The International Trade Commission set the first settlement conference for Aug. 7 in its Tariff Act Section 301 investigation into Sharp allegations that Vizio and its suppliers are infringing five Sharp LCD display patents (see 2007010053). The second settlement conference is scheduled for Dec. 17, said Administrative Law Judge Dee Lord’s order (login required) posted in docket 337-TA-1201. Lord’s order set a Sept. 27, 2021, target date for completing the investigation.

Refining the Digital Millennium Copyright Act might be better than scrapping the statute and starting from scratch, the Copyright Office wrote Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Monday. Tillis and Leahy asked May 29 how CO would design a modern anti-piracy framework starting from scratch (see 2006090063). The Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee, which Tillis chairs, plans to release draft legislation in December for updating the DMCA. The original balance of this law between platforms and rights holders has shifted, acting Register of Copyrights Maria Strong wrote, citing complaints from rights holders about the burden they shoulder in flagging content. Strong noted tech industry stakeholders are largely satisfied with how the act is working. Altering the framework could have significant impacts on operations and business models of platforms with a disproportionate impact on small businesses and startups, Strong wrote: “This fact may caution in favor of refining the current system, rather than starting from scratch. There may also be practical reasons to refine the current system rather than scrap notice-and-takedown entirely, including international obligations and the adoption of similar systems by a number of our trading partners.”

The “predictive text” functionality on LG’s Risio 3 prepaid smartphone for Cricket Wireless infringes two patents for an “automatic dynamic contextual data entry completion system,” alleged the patents’ owner, Mountech, in a complaint (in Pacer) Monday in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Delaware. One patent (7,991,784) was granted in August 2011. The other (8,311,805) dates to November 2012. Both name New Yorker Prashant Parikh as the sole inventor, but neither lists an assignee. LG “has committed these acts of infringement without license or authorization,” it said. Mountech “has suffered monetary damages and is entitled to a monetary judgment in an amount adequate” to compensate it for LG’s infringement, plus “interests and costs,” it said. “As a matter of policy, LG doesn't generally comment on such pending legal actions,” emailed a spokesperson.

The Copyright Office announced the opening of its triennial rulemaking process for granting exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's Section 1201 rules barring circumvention of technological protection mechanisms (see 1706300066). The goal is to identify potential classes of works “to which users are, or are likely to be in the next three years, adversely affected in their ability to make noninfringing uses due to the prohibition on circumventing access controls,” the CO said Monday. Petitions for exemption renewal are due July 22, petitions for new exemptions Sept. 8, said the Federal Register. Comments on renewal petitions are due Sept. 8. The CO said it’s again using a “streamlined” process for “renewal of exemptions that were granted during the seventh triennial rulemaking.” Renewed exemptions will remain in force through October 2024.

Sens. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., introduced legislation to sanction people or companies that “enable the significant and serial theft” of U.S. intellectual property. The bill would authorize blocking measures and asset freezes and allow the president to include an entity on the Commerce Department’s denied persons list. “This bipartisan legislation will help end foreign theft of innovative technologies invented in the United States and will send a strong signal to bad actors across the globe,” Van Hollen said Thursday. The U.S. should “stop leaving an open door for China and other adversaries to steal," IP said Sasse.

Five months after Sonos charged Google with stealing the technologies in five of its multiroom audio patents (see 2001070041), Google returned the favor Thursday afternoon in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. Sonos is stealing "substantial volumes of Google’s technology, including patented Google innovations in search, software, networking, audio processing, and digital media management and streaming,” alleged its complaint (in Pacer). It said Sonos hardware products and software and service offerings infringe five Google patents, the identical patent count in the Sonos allegations against Google. “Sonos has made false claims about the companies’ shared work and Google’s technology in the lawsuits that Sonos filed against Google earlier this year,” said the complaint. “While Google rarely sues other companies for patent infringement, it must assert its intellectual property rights here.” Google is "disappointed that Sonos has made false claims about our work together and technology," emailed spokesperson Jose Castaneda. "We are reluctantly defending ourselves by asserting our patent rights. While we look to resolve our dispute, we will continue to ensure our shared customers have the best experience using our products.” Sonos didn’t comment. Sonos and Google earlier Thursday declared they're deadlocked in the discovery phase of the Tariff Act Section 337 investigation at the International Trade Commission into the Sonos allegations that Google devices infringe the five Sonos multiroom audio patents (see 2002060070). There were no immediate indications Google in the new action would pursue a Section 337 complaint against Sonos, and Google spokesperson Castaneda sidestepped the question. The ITC combatants exited May at “an impasse regarding critical aspects of a protocol for remotely reviewing source code,” they told Chief Administrative Law Judge Charles Bullock in a progress report (login required). Sonos and Google agreed Tuesday to “table that dispute” as they try to organize an “in-person review” of the source code, they said. If COVID-19 makes the in-person review “impractical,” the companies may bring the stalemate before Bullock “for resolution,” they said. Sonos contends Google uses technologies stolen through various collaborations between the companies the past six years. Google counters it developed the technologies on its own and that they’re not the technologies described in the five Sonos patents.

Israel-based Tower Semiconductor licensed Invensas ZiBond and DBI 3D semiconductor interconnect technologies, said Tower and Invensas parent Xperi Wednesday. The license supports manufacturing of time of flight and advanced sensors for CE, machine vision, autonomous vehicles and smart devices. Tower will also explore the use of Invensas 3D integration technologies for memories and micro-electromechanical system devices. Xperi and TiVo completed their merger June 1 and will operate under Xperi (see personals section, June 9).

Vizio and its suppliers TPV and Xianyang CaiHong Optoelectronics asked the International Trade Commission Tuesday for a two-week deadline extension to June 30 to respond to Sharp's allegations that their TVs and components infringe five LCD display patents (see 2005210041), said a motion (login required) posted in docket 337-TA-1201. The companies need more time to “fully investigate the allegations” in Sharp's April 21 complaint and “explore and develop potential defenses,” said the motion, which Sharp didn’t oppose. “The COVID-19 pandemic has also introduced additional challenges in coordinating responses and collecting relevant responsive information.” Administrative Law Judge Dee Lord approved the motion Wednesday afternoon.

The International Trade Commission set Sept. 27, 2021, as the “target date” for completing its Tariff Act Section 337 investigation into Sharp’s patent infringement complaint against Vizio and its suppliers, said an order (login required) signed Friday by Administrative Law Judge Dee Lord. The order set a Markman fact-finding hearing for Oct. 1 and an evidentiary hearing for the week of March 1. “It may not be practical to hold the scheduled hearings in-person” because of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Lord. “The parties should be prepared for the likelihood that hearings will be conducted remotely.” An ITC May 20 notice extended the postponement of all in-person Section 337 hearings at least through July 10. Sharp’s April 21 complaint alleged TVs and components from Vizio, its panel maker Xianyang CaiHong Optoelectronics and set maker TPV infringe five Sharp LCD display patents (see 2004270045).

The International Trade Commission vote was 5-0 to open a Tariff Act Section 337 investigation into Sharp’s patent infringement allegations against Vizio (see 2005210041), said a voting sheet (login required) dated May 20 and posted Tuesday in docket 337-TA-1201. Sharp seeks limited exclusion and cease and desist orders banning import of Vizio TVs that allegedly infringe five Sharp LCD patents. Sharp’s complaint also targets Vizio’s panel supplier, Xianyang CaiHong Optoelectronics Technology, and TPV, its TV assembler. Vizio and its suppliers didn't comment but face a June 10 ITC deadline to reply to Sharp's complaint and the initiation of the Section 337 investigation.