Fitbit asked a federal court for a declaratory judgment that its fitness trackers and smartwatches don’t infringe three Philips patents, as Philips alleged Dec. 10 before the International Trade Commission. Though Fitbit “vigorously denies” the infringement allegations, Philips “nevertheless continues to seek to disrupt Fitbit’s business and keep Fitbit’s health-promoting products from the public based on patents that Fitbit’s products do not infringe,” said a complaint (in Pacer) Thursday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. The ITC opened a Tariff Act Section 337 investigation Jan. 10 (see 2001130047) into the Philips complaint (login required), which seeks limited exclusion and cease and desist orders against the allegedly infringing Fitbit products. Philips also targeted Garmin smartwatches and fitness trackers and the OEMs that make the devices for Fitbit and Garmin. Philips didn’t comment Friday.

The State and Commerce departments clarified Thursday they're abiding by a March court order that blocked the transfer of 3D printing software from the U.S. munitions list to the commerce control list. Exporters “must continue to treat such technical data and software as subject to control on the USML,” State said in the Federal Register. Commerce said all such requests should go to State.

Huawei’s chairman said the U.S. may face retaliation from China if it follows through on plans to increase restrictions on foreign exports to the Chinese telecom giant (see 2002190002). Chairman Eric Xu said at a Tuesday news conference China may respond with restrictions on U.S. companies operating there. “I think the Chinese government will not just stand by, watching Huawei be slaughtered,” Xu said. “I believe the Chinese government may also take some countermeasures.”

Oxford University scientists published a study Tuesday advocating use of smartphone apps for instant digital contact tracing to lessen COVID-19's spread. “Viral spread is too fast to be contained by manual contact tracing, but could be controlled if this process was faster, more efficient and happened at scale,” said the study. “A contact-tracing App which builds a memory of proximity contacts and immediately notifies contacts of positive cases can achieve epidemic control if used by enough people.” The “core functionality is to replace a week’s work of manual contact tracing with instantaneous signals transmitted to and from a central server,” it said.

European network operators are coping well with significant traffic increases during COVID-19, regulators reported to the European Commission Monday. The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) and the EC said March 19 that more internet traffic hasn't led to general network congestion, but the need for data is growing, and they committed to ensuring an open internet and to enforcing rules again blocking, slow-downs or traffic prioritization. They set up a reporting mechanism to ensure regular monitoring. BEREC's first report showed operators "have been able to cope well with this additional traffic load," and some local or temporary problems with internet access weren't considered out of the ordinary. Telcos "are working around the clock" to ensure networks stay up and service continuity, said the European Telecommunications Network Operators Association. "Members observe networks working well across Europe, with no significant disruption despite strong increases and changing patterns in data traffic."

Inconsistencies abound in the List 4A Section 301 tariff exclusions that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative granted to Chinese smartwatch imports classified under the 8517.62.00.90 product code. The exclusions are retroactive to Sept. 1 when the tariffs took effect and expire after one year, said a USTR notice Thursday. The exemptions apply to devices “suitable for wearing on the wrist” with “time-display functions” and the ability to link to a “network." USTR granted exclusions to the Apple Watch and a range of Fitbit smartwatches and fitness trackers, but also to Tile for a Bluetooth tracking device that has no wrist-worn or time-display component. The Tile device links to a smartphone app for finding misplaced items like keys or glasses. Sonos also landed exemptions for the wireless mesh network speakers and audio components it imports from China under the same 8517.62.00.90 classification as smartwatches. But exclusion requests for wireless speakers from Bose, Sound United and others remain in a Stage 2 administrative review at USTR, as do smartwatches from Fossil. A wide range of additional 8517.62.00.90 goods also remain in a Stage 2 hold, including Apple AirPods and JLab Bluetooth headphones. USTR didn’t comment Friday.

The Commerce Department extended comments on future temporary general license extensions under export administration regulations by about a month to April 22, says Thursday's Federal Register. The feedback will determine “continuing need” and scope for future extensions for the temporary general license for Huawei, the department said Wednesday. Thursday, Reuters reported senior administration officials agreed to new measures to further restrict foreign exports of chips to Huawei. It's unclear if President Donald Trump will OK the change. The White House and Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security didn't comment.

Global governments need to define semiconductors as an “essential” industry that must be “allowed to continue operations” during COVID-19 lockdowns, blogged Semiconductor Industry Association President John Neuffer Wednesday. Semiconductors “underpin vital sectors of the economy, including health care and medical devices, telecommunications, energy, finance, transportation, agriculture, and manufacturing,” he said. They run information technology systems “that enable remote work and access to essential services across every domain,” he said. “Ensuring the continuity of semiconductor and related supply chains is necessary to support the even greater range of services that will be digitized in the coming weeks and months.”

Smartphone production could fall 30% during 2020's first half from coronavirus disruptions, said ABI Research Tuesday. “Ripples from China will be felt globally,” said David McQueen, calling mass disruption to production lines and stalling of supply chains due to labor shortages and inactive logistics “disastrous.” With China the world’s manufacturing center for most smartphones -- and a top market -- the sector has been hardest hit by delayed shipments and a “weakened development of next-generation products,” he said. A move to lower price tiers was expected to boost 5G smartphone adoption this year, but the pandemic will push out development and shipments of affordable models, McQueen said. Though the outbreak is expected to come under control by the end of Q2, it will take time for consumer confidence to return, said the analyst.

The ITU launched a policy and regulatory best practices sharing platform to help regulators, policymakers and industry safeguard telecom services during the pandemic, it said Monday. The Global Network Resiliency Platform is to assist nations "struggling to find appropriate solutions to ensure their networks' resiliency," the ITU said.