Consumer intentions on buying TV sets rose sharply in May from April, according to preliminary data in the Conference Board’s monthly survey. Of 5,000 households polled, 8.5% said they plan to buy a TV set in the next 6 months, vs. 7.5% in April, 7.5% in March and 7.9% in May 2004. The Consumer Confidence Index, which had declined in April, rebounded in May because consumers’ concerns about the economy and jobs have eased, the Conference Board said.
A spam operation that plagued millions of consumers with sexual descriptions trying to lure traffic to a website to “date lonely housewives” has been halted by the U.S. Dist. Court, Chicago, at the request of the FTC. The court ordered a temporary halt to the spamming and has frozen the outfit’s assets, pending a hearing for a preliminary and permanent injunction for violations of federal law, FTC officials said Thurs. The “date lonely wife” spam typically contains short messages or a picture and a hyperlink promoting the “lonely wives” service, the FTC alleged. The agency said the spam violates nearly every CAN-SPAM Act provision: (1) It contains misleading headers and deceptive subject lines. (2) It doesn’t contain a link to let consumers opt out of receiving future spam. (3) It contains neither a valid postal address nor the disclosure, required by law, that it is sexually explicit. The e-mail also includes sexual materials in the message’s initially viewable area, violating the FTC Adult Labeling Rule, the agency said. The FTC is asking the court to permanently shut down the operation and order the creators to give up their ill- gotten gains.
Emerson Radio said 4th quarter net revenue rose to $70 million from $54.4 million a year earlier. Sales for the year ended March 31 grew to $320.7 million from $263.8 million. Total revenue of Emerson branded products -- those sold by the company and its licensees -- is expected to exceed $870 million in fiscal 2005, up from $800 million a year earlier. The results released Wed. were preliminary unaudited figures, Emerson said. Emerson has benefited from strong sales of licensed products including its Nickelodeon line, which includes SpongeBob Squarepants CE gear.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued its final results of the changed circumstances antidumping (AD) duty review of certain softwood lumber products from Canada.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued a notice stating that on May 3, 2005 it received petitions requesting that antidumping (AD) duty investigations be initiated on diamond sawblades and parts thereof from China and Korea.
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has posted to its web site updated preliminary textile and apparel import data for 2005, which now covers the 2005 period from mid-February to May 21st.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued its final results of the antidumping (AD) duty new shipper review of certain pasta from Italy for the review period of July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued its final results of the changed circumstances antidumping (AD) duty review of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film, sheet, and strip from India.
In a move industry backs strongly, NTIA urged improved cooperation and coordination between govt. and industry in preparing for the World Radiocommunications Conferences (WRCs). The recommendations were submitted to Congress Mon.
ISPs operating in Canada won’t have to reveal subscribers alleged to share copyrighted music files on P2P networks, under a Canadian Federal Court of Appeal decision last week upholding a lower court ruling. BMG Canada, EMI Canada and other record labels claimed 29 anonymous individuals illegally downloaded more than 1,000 songs each. MediaSentry, an antipiracy protection provider, searched online for song titles provided by the record labels, identifying 29 IP addresses offering “large numbers” of those songs and downloaded from those addresses. The labels confirmed that downloads they received from MediaSentry matched their proprietary recordings. The appeals court agreed with the lower court that such evidence was hearsay and not admissible, and that the record labels probably could bring infringement claims under another statute. However, a “lengthy delay” between the request for alleged file-sharers’ identities and collection of that information could create “a risk that the information as to identity may be inaccurate” due to quickly changing IP addresses, the appeals court said. In deciding whether to disclose, privacy generally outweighs the public interest, the court added. But the lower court erred in deciding downloading a song for “personal use” doesn’t constitute infringement, a conclusion that “should not have been made in the very preliminary stages of this action,” the appeals court said. The Canadian Recording Industry Assn. (CRIA) “welcomed” the appeals ruling for “clarifying the steps necessary” to disclose the names of alleged file-sharers. CRIA Pres. Graham Henderson said though the labels must provide “additional evidence” for the lawsuits to proceed, “the court has clearly articulated the evidentiary standards that we need to meet and we are satisfied that we can meet those standards in future applications.” The decision “removes a legal limbo” on piracy in Canada, he added.