The breadth of RIAA’s campaign against “infringement on a gigantic scale” doesn’t justify a refusal to give up attorney billing records in a single case, U.S. Dist. Court, Oklahoma City, ruled in Capitol v. Foster. After seeking to dismiss the case last year, the trade group has tangled with defendant Debbie Foster, whose demands for reimbursement of attorney’s fees recently was granted. When RIAA replied with a motion for reconsideration (WID Feb 26 p2), Foster filed to compel release of RIAA lawyer bills. RIAA said its “litigation investment cannot be easily distilled” to a sum for Foster alone, and that its billing data cover its campaign en masse, not by case. The RIAA has given “every indication” it will “vigorously challenge” Foster’s demand for attorney’s fees, Judge Lee West said, which under 10th Circuit rules means its billing records are a “useful factor” in deciding the Foster request’s reasonableness. West noted a 1986 Supreme Court decision citing a 1980 U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., ruling: “The government cannot litigate tenaciously and then be heard to complain about the time necessarily spent by the plaintiff in response.” The court understands that billing records are not an “immutable yardstick” for setting Foster’s compensation, and will weigh the breadth of RIAA’s litigation portfolio in deciding how much Foster gets, West said. RIAA has until March 26 to hand over the requested materials. West also approved RIAA’s motion to file a response to Foster, who objected to RIAA’s motion for reconsideration of the fee award. That filing is due March 22.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has announced that it is initiating changed circumstances reviews of the antidumping (AD) duty orders on ball bearings and parts thereof from Italy and the United Kingdom.
Widespread agency confusion on what records can be released under Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests is partly to blame for delayed responses and noncompliance with the 1996 Internet update to FOIA, witnesses told a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wed. Patience for agency lagging has a price that Internet writers and ordinary citizens can’t afford, media representatives said, noting costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to sue for information. The Internet is the ideal medium for FOIA processing -- “if it is working,” Chmn. Leahy (D-Vt.) said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a final rule, effective April 5, 2007, to amend 19 CFR Parts 12 and 163 to set forth special requirements for the entry of certain cement products from Mexico requiring a U.S. Department of Commerce import license, including the requirement that the importer submit to CBP an import license number on the entry summary (CBP Form 7501) or on the application for foreign trade zone (FTZ) admission and/or status designation (CBP Form 214).
American Shipper reports thatwhile the Commerce and Homeland Security departments hash out the details of the proposed mandatory electronic filing of export information via the Automated Export System, exporters and freight forwarders are concerned whether U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is prepared for the significant changes to U.S. export control practices. The article states that exporters and forwarders are worried that unprepared CBP inspectors in the port offices will cause undue stress in penalties and cargo holds. The article adds that it is critical that CBP has a policy that goes across the board and that one port is not doing more enforcement than another. (American Shipper Pub February 2007, www.americanshipper.com)
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued a final rule, effective April 5, 2007, to implement the Mexican Cement Import Licensing System, which among other things, requires all importers of subject cement from Mexico to obtain an import license prior to completing their U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) entry summary.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) and the International Trade Commission (ITC) have each issued a notice initiating an automatic five-year Sunset Review on the antidumping (AD) duty order for automotive replacement glass windshields from China.
Article 1, Clause 5, of the Constitution, the so-called "Export Clause," provides that "No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State". This clause was an issue recently in case upon which the Court of International Trade ruled, Nufarm America's Inc. v .U.S.
Cyren Call considers itself in a long term audition to run a proposed public safety broadband trust but expects competition, Cyren Call founder Morgan O'Brien said in an interview for C-SPAN’s series “The Communicators” that was set to air over the weekend. O'Brien conceded that time is running short, with the 700 MHz auction expected to start as early as this summer. Meanwhile, Sen. McCain (R-Ariz.) made good on a promise to introduce legislation that would set aside 30 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum for a public-safety broadband network.
Cyren Call considers itself in a long term audition to run a proposed public safety broadband trust but expects competition, Cyren Call founder Morgan O'Brien said in an interview for C-SPAN’s series “The Communicators” that was set to air over the weekend. O'Brien conceded that time is running short, with the 700 MHz auction expected to start as early as this summer. Meanwhile, Sen. McCain (R-Ariz.) made good on a promise to introduce legislation that would set aside 30 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum for a public-safety broadband network.