These preliminary results are not in effect and may be amended in the final results of these CV duty administrative reviews which are currently due within 120 days of May 11, 2004.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued a notice stating that it is postponing the preliminary countervailing (CV) duty determination on live swine from Canada until no later than August 16, 2004 (from June 11, 2004).
Ad spending rose 7% in the first quarter compared with the same period last year, with gains across major media, according to preliminary figures from Nielsen. Cable had the biggest gain, 16%, while network TV grew 10.4%. Spot TV grew 7.1% and spot radio rose 2.7%. Network radio rose 3.2%. But Spanish-language TV had a 12.9% decline in ad spending in the quarter. Nielsen predicted continuing growth because of the Olympics and the presidential campaign. Biggest ad spenders remain the automotive factory sector, followed by prescription drug makers and the motion picture industry.
The ITA states that the China-wide rate applies to all entries of subject merchandise produced in China except for entries from exporter or producers that are identified individually above.
On May 20, 2004 the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee reported its amended version of S. 2279, the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2004. S. 2279 has been placed on the Senate calendar, but no further action has yet been taken.
(a) For previously reviewed or investigated companies not listed above, that have separate rates, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the company-specific rate published for the most recent period.
Macrovision’s attorney explained how and why it charged patent infringement in its suit vs. 321 Studios, in addition to claims of Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) violations against the company. On May 11, the U.S. Dist. Court, N.Y.C., granted Macrovision a preliminary injunction against the sale of 321’s DVD X Copy family of DVD backup software, which 321 said it would appeal (CED May 19 p8). Unlike other suits against by content owners, which mainly have charged violation of the DMCA’s provisions against circumventing copy protection, Macrovision’s suit used 2 complementary approaches of attack by asserting DMCA violations and claims for infringing Macrovision’s patented copy protection, which is used in most DVD players sold worldwide. “The vast majority of Hollywood DVDs are protected by software flags that trigger the patented anti-copy methods within DVD players,” said Macrovision attorney Robert Becker. “When those flags are copied by DVD X Copy, the patented methods are triggered and performed without license from Macrovision. A patent infringement results. When the software flags are removed, the anti-copy mechanism is circumvented, resulting in a violation of the DMCA.” The preliminary injunction granted to Macrovision follows similar ones granted by the N.Y.C. court March 3 in Paramount Pictures v. 321 Studios and Feb. 20 by the U.S. Dist. Court, San Francisco. Each court found the DVD X Copy line violates the DMCA by circumventing DVD’s Content Scrambling System (CSS). Since the Feb. 20 Cal. ruling, 321 has been able to sell only copying software that lacks a “CSS ripper.”
(a) preliminary de minimis AD rate (Diler: 0.36%, ICDAS: 0.02%, and Fuyao: 0.13%)
Warner’s The Last Samurai was the #1-rented DVD for the 2nd consecutive week, according to Rentrak’s preliminary Home Video Essentials data Thurs. for the week ended May 16. Rentrak said the title earned an additional $6.59 million on DVD, for $14.08 million to date. In its first full week available, Buena Vista’s Scary Movie 3, meanwhile, was the #2-rented DVD, earning $4.91 million for $4.99 million total.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued its preliminary results of the antidumping (AD) duty changed circumstances review of structural steel beams from Japan.