The week in tech: Round two in Web rules fight

The starting gun is about to go off in what will likely be a long and protracted legal battle over federal net neutrality regulations.

The 400-page Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations are to be published in the Federal Register on Monday morning, marking the official start of the window for opponents to file their lawsuits.

Though the FCC approved the regulations in a closely watched vote back in February, most legal analysts believe that a lawsuit could not be brought until after the rules had been formally published in the Register. 

{mosads}And come the lawsuits will. Trade groups including the National Cable and Telecommunications Association and CTIA-The Wireless Association are expected to file suit against the regulations, claiming that the FCC over-extended its authority by deciding to treat broadband Internet service like a public utility.

The first legal challenges to the regulations were actually filed last month, but many watchers expect them to be tossed out because they came before their formal publication in the Federal Register.

Defending the rules won’t be a new position for the FCC. The agency has long expected a legal challenge to the new regulations, its previous rules having been tossed out by a top appeals court last year.

Publication of the rules in the Federal Register also starts the clock on the countdown to their formal enactment. While the rules have been public for weeks, they don’t officially take effect until 60 days after publication, which would be June 11.

Separately, a pair of House committees will get right to work on patent reform legislation when lawmakers return from their two-week recess.

On Tuesday, U.S. Patent and Trademark Director Michelle Lee will testify in front of the Judiciary Committee on the Innovation Act, a bill meant to cut down on abusive patent litigation that overwhelmingly passed the House last Congress. While Lee has endorsed the broad idea of patent reform, she has declined to state her position on the bill. Representatives from Yahoo and Salesforce.com will also testify, as will an opponent of the bill from the biotech industry.

Another committee will take up draft legislation that aims to curb the abuse of bad faith demand letters.

On Thursday, an Energy and Commerce subcommittee will discuss draft legislation to thwart abusive demand letters — one of the first steps in patent litigation in which a company can allege infringement and threaten legal action. Critics say so-called patent trolls can send thousands of vague demand letters to different companies, hoping for an easy payout. The legislation would give the Federal Trade Commission more power to regulate abuse. 

Rep. Michael Burgess’s (R-Texas) TROL Act goes further to codify the FTC’s power than the Innovation Act, which simply expresses a “sense of Congress” that the agency has authority over abusive letters.

“The TROL Act offers a balanced solution to this pressing problem, targeting bad actors without compromising a strong patent system that is necessary to protect innovation and job growth,” Burgess said in a statement.

On Friday, the Federal Communications Commission will hold its monthly meeting, where it will take a look at a pair of issues related to the nation’s airwaves. 

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