Telecom and tech continued responding to COVID-19. Actions included moving to telework and the cancellation or postponement of events, or moving them virtual.
ATSC is “hatching a plan” to give members a “soapbox for the momentum that’s building into April” for the U.S. deployment of 3.0 products and services in 2020, President Madeleine Noland told us Thursday. “We’re in conversations with other organizations that might want to partner with us on that.”
The telecom and other high tech communities continued to respond to COVID-19 with telework and cancellation and postponement of events, or moving them virtual.
The rapid escalation in the number of confirmed U.S. cases of COVID-19 Tuesday continued turning life topsy-turvy for millions in various sectors, including telecom and consumer electronics. New Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance urging Americans to avoid crowds larger than 10 people was making telework the new normal and sending more events and functions to the virtual domain.
The South Korean parent company of LG Electronics filed Feb. 28 to register “8K Recording” as a U.S. trademark, Patent and Trademark Office records show. LG wants to use the mark commercially for a wide range of consumer devices, including smartphones, smartwatches and wireless headsets, said the application. LG touted the ability for its dual-screen V60 ThinQ 5G smartphone to capture video in “stunning 8K quality” when it announced the product Feb. 27, a day before the PTO application but made no mention of a feature formally called 8K Recording. LG’s headquarters in Seoul didn’t comment Monday.
LG will price the 88- and 77-inch models in its ZX series of 8K OLED TVs at $29,000 and $19,999, respectively, when they debut at retail in May, said the manufacturer Monday. Three series of 4K sets, plus the $4,999 WX “wallpaper” 4K TV will round out LG’s 2020 OLED offerings, it said. The top 4K tier is called the GX “gallery” series, with 55-, 65- and 77-inch models due in April priced $2,499 to $5,999, said LG. The gallery series is so named because the TVs in that line sport an ultra-thin form factor without the need for a separate control box, and can be mounted flush to the wall, it said. LG’s lowest-priced OLED TV for 2020 will be $1,599 for the 55-inch model in the BX series due in May. The three models in the GX series, the two 8K sets and the wallpaper TV all will have ATSC 3.0 functionality, said LG.
Sonos and Google lawyers have until March 24 to submit a “joint procedural schedule” in the International Trade Commission’s Tariff Act Section 337 investigation into Sonos allegations that Google smart speakers and other devices infringe five Sonos multiroom audio patents. A pretrial hearing is set for July 20 and a final evidentiary hearing for Feb. 22-24, 2021, said an order (login required) in docket 337-TA-1191 signed Friday by Chief Administrative Law Judge Charles Bullock. Sonos and Google need to agree on dates in the schedule for two settlement meetings and one mediation session, said the order. The settlement meetings must be in person unless Bullock gives permission for “good cause shown” to hold them by videoconferencing or teleconferencing, it said. Bullock’s “initial determination” order Wednesday setting May 11, 2021, as the target date for completing the investigation added three months’ cushion to the calendar to account for workload pressures from a separate investigation, plus “potential scheduling disruptions” from COVID-19 (see 2003120001). His order Friday didn’t mention possible delays from the coronavirus.
Few conferences, agencies and work routines in various business and public sectors were spared disruption Friday, the second full day since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic. Nearly 2,000 U.S. cases of COVID-19 were confirmed through Friday afternoon, including 41 deaths.
The International Trade Commission set a May 11, 2021, target date for completing its Tariff Act Section 337 investigation into Sonos allegations that Google smart speakers and other devices willfully infringe five Sonos multiroom audio patents (see 2002060070), said an “initial determination” order (login required) signed Wednesday in docket 337-TA-1191 by Chief Administrative Law Judge Charles Bullock. Sonos, Google and ITC staff agreed to propose a more customary 16-month target date to Feb. 11, 2021, but that’s “not feasible” because Bullock is working on another investigation that’s due to close a week earlier, he said. He “determined it necessary” to set a 19-month target to give himself more time to write a Sonos-Google opinion, plus tend to his other duties and account for “potential scheduling disruptions due to COVID-19,” he said.
A day after NAB canceled its April show at the Las Vegas Convention Center (see 2003110036), the coronavirus continued turning life upside down Thursday for many in various business and public sectors. In excess of 1,500 U.S. cases of COVID-19 were confirmed through Thursday afternoon, including 39 deaths. The spread was on pace to surpass 2,000 confirmed U.S. cases by the start of the weekend.