The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan granted the U.S.'s motion to toss a six-count case brought by CBD and hemp manufacturer ASHH over the seizure and detention of lithium-ion batteries, classified by CBP as "drug paraphernalia." Judge Robert Cleland held that the plaintiff had other remedies at law via the administrative process and that CBP's seizures are not final agency action (ASHH v. U.S., E.D. Mich. #21-11210).

TCL denies Advanced Micro Devices allegations it violated Section 337 of the 1930 Tariff Act by importing smart TVs to the U.S. with graphics processing unit chips that infringe five AMD patents on GPU circuitry architecture, said TCL's filing Thursday in docket 337-TA-1318 at the International Trade Commission.

The U.S.'s rationale for its motion to stay in an Enforce and Protect Act case at the Court of International Trade is "remarkable," and essentially concedes that CBP cannot back its evasion finding, plaintiffs Norca Industrial Co. and International Piping & Procurement Group (IPPG) said in a July 6 brief opposing the stay. The stay motion wants to halt proceedings at CIT so a covered merchandise referral can be issued to the Commerce Department, but the plaintiffs said that such a referral is not possible, the case has been narrowed to record issues and the move signals a concession on the facts (Norca Industrial Company v. United States, CIT Consol. #21-00192).

Comments are due July 18 in docket 337-3626 at the International Trade Commission on the public interest issues raised by the cease and desist and limited exclusion orders VideoLabs seeks in a Tariff Act Section 337 complaint against devices from Acer, Asus, Lenovo, Micro-Star, Motorola Mobility and MSI for allegedly infringing four of its patents, says a notice for Friday’s Federal Register. Three of the patents involve H.264 and H.265 video compression. The fourth describes a method for readjusting a screen’s orientation when a portable device is rotated for different viewing positions, said the complaint. The presence of “an adequate supply of substitute products,” if the limited exclusion order is granted, “overrides any supposed public interest concerns,” said VideoLabs.

In the July 6 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 56, No. 26), CBP published a proposal to revoke a ruling on wooden paint mixing sticks and composite portable storage batteries.

ZipDX told FCC Enforcement Bureau staff it should be chosen as the registered consortium to head industry efforts to trace unlawful robocalls because it can do so "more nimbly and more dynamically" than USTelecom's industry traceback group (see 2206230055). "We will more readily and fully meet the objectives of the Traced Act and the FCC," said an ex parte filing Wednesday in docket 20-22. ZipDX said Congress "would not have directed the FCC to annually revisit the selection" if it "intended to anoint USTelecom as the gatekeeper of traceback always and forever." USTelecom hasn't "cited any specific or general flaw in our efforts," ZipDX said: "If anybody has misgivings about ZipDX, it would and should be those parties that play an outsize role in the initiation and facilitation of illegal robocalls." USTelecom didn't comment.

Tech and public interest groups urged the FCC to close off the possibility of charging regulatory fees to users of unlicensed spectrum, while NAB -- which first raised the proposal -- pivoted to arguing for additional fees for broadband service providers, in comments on the agency’s 2022 regulatory fees in docket 22-223 filed by Tuesday’s deadline (see 2206010058).

The Supreme Court's landmark ruling June 30 that curbed the Environmental Protection Agency's power to issue regulations intended to counter climate change is unlikely to have ramifications for trade cases at the Court of International Trade and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, but there is a chance some trade actions with a larger scope could be affected, trade lawyers said in recent days.

FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington’s calls last week for the agency to take a deep dive on potential rules requiring OEMs to provide security updates for wireless devices authorized by the agency for sale in the U.S. (see 2206280072) appears likely to be picked up, said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, industry executives and agency officials.

The Texas Public Utility Commission violated the state’s constitution and utility and administrative procedure laws when it chose not to fully fund Texas USF (TUSF), a state appeals court ruled Thursday. The 3rd District Texas Court of Appeals in Austin partly reversed the Travis County District Court in Austin dismissal of rural telcos’ complaint against the PUC. The trial court must issue a writ of mandamus ordering Texas commissioners “to take immediate action to fulfill their duties imposed by law to fully fund all TUSF programs and to make all disbursements required by” the Texas Public Utility Regulatory Act (PURA) and the PUC’s “existing TUSF orders and commitments,” wrote Justice Gisela Triana in Thursday’s opinion with Chief Justice Darlene Byrne and Justice Chari Kelly (case 03-21-00294-CV).