The International Trade Commission has voted to institute a section 337 patent-based investigation on certain flat panel display devices and products containing same (used in applications such as televisions, computer monitors, laptop computers, mobile phones, and tablet devices), pursuant to a complaint filed by AU Optronics Corporation of Taiwan and AU Optronics Corporation America of Milpitas, CA , against Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., of Korea; Samsung Electronics America, Inc., of Ridgefield Park, NJ; AT&T, Inc., of Dallas, TX; Best Buy Co., Inc., of Richfield, MN; and BrandsMart USA, Inc., of Hollywood, FL. (Inv. No. 337-TA-793).
A closely watched FCC filing on reforming the Universal Service Fund to pay for broadband, which is backed by Comcast and others selling landline phone connections, will be ready as soon as next week. Verizon’s top executive in Washington predicted at a Minority Media and Telecom Council conference Thursday that the filing will be made next week and may be joined by the cable operator. Talks among many USF stakeholders led by USTelecom have been ongoing for some time, with the expectation of finishing the work this month or early next. Regardless of how wide support is for the USTelecom plan, the agency needs to soon approve an order on USF, Commissioner Robert McDowell told the conference. The USTelecom-led “framework” reached its conclusion in late June and has won favor with mid-sized telcos Windstream, CenturyLink and Frontier (CD July 6 p6).
The following are highlights of the House Ways and Means Committee's section-by-section summary of the draft U.S.-South Korea (KORUS) Free Trade Agreement Implementing Act, which would establish the necessary conditions for the FTA to enter into force.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted an updated version of its spreadsheet of ACE ESAR A2.2 (Initial Entry Types) programming issues.
The International Trade Commission has voted to institute a section 337 patent-based investigation of certain electric fireplaces, components thereof, certain processes for manufacturing or relating to same, and certain products containing same, pursuant to a complaint filed by Twin-Star International Inc. of Del Ray Beach, FL, and TS Investment Holding Corp. of Miami, FL against Shenzhen Reliap Industrial Co. of China; and Yue Qiu Sheng (a.k.a. Jason Yue) of China (Inv. No. 337-TA-791). (See ITT's Online Archives or 06/22/11 news, 11062236, for BP summary of ITC receiving this patent complaint.)
The International Trade Commission has determined to rescind the limited exclusion order against TPV Technology, Ltd.; TPV International (USA), Inc.; Top Victory Electronics (Taiwan) Co., Ltd.; and Envision Peripherals, Inc. (the TPV respondents), and the cease and desist order issued against TPV USA and Envision, in its patent-based investigation of certain digital televisions and certain digital products containing the same and methods of using the same (337-TA-617).
The International Trade Commission has voted to institute a section 337 patent-based investigation of certain universal serial bus (USB) portable storage devices, including USB flash drives and components thereof, pursuant to a complaint filed by Trek 2000 International Ltd., Technology (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., and S-Com System (S) Pte. Ltd. of Singapore against Imation Corporation of Oakdale, MN; IronKey Incorporated of Sunnyvale, CA; Kingston Technology Company, Incorporated, of Fountain Valley, CA; Patriot Memory, LLC, of Freemont, CA; RITEK Corporation of Taiwan; Advanced Media Inc./RITEK USA of Diamond Bar, CA; Verbatim Corporation, Incorporated, of Charlotte, NC; and Verbatim Americas LLC of Charlotte, NC. (Inv. No. 337-TA-788). (See ITT's Online Archives or 06/17/11 news, 11061762, for BP summary of ITC receiving this patent complaint.)
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.