Paul Gluckman

MPA “vastly overstates the scope and breadth” of the exclusion order Philips seeks at the International Trade Commission on Hisense, LG and TCL smart TVs and Dell, HP and Lenovo PCs for allegedly infringing high-bandwidth digital content protection patents (see 2010060047), posted Philips Thursday (login required) in docket 337-3492. “Requested relief would not implicate all digital video-capable devices using any HDCP technology.” Philips conceded exclusion might hinder lawful distribution of 4K content to wider audiences. ITC action would affect only branded devices with “HDCP 2+," not the older HDCP 1.4 version, said Philips. “Conspicuously for an industry group representing content producers,” MPA “altogether fails to differentiate” between the two versions, it said. HDCP 1.4 “enables the secure distribution” of 1080p and 720p digital HD content, and HDCP 2+ does so for ultra HD, it said. It’s false that content producers would lose copyright protection of their content if an exclusion order is issued, the company said. Copyright owners “at worst” might lose the ability to distribute their 4K content to “as many potential consumers,” it said: There would be “no hindrance to such content owners distributing the very same content at a marginally lower resolution” in 720p or 1080p. Though 4K smart TVs and computing devices “may be common on the market now,” native “luxury content” for viewing 4K on those products “is not widely available,” it said. “UHD content still has not been widely distributed or adopted by content producers and consumers.” MPA didn’t respond to questions.

LG Electronics and Samsung Display applied to trademark QNED for quantum nano emitting diode display technology, Patent and Trademark Office records show. LG’s application was Sept. 8, Samsung’s Sept. 25, both listing a wide diversity of possible uses for TVs, smartphones, tablets and digital signage. A QNED display uses gallium nitride-based blue-light-emitting nanorod LEDs in place of OLED as the blue light source, emailed Display Supply Chain Consultants President Bob O’Brien Thursday. QNED is "a really cool idea and could bring some real benefits but I think it will be a while before we see QNED in products," emailed Nanosys Director-Marketing Jeff Yurek. "You would still use QDs as a color conversion layer in a QNED stack," he said of quantum dots.

Demand for connectivity tools to fill remote work and learning needs during the COVID-19 pandemic fueled import growth in laptops and tablets, according to Census Bureau statistics we accessed Wednesday through the International Trade Commission. U.S. importers sourced 49.02 million smartphones from all countries in Q3, a 22% sequential increase. Unit imports declined 8.9% from the 53.83 million smartphones shipped here in Q3 2019. Imports of $11.67 billion were 20% higher than Q2, down 14% year over year. The average smartphone from China, the dominant source, was $251.41, 1.5% cheaper than in Q2 and a 5.8% drop year over year. U.S. importers sourced 34.26 million laptops and tablets from all countries, increasing 10% from Q2 and 29% jump from third-quarter 2019. Major PC vendors and their retailers said laptop shipments would be even higher if not for parts shortages. Q3 imports of $14.3 billion were 5.1% higher than in Q2, and up 32% from a year earlier. The average import was $417.40, nearly 5% cheaper than Q2 and up 2.6% from the 2019 quarter.

The order Philips seeks at the International Trade Commission on Hisense, LG and TCL smart TVs and Dell, HP and Lenovo PCs for allegedly infringing four secure authenticated distance measurement patents (see 2010050047) would have “deleterious effects on the public interest,” posted MPA (login required) Tuesday in docket 337-3492. Delegate authority to an administrative law judge “to develop a full evidentiary record on the public interest and make recommended findings,” asked the trade group. The import ban would exclude “a wide range of digital video-capable electronics,” including tablets, computers and smart TVs, that incorporate high-bandwidth digital content protection, said MPA. Without HDCP, unencrypted copyrighted content can be “illegally misappropriated with a few clicks,” the association said. The U.S. content industry would face “more detrimental economic consequences from rampant piracy,” which costs creators at least $29 billion annually, said MPA. “Any remedial order preventing the use of HDCP, without viable alternatives, would thus interfere with Congress’ long-standing policies” under Chapter 12 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, it said. The accused devices with HDCP “are widely used in the U.S. and globally to provide secure delivery of entertainment, web-browsing, streaming video, and gaming,” said MPA. “HDCP protects content flowing from a streaming device, game console, Blu-ray player, or set-top box on an HDMI cable to a television display. Billions of devices implement HDCP." Philips didn’t comment.

COVID-19 pulled the telemedicine industry “forward by a number of years,” Doctor on Demand CEO Hill Ferguson told an Axios webinar Tuesday. “Overall patient demand has pulled in at least two or three years.” The “overall acceptance” of telemedicine by the “broader healthcare ecosystem has probably accelerated five to 10 years,” he said.

Philips wrongly says the Tariff Act Section 337 exclusion order it seeks at the International Trade Commission on Dell, HP and Lenovo PCs and Intel, MediaTek and Realtek processors won’t harm consumers, commented (login required) the Computer & Communications Industry Association and others. Philips alleges the laptops, desktops and components, plus Hisense, LG and TCL TVs, infringe its digital video content protection patents (see 2009230038). The proposed import ban would “effectively exclude 80% of the U.S. processor market and 66% of the U.S. computing market,” said CCIA Friday. “Computers are no longer optional entertainment devices. Instead, they are the main or even exclusive portals through which nearly every American interacts with nearly every aspect of modern life, especially during the pandemic.” Philips didn’t respond to questions Monday. Its complaint acknowledged the accused PCs control two-thirds of the U.S. market, saying the remaining third would easily fill the “demand gap.” Others also commented now in docket 337-3492, including Dell, HP and Intel.

IQiyi “substantially completed” an internal review and uncovered no "evidence that would substantiate the allegations” from short-seller firm Wolfpack Research that the company committed fraud well before its 2018 initial public offering by inflating revenue and subscriber data (see 2008140003), said iQiyi Monday. Known as the Netflix of China, it will continue cooperating with the SEC investigation, it said. It’s “unable to predict the duration, outcome or impact of the SEC investigation,” it said. “No surprise” that iQiyi again denied guilt, emailed Wolfpack founder Dan David. “We're looking forward to the SEC's investigation, which will prove wrongdoing." The agency didn’t respond to questions.

A “liquidity crisis” that’s “all but inevitable” amid the COVID-19 pandemic spurred S&P Global to downgrade AMC Entertainment to CCC- from CCC+. The world's biggest movie theater chain “continues to struggle operationally and financially because U.S. attendance remains weak after reopening, additional major theatrical releases are delayed, and its cash burn might accelerate now that its theaters are open,” S&P said Friday. S&P expects AMC to run out of cash within six months “unless it is able to raise additional capital, which we view as unlikely, or attendance levels materially improve,” it said. Even with the additional liquidity from AMC's recent debt restructuring, S&P doubts the company will have enough cash on hand to cover its “fixed charges” by early April, it said. “Now that the majority of its theaters are open and box office receipts remain weak, we expect the company's cash burn will remain elevated and could accelerate further over the remainder of 2020 unless there is a significant improvement in attendance levels relative to the September box office.” Operating conditions for AMC remain “highly uncertain from the impact of COVID-19,” said S&P. The chain began reopening most theaters with low seating capacities in April, but New York and Los Angeles locations remain closed, S&P said: Even if those remaining theaters were to reopen, the lack of major film releases “will likely result in low theater attendance for some time.” AMC didn’t respond to questions. AMC reopened more than 100 U.S. locations under its “Safe & Clean” COVID-19 protocols in mid-August, floating an admission price of 15 cents for the day to lure customers back to the movies. But S&P said it was to little avail because Americans don't trust returning to theatergoing. The pandemic will continue to harm "theater attendance and consumer behavior into 2021," said S&P. "We anticipate that global cinema attendance will recover much more slowly in the fourth quarter of 2020 than we had previously expected and now expect the impact of COVID-19 on theater attendance to last well into 2021." The negative outlook "indicates our view that AMC could face a liquidity shortfall over the next six months," said S&P.

“Facts are facts,” and "the international community will not be fooled by the lies” of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, said a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Friday. Pompeo accused the Chinese government Thursday of subjecting women to “forced abortion, forced sterilization, and involuntary implantation of birth control devices” as part of its campaign “against Uyghurs and members of other minority groups.” He further accused the Chinese Communist Party of continuing to use “censorship and arbitrary detentions to crack down on the freedoms of expression and association of China’s women’s rights advocates.” Pompeo’s allegations are “completely unfounded,” said the ministry spokesperson. “The Chinese government protects the rights and interests of all ethnic minorities in equal measure, with preferential population policies toward minority groups, including Uyghurs.” Women in the U.S., “in direct contrast,” still face “systemic, prevalent and institutional discrimination and threat,” and are “21 times more likely to die” from gun violence than women in other “high-income countries,” he said. The State Department didn’t respond to questions.

Hisense backs Filmmaker Mode, UHD Alliance President Mike Fidler told his group's webinar Wednesday. Filmmaker Mode is the ease-of-access TV picture setting free of the image processing that creators disdain for rendering their content in the living room as if shot on high-speed video (see 1908280022). It bowed in summer 2019 with LG, Panasonic and Vizio TV-brand support. Kaleidescape, Samsung and TP Vision supported it at CES. The top five TV brands have 79% of North American unit share, and four of the brands support Filmmaker Mode, said Fidler, citing Omdia. TCL is a UHDA member, not a Filmmaker backer.