The RIAA got a qualified rebuke from an Okla. court for the “appearance” that the trade group initiated secondary infringement claims against an innocent defendant to spur a settlement, after RIAA went after her daughter as the “primary” infringer. U.S. Dist. Court, Oklahoma City, Judge Lee West granted the defense motion in Capitol v. Foster for attorney’s fees but left the exact amount to further discovery. Marilyn Barringer-Thomson, attorney for mother Debbie Foster, submitted an itemized bill for about $50,000 in attorney’s fees (WID Aug 28 p1), but West allowed her to “supplement” her request -- probably to account for the past several months of work on the case. An RIAA spokeswoman told us the group was reviewing the opinion and believed West “got it wrong,” but hadn’t decided how to proceed.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site another revised (February 2007) version of its Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) "Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on e-Manifest" (electronic manifest).
The RIAA got a qualified rebuke from an Okla. court for the “appearance” that the trade group initiated secondary infringement claims against an innocent defendant to spur a settlement, after RIAA went after her daughter as the “primary” infringer.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) and the International Trade Commission (ITC) have each issued a notice initiating five-year Sunset Reviews on the above-listed antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duty orders.
BERKELEY, Cal. -- Antitrust authorities should let standards-development groups adopt strong rules to curb patent holders, a standards body said. The group, the VMEBus International Trade Assn. (VITA), got DoJ’s blessing in the fall for rules that VITA outside counsel Robert Skitol told us are the strictest known of their kind. DoJ said the proposed rules would benefit competition, so the Dept. wouldn’t fight them under a Sherman Act ban on price fixing. VITA said last week that members adopted the rules 35-2.
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has issued a notice of filing of complaint and assignment with regard to APM Terminals North America, Inc.'s (APMT's) contention that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey failed to adhere to its lease agreement with APMT by failing to turn over certain premises by the specified delivery date. According to FMC, this complaint has been assigned to the Office of Administrative Law Judges and an initial decision shall be issued by January 8, 2008. The final decision of the FMC shall be issued by May 7, 2008. (FMC D/N 07-01, FR Pub 01/17/07, available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/E7-496.pdf)
Sony BMG will allow consumers to exchange CDs containing concealed content-protection software purchased before Dec. 31, 2006, for non-content-protected versions and reimburse up to $150 to repair damages resulting directly from attempts to remove the software, according to a settlement with the FTC announced Tues. The FTC voted 5-0 to accept the proposed consent agreement. It will be subject to public comment through March 1, after which the FTC will decide whether to make it final.
Sony BMG will allow consumers to exchange CDs containing concealed content-protection software purchased before Dec. 31, 2006, for non-content-protected versions and reimburse up to $150 to repair damages resulting directly from attempts to remove the software, according to a settlement with the FTC announced Tues. The FTC voted 5-0 to accept the proposed consent agreement. It will be subject to public comment through March 1, after which the FTC will decide whether to make it final.
The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) has announced that effective February 1, 2007 it will no longer accept "carbon paper" or "downloadable" applications for the following forms, and that such forms will only be accepted via D-Trade:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site a notice announcing a "weekly" special import quota of 21,253,330 kg for upland cotton purchased not later than May 1, 2007 and entered under HTS 9903.52.31. The quota period is February 1, 2007 through July 30, 2007; the opening date is February 1, 2007.