Ericsson and Samsung reached a multiyear agreement covering global patent licenses, including on all cellular technologies, the companies said Friday. The agreement covers sales of network gear and handsets from Jan. 1. They agreed on “technology cooperation projects to advance the mobile industry in open standardization and create valuable solutions for consumers and enterprises.” This settles complaints filed by both companies before the U.S. International Trade Commission plus “ongoing lawsuits in several countries,” they said.

Video-based social media platform Triller, which is suing an array of sites and YouTube channel operators for allegedly pirating a stream or MVPD broadcast of the Jake Paul/Ben Askren boxing match to which it owned the rights, is offering amnesty at $50 per viewer. It said June 1 is the deadline for people who watched via a pirated signal but weren't involved in the sale or distribution to be "eligible to receive a one-time settlement and release for their unlawful acts." It set up a website for registering and making payments. Triller in a copyright infringement complaint last month (in Pacer, docket 21-cv-03502) in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles said the pirating of the April 17 bout cost it upward of 2 million views, and sought damages in excess of $100 million. The defendants include Filmdaily.com, Accesstvpro.co, Online2livestream.us, Crackstreamslive.com, Sports-today.club, My-sports.club, Bilasport.com, Trendy Clips, Eclipt Gaming, ItsLilBrandon, the H3 Podcast and H3H3 Productions. In a motion Wednesday, it asked for expedited discovery so it could serve subpoenas on online platforms including Google's YouTube to discover defendants' identities.

Spotify rolled out its podcasting platform Tuesday, allowing creators to offer subscriptions through a separate platform, as Apple (see 2104200081), Facebook and others make more audio moves. Spotify's will be available through its Anchor service, letting podcasters mark episodes as subscriber-only. For the first two years, creators will receive all subscription revenue; in 2023, Spotify will begin charging 5% of revenue. The company also is testing a platform for creators to deliver paid content to existing paid audiences elsewhere while retaining direct control over the relationship, it said. Podcast listening got a boost from stay-at-home trends, said Futuresource: Respondents listening to podcasts grew from 36% in 2019 to 41% at year-end 2020.

Comments are due May 26 on a rule proposing to expedite registration procedures for small claims before the Copyright Claims Board, the Copyright Office said Monday. The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act directed the rule, which would allow a “claimant or counterclaimant” to “pay a small additional fee and request expedited registration.”

The Patent and Trademark Office approved CTA’s second deadline extension request on filing a statement of use (SOU) for the association’s NextGenTV logo as a certification mark on ATSC 3.0-compliant TVs, agency records show. CTA has until Oct. 21 to file the SOU and is entitled to three more deadline extension requests of six months each. It must file by April 21, 2023, the third anniversary of the logo’s notice of allowance, or risk abandonment of the application. PTO requires the SOU as a final condition for issuing a registration certificate to prevent applicants from intentionally hoarding trademarks with no plan to deploy them commercially. CTA told us six months ago that it anticipated filing for no additional extensions because NextGenTVs were prevalent on the market and the logo was plainly in commercial use (see 2010270018). “We don’t anticipate further delays in the PTO process," said Brian Markwalter, CTA senior vice president-research and standards, when asked Wednesday about CTA's apparent reversal. The association is glad the NextGenTV logo "is now in the market -- and we expect sales of these products to grow exponentially," he said.

Lapping its first year, Sonos added exclusive streaming content, it said Tuesday. Sonos Radio and the $7.99 monthly Sonos Radio HD are part of a platform for “artists, DJs, and curators to connect with listeners” in a way that feels "personal," said Joe Dawson, director-content and brand platforms.

Augmented and virtual reality will become a multibillion-dollar business opportunity for display makers over the next five years, reported Display Supply Chain Consultants Monday. It forecast annual revenue for AR and VR displays will grow at a 52% compound annual growth rate, reaching $4.2 billion globally in 2026. “Major brands with strong ecosystems like Apple and Sony are planning to release new headsets,” said DSCC analyst Guillaume Chansin. “There are now better components designed specifically for head-worn devices instead of smartphones,” and the rollout of 5G should enable more AR and VR content to be delivered, he said. “Investment in new display technologies will lead to a new generation of headsets with compelling visual performance and more compact form factors.”

Comments are due April 27 in docket 337-3544 at the International Trade Commission on the public interest ramifications of the Tariff Act Section 337 import ban that Dish seeks in an April 13 complaint (login required) on exercise equipment with capabilities that allegedly infringe five of its adaptive bit-rate streaming patents, says Monday's Federal Register. Named as proposed respondents in the investigation Dish seeks are Icon, its subsidiaries Free Motion and NordicTrack, plus lululemon and Peloton. None of the companies responded to questions Friday.

The FCC will co-lead a workshop April 26 with the National Counterintelligence and Security Center on "efforts to secure the nation's communications supply chain," said Friday's Daily Digest. FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel will open the daylong event, and representatives from the Public Safety and Homeland Security, Wireless and Wireline bureaus will participate. The FCC is "taking significant action and working with its federal partners to secure our nation's communications networks," Rosenworcel said in a statement. It's "vital that we work collaboratively to protect against vulnerabilities that could provide foreign interests with access to our networks."

Washington state House appropriators were expected to vote Thursday afternoon on state privacy and municipal broadband bills. Earlier at the livestreamed hearing, the tech industry and other businesses told the Appropriations Committee that it’s too hard to comply with last week’s Judiciary Committee changes to SB-5062, which included adding a private right of action and sunsetting companies’ right to cure (see 2103260034). The American Civil Liberties Union said the bill lacks teeth to ensure compliance. Such disagreement shows the bill is “actually a good compromise,” testified Common Sense Media Director-State Advocacy Joseph Jerome. The Internet Association wants the privacy bill restored to the measure that passed the Senate, said Rose Feliciano, director-state government affairs, Northwest. She complained about “zero public input” on the Judiciary Committee’s changes, echoing comments by Washington Technology Industry Association and Association of Washington Business witnesses. Funding for attorney general enforcement of the privacy bill is “grossly inadequate to address the scope of the problem," said ACLU-Washington attorney Bill Block, citing a fiscal note saying the AG would get support for 1.2 attorneys and 3.6 full-time equivalents (FTEs). “It assumes only three full investigations and no litigation a year.” The private right is toothless because Block doubts individuals will sue if they can’t seek damages, he said. The Washington Independent Telecommunications Association will take a “leap of faith” and support SB-5383 to loosen municipal restrictions if appropriators adopted the committee amendment, said Executive Director Betty Buckley. The Washington Public Utility Districts Association also supported the bill with those changes.