On October 29, 2008, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure held a hearing on "Investing in Infrastructure: The Road to Recovery." Testimony was heard from government, transportation, and public witnesses. (Congressional Record dated 10/30/08, available at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/B?r110:@FIELD(FLD003d)@FIELD(DDATE20081030).)
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit threw up its hands and issued an implicit challenge to the Supreme Court, in a ruling limiting the grounds for getting patents on business methods, including those for software and Internet processes. Critics of such patents seemed elated by the In re Bilski ruling. Supporters of a broad understanding of patent subject-matter eligibility were either muted or satisfied with the court’s reasoning. Experts we asked disagreed over the threat to software and Internet patents, such as Amazon.com’s one-click checkout patent.
The International Trade Administration has initiated administrative reviews of the following antidumping and countervailing duty orders for certain specified companies listed in the initiation notice.
The Connecticut Utility Contractors Association told state regulators it’s dropping out of a complaint case against AT&T bidding practices filed by state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. The AG filed the complaint after the trade group wrote him expressing concern that a new electronic bidding process AT&T implemented in July, and an associated policy of not revealing winning bidders identities, was acting to freeze Connecticut contractors out of the bidding for AT&T network construction jobs (Case 08- 10-05). The contractor group said it was dropping out because it was satisfied with the material AT&T filed to prove its bid review and contract award processes are impartial and not biased in any way against Connecticut contractors. AT&T urged the Department of Public Utility Control to dismiss the AG’s complaint, saying the contractor group’s withdrawal removed any ground for pursuing the matter.
Russia and Arab nations and some others back a proposal that the ITU launch a “mark” program encouraging telecom gear interoperability and compatibility, but U.S. officials cited potential liability and budgetary issues. Developing nations have the most to gain from efforts at standardization. A compromise at the World Telecom Standardization Assembly may emerge Monday, U.S. Ambassador David Gross told us.
Russia and Arab nations and some others back a proposal that the ITU launch a “mark” program encouraging telecom gear interoperability and compatibility, but U.S. officials cited potential liability and budgetary issues. Developing nations have the most to gain from efforts at standardization. A compromise at the World Telecom Standardization Assembly may emerge Monday, U.S. Ambassador David Gross told us.
The following Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) and Court of International Trade (CIT) cases on international trade issues were dated, decided, or posted during the period of October 8 - October 17, 2008 (certain other dates are also included):
More lawsuits over broadband early termination fees could loom, lawyers and consumer groups said in comments on a recent suit against Qwest fees for DSL service. ETFs, common in the wireless sector, only recently have begun to see use in broadband services, with carriers using them retain existing customers, Consumer Union said. Qwest was named in a multi-state class action lawsuit last week in Washington. Qwest doesn’t comment on pending lawsuits, a spokesman said.
Last-minute proposals to the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly raised industry and government support and concerns over conformance schemes aimed at helping developing countries increase interconnectivity and interoperability and make telecom procurement easier. Detractors said evaluating conformance could violate international trade rules on technical barriers. The proposals will be weighed during the Assembly, Tuesday to Oct. 30.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission will hold a conference call on October 20, 2008 to discuss its proposed rule on labeling requirements for toy and game advertising. The call is intended to inform the public about the details of the proposed rule and give interested stakeholders the opportunity to raise questions and share concerns about the rulemaking. (CPSC Public Calendar, dated 10/15/08, available at http://www.cpsc.gov/calendar.html.)