The Japanese antitrust regulator Japan Fair Trade Commission ordered Qualcomm to eliminate some provisions from its patent licensing agreements with its Japanese licensees, Qualcomm said. JFTC alleged that the chip manufacturer forced Japanese licensees to accept cross-license provisions without compensation, and to accept a provision under which the Japanese licensees agreed not to assert their essential patents against other licensees that had agreed to a similar provision. Qualcomm claimed none of its Japanese licensees were forced to enter into licensing agreements, and it will pursue an appeal before the Japanese courts if JFTC affirms the order. The provisions were the subject of “extensive arms-length negotiations with sophisticated parties,” are common in technology licensing agreements, and generate “enormous benefits for the wireless industry and consumers,” Qualcomm claimed. The provisions promote “patent peace,” and reduce transaction costs and licensing fees, it said. Many handset and infrastructure manufacturers as well as wireless operators have relied on these provisions in business planning, said Donald Rosenberg, executive vice president and general counsel of Qualcomm. “If Qualcomm were to eliminate these provisions, there is a risk that some Japanese licensees may attempt to assert their previously licensed patents against Qualcomm, its customers and its licensees,” he said.
Motorola is running LTE trials around the world and working for early adoption and deployment, Tom Gruba, senior director of networks product management at Motorola Home & Networks Mobility told us. The manufacturer remains in discussions with major U.S. carriers and has formed partnerships to develop LTE chips, devices and applications, he said.
An ongoing FCC auction for 122 FM stations that’s netted bids of $4.2 million so far is unlikely to raise near what the last auction for the same number of construction permits did, said several attorneys representing bidders and others. Auction No. 79 began last Tuesday and on Friday the FCC tightened bidding eligibility, starting what’s called stage 2. No. 70 in 2007 was the last FM auction and netted $21.3 million.
Spending on communications lobbying dropped 8 percent in the first half of 2009 from a year earlier to $183 million. The industry fell to fourth place, its lowest position in several years, behind the health care, energy and finance industries, according to information from CQ’s Political Moneyline. The spending was back down close to the $173 million spent in 2007. First-half spending on communications lobbying was $93 million in 2005 and $122 million in 2006. Since 2004, communications had increased its spending about as fast as other industries.
Gray TV said it turned on mobile DTV service at its WOWT-TV Omaha in July. The station is working with the Open Mobile Video Coalition on a pilot for the area, Gray said. Mobile DTV tuner chips are in production, said Jim Ocon, Gray TV vice president of technology. “The chips themselves, the little tuners, are actually being built as we speak,” he said in a news release. Gray said consumers could begin using mobile DTV by the end of the year.
The FCC report covering parental controls across a wide array of media and technologies released Monday acknowledged that many questions about how such filters can be better used remain unanswered. As expected (CD Aug 28 p4), the report to Congress under the Child Safe Viewing Act largely tees up questions for a coming commission notice of inquiry (NOI) on the subject. In some areas covered, including wireless devices, games and the Internet, the report reached no conclusions. In other areas, including consumer electronics, the V-chip and cable and satellite-TV filters, the study said data was lacking or called for more research.
A FCC report on parental controls across many platforms due Monday to Congress makes no recommendations for legislation and reaches no conclusions, commission officials said. The report is required by the Child Safe Viewing Act and sets up many issues for a forthcoming notice of inquiry on kids and media, said industry and commission officials. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has said the Media Bureau is working on the notice (CD Aug 21 p1). He listed it as among his near-term media priorities.
After reviewing the draft order from the Japan Fair Trade Commission, Qualcomm disputes the notion in the Japanese antitrust regulator’s order that any provisions in its license agreements with its Japanese licensees were forced upon them, the chip maker said. The company said it will file a written response opposing the order within the next two weeks. The JFTC investigative staff will then decide whether to issue a formal order reflecting the terms of the draft order, modify it in some respect, or decline to issue a formal order. If the staff adopts the draft order in whole or in part, Qualcomm will request a full evidentiary hearing and review by the JFTC. Qualcomm will also seek to have any order suspended or stayed during the pendency of the reviews and appeals. Qualcomm’s Japanese licenses were agreed to voluntarily many years ago, after “extensive arms- length negotiations,” the company said. Additionally, these cross-license and non-assert provisions, common elements of many license agreements, provide benefits to Qualcomm customers and licensees, it said. Qualcomm believes requiring revisions of long-standing contracts is neither justified by the facts nor supported by the law. JFTC had asked Qualcomm to change its licensing terms with some of the country’s handset manufacturers (CD July 28 p8).
Wireless carriers face “potentially catastrophic” cyberattacks by hackers if iPhone owners are allowed to “jailbreak” their devices, Apple said in a filing at the U.S. Copyright Office. The office is considering a request by the Electronic Frontier Foundation to legalize jailbreaking - letting iPhone owners “hack” their handsets so they can use software not approved for distribution through the iPhone App Store. “Each iPhone contains a unique Exclusive Chip Identification number that identifies the phone to the cell tower,” Apple argued. “With access to the [baseband processor] via jailbreaking, hackers may be able to change the ECID, which in turn can enable phone calls to be made anonymously (this would be desirable to drug dealers, for example) or charges for the calls to be avoided.” By taking command of baseband processor software, a hacker could send commands to cell-tower software and “skirt” carrier rules limiting the packet size or the amount of data that can be transmitted, or avoid charges for sending data, Apple said. It said a hacker could even send commands to a cell tower “that could crash the tower software, rendering the tower entirely inoperable to process calls or transmit data.”
Harry (Chip) Shooshan, 62, a longtime telecom consultant and former Hill aide, died July 18 in Bedford, N.H. Cause of death wasn’t immediately available. Shooshan was chief counsel and staff director to the former House Communications Subcommittee from 1974 to 1980. Survivors include his wife, three children and three grandchildren. A memorial service is set for 1 p.m. Friday at the Bedford Presbyterian Church.