Federal law’s minimum $750 penalty per infringed work is constitutionally sound, the Justice Department said in a brief filed with the only court to finish a P2P trial. P2P defendant Jammie Thomas, ordered to pay $222,000 to the major labels for infringement (WID Oct 5 p2), had filed a challenge to the ruling in the U.S. District Court in Duluth, Minn., on grounds that the DMCA’s infringement statute violates the Due Process Clause by requiring that high a penalty for so little harm. Justice has said in previous P2P lawsuits it was just waiting for a fully briefed case to weigh in on the statute (WID Aug 1 p7).
The International Trade Administration and the International Trade Commission have each issued notices initiating automatic five-year Sunset Reviews on the above-listed antidumping duty orders.
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements has issued a notice requesting public comment on the due diligence requirement under the Dominican Republic-Central America-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) commercial availability procedures.
The Court of International Trade remanded Sherri N. Boynton v. U.S. to the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to review and determine an appropriate penalty based on the Court's findings as to the charges against Boynton that it had determined to be violations of Customs rules and regulations.
Lexar Media is “much stronger today” than it was before Micron Technology bought the company last year (CED March 9/06 p4), Vice President of Digital Media Mark Adams told Consumer Electronics Daily. Micron “spent the last year trying to right” Lexar’s business, he said. The significant changes it made as it integrated Lexar into Micron are starting to bear fruit, he said.
In Samuel Aaron, Inc. v. U.S., the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Court of International Trade's decision that it lacked jurisdiction in this case, as Aaron's protest was not filed within 90 days of re-liquidation.
In Heartland By-Products, Inc., v. U.S., the Court of International Trade has ruled on remand that entries covering imported sugar syrup from Canada must be liquidated at the non-tariff rate quota duty rate specified in an advance ruling issued by U.S. Customs as required by the judgment initially issued by the CIT in Heartland I.
A Federal Circuit Appeals Court ruling threw “a wrench” into Qualcomm-Broadcom litigation in Santa Ana, Calif., that could reduce damages awarded to Broadcom and remove Qualcomm liability, Stifel Nicolaus said in a note. Last August, the Santa Ana U.S. District Court ordered Qualcomm to pay double damages of $39.3 million and Broadcom attorney fees after a jury determined Qualcomm infringement of three Broadcom patents was “willful” (CD Aug 15 p10). However, District Judge James Selna is now reviewing the order in light of a September Federal Circuit en banc decision tightening the willfulness standard. Selna urged Qualcomm to file a reconsideration petition and subsequently sent the parties a pre-hearing draft of his tentative opinion. Selna said the Federal Circuit case, In re Seagate, meant the jury’s willfulness finding could not stand unless a new trial on all infringement issues was held. Selna also asked Broadcom to decide if it wanted the retrial or would rather cut its losses and accept the original $19.6 million damages award and no attorney fees. If the tentative ruling solidifies, “Broadcom will likely not seek a new trial,” but Qualcomm will push for one, Stifel Nicolaus said. Selna is expected to rule on Seagate’s implications “any day now,” it added. Seagate has “at a minimum” reduced the damages award to $19.6 million, but it’s uncertain whether Selna will void the original trial, it said. “Qualcomm has the stronger legal argument, but courts do not lightly erase a jury trial,” it said. Meanwhile, the threat of an injunction still looms: “Assuming the jury verdict is not set aside, the real risk to Qualcomm… is not the damages award, but rather, the risk of an injunction,” Stifel Nicolaus said. The Supreme Court’s eBay decision, not Seagate, governs the District Court’s injunction ruling, it said. “One of the factors emerging as important in post-eBay patent injunction decisions is whether the two companies compete,” it said. “We understand that Broadcom does not compete with Qualcomm in the areas covered by the patents, although we also understand that Broadcom sought to provide evidence at trial that they have ‘practiced’ each patent. We expect this issue to weigh heavily in the judge’s analysis, but the lack of a record may make that difficult.” Qualcomm is expected to argue that a Broadcom settlement with Verizon Wireless related to Qualcomm chips banned by the International Trade Commission shows “monetary payment is sufficient” and an injunction “inappropriate,” the analyst firm said. However, “Broadcom would have a potent response that it only decided to license its technology to Verizon because it had certain larger business objectives, which it does not have with its opponent Qualcomm.”
The International Trade Commission has issued a notice of institution of a section 337 investigation of certain digital televisions and certain products containing same and methods of using same.
China's Ministry of Commerce has issued a bulletin announcing that the Chinese government has suspended or revoked the export quality certificates of 764 toy manufacturers located in the Guandong Province. A further 690 manufacturers were ordered to renovate their manufacturing facilities and improve product quality within a set period of time. (MOFCOM bulletin, dated 11/07/07, available at http://ccne.mofcom.gov.cn/bulletin/index.php?flag=1584)