Chairman Joe Simons recused himself from the FTC’s Qualcomm case in California federal court claiming anti-competitive patent licensing behavior (see 1809190041), an agency spokesperson said Tuesday. The spokesperson declined to give a reason. Simons previously was a partner at Paul Weiss, which has represented Qualcomm. Simons’ recusal divides the commissioners evenly along party lines, and the commission wouldn't act in a 2-2 vote. Documents Simons submitted to the agency disclosing his previous clients and investments don't list any Qualcomm entities. A federal judge on Tuesday denied a joint request from the FTC and Qualcomm to delay the ruling to allow for settlement talks.

Samsung filed last week to register four U.S. trademarks for the “Infinity” display, the bezel-less screen it first introduced on Galaxy S8 smartphones, Patent and Trademark Office records show. Samsung filed similar applications a few days earlier in India, say the records. The applications are to trademark “Infinity-O,” “Infinity-Flex,” “Infinity-U” and “Infinity-V,” they say. Samsung didn’t comment.

Samsung filed applications last week in South Korea and the U.S. to register a trademark for the SmartThings IoT subsidiary it bought four years ago (see 1408180053), Patent and Trademark Office records show. The trademark consists of Korean characters in “stylized font” that “transliterate” to SmartThings but have “no meaning in a foreign language,” said the applications. Wednesday, the company didn’t comment.

The Supreme Court declined to hear a case involving a pornography studio’s lawsuit attempting to hold a content website liable for user-uploaded copyright-infringing material. Without sending takedown notices, Ventura Content sued Motherless.com for hosting copyright infringing material. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled in favor of Motherless, saying a website operator can't lose its Digital Millennium Copyright Act safe harbor protections when reasonably monitoring for infringing content.

The librarian of Congress will adopt noncontroversial “exemptions to the statutory prohibition on circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works” under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, says a Federal Register notice for Friday. Based on recommendations from the acting register of copyrights, the librarian of Congress will renew, expand and adopt various exemptions through a final rule, completing the seventh triennial rulemaking proceeding. Newly adopted classes include specific types of audiovisual works and computer programs. One renewed exemption that was unopposed facilitates assistive technology for digital books. Also being renewed are “unlocking” of cellphones, tablets, mobile hot spots or wearable devices or “jailbreaking” of similar devices.

Arris emphasized “serious concerns” in meetings last week with aides to FCC Commissioners Mike O’Rielly and Jessica Rosenworcel about “harmful effects” the third tranche of Trade Act Section 301 tariffs will have on “U.S. 5G leadership" and broadband deployment, it posted Tuesday in docket 13-49. The 10 percent tariffs took effect Sept. 24 on “core broadband infrastructure and networking equipment and other critical inputs for wireless and wireline connectivity, as well as consumer broadband equipment,” and will “automatically increase” to 25 percent Jan. 1 (see 1809240025 or 1809240011), said Arris. “At just the 10 percent level,” Arris estimates the fees will impose $200 million a year “in additional costs on its equipment and devices.” The levies already had “serious business implications” for Arris when an analyst downgraded the stock because of the expected higher tariff-related costs, it said. The tariffs “risk slowing deployment of 5G and broadband more generally, diverting resources away from 5G and other broadband research and development efforts,” it said. Arris tried to enlist FCC support for an “exclusion process” for the third tranche of duties to give affected companies “additional time to make adjustments to their operations and mitigate the harms,” it said. The Trump administration has announced no process for requesting exemptions on the third tranche of tariffs as it did on the first two.

Diminishing software copyright by overbroad applications of fair use or denial of protection would be a “step in the wrong direction,” Copyright Alliance CEO Keith Kupferschmid said Tuesday at an FTC hearing. The software industry would be forced to retrench to a closed model, no longer sharing code and instead relying on proprietary contracts to keep code protected, he said. He repeated his organization’s support for HR-3945, which would establish a voluntary small claims tribunal in the Copyright Office. Public Knowledge Policy Counsel Meredith Rose urged the FTC to collaborate with the Copyright Office on the overlap between copyright and competition, which increased with IoT technology. Hearings on copyright continue Wednesday (see 1810110056).

The U.S. trade representative shouldn't designate WeChat a notorious market (see 1810040053) because its policies combat copyright infringement, the owner of the mobile app commented, filed Tuesday. Tencent acknowledged “some bad actors may seek to use the WeChat instant messaging platform to promote infringing goods,” but its terms of service prohibit such activity. Thailand argued its online and offline markets shouldn't receive the designation, either, citing widespread enforcement. January-August, Thai authorities did 4,800 raids on physical markets and seized 10.5 million items, officials said. January-July, Thai authorities did 117 raids in online markets and seized 4,878 products. Like entertainment industry groups, the International Intellectual Property Alliance cited The Pirate Bay as a bad actor, plus Rapidgator.net and Uploaded.net.

The Copyright Office is seeking comment by Jan. 15 on “how to improve the regulations and practices related to the registration of copyright claims in the digital age." The CO said Wednesday it plans to replace the electronic system “to improve user experience, increase Office efficiency, and decrease processing times.”

Amazon received patents Tuesday for enhancing performance of package-delivering drones, one for recharging them while airborne, the other for an airbag to protect packages dropped from them at a “predetermined height,” Patent and Trademark Office records show. Replacing a drone’s battery can extend service time, said a patent (10,099,561). The other (10,099,786) envisions an “airlift package protection” airbag fashioned after a “stunt airbag” that cushions a skydiver’s impact with the ground. The company didn’t comment.