The National EBS Association and the Catholic Television Network tried but failed to agree on how best to use white spaces between the 2.5 GHz licenses their members hold, officials involved in the discussions told us Tuesday. NEBSA and CTN, more often on the same page in recent years, ended up making different proposals to the FCC. Industry officials said lack of agreement between the two groups likely means the FCC won’t act on the item in the near future.
Circuit City CEO Philip Schoonover’s departure may signal plans for store closings as the retailer struggles to right itself, analysts and CE executives told Consumer Electronics Daily Tuesday.
The following Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) and Court of International Trade (CIT) cases on international trade issues were dated, decided, or posted during the period of September 16-18, 2008:
The International Trade Commission has instituted a section 337 patent-based investigation of automotive multimedia display and navigation systems, components thereof, and products containing same pursuant to a complaint.
The International Trade Commission has instituted a section 337 patent-based investigation of certain integrated circuits and products containing the same, pursuant to a complaint.
Nintendo of America will “vigorously defend” itself, a company spokesman said after the U.S. International Trade Commission announced it will investigate the importation of the Wii console and remote based on a patent-infringement complaint filed last month by Hillcrest Labs (CED Aug 21 p8).
The International Trade Commission has instituted a section 337 investigation of certain cast steel railway wheels, certain processes for manufacturing or relating to same and certain products containing same pursuant to a complaint.
The West Virginia Consumer Advocate Division (CAD) urged state regulators to deny a Verizon request to shield from public view certain confidential business information Verizon filed in a Public Service Commission investigation into the telco’s service quality. Verizon sought a protective order for what it called “proprietary and confidential” business information on network expenses and investment, asset categories and accounts, wire center access line breakouts by customer class, internal network operation reports and network operation practices. But the CAD said the state’s freedom of information (FOIA) law sets a much tighter standard than federal law in defining trade secrets that are immune from public disclosure. The CAD said the information Verizon seeks to shield isn’t a trade secret as defined by the state FOIA law, so its request for a shield should be denied. The CAD said that if the state legislature had wanted to mirror federal FOIA laws, it would have done so. The PSC (Case 08-0761-T-GI) is investigating staff and CAD complaints that Verizon service quality has deteriorated sharply over the last three years.
Provisions to let the Justice Department seize computers used for P2P infringement (WID July 25 p3) were weakened in the amended Enforcement of Intellectual Property Act (S- 3325), passed 14-4 by the Senate Judiciary Committee in an unusually brief markup Thursday. The bill still lets the agency sue file-sharers, though. A manager’s amendment directs a court that’s hearing an infringement case to “enter an appropriate protective order” to impound records to ensure that sensitive information isn’t disclosed. Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said the committee “very recently” heard concerns about the “privacy interests of innocent third parties” when the government seizes servers. The amendment requires formation of an “advisory committee” for the intellectual property enforcement coordinator created in the original bill. Its Senate-confirmed members would include representatives of the Office of Management and Budget, DoJ, the Patent and Trademark Office, the Office of U.S. Trade Representative, the Copyright Office, the departments of State and Homeland Security, the Food and Drug Administration and some component agencies. The words “piracy” and its variants were replaced with “infringement.” The amendment would ensure that at least two assistant U.S. attorneys are assigned to each office with a computer hacking and intellectual property crime unit. An approved amendment by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, would repeal the section of the law creating the National Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordination Council but let the new coordinator called for by the bill use the phased-out council’s services and personnel to ensure an “orderly transition.”
The International Trade Commission has instituted a section 337 patent-based investigation of certain peripheral devices and components thereof and products containing the same pursuant to a complaint.