There was no violation of Section 337 of the Tariff Act in the import of certain wireless consumer electronics devices and components, said an initial decision by a U.S. International Trade Commission administrative law judge. Judge Edward Gildea said in the decision issued Friday that there was no violation by Acer, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Garmin Ltd., Huawei Technologies Co., Kyocera Corp., LG Electronics, Nintendo of America, Novatel Wireless, Samsung Electronics, ZTE Corp. and others. All of the cases involved U.S. Patent No. 5,809,336, and Gildea found that a domestic industry exists that uses the patent. He gave no more reasoning (http://bit.ly/19ErleJ).

It would be “great” to abolish the U.S. International Trade Commission, curb ITC’s use of import injunctive power or remove the agency from the patent infringement process, said William Watson, a trade policy analyst with Cato’s Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies. Another “modest possibility,” he said, is to require that decisions whether infringement has occurred be made by a court, but then allow a victorious plaintiff to seek an import ban from the ITC. That proposal was considered by the U.S. Trade Representative decades ago but rejected by Congress, wrote Watson in a blog post Monday (http://bit.ly/17U5VZX). “But if federal courts are making infringement determinations, why not just give those courts the power to issue import bans?” The “most common argument in favor of ITC patent litigation is that the agency is quick and effective at making infringement determinations,” he continued. “Without that role, is there really anything left for the ITC?” Watson said it’s “quite likely,” given the Supreme Court’s clear warning regarding overuse of injunctions in patent infringement cases, that there will be an attempt through regulation or statute to create more precise rules for determining the basis for import bans in patent infringement cases. The White House also has said the ITC should follow the same standard as federal courts before issuing an import ban. A commission spokeswoman declined to comment on Watson’s blog post. “Maybe the trouble caused by the ITC would be worthwhile if the agency also provided some legitimate benefit, but it doesn’t,” Watson said: “No other country on earth has a specialized patent court for imports,” and “ITC import bans were condemned decades ago as inconsistent with international trade rules. Patent policy is complicated enough without the ITC’s purely disruptive influence.”

The October meeting of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) leaders on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Bali will be “an important milestone” in concluding negotiations on a new trade agreement, said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman. The meeting will offer an opportunity for heads of state to deliver guidance to trade ministers in TPP, he said Monday during a conference call. USTR will keep the stakeholders apprised of developments on sensitive issues that remain outstanding in the negotiations, said Froman, according to excerpted comments from that office (http://1.usa.gov/1d383BR). “We won’t make these decisions in isolation. And we will be proactive about getting your participation in this process."

Gogo and SES signed a ground satellite infrastructure agreement to expand in-flight broadband services over North America, the North Atlantic region and Europe. SES will provide strategic teleport services allowing Gogo “to access satellite connectivity and extend the Gogo in-flight broadband network into new markets,” SES said in a news release Tuesday (http://bit.ly/18RWIQy). It said Gogo will use SES teleports in Woodbine, Md.; Manassas, Va.; and Betzdorf, Luxembourg, to service the coverage areas.

Telesat ordered a satellite from Astrium to replace Telstar 12 at 15 degrees west. The new satellite, Telstar 12 Vantage, “will utilize a combination of broad regional beams and more focused high throughput spot beams to increase capacity,” Telesat said in a news release Monday (http://bit.ly/1d2WzxX). “By using Ku band across all coverage beams, Telstar 12 Vantage will be fully backwards compatible with existing Ku-band terminal equipment.” The satellite will provide coverage of the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, it said.

Row 44 and Hughes expanded Row 44’s satellite coverage area to Russia and the North Atlantic region. The companies signed three multi-year contracts, “which include the provision of space segment, network operations center operations, maintenance and other ancillary services,” said Row 44 parent Global Eagle in a news release Tuesday (http://bit.ly/14C8hzz). The agreement also includes significant capacity increases to Row 44’s leased bandwidth, “which now supports customers on four continents,” it said. “Installations of the Row 44 connectivity platform now exceed 500 aircraft on four continents."

Europe will hold its first Cyber Security Month in October, said the European Network and Information Security Agency on Tuesday. More than 40 partners from the public and private sectors, and stakeholders in 25 countries will participate, with support from ENISA, Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes and the European Commission Directorate General CONNECT, it said. The campaign is to promote cybersecurity among citizens, change perceptions about cyber-threats and make available up-to-date security information through education and sharing good practices, it said. Activities will include video, radio and TV talk shows, and programs, lectures, workshops, online games and fairs, it said.

Two city councils in Kansas voted Monday to bring Google Fiber to their residents, said Google Fiber in a blog post (http://bit.ly/19DRwC5). Google Fiber will start planning its networks in Mission Hills and Fairway, with another announcement to follow when customers can start signing up, said the company.

ABC’s live-streaming service is now available to viewers with participating TV subscription services in Fresno, Calif., said the Disney/ ABC Television Group in a news release Monday (http://bit.ly/1ead7bq). That brings the app to all eight ABC-owned affiliate stations (CD Aug 27 p9).

The FCC Public Safety Bureau plans a workshop Oct. 2 to discuss “recent developments in the use of wireless technology to contact emergency services,” said a public notice Monday. The bureau is seeking comments on the topic by Sept. 25 (http://bit.ly/17RVw0S). “The workshop will explore current trends that may be affecting the provision and quality of 911 location information delivered to Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), including the increased volume of wireless 911 calls and the increase in wireless calls originating from indoor locations,” said the notice. “The workshop will explore potential solutions that could improve the delivery of accurate E911 location information.”