From mech@eff.org Tue Sep 13 15:33:15 1994 Received: (from mech@localhost) by eff.org (8.6.9/8.6.6) id PAA10522 for mech; Tue, 13 Sep 1994 15:33:15 -0400 Date: Tue, 13 Sep 1994 15:33:15 -0400 From: Stanton McCandlish Message-Id: <199409131933.PAA10522@eff.org> To: mech@eff.org Status: RO Subject: IITF July Report (07/11/94) NEW 08/15/94 FOR PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION IITF COMMITTEE REPORT July 11, 1994 IITF: On July 7, Commerce Secretary Ronald Brown, Chair of the IITF, released the Preliminary Draft of its "Intellectual Property and the National Information Infrastructure" report. The report was prepared by the Intellectual Property Rights Working Group headed by Patent and Trademark Commissioner Bruce Lehman. The Working Group was established by Secretary Brown to determine whether changes in U.S. copyright law are needed to more adequately protect intellectual property rights on the information superhighway at home and abroad. The Working Group is issuing this Preliminary Draft of its Report to solicit public comment on the report and, particularly, its preliminary findings and recommendations. This report represents the Working Group's examination and analysis to date. While it addresses each of the major areas of intellectual property law, it focuses primarily on copyright law and its application and effectiveness in the context of the NII. NII Advisory Council: On June 20, the U.S. Advisory Council on the NII (NIIAC) held its fourth meeting at Weyerhaeuser Auditorium in St. Paul, Minnesota. At the meeting, the Council discussed the three Mega-Projects (Vision and Goals; Access; and Privacy, Security and Intellectual Property); agreed to work with Department of Commerce to develop a "Public Awareness and Dialogue Program" to provide information to the public on how the NII will change our lives; and received a report from Bruce Lehman (Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce) on the IITF's Intellectual Property Working Group's "Report on the Intellectual Property Implications of the NII." Laura Breeden of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) also made a presentation on the NII Grant Program. The next NIIAC meeting will be held on September 13 in New York, New York. Universal Service and Open Access Public Hearing: On July 12, the Universal Service Working Group will hold a public hearing co-sponsored by NTIA and the State of Indiana. The hearing will be held at the Indiana Government Center, 402 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana, and will examine how universal service and open access issues should be applied during the remainder of the decade and into the next century. NII Security Issues Forum Conference: On July 15, the NII Security Issues Forum and the NII Advisory Council will hold a public meeting from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. in the Department of Commerce Auditorium, Washington, D.C. The public meeting will address the security, integrity, and reliability of information on the emerging NII. International Telecommunications Conference: On July 27 and 28, the International Telecommunications Working Group will hold a public hearing on the international aspects of the NII in the context of an emerging Global Information Infrastructure (GII). The hearing will be held in the Grand Ballroom of the Georgetown University Conference Center (Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center), 3800 Reservoir Road, N.W., Washington, D.C. Applications Conference: On September 7 and 8, the Council on Competitiveness and the IITF will co-sponsor an applications conference entitled "Breaking the Barriers to the National Information Infrastructure." The conference will be held at the ANA Hotel in Washington, D.C. and will explore the range of applications being developed for the NII, with a special focus on obstacles faced by both developers and end users of such products. National Information Infrastructure Symposium: On October 17-19, the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) and the Office of Science and Technology Policy will hold a symposium at the U.S. Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island. The purpose of the symposium is to provide an opportunity for senior members of the Administration to meet with industry leaders to discuss key national security issues related to the NII. Telecommunications Policy Committee The Telecommunications Policy Committee (TPC) last met on June 14 at the Department of Commerce. During the first half hour of the meeting, each working group gave a progress report. The next hour and a half was open to the public, focusing on issues and concerns of the public interest community. Approximately sixty members of the public attended. Three representatives of the public interest community gave short presentations on such topics as the recent electronic "redlining" study and the "Public Right of Way" legislative proposal. Assistant Secretary Larry Irving then took audience questions and led a discussion on the role of the public interest community in the development of the information superhighway. The next public TPC meeting will be held on July 14, 1994, from 1:45 until 3:00 p.m. in Room 1412 of the Department of Commerce. The meeting will address concerns of the labor community, with specific emphasis on the impact of telecommunications and information technology growth on employment. The format of the meeting will allow ample time for public input and discussion. In order to register to attend the meeting, please contact Tatia Williams at (202) 482-1551 or twilliams@ntia.doc.gov. There will not be an August meeting. The next public meeting of the TPC will be held in September and will focus on issues and concerns of the broadcasting community. The Legislative Drafting Task Force continues to hold daily conference calls and meets frequently to discuss legislative policy issues and strategy. By a vote of 423-4, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3636 (Markey-Fields bill), addressing local competition issues. The House also passed H.R. 3626 (Dingell-Brooks bill), modifying restrictions on the Bell Operating Companies, by a vote of 423-5. On the Senate side, the Commerce Committee has concluded hearings and is expected to mark-up legislation later this month. The Universal Service Working Group continues to advise NTIA on its public hearings taking place around the country. The next hearing will take place in Indianapolis, Indiana on July 12, focusing on universal service and open access issues. The Universal Service Working Group is also planning a "virtual" or electronic hearing for late September. Summaries of all of the hearings are available through the IITF BBS. The International Telecommunications Working Group published a Federal Register notice announcing a public hearing on the international aspects of the National Information Infrastructure (NII) in the context of an emerging Global Information Infrastructure (GII) on Wednesday and Thursday, July 27 and 28, 1994 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Georgetown University Conference Center (Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center), 3800 Reservoir Road, N.W., Washington, D.C. The Working Group is seeking public input on the policy issues associated with the international dimension of technological convergence, and requests comments on a number of specific questions pertaining to international standards, the regulation of international communications and the GII. (For more detail, refer to 59 Fed. Reg. 31979-80, June 21, 1994.) A copy of this notice is also available on the IITF Bulletin Board. Interested parties are invited to testify and submit written comments. All requests to testify and a written copy of the testimony must be received by July 15, 1994. All other written comments must be received by August 12, 1994. Please send all testimony and written comments to Randall Cook, Room 5870, Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C. 20230. Those wishing to attend the hearing should register on or before July 22, 1994, by contacting Nicole Brown or Angie Mitchell at (202) 482-4772. The hearing is open to the public but preregistration is strongly preferred to ensure adequate seating. For further information contact Randall Cook by telephone at (202) 482-0490, facsimile at (202) 501-4695, electronic mail via the Internet at rcook@doc.gov or by mail at the address listed above. Committee on Applications and Technology The efforts of the Committee on Applications and Technology (CAT) during June focused on initiation of the second set of NII Application Papers and meetings of the working groups. The next public CAT meeting will be held at the State Department, Loy Henderson Auditorium in Washington, D.C. on July 27, 1994, from 10:45 -11:45 a.m. The first set of application papers, released for public comment in May, elicited both electronic and printed responses. The public input has initiated CAT interaction and collaboration with interested parties in both the private and public sectors. The second set of papers feature application areas that affect the "quality of life." Highlighted fields include emergency management, the arts and humanities, Americans with disabilities, transportation, public empowerment through environmental information, public safety, telecommuting, and energy demand management. This set of papers is currently being reviewed by CAT participants before presentation to the IITF for approval. The Government Information Technology Services Working Group (GITS WG), chaired by Jim Flyzik, met on June 7, 1994. Key issues discussed included outreach programs, alternative sources of support, alternative approaches for achieving greater efficiencies through consolidation of private networks, and progress reports by GITS champions. Briefings were held during the month of June for key Congressional Committee staff to bring them up to date on the progress by the GITS WG in implementing the National Performance Review (NPR) Information Technology (IT) initiatives. The Technology Policy Working Group (TPWG), chaired by Duane Adams, held a meeting on June 14, 1994. The TPWG finalized the process to develop the NII Roadmap. A workshop will be held in Fall 1994, which will develop the framework for the Roadmap. Drafts of the NII Services Architecture and the Advanced Video in the NII reports both are expected in late July. The full Standards Process project team has been assembled with representatives from NIST, FCC, OMB, NTIA, ARPA, DISA, and TVA. Co-sponsored by NIST and the Harvard Kennedy Business School, the first public activity for this project team was the Workshop on Standards and the NII held on June 15-16, 1994. The Health Information and Applications Working Group (HIA WG) met June 8 at NIST. In addition to subcommittee reports, a presentation on standards was made by Susan Katz from NIST. Following this presentation, the Working Group formed a new subcommittee on standards co-chaired by Susan Katz and Michael Fitsmaurice, Agency for Healthcare Policy and Research, U.S. Public Health Service. The Telemedicine subcommittee held a retreat in June for the purpose of defining the domain, developing a road map for future subcommittee activities and identifying other potential Federal participants. Working Group Chair, John Silva, and members of the Telemedicine subcommittee held a planning meeting for the purpose of organizing a workshop on telemedicine policy. The survey of Federal telemedicine grant programs is expected to be completed in July. Information Policy Committee The Information Policy Committee (IPC) last met on June 15, 1994. The agenda included an updated work plan as well as a review of the GILS Bulletin and the draft Intellectual Property Rights report. The Electronic Record FOIA Legislation Group has been formed as a subgroup of the Government Information Working Group (GIWG). It is chaired by Dan Metcalfe of the Department of Justice. This Group will consider possible legislative proposals to amend the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) with respect to the subject of electronic records. The Group is meeting weekly as it develops general principles for the treatment of records in an electronic age. The Intellectual Property Rights Working Group has met weekly as it drafts a report of its findings and recommendations regarding the effect of the National Information Infrastructure on intellectual property rights. The draft report was released July 7, 1994, and will be presented to the IITF and NII Advisory Council at their next meetings. The Working Group plans to hold conferences and hearings later this year to solicit public comment on the report and to initiate a dialogue on public education about the importance of intellectual property in the context of the NII. NII Security Issues Forum The NII Security Issues Forum coordinates security efforts -- defined as confidentiality, integrity, and availability -- across the IITF. Sally Katzen, chair, held the fourth meeting of the Forum on Tuesday, June 14, 1994. The agenda included: (1) approval of a paper, "Roles and Responsibilities: NII Security Issues Forum"; (2) discussion of the upcoming public meeting on Security and the NII; and (3) progress reports from other groups addressing related security issues. A public meeting, co-sponsored by the IITF and the NII Advisory Council (NIIAC), is planned for July 15 from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Individuals representing a wide array of public and private interests will present their views to the IITF and to the NIIAC of what will be required to ensure a secure NII. This all-day meeting will be held at the Department of Commerce Auditorium in Washington, D.C.