The Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) inquiry into patent- eligible subject matter is far too narrow, Computer & Communications Industry Assn. Senior Counsel Matthew Schruers told the agency. PTO should study software patents in light of the economic literature and public debate on such patents since the agency’s last software patent review, in 1994, Schruers said in a filing. PTO should consider joint 2002 FTC/DoJ hearings on competition and intellectual property (IP) law and policy “useful models,” he added. PTO’s “lack of hearing or consultation on business methods as a matter of substantive policy is also surprising,” since 2 late-1990s court cases “swept large areas of economic activity into the patent regime without the consent of Congress or the input of the businesses and sectors affected,” he said. A Supreme Court refusal to take up LabCorp v. Metabolite, involving the eligibility of “abstract processes” (WID June 23 p11), “appeared to reflect a view that the issues were not adequately developed in the record,” and in time the high court will accept review, Schruers said. Until then, though, PTO’s review could give businesses much-needed guidance, he added. Regarding whether signals such as those underlying Internet transmission and associated technologies can be patented, Schruers said allowing that would hit ISPs and other “network intermediaries.” Other filers told the agency signals are clearly patentable (WID Aug 18 p4). But if signals get IP protection, “they may implicate secondary or ‘contributory’ infringement risks” for businesses transmitting information, Schruers said. Any change would affect DMCA Sec. 512 and treaties the U.S. has signed, including the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement, all of which limit secondary liability for infringement, he added. Talks at the World Intellectual Property Organization on broadcasting rights have broached creation of a sui generis IP right in signals themselves, which “may conflict with or prove redundant” to a PTO action rendering signals eligible, Schruers said. PTO action also could raise preemption issues concerning state laws on “signal theft,” he added.
The FCC should auction educational broadband service (EBS) white spaces spectrum well before 2010, when a sale is scheduled, the Wireless Communications Assn. (WCA) and others said in oppositions to petitions for reconsideration filed as part of that longstanding debate. Allies of WCA include the WiMAX Forum, NextWave Broadband and Sprint Nextel. They're opposed by the Catholic TV Network and National ITFS Assn., which urged the agency to proceed with caution.
At least 2 potential buyers for Tower Records have emerged as the chain sought bankruptcy protection, blaming a sharp drop in prerecorded music sales.
The FCC should auction educational broadband service (EBS) white spaces spectrum well before 2010, when a sale is scheduled, the Wireless Communications Assn. (WCA) and others said in oppositions to petitions for reconsideration filed as part of that longstanding debate. Allies of WCA include the WiMAX Forum, NextWave Broadband and Sprint Nextel. They're opposed by the Catholic TV Network and National ITFS Assn., which urged the agency to proceed with caution.
The W.Va. PSC’s Consumer Advocate Div. (CAD) took issue with compliance filings by 17 telecom carriers that receive universal service subsidies. The CAD said the substantial amounts of data they redacted as proprietary makes it very difficult to evaluate their use of universal service funds. The CAD also cited confusion among carriers in how they make their rural-urban rate comparability determinations. The CAD said any protected treatment afforded to data from eligible telecom carriers (ETC) in universal service compliance reports should be restricted only to information that clearly compromises trade secrets. It said the carriers have taken an overly broad interpretation of what data needs to be protected, which “frustrates” public efforts to evaluate compliance with universal service program requirements. The CAD in Case 06-0953-T-GI also said carriers haven’t made up their minds about whether rate comparability should be based on all available calling plans or only on selected popular plans. It urged the PSC to lay out clear standards regarding what needs to be included in rate comparability submissions. It also said the PSC should make clear that ETCs don’t have a free pass to raise rates up to the affordability benchmarks. The PSC staff is to file its comments on the reports Sept. 8, with replies from all parties due Sept. 18.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued an ABI administrative message advising the trade on the ABI system requirements for the Certificate of Eligibility for the CAFTA-DR1 Tariff Preference Level (TPL)2 for Nicaragua apparel entered under HTS 9915.61.01.
According to the Journal of Commerce, Ford Motor Co., has filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Michigan to force U.S. Customs and Border and Protection (CBP) to turn over documents that demonstrate Ford's record of compliance with import laws and regulations in recent years. According to the article, Ford wants to demonstrate its compliance record to show that it's eligible for CBP's Importer Self Assessment program. Furthermore, the article notes that in recent years, Ford was assessed a fine of $20 million for valuation errors by the U.S. Court of International Trade and is also being sought in a separate case by CBP for $42 million in penalties for alleged violations of NAFTA foreign producer country of origin records. (JoC, dated 08/07/06, www.joc.com)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued two quota bulletins on recent or upcoming increases to (i) the refined sugar tariff rate quota (TRQ) and (ii) the specialty sugar TRQ, for fiscal year 2006 (October 1, 2005 - September 30, 2006), as follows:
According to the Journal of Commerce, terminal operations on the East and Gulf coasts are starting to experiment with different ways of handling import containers after the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) issued a July 25, 2006 directive that its members should no longer drive through the Vehicle and Cargo Inspection System (VACIS) radiation scanners because of safety issues regarding exposure to the scanners. According to the article, the directive has had little impact on container throughput at ILA-staffed terminals so far, but the operators are concerned that the cumulative impact could mount as the volumes grow during peak season and during periods of bad weather. (JoC, dated 07/31/06, www.joc.com)
Eric Doctorow has withdrawn from the slate of nominees backed by Lions Gate for control of the Image Entertainment board, Image said in an SEC filing. No reason was given for his withdrawal. Image has urged shareholders to vote down the “dissident” slate on grounds Lions Gate’s nominees lack the industry experience needed for the board or have conflicts of interest (CED Aug 3 p5). Image’s main beef against Doctorow -- the former Paramount Home Entertainment chief -- is that he manages MGM’s DVD catalog for Fox Home Entertainment, a competitor. Lions Gate has tapped cable and movie industries veteran Jack Crosby to replace Doctorow, the filing said. Lions Gate -- Image’s 2nd largest shareholder with about 19% of total shares outstanding -- has said it believes the Image board isn’t acting in the company’s best interests by refusing to explore “strategic alternatives,” including selling the company to Lions Gate. Image twice rebuffed fall 2005 studio offers to buy the company for $4 a share. Because Image shares are trading “significantly below” the offer price -- they closed 0.6% lower Fri. at $3.65 -- and for “other operational reasons,” Lions Gate said it “has lost confidence” in the board. It plans soon to make its case in a preliminary proxy statement to be filed at the SEC, Image said.