Samsung Corning Precision posted a decline in Q2 net income to $224 million from $402 million a year earlier as prices fell in the “mid-teens” percent on “relatively consistent” volume, Corning said in a 10-Q. Price declines for Corning’s own LCD glass have been in the 2-3 percent range in recent quarters (CED July 31 p2). The LCD glass joint venture’s Q2 net sales fell to $592 million from $785 million a year earlier and Corning’s equity earnings from the joint venture narrowed to $111 million from $193 million. The equity earnings were “negatively impacted” by $14 million due to higher taxes as a result of a partial expiration of a tax holiday in South Korea, Corning said. Samsung Display is among the joint venture’s largest customers, analysts have said. Corning’s royalty income from the joint venture fell to $14 million from $21 million a year ago, while the company’s transfer of machinery and equipment to it slipped to $7 million from $16 million, Corning said. Corning is spending $1.3 billion on capital projects this year, including $457 million for the display business, $82 million of which is tied to programs started in 2011 and 2012, Corning said. Corning’s specialty materials Q2 net income, which includes its Gorilla Glass, improved to $58 million from $34 million as revenue grew to $301 million from $296 million.

Towerstream must forfeit $202,000 for willfully and repeatedly generating “unacceptable and potentially life threatening” interference to the Federal Aviation Administration’s Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR), the FCC said Tuesday. Towerstream had faced repeated FCC warnings and enforcement actions since 2009 for generating interference via its Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) transmission systems at the Empire State Building in New York City and the Four Seasons building in Miami. The systems interfered with TDWR stations at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Miami International Airport, the FCC said. The FCC found Towerstream operated radio transmitters without a license and caused harmful interference in violation of Sections 301 and 333 of the Communications Act of 1934. Towerstream must pay the $202,000 to the FCC within 30 days or formally ask for cancellation of the forfeiture. Towerstream must also submit a written statement to the FCC within 30 days showing that the company has implemented a 30 MHz guard band around TDWR center frequencies for all U-NII devices within 35 kilometers or the line of sight of a TDWR system (http://bit.ly/19LvgJH). Towerstream did not immediately comment.

Corning lowered its full-year global TV unit shipment forecast to a mid-single-digit percent increase, citing slow sales in Europe and Japan and “excess” inventory of some small-size sets in China, executives said Tuesday on an earnings call.

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) rescheduled its public hearing to investigate the intellectual property policies and practices of the Ukrainian government that resulted in Ukraine’s May 2013 identification as a Priority Foreign Country (see 13050201). According to the Trade Act of 1974 (here), countries that “deny adequate and effective protection for IPR” and “have the greatest adverse impact (actual or potential) on the relevant U.S. products” should be designated a PFC.

The U.S. International Trade Commission released “The Year in Trade 2012,” its annual overview of the previous year's trade-related activities. The Year in Trade 2012 includes complete listings of antidumping, countervailing duty, safeguard, intellectual property rights infringement, and section 301 cases undertaken by the U.S. government in 2012. In addition, the report covers:

A variable 600 MHz band plan would create “interference challenges” and could require hundreds of kilometers of physical separation between TV transmitters and wireless operations, said NAB in a meeting with FCC staff Monday, according to an ex parte filing and accompanying PowerPoint presentation released Thursday (http://bit.ly/18NpDKL). Variable band plans, such as those proposed in the FCC’s 600 MHz band plan public notice (CD May 21 p4), could involve interference “from mobile handsets or base stations to DTV reception” and “interference from high power DTV transmissions to lower-powered wireless operations,” NAB said. The minimum separation between broadcast stations and wireless operations would be “about 350 km,” said NAB. The association’s PowerPoint presentation includes a chart giving the distance between New York City and surrounding cities -- Philadelphia is 138 kilometers away, Boston 301 kilometers and Washington 331 kilometers. These large separation distances could “substantially” limit market variability on the East Coast, and spectrum recovered in one city could limit how much could be reallocated elsewhere, NAB said. The “separation distances needed result in wireless exclusion zones across much of the region,” NAB said.

The U.S. Trade Representative’s office seeks comment on its Special 301 investigation of Ukraine, over concerns about that country’s treatment of intellectual property rights. Ukraine was named a priority foreign country in USTR’s 2013 Special 301 report in an investigation that began May 30 (WID May 31 p8). USTR plans a public hearing on the investigation July 18 at the agency’s offices in Washington, and those wishing to testify should provide a notification by June 27 and written version of testimony by July 11, through http://1.usa.gov/14hAOaH. We couldn’t reach anyone at the Ukrainian embassy in Washington to comment.

The U.S. Trade Representative's office is seeking comment on its Special 301 investigation of Ukraine, over concerns about the country's treatment of intellectual property rights. Ukraine was named a Priority Foreign Country in USTR's 2013 Special 301 Report; the agency launched its investigation May 30 (see 13053029). USTR is holding a public hearing on the investigation July 18 at the agency's offices in Washington, D.C. Persons wishing to testify orally should provide a notification by June 27; written version of hearing testimony is due July 11. Testimony can be submitted to www.regulations.gov.

The U.S. initiated a Special 301 investigation of Ukraine over concerns about the country’s treatment of intellectual property rights, Acting U.S. Trade Representative Miriam Sapiro said Thursday. Ukraine was named a priority foreign country in USTR’s Special 301 report, an annual look at intellectual property rights protection and enforcement. It cited problems with Ukraine’s use of pirated software, online piracy enforcement and opaque and unfair administration and operation of copyright collecting societies. The USTR will hold a public hearing on July 18 as part of the investigation, and will publish a future Federal Register notice with procedures for participating. Sapiro said the U.S. will consult with Ukraine’s government on the “serious concerns” the U.S. has with intellectual property rights in the country. Priority foreign countries are trading partners whose “onerous or egregious acts, policies, or practices” have the greatest adverse impact on relevant U.S. products, while also not entering into negotiations or making significant progress in negotiations to address those problems. Ukraine was the first priority foreign country the U.S. has named in seven years. RIAA wants the Ukrainian government to “move quickly to address the causes that lead to this investigation in the first place and avert possible sanctions,” Executive Vice President-International Neil Turkewitz said separately.

The U.S. initiated a Special 301 investigation of Ukraine over concerns about the country’s treatment of intellectual property rights, Acting U.S. Trade Representative Miriam Sapiro said Thursday. Ukraine was named a priority foreign country in USTR’s Special 301 report, an annual look at intellectual property rights protection and enforcement (WID May 2 p3). It cited problems with Ukraine’s use of pirated software, online piracy enforcement and opaque and unfair administration and operation of copyright collecting societies. The USTR will hold a public hearing on July 18 as part of the investigation, and will publish a future Federal Register notice with procedures for participating. Sapiro said the U.S. will consult with Ukraine’s government on the “serious concerns” the U.S. has with intellectual property rights in the country. Priority foreign countries are trading partners whose “onerous or egregious acts, policies, or practices” have the greatest adverse impact on relevant U.S. products, while also not entering into negotiations or making significant progress in negotiations to address those problems. Ukraine was the first priority foreign country the U.S. has named in seven years. RIAA wants the Ukrainian government to “move quickly to address the causes that lead to this investigation in the first place and avert possible sanctions,” Executive Vice President-International Neil Turkewitz said separately.