FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s staff was negotiating with the wireless industry Wednesday over a possible deal to allow cellphone unlocking, but they hadn’t agreed on acceptable terms as of the afternoon, said agency and industry officials in interviews. Wheeler was hoping to reach agreement in time to disclose it at the FCC’s monthly meeting Thursday, a commission official said. The meeting was already set to include a presentation from staff about efforts to promote cellphone unlocking. An FCC spokesman declined to comment, referring us to Wheeler’s earlier statements on the issue. Wheeler has been pushing wireless carriers to voluntarily allow unlocking through the CTIA Consumer Code -- something that industry observers have seen as being likely to take place in the face of possible government regulation (CD Nov 18 p1).
AT&T “would be supportive of rules around the [broadcast incentive] auction that would limit the amount of spectrum any one company could garner,” as long as “everyone is bound” to those rules, CEO Randall Stephenson said Tuesday at a UBS investor conference. “That seems like a reasonable place for us. ... The more restrictions you begin to put on the auction participants, the more it drives the value down and the more risk you have of a failed auction.”
The FCC should move ahead with its plan for a three-tiered framework for managing users on the 3.5 GHz band, Verizon Communications said in a filing Friday. The FCC has proposed managing spectrum sharing on the band through the Spectrum Access System. The Priority Access Licenses-based framework would give incumbent government users the highest tier of access, followed by a tier for priority access licensees and a lower tier for general access users.
The House approved the Innovation Act (HR-3309) Thursday on a 325-91 vote, confirming expectations that the bill would pass (CED Dec 5 p3). Majorities from both parties voted for both the final bill and a manager’s amendment from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., that made technical changes to the bill’s language. The 130 Democrats who voted for the final bill did so despite continued opposition led by two leading House Judiciary Democrats. HR-3309’s supporters were able to vote down most -- but not all -- amendments Thursday that would have fundamentally changed the bill, which if enacted would curb what it terms abusive patent litigation. The bill would aid the U.S. patent system, which was “never intended to be a playground for litigation extortion and frivolous claims,” Goodlatte said.
The House approved the Innovation Act (HR-3309) Thursday on a 325-91 vote, confirming expectations that the bill would pass (WID Dec 5 p7). Majorities from both parties voted for both the final bill and a manager’s amendment from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., that made technical changes to the bill’s language. The 130 Democrats who voted for the final bill did so despite continued opposition led by two leading House Judiciary Democrats. HR-3309’s supporters were able to vote down most -- but not all -- amendments Thursday that would have fundamentally changed the bill, which if enacted would curb what it terms abusive patent litigation. The bill would aid the U.S. patent system, which was “never intended to be a playground for litigation extortion and frivolous claims,” Goodlatte said.
The House approved the Innovation Act (HR-3309) Thursday on a 325-91 vote, confirming expectations that the bill would pass (CD Dec 5 p7). Majorities from both parties voted for both the final bill and a manager’s amendment from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., that made technical changes to the bill’s language. The 130 Democrats who voted for the final bill did so despite continued opposition led by two leading House Judiciary Democrats. HR-3309’s supporters were able to vote down most -- but not all -- amendments Thursday that would have fundamentally changed the bill, which if enacted would curb what it terms abusive patent litigation. The bill would aid the U.S. patent system, which was “never intended to be a playground for litigation extortion and frivolous claims,” Goodlatte said.
The House Rules Committee voted Tuesday to move forward eight of 26 submitted amendments to the Innovation Act (HR-3309) for full House consideration, in a bid to streamline consideration of the bill. Proponents say the measure would address abusive patent litigation. The cleared amendments included a bill manager’s amendment from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., which would make technical changes to the wording of the bill passed out of House Judiciary last month (CD Nov 22 p13). House Rules also cleared a “Democratic substitute” version of HR-3309, contained in an amendment by House Judiciary ranking member John Conyers, D-Mich., and Intellectual Property Subcommittee ranking member Mel Watt, D-N.C. Industry stakeholders told us they believe HR-3309 has a very good chance of passing the House, though the level of support it might receive from each party remained unclear Wednesday.
The House Rules Committee voted Tuesday to move forward eight of 26 submitted amendments to the Innovation Act (HR-3309) for full House consideration, in a bid to streamline consideration of the bill. Proponents say the measure would address abusive patent litigation. The cleared amendments included a bill manager’s amendment from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., which would make technical changes to the wording of the bill passed out of House Judiciary last month (WID Nov 22 p5). House Rules also cleared a “Democratic substitute” version of HR-3309, contained in an amendment by House Judiciary ranking member John Conyers, D-Mich., and Intellectual Property Subcommittee ranking member Mel Watt, D-N.C. Industry stakeholders told us they believe HR-3309 has a very good chance of passing the House, though the level of support it might receive from each party remained unclear Wednesday.
The House Rules Committee voted Tuesday to move forward eight of 26 submitted amendments to the Innovation Act (HR-3309) for full House consideration, in a bid to streamline consideration of the bill. Proponents say the measure would address abusive patent litigation.
The White House endorsed HR-3309 Tuesday, telling the House Rules Committee in a statement it believes the bill “builds on the important patent reforms contained in the America Invents Act ... and successfully implemented by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The bill would improve incentives for future innovation while protecting the overall integrity of the patent system” (http://1.usa.gov/1avFvNn).