Three top tech firms posted impressive profits in the first quarter of 2010, promoting some investors and experts to predict that the technology sector will soon emerge from the economic downturn.

New releases this week show Google experienced a 37 percent jump in profits in just the first three months in 2010, while Intel Corp. witnessed a 44 percent uptick in growth. Chip manufacturer Advanced Microdrives Incorporated, meanwhile, realized a record 34 percent increase in revenue, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

A handful of other companies also regarded as industry bellwethers have yet to publicize their earnings.

Those numbers arrive in tandem with a similar positive shift in investment, which is up 14 percent this year. Venture capitalists have also poured more than $4.7 billion into 671 companies in the first three months of 2010, but that actually marks a 14 percent decrease since the fourth quarter of 2009. 

The handful of countries negotiating an expansive international copyright treaty will release a draft of their work next week.

The publication of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which has been negotiated in almost total secrecy since 2007, arrives as participating countries prepare to head into the "final stage" of talks, noted the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in a statement on Friday.

U.S. negotiators also revealed this morning that the forthcoming draft will not require Internet service providers (ISPs) to cut Web connections to users who steal music, movies and other forms of protected intellectual property more than three times.

It was once thought this "three-strikes" policy would be part of the original treaty, and would ultimately override U.S. laws that do not require ISPs to punish their customers for their conduct.

However, as the USTR noted in its statement, "While the participants recognise the importance of responding effectively to the challenge of Internet piracy, they confirmed that no participant is proposing to require governments to mandate a ‘graduated response’ or ‘three strikes’ approach to copyright infringement on the Internet."

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The United States has joined Russia and Germany in their investigation into whether Hewlett-Packard Co. executives paid millions in bribes to win a prized Russian contract.

The Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission announced on Friday it would examine whether a company subsidiary paid $10 million in bribes through back channels to obtain a $35-million contract with the Russian prosecutor general.

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, instituted in 1977, prohibits U.S. companies from pursuing such deals with foreign leaders. If found guilty, the DOJ could pursue criminal penalties against HP executives who lead the charge.

Additionally, the Securities and Exchange Commission could levy stiff civil penalties on the company, which only recently overcame a 2006 scandal that culminated with the resignation of former CEO Patty Dunn.

Already, Russian officials have raided HP's Moscow office, while German court records show the authorities have named three suspects.

A spokeswoman for HP told The Wall Street Journal on Friday that the company "is fully cooperating" with the international investigation. SEC officials, however, declined to comment on the early stages of the probe.

Three Senate Democrats are hoping to close a loophole in federal wiretapping laws that essentially allowed one Pennsylvania school to spy on a student using a laptop camera.

The "Surreptitious Video Surveillance Act," introduced Friday by Sens. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) and Ted Kaufman (D-Del.), would institute the nation's first explicit rules outlawing video-based surveillance. 

Under the new legislation, persons caught capturing and storing video without the taped user's consent would face the same civil and criminal penalties as those who wiretap an unsuspecting caller's phone.

The bill updates the current Wiretap Act, drafted in the 1960s at a time when Internet video did not even exist. According to Specter, who chiefly authored the new legislation, the revision is essential to safeguard Americans "from unwanted intrusions in their homes where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy."

“Many Americans would be surprised to learn that there is no federal statute to protect them from being secretly videotaped in their homes,” added Feingold, a co-sponsor.

“I am pleased to join Sens. Specters and Kaufman in introducing legislation that will close this loophole," he continued, noting, "This bill permits the government to conduct necessary surveillance while protecting the privacy rights of innocent Americans.”

The trio's effort arrives a few months after news broke that school administrators at Harriton High School in Pennsylvania had activated a webcam installed on one student's school-issued laptop without his knowledge or permission.

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What we're following on Friday, April 16:

Tech sector in hiring drive (Wall St. Journal) - It's not only Google, which witnessed a 37 percent uptick in profit last quarter, that's booming in the early days of 2010. Rather, the WSJ notes a much larger tech rebound is afoot, one that analyts predict will spur a tech spending and hiring spree. Notes the Journal: "The growth has reached a level where tech companies are pushing to hire again, in some cases engaging in heated competition for talent. That's a turnabout for the industry, which had a series of layoffs last year, when some tech giants, notably Microsoft Corp., had mass layoffs for the first time."

Venture capitalists continue to take it slow (NYT/Bits) -- "The venture capital industry seems to need a bit longer to recover after last year, when Silicon Valley froze  in response to the economic uncertainty," writes Claire Cain Miller for The New York Times. While she notes the industry has somewhat thawed in recent weeks, posting notable gains since the 2008 economic downturn slammed investors, new venture capital investments dipped 14 percent over the first quarter of 2010, according to the NYT's estimates.

Senators on key panel express confidence in cybersecurity nominee (WashPo) -- Lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee seemed generally pleased with the nomination of Lt. Gen. Keith B. Alexander to head up the U.S. military's new Cyber Command division. "Lawmakers are proceeding with Alexander's long-delayed confirmation," notes this morning's Post, "even though the Obama administration has not fully crafted the policies and rules governing offensive action in cyberspace, and even though it has yet to detail how the new organization will work with the DHS and the private sector in a crisis."

Panel debates Google-AdMob merger (Tech Daily Dose) -- A panel of private experts showcased the full gamut of reactions on Thursday to Google's proposed purchase of AdMob, a mobile advertising firm. The deal, which must still receive the Federal Trade Commission's nod of approval, would give Google an instant, 70 percent share of the mobile advertising market, Jonathan Kanter, an FTC attorney who now works in the private sphere, said during the discussion. Other panelists, however, were not as concerned. Per TDD: "But Glenn Manishin, a lawyer with Duane and Morris, argued that given how small the mobile advertising market is at this point, it's 'way too soon to make a judgment.'"

Microsoft says investigating China factory report (Reuters) -- Microsoft has launched an investigation into one of its Chinese plant's business practices, after a report found "that young workers... making its mice, cameras and Xbox controllers suffer overlong working hours and harsh treatment," according to Reuters. "We have a team of independent auditors en route to the facility to conduct a complete and thorough investigation," Brian Tobey, the head of manufacturing for Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices unit, wrote on a blog post picked up by Reuters. "If we find that the factory is not adhering to our standards, we will take appropriate action."

THURSDAY BLOG ROUNDUP:
Wireless industry exec praises spectrum plan - Juliana Gruenwald, Tech Daily Dose
Franken presses Holder on Comcast/NBC merger - Cecilia Kang, Post Tech
For better OGD compliance, don't force it - Matthew Burton, techPresident
U.S. should heed own advice on Web filters - Karl Bode, Tech Dirt
Company: Chinese cyberattack targeted Australia - Rohan Sullivan, AP
Meet Russian Pres. Medvedev, Internet geek - Declan McCullagh Cnet

OTHER STORIES FROM THE HILL:
Pelosi to music industry: You have army of advocates in Congress - The Hill
MPAA, RIAA, others: 'Detect, monitor' copyright infringement - The Hill
Rep. Blackburn: Net neutrality is 'naked power grab' - The Hill
GOP line-up adds Latta to House Comerce Committee - The Hill

Blair Levin, who headed up the FCC's National Broadband Plan effort, will depart the commission early next month to become a Communications and Society Fellow for the Aspen Institute.

The announcement Thursday puts an end to growing speculation over whether Levin, the executive director of the Omnibus Broadband Initiative, would remain with the agency now that the broadband plan is completed, or resume his job as an analyst for Stifel Nicolaus, a private investment firm.

“Blair has been masterful in providing wisdom to the Commission about how technology and market trends interact with the nation’s public policy agenda,” FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski noted in a statement on Thursday.

“His leadership in raising the quality of work and thought throughout the Commission is beyond measure and I am sure he will continue to make similar contributions for the country while he is at the Aspen Institute,” Genachowski added.

Levin will officially depart the FCC for his new fellow post on May 7. Perhaps serendipitously, some of his work there will focus on the National Broadband Plan that he and his coworkers at the commission delivered to lawmakers in early March.
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Seven entertainment industry groups recommended last month that federal officials crack down on music and movie piracy using technologies that would "detect, monitor (and filter) traffic" on infringing websites.

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and five other organizations also suggested that network administrators should begin "bandwidth shaping and throttling" in an attempt to deter online copyright infringement, which the groups agreed has harmed the entertainment industry writ large over the past decade.

Their recommendations arrive by way of the White House's ongoing review of intellectual property laws, led by Victoria Espinel, the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator.

Part of the Obama administration's examination of existing copyright protections included a just-closed public comment period, during which groups like the MPAA and RIAA were able to offer their insight into how federal officials should best crack down on online piracy.

According to their joint filing, first parsed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), "Copyright theft undermines the sales, profitability and competitiveness of the U.S. economy and workforce, and has a significant adverse impact on the economy as a whole."

As a result, the groups recommend of "several technologies and methods that can be used by network administrators and providers..." to crack down on online piracy.

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The House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously approved a bill Thursday that seeks to address security vulnerabilities in the nation's energy grid.

The legislation, which now heads to the House floor, would charge the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) with the responsibility of identifying and addressing weaknesses in the country's energy delivery system.

The Grid Reliability and Infrastructure Defense (GRID) Act arrives at the behest of lawmakers and experts who fear hackers and other cyber-terrorists could easily de-stabilize the country's energy systems remotely, causing untold harm to both the federal government and the private sphere.

Closing those prospective security holes is crucial for Democrats, especially, if they hope soon to forge ahead with their plans to establish a Web-based "Smart Grid" that allows Americans to gauge their energy use.

“Right now, our electrical grid is vulnerable to threats from terrorists and hostile countries. Our adversaries have motive, intent, and the capacity to exploit these weaknesses,” said Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the chairman of the Energy and Environment Subcommittee and the bill's co-sponsor, following Thursday's 47-0 vote.

“Every one of our nation’s critical systems – water, healthcare, telecommunications, transportation, law enforcement, and financial services – depends on the grid,” Markey said in a statement stressing the legislation's importance.