Shaw Communications agreed to buy Mid-Bowline Group, including subsidiary Wind Mobile, worth about $1.6 billion Canadian ($1.1 billion USD) in enterprise value, Wind said in a news release Wednesday. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2016 pending regulatory approval, said the release.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative released results Thursday of its 2015 Special 301 out-of-cycle review on intellectual property infringement. It focused on the sale of counterfeit goods online, listing 14 online markets alongside physical markets in Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Paraguay and Thailand. USTR cited the difficulties customs authorities face attempting to stop shipments of counterfeit goods sold online, and the growing problem of free trade zones enabling counterfeit activities. Major Chinese online shopping website Taobao again escaped inclusion, after last being listed in 2012. USTR said Taobao parent Alibaba took some enforcement measures over the past year, including “a good-faith product takedown procedure, a three and four strikes penalty system, and an English-language version of the TaoProtect portal to register [intellectual property rights] and submit takedown requests.” But USTR said it's “increasingly concerned” by reports that Alibaba’s enforcement program is “too slow, difficult to use, and lacks transparency.” The report applauded China for its efforts over the past year to examine the problem of counterfeit sales online; a study by that country in November found less than 59 percent of articles sold online last year were genuine. USTR cautioned that large free trade zones have “become enablers for counterfeit activities and are being used as a staging ground to disguise the illicit nature of counterfeit goods, to add infringing trademarks, logos and packaging to products, as well as to conceal the origin of counterfeit goods.” The EU has said counterfeiters are to blame, noted USTR. The issue would be partially addressed by the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, it said. Distribution of counterfeit goods bought online is a major enforcement challenge for customs authorities, said USTR. The report “shines an essential light on the rampant nature of content theft, which diminishes the work of creators, harms consumers through the spread of malware,” MPAA CEO Chris Dodd said in a statement. “As the film and television industry relies on robust copyright frameworks to create and distribute content around the globe, the report is a reminder that it’s important to include strong protections for intellectual property in trade agreements such as the TPP.” USTR’s decision to take “action against the identified markets is a win for both consumers and rights holders, allowing the legitimate foreign market distribution of, and thus greater access to, legal content -- of literary works, music, movies and TV programming, video games, software, and other products and services,” said International Intellectual Property Alliance Counsel Steven Metalitz in a statement.

The European Parliament's Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee overwhelmingly approved the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), intended to create a uniform set of data protection rules and give the EU's 500 million citizens more control over how their information is used (see 1512160001). The committee Thursday voted 53-2 with one abstention in favor of the 204-page regulation agreed to by the parliament and council Tuesday, a parliament news release said. It said the GDPR must still be voted on by the full parliament in spring, probably March or April, and then the EU's 28 member states have two years to "transpose the provisions of the new directive into their national laws." Marju Lauristin, the lead member of the European Parliament on the directive, said in a statement that "these rules, applying to cooperation between EU member states and with third countries on transferring and processing of data, should facilitate the sharing of information, while at the same time ensuring that European citizens’ fundamental rights are not violated." While GDPR gives EU citizens more say in how their data can be used through a codified right to be forgotten and informed consent, among other provisions, advocates said the regulation also cuts down on red tape by harmonizing 28 different standards and applying uniform enforcement. But several business officials said GDPR may create more complexity and bureaucracy (see 1512150004).

The Information Technology Industry Council supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership, it said in a policy position statement released Monday. ITI called the trade agreement a "vital tool to promote durable growth and innovation" and to expand the "social and economic benefits" of the digital economy, and lauded provisions in the deal on cross-border data flows, information and communications technology market access, strong and balanced intellectual property rules and regulatory transparency. "After reviewing the agreement, we have decided to support the TPP, because it offers tremendous growth and innovation opportunities for the technology sector and our economy," ITI CEO Dean Garfield said. TPP "will promote an open, pro-innovation environment for the digital economy globally" and is a "strong rebuke against digital protectionism," ITI said.

The International Chamber of Commerce is urging World Trade Organization members meeting this week at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Nairobi to conclude an information technology tariff elimination agreement, which ICC said in a news release Tuesday could inject up to $190 billion into the global economy. The tariff elimination deal would be the first completed in nearly 20 years. ICC wants expanded product coverage under the WTO Information Technology Agreement 2, and continued absence of customs duties on e-commerce. "Despite standstills in negotiations technology and high-tech, products have continued to develop at a rapid pace, along with the business and organizational models that rely on them to thrive,” said ICC Secretary General John Danilovich. “The WTO ministerial is a real opportunity to make progress on this element of the global trade agenda that would reap the benefits of the digital economy and create significant boosts to international trade."

Data collection requirements for importers of FCC-regulated goods are unclear for June-December next year, Intel told members of the commission's Office of Engineering and Technology in a Thursday meeting, the company said in a filing posted the next day in docket 15-170. The FCC recently said it plans to waive its Form 740 certification requirements for RF devices imported between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2016 (see 1510190056). Intel "recommended that the FCC not require collection or reporting of the information contained in Form 740 either during or after this period" and should rely on existing Customs and Border Protection processes for the data collection. The company "stressed importers should have the flexibility to manage their own records and develop internal controls for monitoring noncompliant devices." Industry responses on doing away with Form 740 were largely positive, though Boeing noted it considers the government collections of the information to be a useful compliance tool (see 1510140028). The company also supported FCC-proposed changes to rules for approval and certification of RF devices (see 1412310022). Intel recommended the FCC continue work to accommodate new technologies and "define conditions and certification methods to allow approved modular radios to be used irrespective of the end host," which would benefit the IoT industry.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit granted an International Trade Commission motion for a 30-day extension for filing petitions for rehearing or rehearing en banc (see 1512090014) in the ITC case against corrective orthodontic device manufacturer ClearCorrect. The Federal Circuit approved ITC's motion Thursday, effectively moving the filing deadline for rehearing petitions from Dec. 28 to Jan. 27. ITC's motion said ClearCorrect and intervenor Align Technology didn't oppose the extension request.

The International Trade Commission asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to grant a 30-day extension for the filing of petitions for rehearing or rehearing en banc its case against corrective orthodontic device manufacturer ClearCorrect. The agency submitted a motion for a deadline extension Tuesday, citing its counsel's conflicts of time and preparation for other arguments as reasons for the request. The case concerns the appeal by ClearCorrect of an ITC ruling that its U.S. facilities could no longer receive transmissions of digital molds of patients' teeth -- allegedly infringing on patents from industry competitor Align Technology -- from the company's affiliate in Pakistan. Last month, the Federal Circuit entered a 2-1 decision in favor of ClearCorrect (see 1511100047), overturning ITC's previous ruling that it has the jurisdiction to block international transmissions of digital information. The agency is "in the process of considering whether to seek rehearing in this appeal" and "good cause exists for the requested extension," said ITC Counsel Sidney Rosenzweig in the motion. Rosenzweig also cited a "nonrefundable vacation" in mid-December and the planned absences of his supervisor and others at the commission during the holiday season as reasons the ITC seeks a new filing deadline. ClearCorrect and intervenor Align Technology indicated they don't oppose the motion for a deadline extension, said Rosenzweig. ClearCorrect General Counsel Michael Myers told us last month he "wouldn't be surprised" if the case is heard en banc. The current deadline for filing a rehearing petition is Dec. 28 but would be moved to Jan. 27 if ITC's motion for extension is granted.

Qualcomm received “courtesy copies” of two statements of objections from the European Commission “relating to separate matters involving Qualcomm’s chipset business,” the company said. They give Qualcomm up to four months to respond to the preliminary allegations. Qualcomm has been cooperating with the EC “since the outset of these matters,” it said Tuesday. “We look forward to demonstrating that competition in the sale of wireless chips has been and remains strong and dynamic, and that Qualcomm’s sales practices have always complied with European competition law.” The EC informed Qualcomm “of its preliminary conclusions that the company may have illegally paid a major customer for exclusively using its chipsets and sold chipsets below cost with the aim of forcing a competitor,” Icera, “out of the market" in “potential breach” of antitrust rules, the commission said in a news release. Under the rules, “dominant companies have a responsibility not to abuse their powerful market position by restricting competition,” it said.

There's an imbalance of power between companies such as Facebook and Google that are amassing vast amounts of information about online users, and individuals who have few opportunities to "exercise their fundamental right to privacy," said the English-language version of a report released Friday by Datatilsynet, Norway's data protection authority. "The information asymmetry that characterises the market is a form of market failure," it said. "When consumers have no knowledge about what is going on, they cannot demand services that offer better privacy. The uneven distribution of information results in a competitive situation, which encourages the market players to use methods increasingly invasive of privacy." The DPA said individuals don't just deal with a company that owns a website they visit, but also "ad exchanges, demand side and supply side platforms, ad networks, data brokers and data management platforms." Datatilsynet said it's working to increase transparency in the ad market and recommended website publishers provide information about third parties that collect user data such as type and usage, giving individuals the option to provide "active consent" to companies collecting their data, and improving privacy policies so they are easy to understand.