In response to recommendations by the mHealth Task Force, the Federal Communications Commission has launched a new website to serve as a central repository for the FCC’s health care-related work and is searching for a new position to coordinate the agency’s health care technology-related initiatives. Chairman Genachowski convened the FCC’s first mHealth Summit earlier this… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: December 2012
European Court of Justice Rules on What Constitutes Genuine Use of a Trade Mark
Posted in Intellectual PropertyBy Morag Peberdy and Jacqueline Clover Yesterday, judgment was delivered by the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) in the ONEL case on what constitutes genuine use of a Community Trade Mark (“CTM”). A CTM can be revoked if there has been no genuine use in the Community for 5 years. The conventional… Continue Reading
FCC Provides Consumer Tips On Mobile Privacy And Security
Posted in Privacy & Data Security, Spectrum & Mobile, UncategorizedThe Federal Communications Commission yesterday released a Smartphone Security Checker, a tool designed to help consumers secure their smartphones against mobile security threats. The tool provides consumers with tips that are customized for four different mobile operating systems. Many of tips focus on security-related topics. For instance, the tool recommends that consumers set a password… Continue Reading
E-Books Pricing: The EU Antitrust Chapter Is About To Close
Posted in UncategorizedThe EU E-books antitrust probe is quasi-closed: the EU Commission announced yesterday that it accepted and made legally binding the commitments offered by Apple and four publishers to settle the investigation that was opened in December last year. The Commission was investigating whether the publishers may have colluded, with Apple’s facilitation, to jointly switch from… Continue Reading
FCC Proposes Requiring Emergency Information On Secondary Audio Stream
Posted in Broadcasting & CableThe Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently proposed requiring that when broadcast television stations or cable/satellite companies display emergency information visually during non-news programming, they must provide the same information aurally on a “secondary” audio stream. When viewers tune to a channel, they ordinarily hear the primary audio stream; the secondary audio stream can be used to provide… Continue Reading
New ITU Regulations Face En-Masse Rejection
Posted in TelecommunicationsThe United States, along with the UK, Canada, and a host of other states, has refused to sign an updated International Telecommunications Regulations treaty at the International Telecommunication Union’s World Conference on International Communications (WCIT-12) in Dubai, citing concerns over treaty provisions related to Internet security and spam, as well as a resolution envisioning a… Continue Reading
A Unitary Patent for Europe is Finally Approved
Posted in Intellectual PropertyAfter more than 40 years of discussions, the European Parliament today voted in favour of the “EU patent package,” hot on the heels of the European Council’s approval yesterday. The EU patent package will create a Unitary EU Patent i.e. a uniform patent which will have equal effect and will be granted, transferred and enforced… Continue Reading
Blow to the Spanish and Italian Challenge to the Unitary EU Patent
Posted in Intellectual PropertyShortly before today’s vote in the European Parliament on the Unitary EU Patent , Advocate General Bot recommended that the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) dismiss the actions brought by Spain and Italy objecting to the EU Patent package. The Spanish and Italians did not support the compromise that the rest of… Continue Reading
China Moves to Further Regulate Smartphones
Posted in Privacy & Data Security, Spectrum & MobileChina appears to be moving forward with plans to further regulate smartphones. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently filed a notification with the WTO’s Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade of draft regulations governing applications that are pre-loaded on to smartphones. The regulations were initially released for comment on June 1, and attracted… Continue Reading
European Commission’s Survey on Intellectual Property Enforcement Seeks Input on Potentially Anticompetitive Litigation
Posted in Intellectual PropertyBy Hee-Eun Kim On 30 November 2012, the European Commission launched a public consultation to assess the efficiency and accessibility of civil enforcement measures for intellectual property (IP) rights in the EU Member States. Notably, the survey asks a number of questions on the use of injunctions and other enforcement measures for “frivolous and/or anticompetitive… Continue Reading
Federal Appeals Court Gives a Jolt to FCC Authority By Upholding Data Roaming Rules
Posted in Spectrum & MobileYesterday a federal appeals court upheld the Federal Communications Commissions rule, adopted in April 2011, requiring wireless carriers who provide mobile data services to offer roaming agreements to other wireless providers on commercially reasonable terms. (For example, if a Cricket Wireless subscriber leaves that provider’s coverage area, he or she may still use data services… Continue Reading
China Solicits Comments on New Draft Employment Invention Regulation
Posted in Intellectual PropertyLast month, China’s State Intellectual Property Office released a draft regulation governing employment inventions for public comment. If implemented, the draft regulation would grant significant rights to employee inventors and would affect all companies conducting research and development in China. Notably, the draft regulation would limit the employer and employee’s freedom to contract out of the… Continue Reading
FCC Adopts Rules to Promote Expansion of Low-Power FM Stations
Posted in Broadcasting & CableAn order adopted by the Federal Communications Commission at its Nov. 30 open meeting will allow schools, tribal nations, and other community groups to apply to operate new low-power FM (LPFM) radio stations starting in the fall of 2013. LPFM stations, which cover much smaller areas than full-power stations, are intended to promote highly local… Continue Reading