The Senate Judiciary Committee held over every item from Wednesday’s markup, including S-1787, the State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act (see 2108100045). The committee spent several hours Wednesday in a hearing on the FBI’s handling of the investigation of Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics doctor convicted of sexual abuse.
Innovators like Sonos “should be able to trust the courts” to protect their intellectual property from companies like Google “that attempt to free-ride” off its “high-quality engineering and hard work,” six Grammy- and Oscar-winning sound engineers and producers told the International Trade Commission Monday in docket 337-TA-1191 (login required). Google violated Section 337 of the 1930 Tariff Act for importing smart speakers and other devices found to infringe five Sonos multiroom audio patents, said a notice of initial determination (ID) signed Aug. 13 by ITC Chief Administrative Law Judge Charles Bullock (see 2108130080). A final ITC determination on Bullock’s recommended import ban of the infringing Google products is due mid-December. Google and Sonos filed petitions for review of Bullock’s decision, with Google alleging the infringement findings were “predicated on misunderstandings of the plain meaning” of the patents, and Sonos arguing the ID could permit Google to “continue importing every single product by making trivial software changes” in the accused goods. Prominent engineers and producers Tom Elmhirst, Nigel Godrich, Noah Goldstein, Chris Jenkins, Emily Lazar and Manny Marroquin “have collectively been working with Sonos to tune its speakers for over five years,” they said. “During our collaboration we have observed Sonos continually pushing the boundaries of home audio and leading in the space,” they said. “Sonos invented multi-room wireless audio, and we appreciate how Sonos listens to our feedback and incorporates it into their products. This is unusual for tech companies, which typically prefer to ‘engineer’ everything in-house, without asking creative professionals like us for our input.”
HD Radio expanded to motorbikes, said parent Xperi Monday. HD Radio receivers are available on the digital dash display of the 2022 BMW R 18 Transcontinental. The system, for AM and FM, broadcasts a digital signal over traditional radio frequencies, allowing for up to three additional channels of separate audio programming, along with improved “static-fee” sound quality, emergency alerts and metadata. HD Radio receivers have had an estimated 85-plus billion listening hours in cars since 2005; over 95% of all Americans are able to receive an HD Radio signal, Xperi said.
The FCC opened a help desk to answer questions on the $1.9 billion program for removing Huawei and ZTE equipment from carrier networks, the Wireline Bureau said Friday. The FCC has an Oct. 29 target for opening the reimbursement application window.
TCL appears to be making the new Amazon Fire TV, we were told. The e-commerce giant unveiled the products Thursday and they include hands-free Alexa voice control via built-in mics. “It is common for TCL to provide both components and assembly for our branded TV competitors,” a spokesperson emailed. “However, the OEM side of our business operates with confidentiality agreements.” Amazon works with “a variety of suppliers and partners to source and build devices,” it emailed. The company also beefed up its Fire TV streaming media stick with new Alexa voice features, more power and a quad-core processor.
COVID-19-related timing provision adjustments are extended through Nov. 7, the Copyright Office said Wednesday (see 2107090046). The CO is allowing flexibility for applicant correspondence that was due between Aug. 10 and Sept. 9, the office said Wednesday, citing a technical upgrade-related outage. Claims can be reopened by contacting a public information officer.
Debuting new releases on Disney+ cuts off potential viewers who aren’t current subscribers and don’t pick up the service and pay the additional Premium Access fees, blogged Parks Associates analyst Liam Gaughan Thursday, commenting on Disney’s three-pronged strategy for releases via theaters, Disney+ and Premium Access. Parks data shows 44% of viewers are unlikely to subscribe to an online video service for access to an in-demand title, Gaughan said. Referencing comments Disney CEO Bob Chapek made on a July earnings call (see 2108130027), Gaughan said day-and-date release offers viewers more flexibility in viewing options, but it’s not clear at what loss to revenue. “Multiple viewers who could have purchased individual movie tickets may have ended up watching Black Widow together at home, depleting the potential box office revenue,” he said, citing Black Widow’s $367 million global box-office receipts through late August plus $125 million in streaming and download retail receipts and noting the film is one of the lowest grossing Marvel Studios titles released by Disney. A shortened window for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which premiered Friday, “should increase revenue from both anticipating viewers and casual moviegoers,” said Gaughan. A diversified approach lets the company continue experimenting with theatrical and transactional windowing as it observes changing viewing habits, he said. Disney didn't comment Friday.
The FCC should clarify that its rules for foreign-sponsored content don’t apply to “advertisements for commercial goods and services of any length or type,” said Meredith in comments posted Thursday in docket 20-299. Meredith’s arguments echo those by all four network affiliate groups (see 2107190053), which requested that clarification in July. “Clarifying as such will allow the Commission to meet the goals of the Foreign Sponsorship Report and Order, provide certainty for regulated entities, and avoid administrative law concerns,” Meredith said. NAB, the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council, and the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters called on the FCC to reconsider the foreign-sponsored content rules (see 2108130074).
The register of copyrights reserves the right to “adjust the effective date of registration assigned to registration claims affected” by an electronic Copyright System outage in August, the Copyright Office announced Wednesday. The disruption was resolved by Sunday. Affected parties can request an adjustment here.
Limiting use of the 5.9 GHz band to cellular vehicle-to-everything use must make sure supply chain participants have fair and nondiscriminatory access to licenses for C-V2X technology to ensure competition, Continental Automotive Systems representatives told FCC Office of Engineering and Technology, Office of General Counsel and Office of Economics and Analytics staffers, said a docket 19-138 post Tuesday. The company said some C-V2X standard essential patent holders refuse to license auto industry participants such as it, or only on unreasonable and discriminatory terms. It said the agency should acknowledge such a decision puts big market power in the hands of C-V2X patent holders and require that such licenses be available to any auto supply chain participant seeking one on reasonable, nondiscriminatory terms. Continental said if there are patent disputes, the commission should ensure U.S. courts have jurisdiction to address whether license terms are reasonable and nondiscriminatory and include with its rulemaking a general policy statement that it would be contrary to the public interest if C-V2X patent holders refuse licenses to some market participants.