Grokster agreed to settle a 3-year-old fight with the music and movie industries only 4 months after a landmark Supreme Court ruling that found peer-to-peer(P2P) networks can be liable for users’ sharing copyrighted files (WID June 28 p1). The parties were expected to present settlement details, which included a $50 million payment to the plaintiffs, at a late Mon. hearing in U.S. Dist. Court-L.A.

With little known of the terms under which former CPB Chmn. Kenneth Tomlinson quit CPB’s board, a tone of cautious optimism about a return to pre-Tomlinson days prevailed among some public broadcasters. Some see Tomlinson’s era as an aberration from which CPB can rebound automatically. But other onlookers, like APTS Pres. John Lawson, said that with Tomlinson gone long-term fixes are required. “The whole episode underscores the need for long term reform of the governance of the CPB,” he said.

The CPB Wed. defended discussing in closed session an inspector gen.’s report on the Tomlinson investigation and withholding the report from immediate release. “Premature” release of information may be “harmful to the corporation’s interest,” CPB said. The board, whose reviewing of the report began Tues., has drawn fire from media groups for closing the sessions to the press and the public.

As CPB’s board meets in Washington today (Tues.) to hear Inspector Gen. Kenneth Konz’s report on the Tomlinson inquiry (CD Oct 31 p1), local public TV stations are calling for major CPB reforms aimed at “de-politicizing” CPB governance and guaranteeing public broadcasting’s editorial integrity. A CPB spokesman said the board meeting will run 3 days, through Thurs., but it will be closed to the public. The IG will air his report Nov. 14 or 15 at an open board meeting, he said.

Senators took another stab at moving spyware legislation forward, reissuing a call to expand the FTC’s authority to enforce existing online privacy laws and allow the agency to coordinate with foreign law enforcement to prosecute deceptive Web activities. FTC Chmn. Deborah Majoras told the subcommittee overseeing her agency that the biggest problem is finding those responsible for the scourge and punishing them, particularly through civil action. “They obviously can hide behind the Internet, they can skip town or skip the country,” she said, indicating global cooperation is key.

The FCC formally released its order on the extension of wiretap law to facilities-based broadband access providers and interconnected VoIP providers late Fri. The Commission said this summer broadband providers and VoIP providers that connect to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) are covered by the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), but didn’t describe its rationale in detail (WID Aug 8 p1).

The FCC formally released its order on the extension of wiretap law to facilities-based broadband access providers and interconnected VoIP providers late Fri. The Commission said this summer broadband providers and VoIP providers that connect to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) are covered by the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), but didn’t describe its rationale in detail (CD Aug 8 p1).

High-tech groups saluted House passage of a new trade agreement, approved 217-215 in the early morning hours Thurs. The Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), last month passed the Senate 54-45. Backers say it will up annual U.S. technology exports to Central American countries by 11%, saving exporters over $75 million annually by eliminating tariffs. Democratic lawmakers argue CAFTA-DR could take American jobs overseas and cripple the economy.

Public broadcasters opposed to Corp. for Public Bcstg. (CPB) Chmn. Kenneth Tomlinson’s recent drive to bring “balance” to programs are raising the issue of reform in CPB governance and functioning to ensure it retains a heat shield. Some believe the enabling statute needs changing to ensure the CPB can’t influence programming, while others say most reforms could be brought about by consultation within the system.

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Mon. that software developers are liable for actively promoting copyright infringement by users on peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. The justices effectively set a new copyright standard in sending MGM v. Grokster back to the 9th U.S. Appeals Court, San Francisco, which had ruled P2P networks aren’t liable for users’ copyright infringements. The ruling was seen by some as a big win for movie studios and recording artists and by others as a murky, multifaceted decision that could chill U.S. innovation, spreading waves of litigation and ripples of uncertainty throughout the high-tech industry.