A Nintendo of America (NOA) spokeswoman said her firm filed for a new “Punch-Out” trademark April 1 with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (CED April 14 p7) because it is “maintaining our rights in this long- standing franchise.” She said “the timing” of the renewal arose from the March release of Electronic Arts game Fight Night, which she said includes Super Punch-Out on the version for Nintendo’s GameCube. Separately, NOA said the FBI arrested 4 Chinese nationals in N.Y. for allegedly distributing videogame consoles containing Nintendo’s game software. More than 60,000 illegal products were seized by the FBI in 5 raids April 13. The illegal products, marketed under brand name “Power Player, contained “dozens of pirated versions” of popular Nintendo games including Donkey Kong, Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt. During Sept.-Dec., the defendants imported 27 cargo containers holding more than 280,000 counterfeit videogame systems, according to the FBI. In meetings with undercover FBI agents posing as toy distributors, defendants revealed warehouse locations and information on distribution. Following arrests of those 4 defendants, the FBI ran searches in Queens, Brooklyn, N.Y. and Maple Shade, N.J., NOA said, calling the raids “the latest in a long line of criminal actions that Nintendo is currently supporting.” In another FBI action this month, a Minn. defendant pleaded guilty to copyright infringement; he faces up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, the firm said. The firm pegged its 2004 piracy-related losses at more than $860 million. Worldwide, authorities in some 30 countries have seized 1.56 million counterfeit Nintendo products in 536 actions, Nintendo said. The firm itself has “terminated about 194,730 copies of games uploaded to the Internet and 75,452 auctions of counterfeit products.” In Oct., Nintendo won a preliminary injunction against kiosk owners in Wash. selling hardware units with built-in multiple counterfeit NES games. In China, 5 people received prison sentences and fines for manufacturing millions of counterfeit Game Boy game cartridges. NOA said the latter “breakthrough case marked the first time a counterfeiter of Nintendo products received a prison sentence in China,” once a haven for software pirates. In Taiwan, the owner-pres. and several employees of Yudian were convicted on all counts of criminal copyright and trademark offenses, Nintendo said.
Three Mich. men have been arrested for using the Internet to commit child sexual abuse, state Attorney Gen. Mike Cox said Thurs. Investigators arrested U. of Mich. medical student Brian Jespersen, 24, in Ann Arbor Mon. Jespersen was arraigned the same day on 6 counts of accosting a child for immoral purposes, a 10-year felony, and 3 counts of using a computer to distribute sexually explicit material to children, a 4-year felony. A 2nd defendant, Blaine Welmers, 53, was arraigned Tues.; he’s accused of a single count of sexually abusive activity and a count of using a computer to commit a crime, both 20-year felonies. A 3rd man, 36-year-old James Reinke, was arraigned Wed. on 7 counts of accosting a child for immoral purposes and 2 counts of disseminating sexually explicit material to children. Preliminary hearings are set for April 20. “These arrests show firsthand how Internet predators are attempting to reach our children,” Cox said: “My office will continue to pursue these criminals so that our children are safe in cyberspace.”
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.
Three elaborate “books” comprise the Version 0.9 draft specification released Thurs. after months of delay on the Advanced Access Content System (AACS), the copy protection guts of the next-generation HD DVD system and possibly also Blu-ray.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued the final results of its antidumping (AD) duty administrative review of silicomanganese from Brazil for the period of December 1, 2002 through November 30, 2003.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued the final results of its antidumping (AD) duty administrative review of stainless steel bar from Germany for the period of March 1, 2003 through February 29, 2004.
Effective August 5, 2004, the International Trade Administration (ITA) is revoking the antidumping (AD) duty order on frozen concentrated orange juice (FCOJ) from Brazil as the International Trade Commission (ITC) has determined that revocation of this AD duty order would not be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury to an industry in the U.S. within a reasonably foreseeable time.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued its final results of the antidumping (AD) duty administrative review of certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat products from the Netherlands for the period of November 1, 2002 through October 31, 2003.
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has posted to its web site updated official and preliminary textile and apparel import data for 2005, which now covers the 2005 period from February to April 9th.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to initiate a rulemaking proceeding to determine the risks of injury associated with the mechanical malfunction of cigarette lighters. The CPSC is soliciting comments on certain regulatory alternatives and other possible ways to address these risks and the economic impacts of such alternatives.