Fitbit asked a federal court for a declaratory judgment that its fitness trackers and smartwatches don’t infringe three Philips patents, as Philips alleged Dec. 10 before the International Trade Commission. Though Fitbit “vigorously denies” the infringement allegations, Philips “nevertheless continues to seek to disrupt Fitbit’s business and keep Fitbit’s health-promoting products from the public based on patents that Fitbit’s products do not infringe,” said a complaint (in Pacer) Thursday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. The ITC opened a Tariff Act Section 337 investigation Jan. 10 (see 2001130047) into the Philips complaint (login required), which seeks limited exclusion and cease and desist orders against the allegedly infringing Fitbit products. Philips also targeted Garmin smartwatches and fitness trackers and the OEMs that make the devices for Fitbit and Garmin. Philips didn’t comment Friday.
COVID-19 “unexpectedly impacted” BlackBerry’s technology solutions business, said CEO John Chen on a fiscal Q4 call Tuesday. “We expect this trend to continue over the near future due to the temporary global auto production shutdowns and related slowdowns of auto sales.” Customers “have become more cautious in the decision-making related to capital expenditure and development,” said Chen. “Two large transactions with reliable customers” were delayed, harming results for Q4 ended Feb. 29, he said: It may recoup the lost deals later in calendar 2020 when “the business environment returns to normal.” The company anticipates a “tough” Q1 ending late May “due to the COVID-19 impact on our business,” said Chen. “This may linger into the second quarter, but we do anticipate a stronger second half” than the first, he said. “We do not believe this current global crisis changes BlackBerry’s strategy” toward “long-term profitability growth and value creation,” he said. Wednesday, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US reported a 10% decline in Q1 sales. BlackBerry shares plunged 18.6% Wednesday to close at $3.36.
Apple and U.K. music distributor Adasam are conspiring to sell downloads of pirated recordings in the iTunes store, alleged heirs to composers Harold Arlen, Ray Henderson and Harry Warren. Apple and Adasam “failed to obtain any license that would authorize them to reproduce, distribute, or sell the recordings,” said a complaint (in Pacer) Monday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. “Adasam is operating a huge music piracy operation,” it said. “Apple had actual knowledge of, or willfully chose to ignore, the evidence of piracy, and participated in the infringement on a massive scale.” Defendants allegedly “are nothing more than modern tape pirates and their conduct constitutes willful copyright infringement,” it said. Attempts to reach the companies Tuesday were unsuccessful.
Inconsistencies abound in the List 4A Section 301 tariff exclusions that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative granted to Chinese smartwatch imports classified under the 8517.62.00.90 product code. The exclusions are retroactive to Sept. 1 when the tariffs took effect and expire after one year, said a USTR notice Thursday. The exemptions apply to devices “suitable for wearing on the wrist” with “time-display functions” and the ability to link to a “network." USTR granted exclusions to the Apple Watch and a range of Fitbit smartwatches and fitness trackers, but also to Tile for a Bluetooth tracking device that has no wrist-worn or time-display component. The Tile device links to a smartphone app for finding misplaced items like keys or glasses. Sonos also landed exemptions for the wireless mesh network speakers and audio components it imports from China under the same 8517.62.00.90 classification as smartwatches. But exclusion requests for wireless speakers from Bose, Sound United and others remain in a Stage 2 administrative review at USTR, as do smartwatches from Fossil. A wide range of additional 8517.62.00.90 goods also remain in a Stage 2 hold, including Apple AirPods and JLab Bluetooth headphones. USTR didn’t comment Friday.
Sonos, Google and the International Trade Commission staff agreed to set Sept. 13, 2021, as the target date for completing the agency's Tariff Act Section 337 investigation into Sonos allegations that Google smart speakers and other devices infringe five Sonos multiroom audio patents (see 2002060070). So said a joint procedural schedule (login required) filed Tuesday and posted Wednesday in docket 337-TA-1191. Sonos and Google will hold their first settlement conference May 11 and a second Dec. 18. An in-person mediation session is set for Aug. 3. Sonos is seeking limited exclusion and cease and desist orders against the allegedly infringing Google products.
The Ultra HD Forum will soon publish an updated “service tracker” that will cover 150 “consumer-facing” content offerings that reach 3 billion subscribers globally, Ben Schwarz, who chairs the forum’s communications working group, told a webinar Monday hosted by Europe’s DVB consortium. The forum had planned to announce the new tracker at the now-canceled NAB Show, said Schwarz.
Telecom and tech continued responding Monday to COVID-19 with actions that included moving to telework and canceling or postponing events, or moving them virtual.
Sonos withdrew its motion to strike Google’s affirmative defenses against allegations in a Tariff Act Section 337 investigation at the International Trade Commission that Google smart speakers and other devices infringe five Sonos multiroom patents (see 2002060070), said a filing (login required) Thursday in docket 337-TA-1191. Three of Google’s defenses were “improper as a matter of law,” and five others were “nothing more than conclusory statements,” argued Sonos in its March 10 motion to strike. Google later withdrew some defenses and amended others, said Sonos. It still thinks Google’s defenses are “deficient” but won’t challenge them “in an effort to compromise and avoid burdening” ITC staff and Chief Administrative Law Judge Charles Bullock.
Telecom and tech continued responding Friday to COVID-19 with actions including moving to telework and canceling or postponing events, or moving them virtual.
NAB won’t try resurrecting its COVID-19-canceled Las Vegas show in 2020 but will stage a virtual event called “NAB Show Express,” said CEO Gordon Smith Friday. Nine days earlier, NAB Show organizers said they were "weighing the best potential path forward," including possibly rescheduling the April 18-22 event later in the year (see 2003110036).