The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Feb. 6-12:

CBP recently "discovered that ACE may be increasing the number of late file cases due to a glitch," a CBP spokeswoman said. The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America first mentioned the issue in a Feb. 13 email to members. CBP told the NCBFAA that it "is investigating the increase in 'late payment' penalties being issued," according to the trade group. "The Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures (FP&F) field offices have been notified to thoroughly research liquidated damages claims before issuing to ensure that systems-caused late files are not subjected to claims," the NCBFAA said. "CBP will also review previously issued penalties and where warranted, cancel."

The World Trade Organization recently posted the following notices:

When FCC Chairman Ajit Pai axed numerous bureau inquiries and actions earlier this month without prior notice or explanation (see 1702030058 and 1702030070), he was well within his rights under the Administrative Procedures Act, APA and communications law experts tell us. Ending inquiries into issues like zero rating effectively signals taking a different enforcement direction without having to go through a process of eliminating those rules -- an approach numerous agencies under the Trump administration likely will take, some said.

When FCC Chairman Ajit Pai axed numerous bureau inquiries and actions earlier this month without prior notice or explanation (see 1702030058 and 1702030070), he was well within his rights under the Administrative Procedures Act, APA and communications law experts tell us. Ending inquiries into issues like zero rating effectively signals taking a different enforcement direction without having to go through a process of eliminating those rules -- an approach numerous agencies under the Trump administration likely will take, some said.

No disruptive gap in privacy oversight will result if Congress goes forward with GOP plans to kill FCC ISP privacy rules, industry officials representing ISPs told us. They point to Section 222 of the Communications Act as the backstop authority that would give the FCC a role even without the specific rules in place anymore, with an expectation that the FTC eventually would replace that FCC oversight role after later changes to broadband classification. Defenders of the FCC’s rules said both agencies should remain cops on the privacy beat and questioned whether the scenario would play out so neatly. Democratic FTC Commissioner Terrell McSweeny and House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., jointly pressed for maintaining the FCC rules.

No disruptive gap in privacy oversight will result if Congress goes forward with GOP plans to kill FCC ISP privacy rules, industry officials representing ISPs told us. They point to Section 222 of the Communications Act as the backstop authority that would give the FCC a role even without the specific rules in place anymore, with an expectation that the FTC eventually would replace that FCC oversight role after later changes to broadband classification. Defenders of the FCC’s rules said both agencies should remain cops on the privacy beat and questioned whether the scenario would play out so neatly. Democratic FTC Commissioner Terrell McSweeny and House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., jointly pressed for maintaining the FCC rules.

Paice and the Abell Foundation filed a Section 337 complaint at the International Trade Commission on Feb. 2, alleging Ford is importing hybrid vehicles that infringe its patents. Paice, which says it invented many of the most important technologies used in hybrid cars today, alleges it worked closely with Ford for years before Ford broke the business relationship “after learning everything it needed” and used the technology in its hybrid cars without a license. Paice and Abell, a Baltimore charity that co-owns the patents, recently settled a similar Section 337 case with Volkswagen. Paice and Abell seek a limited exclusion order and cease and desist order banning importation and sale of infringing hybrid cars. The ITC is asking for comments by Feb. 16 (here) on public interest issues raised by the complaint.

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Jan. 30 - Feb. 5:

The Irish High Court Tuesday will begin hearing a case involving Facebook's use of standard contractual clauses (SCCs) that could potentially have ramifications for EU-U.S. trade and the privacy rights of European citizens. In a move similar to the challenge against safe harbor, the Office of the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) is questioning whether SCCs, which many companies use to transfer people's personal data across the Atlantic, provide adequate protection of information (see 1607060009). Tuesday's hearing will focus on whether the court should refer the case on the validity of SCCs to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Several experts Monday said they expect the case will be heard by the EU's high court.