The International Trade Administration is publishing notices in the January 30, 2012 Federal Register on the following AD/CV proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, the scope, affected firms, or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
EMI waited two months after the RIAA asked ReDigi to remove its members’ songs from its service before the label requested a preliminary injunction from the U.S. District Court in New York, which argues against granting that motion, the “used” digital music reseller told Judge Richard Sullivan (http://xrl.us/bmpy6i). ReDigi cited the controlling precedent of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that “the failure to act sooner undercuts the sense of urgency that ordinarily accompanies” an injunction motion, “and suggests that there is, in fact, no irreparable injury” to the plaintiff. EMI has known about ReDigi for two years “and even encouraged” its business model, ReDigi said. The label’s claim that it might not be able to calculate the damage to its business from ReDigi is irrelevant because, if the label wins, “an award of statutory damages would make them more than whole,” ReDigi said. The service also keeps detailed records of purchase and sale transactions, so EMI would be able to calculate actual damages if it wins its infringement claims, ReDigi said. On balance, ReDigi would suffer more from an injunction than EMI would from waiting for a full accounting of ReDigi’s alleged liability, the service said: “ReDigi is out of business,” while EMI “loses some money.” ReDigi compared itself to the remote-DVR function at issue in the 2nd Circuit’s ruling in favor of Cablevision, saying it only streams music to the user who uploaded it or the user who purchased that song, not “the public” at large. Uploading to a cloud locker is nothing more than the latest iteration of “space-shifting,” which has been blessed by the Supreme Court and even the music industry, ReDigi said, citing oral argument in the Grokster case. Its service is similar to Google Music or Amazon Cloud Drive, with the pertinent distinction that ReDigi “takes the additional step of searching for and removing ... any other instances of the file” on the user device from which it’s uploaded. A finding against ReDigi would “put the future of all cloud storage services in doubt,” it said. For the first time in a filing, ReDigi cited the relevant terms of service in iTunes that justify ReDigi’s first-sale argument: “[T]itle for all electronically delivered transactions pass to the purchaser in California upon electronic transmission to the recipient.” The iTunes terms never suggest the purchase is a “mere license” to the music file, and former Apple CEO Steve Jobs said when iTunes launched that people want to “own” their music as downloads. ReDigi said RIAA’s cease-and-desist and EMI’s suit have already taken a toll on its business: The “fledgling startup” employs fewer than 15 people and it has become “difficult or impossible” to enter new relationships with other companies or find investors.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued its fiscal year 2011 mid-year (June) report on Import Trade Trends. According to the report, CBP has processed nearly 16 percent more imports and collected almost $3 billion more in revenue than in the same time period in FY 2010. CBP states these preliminary indicators show economic trade recovery and continued stability and modest growth are projected for the rest of FY 2011. CBP has introduced the "Import Trade Trends Spotlight" as a new feature in this report, which focuses on CBP’s priority trade programs. The Spotlight in this issue of the report highlights CBP’s collaborative import safety efforts with other government agencies (OGAs).
The International Trade Administration is publishing notices in the January 27, 2012 Federal Register on the following AD/CV proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, the scope, affected firms, or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
On January 25, 2011 the Foreign Agriculture Service issued the following GAIN reports
The International Trade Administration has issued a Federal Register notice on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigations on large residential washers from Korea and Mexico (A-580-868, A-201-841). The ITA will determine whether imports of large residential washers from Korea and Mexico are being, or are likely to be, sold in the U.S. at less than fair value.
The Department of Energy is probing the energy use and “energy saving potential” of a host of “miscellaneous” residential and commercial gear, including audio and video equipment, computer systems, imaging gear and uninterruptible power supplies.
The International Trade Administration has issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on steel wire garment hangers from Vietnam and Taiwan (A-552-812, A-583-849), and (C-552-813). The ITA will determine whether imports of steel wire garment hangers from Vietnam and Taiwan are being, or are likely to be, sold in the U.S. at less than fair value, and whether manufacturers, producers, or exporters of steel wire garment hangers in Vietnam receive countervailable subsidies.
As the authors of the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) and Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) work to revise their bills, Mozilla, Wikimedia, Yahoo and other technology companies say the bills are ultimately doomed, unnecessary and unlikely to pass. Technology groups have repeatedly told Congress that the bills deny website owners the right to due process of law, mimic Web censoring technologies used by China and Iran, and undermine the security of the Web. Both Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said they're committed to working with stakeholders to address these concerns, but Hill staffers have been mum on exactly what changes are being considered.
As the authors of the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) and Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) work to revise their bills, Mozilla, Wikimedia, Yahoo and other technology companies say the bills are ultimately doomed, unnecessary and unlikely to pass. Technology groups have repeatedly told Congress that the bills deny website owners the right to due process of law, mimic Web censoring technologies used by China and Iran, and undermine the security of the Web. Both Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said they're committed to working with stakeholders to address these concerns, but Hill staffers have been mum on exactly what changes are being considered.