U.S. administration officials will meet with EU and Japanese counterparts next month to lobby for increased scrutiny of mergers and acquisitions involving sensitive technologies, said Thomas Feddo, Treasury Department assistant secretary-investment security. The U.S. is implementing revisions in the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (see 2002120034). FIRRMA will adapt to any rulemaking changes in technology, and Treasury prioritized improving investment screening among allies and quadrupled Office of Investment Security staffing as the Trump administration focuses on maintaining a technological edge over China, Feddo said Wednesday. Industry worries about lack of clarity on what's considered critical tech (see 2001150018). Treasury “does not have a lot of latitude” to define this, Feddo said, and the agency is awaiting direction. “Obviously we’re looking to the Commerce Department to develop and designate emerging technologies,” he told the Asia Society: But the ability to review M&A won't be hurt.

Sonos plans to produce “relevant” evidence to “establish” that Google is guilty of Tariff Act Section 337 violations through the “unlawful importation” of smart speakers and other goods that infringe its multiroom audio patents, said Sonos in a joint discovery statement (login required) it and Google filed Wednesday in docket 337-TA-1191 at the International Trade Commission. Google denies the allegations, saying the Sonos patents are “invalid,” but will produce evidence “concerning the proper scope of any remedy” if the ITC decides in favor of Sonos, it said. Commissioners voted Feb. 5 to open an investigation into the Sonos complaint, which seeks an import ban on a wide range of Google products (see 2002060070). Google served Sonos Feb. 13 with discovery requests for 16 classifications of evidence, including information on “the alleged significant investment in plant and equipment” Sonos spent to bring its multiroom audio products to market and how many employees it hired, said the statement. Sonos also served Google with discovery papers, but the statement didn’t say when it did so or what it asked for. Sonos and Google agree to “participate in settlement conferences and mediation,” and will “explore reasonable possibilities for settlement,” they said.

CTA’s application to register the NEXTGEN TV logo as a certification mark for ATSC 3.0-compliant consumer TVs was published for opposition Tuesday, confirmed the Patent and Trademark Office. The application, published in the agency's Trademark Official Gazette, advances to a notice of allowance if no one opposes it at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board by March 26. CTA would then have six months to file a statement of use as one of the final steps in the registration process. CTA unveiled the logo in the fall as the keystone of its consumer-facing branding campaign for when broadcasters in the top 40 U.S. markets begin rolling out 3.0 services later this year (see 1909190066).

The Supreme Court Monday declined to hear Apple’s appeal in a patent dispute with security software company poll (docket 19-832). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit last year ordered Apple to pay VirtnetX $439.7 million for using VirtnetX security technology without permission on FaceTime.

China and India should be removed from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s priority watch list for intellectual property infringement, officials in those countries recently told USTR. Comments were due Thursday for USTR’s 2020 Special 301 Review (see 2002070032). China and India cited strong IP protections and reforms, but the U.S. Chamber of Commerce noted both continue to score poorly on the International IP Index. China’s overall score increased from 47.7% in the seventh edition to 51% in the eighth edition, the Chamber said. India’s score increased from 36% to 38.5%. The U.S. score increased from 94.8% to 95.3%. “Despite some positive -- albeit incremental -- changes in China, we continue to advocate for bold reforms that will result in meaningful changes for foreign companies,” the U.S. said. China cited a “firm attitude toward IP protection, with well-established and constantly developing IP legal system,” China said, citing what it called a fair and impartial judicial protection for IP rights. India cited “extensive initiatives taken to reinforce its IPR laws as well as to protect patents and all IP forms in the country.” SoundExchange targeted six countries denying American music performers and producers about $170 million annually in royalties: U.K., Australia, Canada, France, Japan and the Netherlands.

Balanced intellectual property protections are needed to ensure artificial intelligence technology fulfills its potential, the Computer & Communications Industry Association commented Friday. “Widespread availability of patents on AI generated inventions would lead to less innovation by placing ordinary creativity into the realm of monopoly and chilling the rationale to pursue such creativity,” CCIA told the World Intellectual Property Organization as it works through a draft issues paper on AI and IP. The white paper will be “a milestone for Europe’s regulatory vision on how to advance innovation and help European companies thrive,” Information Technology Industry Council CEO Jason Oxman said. It’s important the EU not look only at potential AI harms but also consider the potential “social harms of limiting the use of AI, which may decrease its positive impact,” ITI wrote.

Sonos and Google face a Feb. 26 filing deadline for a joint discovery statement in their patent dispute at the International Trade Commission, said an order (login required) in docket 337-TA-1191 signed Tuesday by Chief Administrative Law Judge Charles Bullock. The ITC voted last week to open a Tariff Act Section 337 investigation into Sonos allegations that Google smart speakers and other devices infringe its multiroom audio patents (see 2002060070). The joint discovery statement instructs the companies to state their positions on a wide variety of procedural issues, including any recommended limits on documents or witnesses, plus an estimated target date when the investigation will be completed and whether any settlement discussions are planned. The Sonos complaint seeks a limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders against the allegedly infringing products.

Global Music Rights doesn’t understand Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, replied (in Pacer) the Radio Music License Committee Monday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, responding to GMR’s objections to RMLC’s motion for review of a magistrate judge’s order on discovery. Review the order because portions of it are “contrary to law and clearly erroneous,” RMLC said. “GMR’s remaining arguments are an unnecessary sideshow that this Court can ignore.”

Sonos is “pleased” the International Trade Commission “confirmed it will initiate a formal investigation into all of our claims asserting Google blatantly infringed our intellectual property,” emailed a spokesperson Friday. “We’ll fully cooperate throughout the duration of the investigation and feel confident about the merit of our case.” The ITC voted 4-0 to open a Tariff Act Section 337 investigation into Sonos allegations that Google smart speakers and other devices infringe its multiroom audio patents (see 2002060070). The agency declined comment Friday on Commissioner Rhonda Schmidtlein’s recusal from the vote. The investigation was assigned to Chief Administrative Law Judge Charles Bullock, said a notice to the parties.

Xperi announced a patent and license agreement with SK hynix, for semiconductor intellectual property and a technology transfer of Invensas DBI Ultra 3D interconnect technology for memory chips. The DBI Ultra die-to-wafer hybrid bonding 3D interconnect technology platform enables eight-, 12- and 16-high chip stacks within packaging height and performance requirements for high-performance computing, Xperi said Friday.