The International Trade Commission has announced the institution of an investigation and the commencement of a preliminary phase antidumping duty injury investigation regarding large power transformers from Korea that are provided for in HTS subheading 8504.23.00.
A hearing is set for October in Mattel’s motion asking a federal judge to dismiss MGA Entertainment’s antitrust suit. MGA, which has been in a legal battle with Mattel over the Bratz Dolls for six years, sued the toymaker on antitrust grounds in February in U.S. District Court, L.A. The complaint alleged Mattel engaged in unfair business practices and anticompetitive practices in seeking to freeze Bratz products out of the market. Mattel, which filed a motion to dismiss the case in March, has argued the suit repeats allegations from earlier legal actions and seeks to split claims, something that is barred by federal law. Mattel also is seeking a retrial after a federal jury in April rejected claims that MGA stole the idea for Bratz products. The jury turned aside Mattel copyright infringement claims and slapped the company with $88.4 million in economic damages. The jury found Mattel stole 26 of 114 trade secrets MGA listed. MGA’s sales declined from $800 million five years ago to $50 million, analysts said. Mattel is awaiting U.S. District Court Judge David Carter’s ruling on its motion for retrial and has maintained that MGA CEO Isaac Larian’s testimony poisoned the jury. Mattel spent about $400 million on the long-running legal battle, analysts said. MGA, which requested $161 million in legal fees after the second jury verdict, agreed to a court discovery master’s recommendation for $108 million, according to court records. MGA’s request was “both fair and reasonable and supported by the record,” discovery master Robert O'Brien said in a decision unsealed earlier this month. O'Brien recommended that Mattel pay $84 million to compensate MGA for defending Mattel’s copyright infringement claims and $23 million to cover legal fees associated with MGA’s trade secrets claims against Mattel. “We were disappointed with the jury verdict and by no means is this over,” Mattel CEO Robert Eckert said Friday in an earnings conference call. “The verdict wasn’t supported by the evidence or the law.” Mattel incurred about $6 million in Q2 in costs tied to the case and expects to spend another $26 million on it in the second half, Chief Financial Officer Robert Farr said. Meanwhile, Mattel’s Q2 profit improved to $80.5 million from $51.6 million as net revenue rose to $1.16 billion from $1 billion a year earlier, company officials said. Analysts had forecast Q2 sales of $1.11 billion. Sales of Mattel’s entertainment products, including those tied to movies and Radica electronics gear, rose 41 percent, Farr said. Mattel also has licenses to develop products for Pixar/Disney’s Brave 3D movie that’s due next June and Planes, which arrives in 2013. Mattel recently signed a deal with DreamWorks for several movies, including Madagascar 3, the company has said.
The following are highlights of the House Ways and Means Committee's section-by-section summaries of the draft U.S.-Colombia, and U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreements Implementing Acts, which would establish the necessary conditions for the free trade agreements to enter into force.
The International Trade Commission has voted to institute a section 337 patent-based investigation of certain coenzyme Q10 products and method of making same (used in "heart healthy" nutritional supplements and in "anti-aging" cosmetics), pursuant to a complaint filed by Kaneka Corporation of Japan against Zhejiang Medicine Co., Ltd.; ZMC-USA, LLC; Xiamen Kingdomway Group Company; Pacific Rainbow International, Inc.; Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc.; Maypro Industries, Inc.; and Shenzhou Biology & Technology Co., Ltd. (Inv. No. 337-TA-790). (See ITT's Online Archives or 06/22/11 news, 11062238, for BP summary of ITC receiving this patent complaint.)
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has announced decisions not to initiate two “Section 301” investigations1. The decisions are in response to separate petitions filed in May 2011 requesting investigation of alleged: (i) misconduct by the Government of Israel during the negotiation in the 1980s of the U.S.-Israel Free Trade Agreement; and (ii) expropriations without adequate compensation by the Dominican Republic, resulting in an alleged breach of the Dominican Republic’s obligations under the DR-CAFTA2, etc.
The International Trade Commission has voted to institute a section 337 patent-based investigation of certain motion-sensitive sound effects devices and image display devices and components and products containing same, including various types of electronic devices, such as cellular phones, computers, toys, and video games, pursuant to a complaint filed by Ogma, LLC, of Longview, TX against 16 respondents, including Toshiba Corporation of Japan and Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., of Irvine,CA (Inv. No. 337-TA-787). (See ITT's Online Archives or 06/17/11 news, 11061761, for BP summary of ITC receiving this patent complaint.)
The International Trade Commission has voted to institute a section 337 patent-based investigation of certain integrated circuits, chipsets, and products containing same including televisions, pursuant to a complaint filed by Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., of Austin, TX against Funai Electric Co., Ltd., of Japan; Funai Corporation, Inc., of Rutherford, NJ; MediaTek Inc. of Taiwan; and Zoran Corporation of Sunnyvale, CA (Inv. No. 337-TA-786). (See ITT's Online Archives or 06/14/11 news, 11061456, for BP summary of ITC receiving this patent complaint.)
The International Trade Commission is terminating the Section 337 patent-based investigation of certain flash memory and products containing the same (337-TA-685), which was based on a complaint filed by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. of Korea against 12 respondents. The ITC has determined to grant a consent motion to terminate the investigation based upon settlement. (See ITT's Online Archives or 09/02/09 and 03/09/11 news, 09090240 and 11030950, for BP summaries of the institution of this patent investigation, and a request for public interest comments.)
The International Trade Commission is terminating the Section 337 patent-based investigation of certain electronic devices, including mobile phones, portable music players, and computers (337-TA-701), which was based on a complaint filed by Nokia Corporation of Finland and Nokia Inc. of White Plains, New York against Apple, Inc., of Cupertino, CA. The ITC has determined to grant the joint motion by the complainants and respondent to terminate the investigation on the basis of a settlement agreement. (See ITT's Online Archives or 01/27/11 news, 10012725, for BP summary of the institution of this patent investigation.)
Despite significant strides, the videogame industry still faces several challenges, including piracy and a Canadian tariff that the Entertainment Software Association said “would expose publishers to additional royalties” for music used in games when they're distributed online, said its annual report released Wednesday. The report was released a week after the Supreme Court handed the game industry a major victory, ruling 7-2 that California’s violent videogame law was unconstitutional (CED June 28 p1).