SAN FRANCISCO -- The legal system must recognize information law as a cohesive field crossing several traditional doctrines and the world’s many jurisdictions, to lay a good foundation for a long era of new rules supporting innovation, said Kent Walker, Google’s general counsel. “If you get that foundation wrong, the house is going to go off in a funky direction,” he said at the Corporate Counsel West Coast Conference. And in-house lawyers should stop being largely naysayers and become agents of change with regulators and those at other companies in addition to within their own, he said.
Major Questions Doctrine
DALLAS -- Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, is “confident” that her joint spectrum bill with Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., will get through both houses of Congress and be signed this year, she said in response to our question after a speech at the TIA convention. Hutchison said the bill has “changed enormously” since Rockefeller initially introduced it, making it more appealing to both parties.
Standards bodies like 3GPP and carriers may have different interpretations of 4G, but they all consider things like spectrum efficiency and latency to be critical elements of the technology, experts said in interviews. Meanwhile, public safety has its own approach on 4G, public safety experts told us.
The National Association of Manufacturers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and TechAmerica called on the FCC not to rush to reclassify broadband as a Title II service in the wake of the Comcast decision. Each said it planned to file reply comments on the net neutrality proceeding to the FCC shortly before the deadline late Monday. Several groups put out statements to get their positions heard ahead of a likely deluge of filings. The FCC said it received more than 100,000 comments in its first comment round (CD Jan 19 p1).
Net neutrality and wireless competition regulation emerged during a cordial House FCC oversight hearing Thursday as two potentially divisive issues facing policymakers. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski responded cautiously to questions on a range of telecom policy matters at the Communications Subcommittee hearing. He told members he’s committed to upgrading the FCC regulatory processes, modernizing operations and delivering the broadband plan on time. Genachowski expressed his longstanding commitment to preserving an open Internet, and also said he has no plans to reinstate the fairness doctrine, a concern raised by several members.
LAS VEGAS -- A backlog of perhaps several hundred TV license renewals persists at the FCC (CD Feb 8 p3/07) because the stations are the subjects of old indecency complaints and the commission is awaiting rulings on several court cases, industry lawyers said Monday. Speakers on an NAB panel complained that some licenses have been held up for years. They said the FCC has asked licensees that needed renewals to sell stations to agree to let the FCC take enforcement action for an indefinite time in exchange for clearance. Under acting Chairman Michael Copps, the period is down to two years, they said.
Broadcasters should take heed that support is growing in Congress for legislation requiring the payment of radio- performance royalties, House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., said at the NAB legislative conference Tuesday. “My advice: It’s time to start talking.” Broadcasters should start negotiations with record labels, cable, satellite and Internet radio industries on a fair payment system.
Democrats adopted a platform plank ordering clarity on broadcasters’ public interest obligations, and pledging policies to increase media ownership diversity, according to the final document. Under the heading “A Connected America,” the document said a Democratic administration will promote new media outlets for expressing diverse viewpoints and defining broadcasters’ public interest obligations.
Limits may be needed on police searches and seizures as more people use iPhones and other smart electronic devices, Adam Gershowitz, professor at the South Texas College of Law, said in a paper. The doctrine of search incident to arrest - - intended to keep police and evidence safe -- can be read as allowing police to sift an iPhone’s e-mails, Internet browser history and other private data, all without a warrant, the paper said. Legal experts we talked with said the opportunity for abusing Fourth Amendment protections is real, but changing the law could be an uphill battle.
The U.S. Appeals Court for the Federal Circuit sent back to a district court a patent infringement complaint against Sprint Nextel by Alfred McZeal and his business, International Walkie Talkie. The court vacated and remanded for further proceeding an order by the U.S. District Court for southern Texas dismissing McZeal’s complaint for failure to state a claim. McZeal “met the low bar for pro se litigants to avoid dismissal,” Judge Glenn Archer wrote in the majority opinion. Judge Timothy Dyk dissented in part. Sprint didn’t comment by our deadline.