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Daily Archives: June 12, 2012

EPIC – FCC Issues Stronger Telemarketing Rules to Protect Consumers

EPIC: “The Federal Communications Commission’s final rule amending the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) regulations is now in effect. The rule requires “(1)prior express written consent for all autodialed or prerecorded telemarketing calls to wireless numbers and residential lines; (2) allow[s] consumers to opt out of future robocalls during a robocall; (3) limit[s] permissible abandoned calls on a per-calling campaign basis, in order to discourage intrusive calling campaigns; and (4) exempts prerecorded calls to residential lines made by health care-related entities governed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.” EPIC has previously urged the Commission to require express consumer consent for telemarketing calls and to protect wireless subscribers from telemarketing. For more information, see EPIC: Telemarketing and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).”

TRAC: Decline in Federal Criminal Immigration Prosecutions

“The latest available data from the Justice Department show a marked decline in criminal immigration prosecutions processed in federal district courts. As of March 2012, prosecutions resulting from referrals by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were down 12 percent compared with last year’s figures, while criminal prosecutions resulting from investigations by Customs and Border Protection… Continue Reading

AAUP – Recommended Principles & Practices to Guide Academic-Industry Relationships

“The AAUP is pleased to issue this comprehensive draft report, Recommended Principles and Practices to Guide Academic-Industry Relationships, for public comment…This is one of the longest reports that the AAUP has ever produced. It deals with issues that are in the news every week and that are having a critical impact on higher education in… Continue Reading

USPTO – Intellectual Property and the U.S. Economy

“Patents, trademarks, and copyrights are the principal means for establishing ownership rights to inventions and ideas, and provide a legal foundation by which intangible ideas and creations generate tangible benefits to businesses and employees. Intellectual property (IP) protection affects commerce throughout the economy by: providing incentives to invent and create; protecting innovators from unauthorized copying;… Continue Reading

Review of the 21st Century Truck Partnership, Second Report

“In July 2010, the National Research Council (NRC) appointed the Committee to Review the 21st Century Truck Partnership, Phase 2, to conduct an independent review of the 21st Century Truck Partnership (21CTP). The 21CTP is a cooperative research and development (R&D) partnership including four federal agencies-the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Department of Transportation… Continue Reading

IC3 2011 Internet Crime Report Released

[May 10, 2012] – The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) released the 2011 Internet Crime Report — an overview of the latest data and trends of online criminal activity. According to the report, 2011 marked the third year in a row that the IC3 received more than 300,000 complaints. The 314,246 complaints represent a 3.4… Continue Reading