The U.S. Dist. Court, Salt Lake City, issued a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the state’s adult content registry law, targeted by digital liberties activists as promoting censorship (WID June 10/05 p1). The law requires the state to compile a list of URLs worldwide that contain “material harmful to minors” and aren’t “access restricted.” ISPs must block access to such sites through a rating system or face 3rd-degree felony charges. The Center for Democracy & Technology, ACLU and a local bookstore sued, saying the law violates the First Amendment and Commerce Clause to the U.S. Constitution and could block access to many innocuous sites. The court stayed the plaintiffs’ discovery requests through the 2007 session of the Utah legislature. Defendants including the state attorney general must draft amendments intended to make the law constitutional and disclose them and proposed sponsors to the plaintiffs by Nov. 1. Otherwise, discovery responses will be due Nov. 30.

The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued the final results of its antidumping (AD) duty changed circumstances review of certain softwood lumber products from Canada.

The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued its final results of the antidumping (AD) duty new shipper review of certain welded carbon steel pipe and tube from Turkey for the review period of May 1, 2004 through April 30, 2005.

Rep. Roy Burrell (D-La.) said that despite the preliminary injunction that was granted to stop the implementation of La.’s violent game law (CED Aug 28 p5), he believes there is still a chance the state will win in the end. Burrell - who sponsored the bill signed into law by La. Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D) -- said “don’t count us out just yet,” telling Consumer Electronics Daily the state Attorney Gen.’s office “plans to continue with additional material in defense of the bill, before the judge give a final decision.” A final decision “can only be given with another court appointment to present final evidence and after the plaintiff requests a final summary judgment which may occur in the next 2 weeks,” he added. Entertainment Merchants Ass. (EMA) Pres. Bo Andersen, meanwhile, joined the Entertainment Software Assn. in applauding the decision by U.S. Dist. Court Judge James Brady, Baton Rouge, granting the game industry a preliminary injunction last week. Andersen said “we also hope that this ruling will cause the state of Louisiana to rethink its position and abandon its strident defense of this misguided and poorly drafted law” which would make it illegal to rent or sell excessively violent games to minors.

The Entertainment Software Assn. (ESA) late last week lauded a decision by U.S. Dist. Court Judge James Brady, Baton Rouge, granting the game industry a preliminary injunction to stop La. from imposing a new law that would ban rental or sale of excessively violent games to minors. An ESA spokeswoman said the group plans to file for summary judgment and class certification “in short order,” adding “we are not sure when the judge will hand down his final decision.”

The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued its preliminary results of the following antidumping (AD) duty administrative reviews:

In its 5th week, the PS2 version of EA’s NCAA Football 07 was agin the #1-rented videogame in the U.S., according to Rentrak’s preliminary Home Video Essentials data for the week ended Aug. 20. The only new game in the top 10 was Square Enix’s Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII for PS2… World of Warcraft from Vivendi Games was the #1- selling PC game in the U.S., according to NPD Group data for the week ended Aug. 12… In its 6th week, THQ’ Cars was again the #1-selling game in Europe, according to the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publisher’s Assn. Chart Track data for the week ended Aug. 19.

The U.S. Appeals Court, Federal Circuit, rejected the challenge of Jack Benun -- onetime Concord Camera CEO -- of a lower court’s jurisdiction to bar import of single-use cameras that infringe Fuji patents. Fuji’s legal battle with Benun dates to 1998, when the camera maker filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission seeking to block imports of Jazz Photo’s single-use cameras it alleged infringed its patents. The ITC eventually ordered Jazz’s cameras seized and imposed a $13 million penalty for violations of an exclusion order. In a related case filed in federal district court, Fuji was awarded $29 million in damages for patent infringement. Jazz filed for bankruptcy in 2003 and liquidated 2 years later, selling its interest in 1.4 million single-use cameras to Benun-controlled Ribi Tech. Fuji sued Benun and Ribi in April 2005 and was granted a preliminary injunction barring Ribi from selling the cameras. Ribi argued that once the ITC entered an exclusion order, the district court was prevented from considering import issues involving the same goods. The appeals court rejected the claim, ruling that an exclusion order “does not alter the district court’s authority to proceed with remedies that may affect the same goods.”

The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued its preliminary results of the following antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duty administrative reviews:

At least 60% of communications network equipment in use will be DOCSIS 3.0 compatible by 2011, ABI Research analyst Michael Arden said. Consumer premises equipment penetration will slightly lag network, with less than 40% of home cable modem systems expected to have DOCSIS 3.0 capabilities that year, Arden said. CableLabs released the preliminary DOCSIS 3.0 specification, which allows for super-fast data speeds and increased IP video capabilities, this month. “CableLabs was kind of pressed by companies to make some sort of release… I think that allows some of these vendors and operators to make more definitive plans,” Arden said.