According to an International Trade Commission (ITC) press release, the ITC on September 29, 2004 issued final negative antidumping (AD) injury and threat of injury determinations for light-walled rectangular pipe and tube from Mexico and Turkey.

The International Trade Administration (ITA) frequently issues notices on antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duty orders which Broker Power considers to be "minor" in importance as they concern actions that occur after an order is issued and neither announce nor cause any changes to an order's duty rates, scope, affected firms, or effective period.

In its first full week available, Paramount’s comedy Mean Girls was the #1-rented DVD in the U.S., Rentrak said its preliminary Home Video Essentials data for the week ended Sept. 26 showed. Rentrak said the movie earned $8.04 million on DVD in the week, for $8.11 million to date. Last week’s #1 DVD -- Fox’s Man on Fire -- dropped to #2, earning an additional $7.83 million on DVD, for $17.84 million to date.

Gamers Factory CFO Rodney Hillman slammed comments made about his company by rival Intec Wed. Intec had said it filed a lawsuit against Gamers Factory in U.S. Dist. Court, Baltimore, this past summer for patent infringement of its 5.4” PS2 mobile screen (CED Sept 30 p8). Intec also said that, in response to a preliminary injunction motion, Gamers Factory had said it will no longer make, use, sell or import the accused device. But Hillman called Intec’s decision to comment publicly at this point “irresponsible at best.” Hillman said he was “unable to comment too specifically on the case due to ongoing litigation.” But he claimed that his company had “made substantial investments in proprietary components and unique game screen designs that have rapidly catapulted the company to national prominence in this category.” He said his company “categorically denied any and all infringement claims by Intec, and has filed a counterclaim seeking a declaration of invalidity of the patent at issue.” He complained that Intec also “failed to state… that they abandoned their motion for injunction, and further failed to state that Gamers Factory had made the determination to liquidate the older LCD display in favor of a newer design before Gamers Factory was aware of either the patent or Intec’s infringement claims.” Intec didn’t comment by our deadline.

After 6 weeks atop the U.S. videogame rental chart, the PS2 version of Madden NFL 2005 from Electronic Arts (EA) fell to #3. Taking possession of the #1 spot, in its first week, was LucasArts Entertainment’s Star Wars: Battlefront for PS2, Rentrak said its preliminary Home Video Essentials data for the week ended Sept. 26 showed. Rentrak said the Star Wars game earned $418,169 in rentals on PS2 and an additional $304,586 on Xbox. The Xbox version was the week’s #4-rented title. Also eclipsing Madden sales was another new release -- EA’s Def Jam Fight for N.Y. on PS2 at #2 ($345,579) -- as the publisher again dominated the top 10. Madden earned an additional $327,530 its 7th week available, for $3 million to date. Four other EA SKUs made the top 10 in the week: Burnout 3 on PS2 at #5 (down 3 in its 3rd week, $274,784 and $738,444 to date), NCAA Football 2005 on PS2 at #7 (down 3, 11th week, $208,313 and $3.16 million), the Xbox version of Def Jam at #8 ($196,154) and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 on PS2 at #10 in its first week ($163,650). Rounding out the top 10 were Microsoft’s Fable for Xbox at #6 (up 4 in its 2nd week, $262,387 and $412,110 to date) and Activision’s Spider-Man 2 on PS2 at #9 (down 6, 13th week, $185,768 and $6.28 million).

A Canadian superior court judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging Blockbuster’s extended viewing fee policy, the rental chain said. Superior Court Judge Jacques Fournier, Quebec, ruled that Alberto Buonamici’s claim of exploitation didn’t “correspond to commercial reality,” Blockbuster said. Noting that Blockbuster has extended the initial rental period since the suit was filed in Canada in 2001, Fournier said it was “ironic” that Blockbuster should “today be penalized for having offered more than it was before.” Fournier was referring to Blockbuster’s decision in 1996-97 to extend rental periods at its stores from 6 p.m. to midnight, Blockbuster spokesman said. Blockbuster operates 413 stores in Canada. A similar case remains pending in the U.S. While a preliminary agreement was reached in 2001 calling for Blockbuster to pay up to $9.25 million in court and attorneys fees and provide free rentals and discounts to settle class action suit, it was never finalized and remains pending in Texas Superior Court. A Cal. Superior Court judge in a separate decision issued in March 2003 ruled that Blockbuster’s extended viewing fees were fair, adequately disclosed and within the customers’ control.

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

Videogame accessory maker Intec said that after filing a lawsuit in U.S. Dist. Court, Baltimore, this past summer against Gamers Factory for patent infringement of its 5.4” PS2 mobile screen, its rival agreed to stop selling a competing screen. Intec had also filed a motion for preliminary injunction, seeking to enjoin the sale of Gamers Factory’s Precision 5” Game Screen for PS2. Gamers Factory didn’t respond to a request for comment by our deadline. But Intec said that, in response to its preliminary injunction motion, Gamers Factory said it will no longer make, use, sell, or import the accused device. Intec also said Gamers Factory CFO Rodney Hillman indicated his company had “no intention of purchasing either more accused devices or units of similar design to the accused device.”

The International Trade Administration (ITA) has initiated a new shipper review for the antidumping (AD) duty order on certain preserved mushrooms from China with respect to the following company, as producer/exporter, and review period:

The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued its final results of the changed circumstances antidumping (AD) duty review of structural steel beams from Japan, concluding that Yamato Steel Co., Ltd. (Yamato Steel) is the successor-in-interest to Yamato Kogyo Co. Ltd. (Yamato Kogyo).