Comments are due Jan. 12 in International Trade Commission docket 337-3518 on public-interest ramifications of the Tariff Act Section 337 import ban that Solas OLED seeks against AMOLED devices and components from BOE, LG, Samsung and Sony for allegedly infringing three display technology patents, said Monday’s Federal Register. Permitting “unlicensed parties” like the proposed respondents to “continue their unfair acts” would devalue the patents and undermine the investments of Solas licensee eMagin to manufacture OLED in the U.S., said Solas’ Dec. 28 complaint (login required). BOE, LG, Samsung and Sony didn’t comment Tuesday.
Medigus closed on previously announced deals to buy controlling interests in Amazon third-party sellers Smart Repair Pro and Purex, said the Israeli tech company Monday. Medigus now owns about 50.01% of the capital in each. Smart Repair Pro plans to rebrand its product line on Amazon and will launch an independent direct-to-consumer sales channel by opening a new online store, said Medigus.
Kyocera is expanding its R&D campus in Kirishima City, Kagoshima, Japan, with a 75,000-square-foot center slated to begin construction next month, it said Friday. The $9.6 billion R&D center will focus on information and communications, environmental preservation and smart energy. The Kokubu campus currently houses R&D operations for 5G smartphone technologies; semiconductors and components used in IoT devices; and cell stacks for smart energy. The new facility is to open in September 2022.
The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security added more than 60 companies, including Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., China’s largest chipmaker, to the entity list “to protect U.S. national security,” said BIS Friday. This stems from China’s “military-civil fusion doctrine” and evidence of collaboration between SMIC and “entities of concern in the Chinese military industrial complex,” it said. SMIC denied the allegations, saying it supplies products and services only for “civilian end users” (see 2011120011). The company didn't comment Friday. The new restriction “limits SMIC's ability to acquire certain U.S. technology by requiring U.S. exporters to apply for a license to sell to the company,” said BIS. “Items uniquely required to produce semiconductors at advanced technology nodes -- 10 nanometers or below -- will be subject to a presumption of denial.” China urges the U.S. “to stop its wrong behavior of oppression of foreign companies,” said a Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Friday in anticipation of the BIS action. “China will continue to take necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.”
That U.S.-based semiconductor fabs cost 40%-70% more than foreign counterparts due to low federal incentives helps explain why American companies account for 48% of the world’s chip sales, but U.S.-based fabs do 12% of such manufacturing, blogged Jeff Rittener, Intel chief government affairs officer. Intel backs the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (Chips) for America Act, passed by Congress last Friday with bipartisan support as part of the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), said Rittener Thursday. It establishes a Commerce Department program to provide up to $3 billion “to companies to invest in facilities and equipment in the U.S. for semiconductor fabrication, assembly, testing, advanced packaging” or R&D, he said. This positions the U.S. “to regain our leadership in the semiconductor manufacturing industry and significantly contribute to the nation’s economic and technological success,” he said. “We need federal investment to do so.” Intel urges President Donald Trump to sign the NDAA and the act into law. Trump is threatening an NDAA veto. The White House didn’t respond to questions.
Lockdown orders “collapsed” worldwide personal transit demand, “with all mobility modes at the consumer’s disposal contracting significantly in the first half of 2020,” reported ABI Research Tuesday. After 14% growth in 2019, the market “faced its first significant disruption,” it said. “Strict controls on personal mobility, combined with a growing concern over shared spaces,” sent the market down 59%, said ABI: The “pivot” toward food-delivery services “helped ride-hailing platforms maintain driver engagement,” but long-term challenges will remain over concerns with “integrity of shared public spaces.”
A fitness data recording device that lacks programming is considered a product of China, Customs and Border Protection determined Monday. The Whoop Strap is programmed in the U.S. after being imported. “The article, in its condition as imported, is incomplete and non-functional as it lacks the software and firmware necessary for it to function,” CBP said. “The incomplete Whoop Strap, at the time of importation, is a product of China. CBP is of the view that programming would not result in a substantial transformation.” China isn't part of the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement, which means the Whoop Strap as imported would not be considered “a product of a foreign country or instrumentality,” CBP said.
Hyundai will pay SoftBank $1.1 billion for an 80% interest in mobile robotics firm Boston Dynamics, said the companies Friday. SoftBank will keep a 20% interest through one of its subsidiaries, they said. Hyundai said the acquisition will be “another major step” toward its “strategic transformation” into a smart mobility solution provider. Hyundai “has invested substantially in development of future technologies,” including autonomous driving and vehicle connectivity, it said. The transaction is expected to close by June, said Hyundai and SoftBank.
“Unencumbered data flows are crucial to sustaining the multi-trillion dollar transatlantic economic partnership,” said Computer & Communications Industry Association President Matt Schruers Tuesday about the Senate Commerce Committee’s Wednesday hearing on Privacy Shield (see 2012020065). “Lack of legal clarity over internet data transfers could disrupt a significant segment of the economy, especially to small and medium-sized enterprises.”
The average U.K. home owns 28 internet-connected devices and is poised to become even more tech-inundated, as 83% of Brits canvassed in a BT Group survey of 1,500 adults said they plan at least one digital device as a holiday gift, said BT Monday. Home internet usage has spiked to record levels since March amid COVID-19 lockdowns and remote-work and learning orders, said BT. Three-quarters of those polled said they have spent more time on the internet as a family during the pandemic, and 36% have been online for 50% longer or more than before the lockdowns, it said: “Daytime traffic across BT's broadband network has more than doubled year-on-year.” The time families spend on their smartphones and browsing social media has soared by more than 150% since March, it said. The average U.K. home now spends 20.8 hours a week on their phones,18.5 hours watching TV or streaming services, 16.5 hours on social media and 13.4 hours videogaming, said BT: Smartphones will be the most popular tech present this holiday, with 36% of Brits set to gift one. Next in line are game consoles (33%), tablets (29%), smart TVs (25%), smartwatches (24%) and smart speakers (19%).