A 2006 RFID Wrap-up

RFID Law Journal
Newsletter No. 35
December 31, 2006

The U.S. federal government played a significant role in driving RFID adoption in 2006 through its agency mandates, policies and spending decisions. A compliance-driven marketplace was particularly evident among DoD suppliers, who scrambled to educate themselves on the RFID and UID mandates. In 2006, it became evident that a number of other agencies will also play significant roles in establishing the timeline for adoption. While the federal government proved that it could promote the growth of RFID applications in 2006, industry participants faced initiatives, including those pertaining to privacy and data protection legislation, which could have tempered RFID’s growth in the coming years. The basic message - the industry must more effectively work with legislators to educate the public about the technology and its applications.

It seems likely that RFID legal developments in the coming year will probable follow a couple of trends established in 2006, including (1) expansion of the mandate-driven market, especially among DoD suppliers; (2) further adoption driven by government policies and spending decisions and (3) continuation of the privacy debate, which could potentially temper deployment decisions by government participants outside of basic supply chain applications.

We’d like to draw your attention to a couple of year-end overviews that may be of interest to our readers. RFID Product News provides a high level overview of legal issues for 2006. You can access this content at the following link: http://www.rfidproductnews.com/issues/2006.11/legal.side.php. RFID Update provides an interesting top 10 list for trends in the RFID marketplace observed in 2006. You can access this content at the following links:
http://www.rfidupdate.com/articles/index.php?id=1264
http://www.rfidupdate.com/articles/index.php?id=1266
http://www.rfidupdate.com/articles/index.php?id=1267

© 2006 – RFID Law Journal, LLC. All rights reserved.
Learn more about RFID legal issues at http://www.rfidlawjournal.com. You may contact our editor about this publication at editor@RFIDLawJournal.com. Usage of this material (and any linked materials provided by third party sites) is subject to the terms and conditions set forth at www.rfidlawjournal.com. You may not rely upon any material provided herein as legal or other advice. You should consult your own advisor (legal, investment or otherwise) with respect to the advisability or accuracy of any of the material provided in this newsletter or any other material provided by us. We are not responsible for and do not attest to the accuracy of any third party content.

RFID Policy Memo Wired into DSCP Guidebook

RFID Law Journal
Newsletter No. 34
December 31, 2006

RFID Law Journal has confirmed with appropriate authorities that CP Memo 06-32 is now wired into the local Philadelphia Center DSCP guidebook. You can access the guidebook at http://www.dscp.dla.mil/contract/dgpa/dgpahome.htm. This development could be viewed as an additional indication that RFID is now part of every day business at the Department of Defense. Of course, contracting officers have always been required to follow applicable regulations, including the RFID mandate. Readers may recall that CP Memo 06-32 details more exacting procedures for allowance of a deferral or waiver and would appear to close systemic loopholes. The latest development reinforces the point that the passive RFID requirements are here to stay.

© 2006 – RFID Law Journal, LLC. All rights reserved.
Learn more about RFID legal issues at http://www.rfidlawjournal.com. You may contact our editor about this publication at editor@RFIDLawJournal.com. Usage of this material (and any linked materials provided by third party sites) is subject to the terms and conditions set forth at www.rfidlawjournal.com. You may not rely upon any material provided herein as legal or other advice. You should consult your own advisor (legal, investment or otherwise) with respect to the advisability or accuracy of any of the material provided in this newsletter or any other material provided by us. We are not responsible for and do not attest to the accuracy of any third party content.

GAO Indicates Weakness in Border Security

RFID Law Journal
Newsletter No. 33
December 30, 2006

On December 6, 2006, the GAO published its report “Border Security: US-VISIT Program Faces Strategic, Operational & Technological Challenges at Land Ports of Entry”. While there are plenty of opinions on what this report means, you’re encouraged to read the full report at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07248.pdf.

There is certainly no ‘silver bullet’ for exit border procedures. Yet, with millions of us relying upon similar technology in our daily commutes (e.g., E-Z Pass), it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to understand why RFID represents part of an overall solution, given the significant demands on manpower and the ability of vicinity RFID systems to provide policymakers with critical leverage. While some shortcomings appear daunting at this stage, this is early in the game to cast a ballot against further experimentation with the applications of this technology in the context of improving border security systems.

As mentioned above, there is no shortage of opinions on what this GAO’s report means for border security or auto identification technologies. On December 15, 2006, the New York Times provided its color in a front page article entitled “U.S. Dropping Bid to Track if Visitors Leave.” On that same day, Washington Technology published “US VISIT Exit System Flaw: GAO,” which is found at http://www.washingtontechnology.com/news/1_1/daily_news/29857-1.html. On December 21, 2006, RFID Journal covered the report with its story entitled “GAO Report Highlights RFID Weaknesses in US-VISIT.”

© 2006 – RFID Law Journal, LLC. All rights reserved.
Learn more about RFID legal issues at http://www.rfidlawjournal.com/. You may contact our editor about this publication at editor@RFIDLawJournal.com. Usage of this material (and any linked materials provided by third party sites) is subject to the terms and conditions set forth at http://www.rfidlawjournal.com/. You may not rely upon any material provided herein as legal or other advice. You should consult your own advisor (legal, investment or otherwise) with respect to the advisability or accuracy of any of the material provided in this newsletter or any other material provided by us. We are not responsible for and do not attest to the accuracy of any third party content.

DoD - Clarifying the Default Rule on Passive RFID Requirements

RFID Law Journal
Newsletter No. 32
December 30, 2006

We’ve made the point more than a few times this past year that the Department of Defense is moving from the “carrot” to the “stick” phase of its rollout of its passive RFID requirements. With the third year of its three year rollout just around the corner, it’s not surprising that the DoD capped off the year with yet another notice to its vendors that essentially requires them to validate in processing their orders that they are shipping in compliance with the DoD’s RFID requirements. The text of the notice can be read at the following link which is entitled “Attention DIBBS Vendors Including EDI Vendors – DIBBS Quote Form and BATCH File Format Change – Effective December 17, 2006” https://www.dibbs.bsm.dla.mil/Notices/msgdspl.asp?MsgId=66 .

This most recent notice follows other significant policy change notices which foreshadowed for serious, long-term vendors that attention to RFID is a pre-condition to doing business with the DoD. For example, see “Significant Revision to our Previous Notice on New Passive RFID Requirements Effective July 19, 2006” https://www.dibbs.bsm.dla.mil/Notices/msgdspl.asp?MsgId=55) and “Passive RFID Requirements (May 25, 2006)” https://www.dibbs.bsm.dla.mil/Notices/msgdspl.asp?MsgId=52.

© 2006 – RFID Law Journal, LLC. All rights reserved.
Learn more about RFID legal issues at http://www.rfidlawjournal.com/. You may contact our editor about this publication at editor@RFIDLawJournal.com. Usage of this material (and any linked materials provided by third party sites) is subject to the terms and conditions set forth at http://www.rfidlawjournal.com/. You may not rely upon any material provided herein as legal or other advice. You should consult your own advisor (legal, investment or otherwise) with respect to the advisability or accuracy of any of the material provided in this newsletter or any other material provided by us. We are not responsible for and do not attest to the accuracy of any third party content.