, meaning that if they switch providers, they must obtain replacements. Under the FCC's plan, a consumer could easily buy a standard box off the shelf and use it with any cable service. Comcast wants to continue to offer three low-cost models that have integrated security functions and do not accommodate external cards. Echoing the views of electronics manufacturers, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said consumers should have "separable security" that lets them pick the products they want.

Security
Work For ID Law To Be Outsourced, Activist Says
     The Homeland Security Department plans to outsource to a private firm the implementation of a federal law mandating nationwide standards for identification cards, according to a privacy activist who claims to have obtained portions of draft regulations. Homeland Security sent the proposed rules for the so-called REAL ID Act to the White House Office of Management and Budget. The department recommends that a private data aggregator be responsible for key elements of the law's implementation, according to a document posted by Bill Scannell, a spokesman for the Identity Project. OMB is allowed 90 days to review the draft regulations. Homeland Security is granting the right to control our identity to private industry," Scannell wrote on the Web site UnRealID.com. "It will be Identity-Mart, Inc." A Homeland Security spokesman declined to comment on the issue.

Civil Liberties
Democratic Senators Want Agency Data-Mining Reports
     The government's mining of information from public- and private-sector databases for clues to terrorism and crime is widespread and federal agencies should regularly report to Congress on such activities, some Democratic senators said. "The overwhelming majority of these data-mining programs use, collect and analyze personal information about ordinary American citizens," Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said during a hearing on balancing privacy and security. He decried "the inefficiencies that can result from data mining and government dragnets." Leahy said that "at least 52 different federal agencies are currently using data-mining technology," adding that there are "at least 199 different government data-mining programs operating or planned throughout the federal government." Leahy and Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., touted a planned bill that would require agency reports to Congress on their data-mining activities.

Telecom
Senators Revive Net Neutrality Push With A New Bill
     A handful of mostly Democratic senators reintroduced legislation designed to ensure that the Internet remains open and accessible to all consumers and competitors. The network neutrality bill is expected to trigger a fresh round of fierce lobbying over Internet regulation, extending last year's telecommunications debate into 2007. The bill is intended to restrict high-speed service providers from discriminating against competitors by offering preferential treatment to companies for a fee. The development comes after AT&T's reluctant agreement to abide by network neutrality regulations for two years as a condition of its merger with BellSouth. Jeannine Kenney, a senior policy analyst at Consumers Union, said the condition has provided an "impetus" for Internet restrictions to be applied to all broadband providers. But in a statement, Verizon Communications lobbyist Peter Davidson insisted that net neutrality "is trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist."