Vizio is importing massive volumes of TVs containing LED devices that infringe a Nichia patent, Nichia alleged in a complaint (in Pacer) filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Marshall, Texas, that seeks unspecified monetary damages and preliminary and permanent injunctive relief. Nichia landed the patent at issue (9,490,411) Nov. 8 from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office describing methods for manufacturing LED devices with “thermosetting” resins for longer durability. Vizio TVs containing the infringing LED devices are sold in retail stores throughout the Eastern Texas “judicial district,” including Best Buy, Sam’s Club, Target and Walmart stores, said the complaint. Those chains collectively have 29 outlets “in this judicial district,” it said. Vizio said “it has the first or second shelf-space positions at these retailers,” it said. Nationally, those four chains accounted for about 81 percent of Vizio’s net sales during the six-month period ending June 30, 2015, said the complaint, which appeared to lift that data from an SEC registration statement Vizio filed in July 2015 for an initial public offering it never took to market (see 1507260001). Privately held Vizio soon after ceased disclosing sales data as it entered talks to be acquired by LeEco (see 1607260066). That deal still awaits completion. Vizio representatives didn't comment Tuesday on the Nichia complaint.
Changes to Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) listings and other import and export requirements will take effect Jan. 2 for U.S. importers and exporters of certain species, including some rosewoods, the Fish and Wildlife Service said in a recent public bulletin (here). As of Jan. 2, species added to, or deleted from, CITES Appendices I and II at the recent CITES convention in September and October (see 1610040064) will require CITES documentation as specified under the amended listings, FWS said. The import, export or re-export of shipments of these species that are accompanied by CITES documents reflecting an old listing or that lack CITES documents because no listing was previously in effect “must be completed by midnight (local time at the point of import/export)” on Jan. 1, 2017, FWS said.
The Land Mobile Communications Council (LMCC) wants the FCC to act on a plan to expand access to private land mobile radio (PLMR) spectrum, it said reply comments in docket 16-261. The main area of controversy is whether the FCC should amend its rules to allow 806-824/851-869 MHz band incumbents in a market a six-month period to apply for expansion band and guard band frequencies before the frequencies are made available to applicants for new systems (see 1608180045). The FCC sought comment in an August NPRM.
Being taken over by Amalgamated Telecom will give American Samoa telco/underwater cable company Bluesky and its affiliates more financial and managerial resources, and would have no anticompetitive effects because ATH provides no telecom services in American Samoa now, Fiji-based telco ATH said in an FCC International Bureau filing Tuesday on the public interest benefits of the proposed deal. ATH said the transaction would require transfer of Communications Act Section 214 authorizations, commercial mobile radio service licenses, and common carrier and non-common carrier Bluesky earth station licenses, plus transfer of control of the cable landing license associated with Bluesky affiliate American Samoa-Hawaii Cable.
Being taken over by Amalgamated Telecom will give American Samoa telco/underwater cable company Bluesky and its affiliates more financial and managerial resources, and would have no anticompetitive effects because ATH provides no telecom services in American Samoa now, Fiji-based telco ATH said in an FCC International Bureau filing Tuesday on the public interest benefits of the proposed deal. ATH said the transaction would require transfer of Communications Act Section 214 authorizations, commercial mobile radio service licenses, and common carrier and non-common carrier Bluesky earth station licenses, plus transfer of control of the cable landing license associated with Bluesky affiliate American Samoa-Hawaii Cable.
The Congressional Research Service produced two reports on FCC policy in the past week. One 29-page report, dated Dec. 16, sums up FCC policy on media ownership, attribution and diversity. “The FCC’s 2016 review occurred against the background of sweeping changes in news consumption patterns,” the report said, citing data from the Pew Research Center. An 18-page report, dated Tuesday, gave an update on tribal broadband deployment. “The most recent data show that, as of December 31, 2014, approximately 41% of Americans living on tribal lands lacked access to broadband at speeds of 25 Mbps download/3 Mbps upload,” CRS said. “This compares unfavorably to 10% of all Americans lacking access to broadband at those speeds.” The report cited funding questions it said could come up in 2017: “Debate has centered on whether federal funding for tribal broadband is sufficient, and the extent to which portions of federal funds available for broadband should be specifically targeted for tribal broadband. In the 114th Congress, while there was no legislation that exclusively directed federal funding for tribal broadband, there were a number of bills that addressed federal funding for broadband generally. In the 115th Congress, notwithstanding whether federal broadband funding programs target tribal lands, whether or not tribal lands will receive additional funding for broadband will likely be determined by the ongoing trajectory of overall federal funding for broadband.”
The Congressional Research Service produced two reports on FCC policy in the past week. One 29-page report, dated Dec. 16, sums up FCC policy on media ownership, attribution and diversity. “The FCC’s 2016 review occurred against the background of sweeping changes in news consumption patterns,” the report said, citing data from the Pew Research Center. An 18-page report, dated Tuesday, gave an update on tribal broadband deployment. “The most recent data show that, as of December 31, 2014, approximately 41% of Americans living on tribal lands lacked access to broadband at speeds of 25 Mbps download/3 Mbps upload,” CRS said. “This compares unfavorably to 10% of all Americans lacking access to broadband at those speeds.” The report cited funding questions it said could come up in 2017: “Debate has centered on whether federal funding for tribal broadband is sufficient, and the extent to which portions of federal funds available for broadband should be specifically targeted for tribal broadband. In the 114th Congress, while there was no legislation that exclusively directed federal funding for tribal broadband, there were a number of bills that addressed federal funding for broadband generally. In the 115th Congress, notwithstanding whether federal broadband funding programs target tribal lands, whether or not tribal lands will receive additional funding for broadband will likely be determined by the ongoing trajectory of overall federal funding for broadband.”
Thirteen new ports joined the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD’s) port data project in November, bringing the total to 42 participating ports from Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe, UNCTAD said Dec. 21 (here). The project, which started in 2013, covers 23 uniform indicators on financial stability, labor productivity, and operational efficiency. The customized assessment, or “scorecard,” views indicators ranging from per-employee revenue generation, to average ship wait times, to tonnage handled per hectare of land, UNCTAD said. For example, one port’s scorecard showed that its handling rates are competitive for containers but not dry bulk, and another port’s scorecard indicated competitive labor costs were more due to lower wages than higher productivity, UNCTAD said. "The type of detailed performance analysis the scorecard allows is extremely helpful for ho[m]ing in on the weaker links in our operations, and coming up with better strategies," Hector Miole, assistant general manager for operations at the Philippine Ports Authority, said in a statement. "As an island nation, we manage hundreds of ports, and not all provide the same data, so the project is helping us harmonize information too.”
It's a "pretty good bet" BlackBerry will begin deriving revenue in 2019 or 2020 from software developed in its new Ottawa innovation center for autonomous vehicles based on its QNX connected-car platform, CEO John Chen said on a Tuesday earnings call. “But I’m hoping we’ll get something more in 2018,” he said. The 2019-2020 period is when Mobileye and other components suppliers in the autonomous-vehicle space have said their products will begin reaching the commercial market (see 1611150018).
It's a "pretty good bet" BlackBerry will begin deriving revenue in 2019 or 2020 from software developed in its new Ottawa innovation center for autonomous vehicles based on its QNX connected-car platform, CEO John Chen said on a Tuesday earnings call. “But I’m hoping we’ll get something more in 2018,” he said. The 2019-2020 period is when Mobileye and other components suppliers in the autonomous-vehicle space have said their products will begin reaching the commercial market (see 1611150018).