The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a notice seeking comments on ways to reduce the cost of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) third party testing requirements for children’s products that are consistent with assuring compliance with any applicable consumer product safety rule, ban, standard, or regulation. Based on the comments received, CPSC may prescribe new or revised third-party testing regulations.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a final rule, effective February 8, 2013, that establishes testing requirements for the initial certification of children’s products, periodic testing thereafter, testing after a material change (including a sourcing change), and safeguarding against undue influence on a third-party lab. There is a partial exemption for small batch manufacturers from certain of the third-party testing requirements. In addition, the rule establishes a voluntary labeling program for children’s and non-children’s consumer products to show compliance with CPSC certification requirements.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a final rule, effective December 8, 2011, that provides a voluntary certification option for domestic manufacturers and importers who must certify finished consumer products as complying with CPSC requirements to base their certificates on one or more of the following: component part testing or certification or another party’s finished product testing or certification - as long as certain conditions are met.

The Agricultural Marketing Service has issued a final rule, effective November 9, 2011, that establishes a Christmas Tree Promotion, Research, and Information Order and program that will be financed by an assessment (fee or tax) of $0.15 each on U.S. domestic and imported fresh cut Christmas tree. As ABI is not yet programmed for the fee, AMS sources state that importers will have to pay the fee 30 calendar days after importation.

After February, all new Blu-ray players under the Advanced Access Content System copy protection license must incorporate a Cinavia/Verance watermark detector that can block playback of unauthorized copy discs or downloads. Consumer Electronics Daily’s practical tests (CED Oct 5 p5) have shown that the Cinavia/Verance watermark system works, but that few Blu-ray players and movies are using it.

After February, all new Blu-ray players under the Advanced Access Content System copy protection license must incorporate a Cinavia/Verance watermark detector that can block playback of unauthorized copy discs or downloads. Our practical tests have shown that the Cinavia/Verance watermark system works, but that few Blu-ray players and movies are using it.

Sprint Nextel reduced its net loss to $301 million in Q3 from $911 million it lost a year ago, and signed a non-binding cooperation agreement with Clearwire to work on specifications for the LTE network, CEO Dan Hesse said during a conference call Wednesday. Executives expect to sell one million iPhones in Q4 and predicted $7 billion to $8 billion in value from Sprint’s four-year contract with Apple.

At the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, it’s a priority “to try to crack down on problems of infringement taking place on the Internet” and “we're encouraging our trading partners to do likewise,” said Stan McCoy, assistant U.S. trade representative for intellectual property and innovation. The U.S. can’t protect the IP of other countries, he said at the National Press Club during an America Abroad Media event: “We can’t be the world’s policeman. Only the countries of the world can be their own policemen, and every country has to create a rule of law for itself.” The U.S. can try to lead by example, he said. Developing countries are starting to see the value of intellectual property for their investments and businesses, said Naboth van den Broek, an international trade attorney at Wilmer Hale. Intellectual property has various roles for consumers and it “plays a really key role in encouraging innovation and the economy,” he said. Counterfeit enterprises and criminal organizations are empowered by technology, said Chris Israel, former U.S. coordinator for intellectual property enforcement at the Commerce Department. “We need to look at some ways and focus on how do we empower the consumer,” so they aren’t victimized, he said. International trade partners need a solid rule of law and a system of good IP rights “that are enforceable and meaningful.” But it will be hard to achieve “until we see governments … start to look at intellectual property as a core piece of their own economic development model,” he said. In carrying out the Special 301 review process for other countries, technology has created some challenges, McCoy said. There is a great challenge “associated with taking laws on the books and converting that into rule of law on the ground.” The Internet produces new challenges of digital piracy of copyrighted works and increases the capacity of those who engage in counterfeiting trademark-protected goods, he added. The PROTECT IP Act, introduced by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., is a “very important piece of legislation,” Israel said. “Hopefully it will be a very powerful tool” for the U.S. government to really address global piracy and counterfeiting in a way “that can be a model for other countries to look at going forward in the future,” he said.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is seeking comments on the appropriate process and substance of a plan to review its existing regulations. CPSC has conducted reviews of rules in the past and intends to build on that experience to develop a plan of review that also satisfies recent direction from Executive Order 13579 of July 2011, which urged independent regulatory agencies such as CPSC to review existing significant regulations. Comments are due by December 19, 2011.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is seeking comments on a provisionally-accepted settlement agreement with Henry Gordy International, Inc. which contains a civil penalty of $1,1000,000 to settle charges that it failed to immediately report the deaths of three children involving the darts of its toy gun sets and for material misrepresentation of the facts when it did report the problem to CPSC.