Europe’s telecom and entertainment sectors agreed last week that intellectual property rights (IPR) are the lifeblood of the content industry and content is key to unleashing broadband. The acknowledgment by each side of the other’s importance to the rollout of digital content paved the way for productive talks at last Thurs.’s European Telecom Network Operators’ Assn. (ETNO) workshop on content and convergence, participants said. But they said the historic agreement on IPR -- and the need for interoperability -- is just the beginning, and several issues remain unresolved.
Court of International Trade activity
The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the U.S. and Australia that took effect this week has drawn heavy criticism from U.S. ISP interests. They say Australian laws regarding copyright protection were amended under pressure from copyright holders that saw the agreement as a chance to gain broader legal rights against service providers. ISPs said intellectual property (IP) interests may use the FTA -- which ends duties on about 97% of trade between the 2 nations and is seen by economists as a likely boost to both countries’ economies -- to bring American copyright laws into harmony with less ISP- friendly Australian laws.
The Dept. of Justice is taking enforcement of intellectual property (IP) laws seriously but could do more to ensure IP protection remains a high priority, the DoJ Task Force on Intellectual Property concluded. The task force released a lengthy report Tues. proposing increased DoJ resources for IP and examined copyright legislation on the Hill. Without endorsing or opposing any legislation, it opposed the aim of a fair use bill by House Internet Caucus Co-Chmn. Boucher (D-Va.) and supported efforts to target inducement of copyright infringement.
The latest effort by the U.S. Copyright Office to broker a compromise over legislation targeting anyone who “induces” copyright infringement has failed to assuage fair-use advocates, while content owners remain quiet. The Copyright Office late Fri. circulated its latest draft proposal, a very short bill aimed at anyone whose business model profits from others infringing copyrights. In a much lengthier explanatory memorandum, the office argues its latest draft resolves some criticisms of its previous draft. Established opponents of S-2560 by Senate Judiciary Committee Chmn. Hatch (R-Utah) and ranking Democrat Leahy (Vt.) remained opposed, while others, such as the Business Software Alliance (BSA), were taking a more cautious approach.
Donations to political candidates by the communications industry are on pace this election cycle to total only 1/2 the amount given in 2000, according to Federal Election Commission figures. This Presidential race, like 2000, is extremely close, and margins in the House and Senate remain narrow. The key difference from 2000, according to numbers compiled by the Center for Public Integrity, is that in this election soft money to candidates and party committees is banned under the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA).
AT&T offered the Bells a trade-off -- somewhat higher UNE-P prices in return for better access to unbundled loops (UNE-L), which AT&T needs to move to facilities-based competition. “This is a test of the sincerity of the Bells who have been mouthing support for facilities-based competition for years,” AT&T Gen. Counsel Jim Cicconi told reporters Thurs. The proposal envisions AT&T’s moving toward use of its own switches, rather than relying on those of the Bell companies, and leasing only the last-mile loops to customers’ premises. “We always viewed UNE-P as a bridge” to facilities-based competition, Cicconi said: “We're saying the Bells can increase prices for 1-1/2 years… if they clear obstacles to use of our own switches.”
Foreign “countries are typically opening up” their telecom markets to competition and foreign investment, a U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) official told us: “There is a clear trend there.” The official said countries such as Cambodia and former Soviet Union republics had “opened up in terms of allowing new people to participate in the market. But at the same time, it’s hard” for foreign carriers to operate in many of those markets because “often [those markets] don’t have adequate rules to support competition.”
EchoStar said it reached a licensing agreement and agreed to pay $190 million to Gemstar-TV Guide International, ending a 5-year legal battle. The settlement, which follows a similar agreement signed by Pioneer last week, leaves Scientific-Atlanta (S-A) as the lone remaining defendant in a patent infringement case involving electronic program guide technology that has wound its way through federal courts and the International Trade Commission (ITC). S-A officials weren’t available for comment at our deadline. The ITC found in 2002 that EchoStar, Pioneer and S-A didn’t infringe Gemstar’s patents, but a separate case remained pending in U.S. Dist. Court, Atlanta. Under terms of its agreement, EchoStar will launch and carry the TV Guide Channel on its most widely distributed programming package, America’s Top 60. The 2 companies also agreed to develop a customized version of TV Guide on Demand. EchoStar also said it would buy Gemstar’s C-band satellite service Superstar/Netlink, UVTV and SpaceCom for $48 million. Gemstar said it will purchase from Wisdom Media Holdings the minority interest in Superstar that it doesn’t already own, for $15 million. The number of Superstar subscribers has fallen dramatically with the arrival of DBS, to less than 300,000. EchoStar’s ties to Superstar date to 2000 when it paid $10 million to TV Guide as part of effort to covert 1 million C-band subscribers to DISH. EchoStar abandoned the effort 2 years later as the number of C-band customers dwindled to less than 600,000. TV Guide merged with Gemstar in 2000.
Pioneer struck a worldwide licensing agreement with Gemstar-TV Guide International, ending a 6-year legal battle over technologies developed for electronic program guides (EPGs). Under the agreement -- which applies to digital TVs, DVD recorders and cable set-top boxes (STBs) -- Pioneer will pay license fees based on the number of units sold and make a one-time $14 million payment. The licensing pact resolves a patent infringement suit that Gemstar filed against Pioneer in 1998. The suit, which was later combined with similar actions against EchoStar and Scientific-Atlanta (S-A), also was the subject a complaint that Gemstar filed with the International Trade Commission (ITC). The ITC found in 2002 that Pioneer, EchoStar and S-A didn’t infringe Gemstar patents. The licensing agreement also settled a separate state antitrust and unfair practices lawsuit that Pioneer filed against Gemstar in Cal. Superior Court in 2000.
The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) and others stepped up pressure Tues. against a proprietary standard China backs for Wi-Fi, saying it flouts World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments. Enforcement of the standard, set to start June 1, could halt imports of all Wi-Fi enabled devices into China, the groups warned. Senate International Trade Subcommittee Chmn. Thomas (R-Wyo.) urged Chinese Ambassador Yang Jiechi in a letter to resolve the flap over the wireless local area networks (WLAN) standard before then.