Russia and Arab nations and some others back a proposal that the ITU launch a “mark” program encouraging telecom gear interoperability and compatibility, but U.S. officials cited potential liability and budgetary issues. Developing nations have the most to gain from efforts at standardization. A compromise at the World Telecom Standardization Assembly may emerge Monday, U.S. Ambassador David Gross told us.
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 October 8 - October 17, 2008 (certain other dates are also included):
More lawsuits over broadband early termination fees could loom, lawyers and consumer groups said in comments on a recent suit against Qwest fees for DSL service. ETFs, common in the wireless sector, only recently have begun to see use in broadband services, with carriers using them retain existing customers, Consumer Union said. Qwest was named in a multi-state class action lawsuit last week in Washington. Qwest doesn’t comment on pending lawsuits, a spokesman said.
Last-minute proposals to the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly raised industry and government support and concerns over conformance schemes aimed at helping developing countries increase interconnectivity and interoperability and make telecom procurement easier. Detractors said evaluating conformance could violate international trade rules on technical barriers. The proposals will be weighed during the Assembly, Tuesday to Oct. 30.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission will hold a conference call on October 20, 2008 to discuss its proposed rule on labeling requirements for toy and game advertising. The call is intended to inform the public about the details of the proposed rule and give interested stakeholders the opportunity to raise questions and share concerns about the rulemaking. (CPSC Public Calendar, dated 10/15/08, available at http://www.cpsc.gov/calendar.html.)
A number of documents have been posted to the International Trade Data System1 Web site, including one from U.S. Customs and Border Protection that discusses the functionality that will be available to certain ITDS Participating Government Agencies in future Automated Commercial Environment releases2.
The International Trade Administration has initiated administrative reviews of the following antidumping and countervailing duty orders for certain specified companies listed in the initiation notice.
Core Communications never got past questions about its legal standing in challenging FCC denial of its forbearance petition as the competitor and the agency faced off Tuesday before a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Observers predicted Core will lose, noting that the judges asked few questions about the substance of its complaint. Observers also see the case as largely a sideshow, with the real action to come next month, when the FCC is to address intercarrier compensation rules at its Nov. 4 agenda meeting.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted the draft agenda for the 2008 Trade Symposium, which will be held on October 29-31, 2008 in Washington, DC.
The reach of ICANN’s Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) is getting a high-profile test in an ambitious effort by Kentucky to seize the domain names of gambling Web sites for violating state law. Kentucky says only the domain owners can contest the seizure, but, by order of Franklin County Judge Thomas Wingate, the state filed a brief replying to gambling trade groups contesting Kentucky’s authority. A hearing is set for Tuesday on the state’s forfeiture motion.