Comments are due Oct. 6 at the International Trade Commission on the Tariff Act Section 337 import ban Q3 Networking seeks on routers, controllers and other networking products from Arris, Aruba Networks, CommScope, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Netgear and Ruckus Wireless, said Monday’s Federal Register. Q3's Sept. 22 complaint (login required) in docket 337-3493 alleges the products infringe four patents on data encryption, transmission and network management protocols. Excluding the products won’t harm U.S. consumers through “increased price or reduced availability of alternative products,” said Q3. An import ban would “serve the public interest” by enforcing U.S. intellectual property rights and “protecting the public from unfair competition,” it said. None of the proposed respondents commented Tuesday.

The U.S. and U.K. signed an artificial intelligence R&D agreement, announced the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Friday. The agreement will involve regulatory recommendations, coordinated programming for research and promotion of AI R&D focused on “fundamental advances and challenging technical issues such as explainability and fairness,” OSTP said. “America and our allies must lead the world in shaping the development of cutting edge AI technologies and protecting against authoritarianism and repression,” said U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios. The joint declaration was released during the inaugural Special Relationship Economic Working Group meeting. It provides a “welcome counterweight to China’s growing power” with AI, said Policy Analyst Hodan Omaar of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation's Center for Data Innovation.

Intel got U.S. export licenses to supply certain products to Huawei, emailed an Intel spokesperson Wednesday. There are increased U.S. restrictions against the Chinese technology company, including Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security August revisions to the foreign direct product rule that were intended to block Huawei’s ability to access U.S. technology (see 2008170043). A BIS spokesperson said the agency doesn't comment on licensing.

Comments are due Oct. 2 at the International Trade Commission on the Tariff Act Section 337 import ban that Philips seeks on Hisense, LG and TCL TVs; Dell, HP and Lenovo laptops and monitors; and Intel, MediaTek and Realtek components, says Thursday’s Federal Register. Philips’ Friday complaint (login required) in docket 337-3492 alleges the PC brands and TV makers infringe four patents on “secure authenticated distance measurement” for digital video delivery content protection. The chipmakers are accused of violating two of the patents. Philips’ ITC action mirrors complaints it filed in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Delaware, against the tech companies a day earlier. The finished products identified as infringing goods in all the complaints were sold through Best Buy, Walmart and other big-box retailers. Proposed respondents didn't comment Wednesday.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined Comtech Telecommunications $894,111 for exporting warrantied satellite equipment and providing services and training to the Sudan Civil Aviation Authority, OFAC said. The settlement mandates bolstering its sanctions compliance program, including more frequent risk assessments, stricter internal controls and improved compliance training. From June 2014 to October 2015, Comtech indirectly exported the equipment and “facilitated ongoing telephone support” and training despite knowing the ultimate customer was under sanction by the U.S., OFAC said: Company affiliates signed a sales agreement with a Canadian satellite communications equipment manufacturer that was procuring the equipment for a Sudanese end user. The resolution will strengthen "Comtech’s compliance program," said CEO Fred Kornberg. "Trade compliance has been, and will continue to be, a top priority.” The company didn't comment further Friday.

More than a dozen classifications of tech goods from China eligible for "preferential" tariff treatment under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on free trade remain subject to applicable Trade Act Section 301 tariffs, Customs and Border Protection ruled. It's dated last Friday and was released by CBP this week. "The country of origin of the subject goods for purposes of Section 301 is China and therefore, subject to the Section 301 duties," said CBP. The goods include hard drives, modems, switchers, routers and power supplies.

Iranian residents Said Pourkarim Arabi, Mohammad Reza Espargham and Mohammad Bayati were indicted for identity theft aimed at getting U.S. aerospace and satellite technology on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, DOJ said Thursday. It alleged the hacking campaign began in July 2015 and ran through at least February 2019, targeting online accounts of organizations and companies involved in aerospace or satellite technology. DOJ alleged victims included a satellite-tracking company and a satellite voice and data communication company.

Comments are due Sept. 24 at the International Trade Commission on the public interest ramifications of an import ban DivX seeks on LG, Samsung and TCL smart TVs, said Wednesday’s Federal Register. DivX’s Sept. 10 complaint (login required) in docket 337-3489 seeks a Tariff Act Section 337 investigation into allegations the video processors in the TVs infringe four DivX patents on adaptive bitrate streaming. Component suppliers MediaTek, MStar and Realtek are also named as potential respondents. DivX was “one of the first companies to enable successful delivery of high-quality digital video over the internet,” said the complaint: No harm would come to the public if the TVs were excluded because other manufacturers could easily fill the void. Respondents didn't comment.

EU net neutrality rules ban "zero rating" packages that favor some applications and services while blocking or slowing others, the European Court of Justice said Tuesday (cases C-807/18 and C-39/19). The issue concerns a challenge by Hungarian telco Telenor Magyarorszag to a National Communications and Media Office order to terminate some of its access services. A national court asked the ECJ to interpret provisions of regulation (EU) 2015/2120, which sets out measures on open internet access and user rights. The services allowed subscribers to access certain applications, such as Facebook, Twitter and Apple Music, without deducting the data volume from data packages purchased, and to continue using those services when the data volume was used up, while blocking or slowing data traffic to others. The court found such arrangements breach net neutrality. The outcome wasn't a foregone conclusion, blogged telecom consultant Innocenzo Genna, because zero rating practices aren't clearly covered: The practice was considered to be forbidden, and this judgment "eliminates doubts" that the applicable provisions aim to target such practices. Genna noted the Body of European Regulators of Electronic Communications hasn't barred all zero rating practices in principle but left it up to national regulators or courts to assess the impact of such practices on users' rights. The European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association didn't comment.

July smartphone imports of 18.2 million to the U.S. was their highest monthly volume of 2020 but remain on pace to finish the year with 20% fewer shipments than 2019, according to Census Bureau data we accessed Sunday through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb. Unit imports were up 15% sequentially and 6.2% from July 2019. That's improvement from Q2 (see 2008160001). The average July smartphone import was priced at $244.68, up 6.3% from June and 6.9% year on year. China generated 75% of July smartphone imports. PC monitors, a connectivity tool throughout much of telework and remote-learning mandates, cooled off from their torrid Q2 performance.