On March 15, 2006, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4944, the "Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2006" (Act) by a vote of 412 - 2.
Internet piracy is up in China, as enforcement gaps that let physical piracy flourish plague the online setting, too, the Senate Finance Committee heard Wed. from a music industry expert. The multiplicity of broadband pipes and mobile applications puts China in the lead as a source of digital piracy problems, RIAA Senior Vp Joseph Papovich told a hearing aimed at reexamining U.S.-China relations.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted a summary of changes to the Automated Export System (AES) Trade Interface Requirements (AESTIR) on its Web site, indicating that Version 1.0 was changed on March 16, 2006 and March 22, 2006 as follows:
Verizon, seeking to snare TV customers, slammed Cablevision at the FCC for refusing a deal to let it carry the pay TV rival’s sports networks. Cablevision abused “monopoly power” in not following program access rules, repeatedly putting off a carriage deal for channels featuring the Boston Celtics and N.Y.’s Knicks and Rangers, said a Verizon FCC complaint. Cablevision shot back that the Bell should focus on carriage negotiations. Verizon faces challenges in getting permission to carry networks owned by other companies, said analysts.
Ill. should pay $644,545 in legal fees the Entertainment Software Assn. (ESA) ran up fighting the state’s “unsuccessful effort” to bar rental or sale of violent videogames to minors there, ESA said in a filing to U.S. Dist. Court, Chicago. ESA Pres. Douglas Lowenstein indicated ESA would use the tactic again, telling Consumer Electronics Daily “we've taken similar actions in the past and we will continue to take these actions at the appropriate time everywhere.” ESA has been awarded fees in similar St. Louis County and Wash. state cases, he said.
A S. Korean free trade pact should involve copyright law reforms reflecting an emerging global consensus, intellectual property (IP) rights advocates told govt. trade officials Tues.
A recent Journal of Commerce editorial regarding the delay in the issuance of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS') seal regulation notes that while non-electronic seals might suffice for low-volume ports, it is not realistic for a large port. One of the sources quoted in the editorial notes that this is why the trade is working hard to create an e-seal standard. (JoC, dated 02/20/06, www.joc.com.)
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has begun proceedings to revoke the ocean transportation intermediary (OTI) licenses of 8 entities as a result of their failure to replace their OTI surety bonds with a valid bond issued by a surety company currently certified by the Treasury Department (Treasury).
CBP has posted a summary of changes to the Automated Export System (AES) Trade Interface Requirements (AESTIR) on its Web site, indicating that Version 1.0 was changed on March 9, 2006 as follows: