| New Documents |
FCC:
report
on the status of its C and F block Broadband PCS spectrum auction,
11/17 (PDF, FCC).
NIPC:
Assessment
re the Navidad Internet worm, 11/16 (HTML, NIPC).
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| Quotes of the Day |
The following quotes reflect the most recent posturing on the FSC
and agriculture trade dispute between the EU and U.S.
"This request is designed to protect our rights in the WTO,
fully in line with the procedural agreement reached with the US in
September. Whilst wishing to de-escalate this dispute, our aim is to
see the WTO- incompatible FSC export subsidies removed. Although we
believe the FSC replacement legislation does not solve the problem,
the EU will leave it to the WTO to rule on this question. That's
what the WTO is there for."
Pascal Lamy, EU Commissioner for Trade, Nov. 17.
"We regret that the EU has not accepted our new legislation. We
continue to strongly believe that it is WTO- compliant, as it
neither constitutes a subsidy nor is it export- contingent."
Charlene Barshefsky, USTR, and Stuart Eizenstat, Dep.
Sec. of the Treasury, joint statement,
Nov. 17. |
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| News Briefs |
11/17. The EU requested the WTO
to authorize trade sanctions against the U.S. of up to $4.043
Billion. The EU alleged as grounds for the request that the Foreign
Sales Corporation Repeal and Extraterritorial Income Exclusion Act
of 2000, which Clinton signed into law on Nov. 16, constitutes an
illegal export subsidy. The move was expected. Earlier this year
the WTO held that the FSC tax regime constituted an illegal export
subsidy. Previously, the U.S. complained to the WTO, and prevailed,
about protectionist agricultural policies in Europe. The EU seeks to
bargain its acceptance of the U.S. tax regime for the U.S.
acceptance of its agricultural policies. The EU request will be
decided by a WTO Dispute
Settlement Body. Then, an appeal will likely be made to the WTO
Appellate Body. If the WTO finds the new tax bill to be illegal, and
the EU and U.S. do not settle their differences, retaliatory trade
sanctions would likely be imposed. In this case the EU would target
U.S. technology companies with significant sales in Europe,
including Cisco, Motorola, and Microsoft. See, EU
release and U.S.
response. See also, USTR
statement on agriculture negotiations.
11/17. The FTC announced that it is
sending over 100 letters to online retailers following its
pre-Christmas review of web sites of retailers. The letters warn
online retailers of the FTC's Mail or Telephone Order
Merchandise Rule, which the FTC also applies to merchandise
ordered over the Internet. It covers representations regarding
deliver time, and obligations of retailers who fail to deliver
within a promised amount of time. See, FTC release.
11/17. The U.S. District Court (CDCa)
entered final judgment in Los
Angeles Times v. Free Republic, a case pertaining to online
copyright infringement. The LA Times and Washington Post sued
the Free Republic, a
discussion forum web site, for copyright infringement for publishing
copies of news stories from their web sites without permission.
Defendants unsuccessfully raised fair use and freedom of speech
defenses. Defendants in the past have promised to appeal.
11/17. The FCC published a report
[PDF] on the status of its C and F block Broadband PCS
spectrum auction, now scheduled for Dec. 12, 2000. These 422
spectrum licenses are limited by FCC regulation
to small businesses. The FCC stated that it has received 112
applications to participate in the auction, accepted 44, determined
66 to be incomplete, and rejected 2. This is the oft delayed
reauction of the bankrupt NextWave's spectrum. Background: FCC WTB's
PCS web page.
11/17. The U.S. Court of
Appeals (DCCir) issued an order
[PDF] in the Microsoft appeal regarding the filing of copies of
CD-ROM versions of appeal briefs.
11/17. Bill Galliani joined Cooley
Godward as a patent partner in its Palo Alto office. He had been
at Pennie & Edmonds. He
focuses on on electronic and software patent counseling. See, release.
11/16. The ICANN
board of directors named six new TLDs, and their registry operators:
.aero – Societe Internationale de Telecommunications
Aeronautiques
.biz – JVTeam
.coop – National Cooperative Business Assoc.
.info – Afilias
.museum – Museum Domain Management Assoc.
.name – Global Name Registry
.pro – RegistryPro
11/16. The FBI's NIPC issued
an assessment of the Navidad Internet worm. It stated that "it
represents a low threat in the United States. Although there have
been media reports of outbreaks of this worm in South Korea and
Australia, NIPC's international counterparts have reported no
significant outbreaks. Although Navidad does not contain a dangerous
payload, it does modify the Windows registry file. The modification
makes it impossible to execute most programs with an ... attachment
unless they were already running at the time of infection."
See, Assessment
00-059.
11/16. The Telecommunications
Industry Association (TIA), a telecom equipment manufacturers'
standards setting body, announced that it wants to expand into
broadband, Internet, optical networking and venture capital
financing. The TIA began in 1924 as a group of equipment suppliers.
It is now a trade group that represents companies that provide
telecommunications materials, products, and systems. It is involved
in government relations, market support, and standards development.
For example, it is the group that wrote the standard, named J-STD-025,
that the FCC adopted as part
of its CALEA
implementation order. See, TIA
release.
11/10. The USPTO issued a patent
to Avanex
for its dense
wavelength multiplexing (DWDM) process. Avanex is a
provider of photonic processors for optical communications networks.
Its main product, PowerMux, is based on the patented technology.
See, Avanex
release.
Editor's Note: This column includes all News Briefs added to
Tech Law Journal since the last Daily E-Mail Alert. The dates
indicate when the event occurred, not the date of posting to Tech
Law Journal. |
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Today
3:00 - 5:00 PM EST. The USPTO's
Trademark Public Advisory Committee will hold a public
conference call. The agenda
includes the Trademark Examination Guide, Retention of USPTO
User Fees, Electronic Filing, and suggestions for future TPAC
agenda items. [Number: 877-601-4711. Conference Code: TPAC
PUBLIC.]
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