Ion and another broadcaster are planning an additional single-frequency network (SFN) for N.Y.C. and will demonstrate the technology at the upcoming NAB show. Also known as a distributed transmission system (DTS), an SFN uses a series of synchronized lower-power broadcast transmitters to replace or supplement a full-power tower. N.Y. broadcasters have been looking into building such a system since Sept. 11, when they lost their World Trade Center- housed facilities. The Metropolitan TV Alliance (MTVA) is proceeding with a govt.-financed SFN test in N.Y. (CD March 23 p5). Ion is working in parallel with Richland Towers, Rohde & Schwarz and an unnamed 2nd broadcaster to test a smaller system in downtown Manhattan, said Ion Pres.- Engineering David Glenn. “We decided we wanted to do on our own,” Glenn said: “It’s easier. We can move quicker if you don’t do it through committee.”
Broadcom and Qualcomm dropped several patent lawsuits against one another. The deal heads off jury trials in all 5 Qualcomm suits against Broadcom -- including high-profile claims of infringement and trade secret misappropriation in U.S. Dist. Court, San Diego -- and counterclaims by Broadcom. The settled suits involved 6 Broadcom patents and 4 Qualcomm holds. Meanwhile, Nokia sued in the Netherlands and Germany, seeking declarations that many Qualcomm patents no longer apply in the EU.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an ABI administrative message announcing that the interface between CBP's Automated Commercial System (ACS) and the FDA's Operational and Administrative System for Import Support (OASIS) was going to be down between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. on Monday, March 19, 2007, for scheduled maintenance. FDA states that during this downtime ACS, OASIS, and the Prior Notice System Interface (PNSI) will all be operational, but the interface downtime would prevent submitters who filed via ABI from receiving prior notice (PN) confirmation and would prevent CBP from auto-checking the PN confirmation for ABI filers.
The breadth of RIAA’s campaign against “infringement on a gigantic scale” doesn’t justify a refusal to give up attorney billing records in a single case, U.S. Dist. Court, Oklahoma City, ruled in Capitol v. Foster. After seeking to dismiss the case last year, the trade group has tangled with defendant Debbie Foster, whose demands for reimbursement of attorney’s fees recently was granted. When RIAA replied with a motion for reconsideration (WID Feb 26 p2), Foster filed to compel release of RIAA lawyer bills. RIAA said its “litigation investment cannot be easily distilled” to a sum for Foster alone, and that its billing data cover its campaign en masse, not by case. The RIAA has given “every indication” it will “vigorously challenge” Foster’s demand for attorney’s fees, Judge Lee West said, which under 10th Circuit rules means its billing records are a “useful factor” in deciding the Foster request’s reasonableness. West noted a 1986 Supreme Court decision citing a 1980 U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., ruling: “The government cannot litigate tenaciously and then be heard to complain about the time necessarily spent by the plaintiff in response.” The court understands that billing records are not an “immutable yardstick” for setting Foster’s compensation, and will weigh the breadth of RIAA’s litigation portfolio in deciding how much Foster gets, West said. RIAA has until March 26 to hand over the requested materials. West also approved RIAA’s motion to file a response to Foster, who objected to RIAA’s motion for reconsideration of the fee award. That filing is due March 22.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has announced that it is initiating changed circumstances reviews of the antidumping (AD) duty orders on ball bearings and parts thereof from Italy and the United Kingdom.
Widespread agency confusion on what records can be released under Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests is partly to blame for delayed responses and noncompliance with the 1996 Internet update to FOIA, witnesses told a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wed. Patience for agency lagging has a price that Internet writers and ordinary citizens can’t afford, media representatives said, noting costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to sue for information. The Internet is the ideal medium for FOIA processing -- “if it is working,” Chmn. Leahy (D-Vt.) said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a final rule, effective April 5, 2007, to amend 19 CFR Parts 12 and 163 to set forth special requirements for the entry of certain cement products from Mexico requiring a U.S. Department of Commerce import license, including the requirement that the importer submit to CBP an import license number on the entry summary (CBP Form 7501) or on the application for foreign trade zone (FTZ) admission and/or status designation (CBP Form 214).
American Shipper reports thatwhile the Commerce and Homeland Security departments hash out the details of the proposed mandatory electronic filing of export information via the Automated Export System, exporters and freight forwarders are concerned whether U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is prepared for the significant changes to U.S. export control practices. The article states that exporters and forwarders are worried that unprepared CBP inspectors in the port offices will cause undue stress in penalties and cargo holds. The article adds that it is critical that CBP has a policy that goes across the board and that one port is not doing more enforcement than another. (American Shipper Pub February 2007, www.americanshipper.com)
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued a final rule, effective April 5, 2007, to implement the Mexican Cement Import Licensing System, which among other things, requires all importers of subject cement from Mexico to obtain an import license prior to completing their U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) entry summary.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) and the International Trade Commission (ITC) have each issued a notice initiating an automatic five-year Sunset Review on the antidumping (AD) duty order for automotive replacement glass windshields from China.