The patent assertion entity (PAE) problem is worsening, said Suzanne Michel, Google’s senior patent counsel, at a Silicon Flatirons conference Tuesday night. In a broad discussion, Michel and others at the event spoke about what they see as the growing problem of abusive patent litigation, pointing to solutions ranging from eliminating software patents entirely to revamping the patent dispute resolution process.

Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., criticized the FCC Wednesday for its “regulatory addiction” and a “penchant for picking winners and losers in the free market space.” During a keynote address at the Telecommunications Industry Association conference in National Harbor, Md., Blackburn said the FCC’s meddling harms the industry. Lifeline -- the “Obama phone” program, as Blackburn called it -- is one example of the FCC’s “misplacement of its priorities and time, effort, and energies.” Another example, she said, is the “so-called net neutrality” rules. Instead of focusing on getting more spectrum into the commercial market to help meet exploding demand, the FCC has been “fixated on growing its jurisdictional footprint and expanding its influence.”

As World Trade Organization talks lurch forward in the lead-up to the WTO Bali ministerial summit in December, participant nations may deliver an Information Technology Agreement expansion deal that will eliminate ITA tariffs on a host of new information technology products, said industry officials. The Chinese aim to table a new product list that would fall under the agreement during the next ITA negotiation round in Geneva, the week of Oct. 21, said speakers at a National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) event Tuesday and an Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) official in a blog post that day. The agreement hasn’t expanded since its inception in 1996 despite many IT industry developments.

Broadcasters are ready to walk away from any sharing proposal for the 1755-1780 MHz band after carriers asked the FCC to consider pairing Broadband Auxiliary Service spectrum in the 2095-2110 MHz band with 1695-1710 MHz for an eventual auction (CD Sept 20 p1), an NAB official said Tuesday. NAB had also been in discussion with the Department of Defense, which proposed moving some operations now in that band into the broader 2025-2110 MHz BAS band (CD July 23 p1) but those discussions have reached an impasse, the official said.

Respondents to a Do Not Track discussion poll asking how and if the World Wide Web Coalition-facilitated group should continue have expressed a desire to forge ahead with W3C talks, we found based on publicly posted comments and interviews with stakeholders. But some respondents and stakeholders interviewed expressed reservations at the group’s ability to produce usable DNT guidelines, with several calling for total disbandment. The poll closes roughly three weeks after Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) pulled out of the talks (CD Sept 18 p7) and decided to start its own series of discussions, which begin Thursday with a meeting in San Francisco.

New product introductions are in danger of being delayed by the government shutdown, TIA officials told us Tuesday. Products by TIA members need certification from FCC-approved telecommunication certification bodies (TCBs), but those labs can’t submit their reports to the now-shuttered FCC websites for ultimate approval. Without FCC approval, manufacturers can’t ship their products. “No new devices of any kind that need FCC approval can be marketed in the U.S. until the shutdown ends,” TIA General Counsel Danielle Coffey said.

An import ban on certain older-model Samsung mobile devices was set to take effect Tuesday night after U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman declined to veto a limited exclusion order issued by the U.S. International Trade Commission. The Samsung phones and tablets had been the subject of a Section 337 case Apple brought to the ITC. USTR gave Apple a reprieve from a similar import ban in August (CD Aug 15 p10). Samsung said in a statement it’s “disappointed” by the USTR’s decision, saying “it will serve only to reduce competition and limit choice for the American consumer."

Senate Intelligence Committee ranking member Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., said Tuesday he is “very close” to introducing an information sharing bill for cybersecurity protection. The bill, which Chambliss is working on with committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., would be a companion to the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), which the House passed in April (CD April 19 p6). The lead sponsors of CISPA, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich., and ranking member Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., said Tuesday they're confident the chambers could work out their differences in conference if the Senate acts, speaking at the same Politico-sponsored cybersecurity event. Rogers seemed particularly optimistic, saying efforts to educate House members on the cyberthreat had drastically improved the whip count for CISPA and praising Senate leaders for similar education efforts in recent months.

Implementation of President Barack Obama’s cybersecurity executive order is on an indefinite hold at most federal agencies because of the government shutdown, the effects of which vary, said industry observers. The order directed the Department of Homeland Security and National Institute of Standards and Technology to execute most provisions, though the departments of Defense and Treasury, U.S. intelligence agencies and sector-specific agencies also hold implementation responsibilities (CD Feb 14 p1). Much of the public attention related to the order has focused on NIST’s work with critical infrastructure industries to develop the voluntary Cybersecurity Framework, but observers said development of the framework will be almost entirely unaffected by even an extended shutdown. Other parts of the order will be more adversely affected by further delays, they said.

EU Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes Tuesday continued to lobby for quick approval of her proposal for a single European telecom market (CD Sept 12 p7) but faced nearly universal push-back from speakers at a Brussels conference hosted by the Financial Times and European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association (ETNO) in Brussels and via webcast. Kroes urged the telecom sector not to cherry-pick the legislative package but to accept the “sweet” with the “sour.” Despite her plea, panelists drawn from the public and private sector disagreed with various parts of the measure, with many saying it doesn’t go far enough. Moreover, there was huge disagreement among speakers about what’s wrong with the sector and what’s needed to fix it.