The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is asking for comments to help compile its 2014 Out-of-Cycle Review of Indian intellectual property protections. USTR committed to the review in late April in its Special 301 Watch List report, but did not label India a Priority Foreign Country, the most severe classification of an intellectual property rights violator. The pharmaceutical industry pushed USTR to slap that label on India, but USTR officials said they were eyeing changes in the new Indian government. The country elected Narendra Modi prime minister in May. U.S. industry is cautiously hoping the Modi government will support the World Trade Organization facilitation agreement, as well as intellectual property reform in the country (see 14100624). The public must submit comments to USTR by Oct. 31, while foreign governments are allowed to comment until Nov. 7. USTR prefers comments are submitted through www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2014-0020. A U.S. intellectual property rights advocate pushed India to remove its compulsory license rules for pharmaceuticals during an Oct. 3 National Foreign Trade Council event.

The FCC’s new Licensing and Management System is planned to completely replace the commission’s Consolidated Database System by late 2015 or early 2016, said a Media Bureau official in an interview Friday. The first phase of that replacement took affect Thursday, with LMS coming online and replacing CDBS as the only way for full-power TV stations to electronically file for construction permits and licenses to cover them (CD Oct 1 p17).

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is asking for comments on Kuwaiti intellectual property rights protections, as part of its out-of-cycle review on the country. USTR said it would conduct the review when it published its Special 301 report for 2014 in late April (see 14050101). The agency designated Kuwait a “Watch List” country, which is two steps below the most severe USTR classification of an IPR violator. The review will focus mostly on copyright legislation and IPR enforcement. The Special 301 report advised Kuwait to amend its copyright legislation to meet international standards and continue its enforcement regime on copyright piracy and trademark infringement. Comments are due by Oct. 15, and should be submitted via www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2014-0019.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is setting new requirements for the importation of dogs, in a final rule that takes effect Nov. 17. The new regulations prohibit the importation of dogs into the continental U.S. or Hawaii for purposes of resale, research, or veterinary treatment, unless the dogs are in good health, have received all necessary vaccinations, and are at least six months of age. An import license will be required, along with health and vaccination certificates. Certain dogs imported for veterinary treatment are exempt from health, vaccination and age requirements, and dogs from British Isles, Australia, Guam, or New Zealand may be imported into Hawaii even if less than six months old.

The U.S. International Trade Commission released its annual report on the previous year's trade-related activities, it said in a press release (here). "The Year in Trade 2013” includes an overview of antidumping and countervailing duty, safeguard, intellectual property rights, and section 301 cases undertaken by the U.S. government in 2013. In addition, the report covers:

Sony Xperia M2 smartphones violate four patents owned by the sons of the now-deceased inventor, said an infringement suit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Marshall, Texas. The four patents (6,490,443; 6,806,977; 7,301,664; and 8,072,637) were granted between December 2002 and December 2011. All list Charles C. Freeny Jr. as the inventor, and all were assigned to Automated Business Companies of Spring, Texas, the patents show. The complaint, filed by Freeny’s sons, Charles III, Bryan and James, names Sony Electronics and Sony Mobile Communications as defendants (http://1.usa.gov/1tvIcOD). The Freeny family and Automated Business Companies have a history of filing patent infringement actions against large electronics companies, federal court records show. Sony Electronics and Sony Mobile Communications representatives didn’t immediately comment.

Sony Xperia M2 smartphones violate four patents owned by the sons of the now-deceased inventor, said an infringement suit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Marshall, Texas. The four patents (6,490,443; 6,806,977; 7,301,664; and 8,072,637) were granted between December 2002 and December 2011. All list Charles C. Freeny Jr. as the inventor, and all were assigned to Automated Business Companies of Spring, Texas, the patents show. The complaint, filed by Freeny’s sons, Charles III, Bryan and James, names Sony Electronics and Sony Mobile Communications as defendants (http://1.usa.gov/1tvIcOD). The Freeny family and Automated Business Companies have a history of filing patent infringement actions against large electronics companies, federal court records show. Sony Electronics and Sony Mobile Communications representatives didn’t immediately comment.

Filers will now have until Sept. 1 before they are required to use recently updated CBP Forms 5106 (Importer ID Input Record) and 301 (Bond), the agency said in CSMS messages. CBP previously said use of the new forms would be mandatory as of July 1 (see 14053009 and 14053010), but "due to the request of trade," the grace period was pushed back to September. The only changes to the forms were to the expiration date listed on the forms. The CSMS message for Form 5106 is (here) and for Form 301 is (here).

CBP posted to its website a new version of its Form 301 “Customs Bond,” it said in a CSMS message May 30. The only change is an extension of the expiration date of the form, which was March 31, 2014 in the old version but is now May 31, 2017. The new version can be used immediately, but CBP is granting a 30-day grace period to transition from the old version to the new version. Effective July 1, the new version of the CBP Form 5106 will be mandatory, and any other version will not be accepted. The form is available (here). Further information: Tom Scott, Office of Administration, (317) 614-4502.

Auction 84 closed with 10 winning bids for new AM construction permits, totaling $598,160, the FCC said in a public notice released in Wednesday’s Daily Digest (http://bit.ly/TvitWH). Among the winning bidders are Alexander Broadcasting for a Stony Point Town, N.Y., license at $409,000, L. Topaz Enterprises for a Spring Valley, Nev., license at $10,000 and Bott Communications for an Eaton, Colo., license at $4,700, the FCC said (http://bit.ly/1oTcojk). Down payments are due June 4, final payments June 18 and Form 301 July 21, it said.