Nokia seeks a limited exclusion order banning imports of Lenovo laptops, desktops, tablets, smart home devices and components that allegedly infringe five of its patents, said a Tariff Act Section 337 complaint (login required) filed July 2 with the International Trade Commission. Four of the patents involve H.264 video compression, the fifth concerns user interfaces. Nokia’s complaint identifies Lenovo’s ThinkPad, IdeaPad and Flex lines of laptops as copying its patented technology. “Nokia does not currently seek to exclude Lenovo products that include cellular functionality,” it said. Nokia also seeks cease and desist orders banning import and sale of infringing merchandise from Lenovo. Comments are due to the ITC by July 17. Lenovo didn't comment Wednesday.

Kiss Library runs virtual bookstores advertising "‘unbeatable prices’ for a simple reason: its catalogs are replete with pirated ebooks,” Amazon and Penguin Random House alleged (in Pacer) in U.S. District Court in Seattle. Kiss Library’s illegal actions “divert potential customers to its sites, where authors and publishers do not receive any royalties for the sales,” it said Tuesday. John Grisham, Doug Preston, Monique Truong, Scott Turow and eight other authors joined as plaintiffs. “This lawsuit aims to bring down” Kiss Library to stop its “notorious pirating and unlawful copying, display, distribution, and sale of their ebooks” in the U.S., it said. Kiss Library didn’t comment.

Apple seeks declaratory judgment iPhones don’t infringe two Zipit Wireless instant messaging patents, said its complaint (in Pacer) in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. Zipit alleged infringement June 11 in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, then voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice two weeks later. Zipit maintained through years of negotiations that Apple “required a license,” but Apple disagreed, and the two sides never reached an accord, said Friday's complaint. It’s “highly likely” Zipit will again sue, it said: “The cloud of Zipit’s allegations and litigation hangs over Apple.” There’s a “real, immediate, and justiciable controversy,” it said. A “judicial declaration is necessary” to resolve it, said the complaint. Zipit didn’t comment Monday.

The International Trade Commission set the first settlement conference for Aug. 7 in its Tariff Act Section 301 investigation into Sharp allegations that Vizio and its suppliers are infringing five Sharp LCD display patents (see 2007010053). The second settlement conference is scheduled for Dec. 17, said Administrative Law Judge Dee Lord’s order (login required) posted in docket 337-TA-1201. Lord’s order set a Sept. 27, 2021, target date for completing the investigation.

The HBO Go app won’t be available on most devices as of July 31, WarnerMedia advised customers in a Wednesday email announcing “important changes." The AT&T company told subscribers they can sign into HBO Max, launched in May (see report, May 28), with provider credentials “just as you did for HBO GO.” Roku and Amazon Fire TV customers lack access to HBO Max through those devices. Those who have provider credentials through an MVPD can sign into Max as they did for Go, WarnerMedia said. Roku is “disappointed that HBO will no longer give consumers access to HBO GO -- and that HBO is taking this action when so many people are at home,” a Roku spokesperson emailed Wednesday. The streaming platform has “asked HBO to reconsider their decision since it only harms the existing HBO consumers who will no longer be able to access their subscription on the device of their choosing,” she said. “Unfortunately they are still planning to shut down HBO GO.” Roku customers can access their HBO subscriptions across the Roku platform, the spokeswoman said, through Comcast, Charter and AT&T TV channels on the Roku platform. They can subscribe directly to HBO on The Roku Channel, she said. Amazon declined to comment. WarnerMedia didn’t respond to questions.

The Copyright Office extended until Aug. 5 its deadline for comments on a rulemaking on modernizing recordation of notices of termination, it announced Tuesday.

The “predictive text” functionality on LG’s Risio 3 prepaid smartphone for Cricket Wireless infringes two patents for an “automatic dynamic contextual data entry completion system,” alleged the patents’ owner, Mountech, in a complaint (in Pacer) Monday in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Delaware. One patent (7,991,784) was granted in August 2011. The other (8,311,805) dates to November 2012. Both name New Yorker Prashant Parikh as the sole inventor, but neither lists an assignee. LG “has committed these acts of infringement without license or authorization,” it said. Mountech “has suffered monetary damages and is entitled to a monetary judgment in an amount adequate” to compensate it for LG’s infringement, plus “interests and costs,” it said. “As a matter of policy, LG doesn't generally comment on such pending legal actions,” emailed a spokesperson.

The FCC is likely to grant Charter's petition to end conditions from the 2016 Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks deal (see 2006180050), perhaps before the November election, Cowen's Paul Gallant wrote investors Friday. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai was a critic of the conditions then and the over-the-top market has boomed since, the analyst noted. The speed at which the FCC requested comment on the petition suggests the agency will act quickly, he said.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative seeks comment on whether all exclusions granted to Chinese imports on Section 301 List 4 that are to expire Sept. 1 should be extended for up to another year, says Friday's Federal Register. USTR will accept comments July 1-30. Each exclusion will be evaluated independently, based on whether a product remains available only from China, it said: Companies are required to post a rationale publicly for extending the exclusions for another year.

The deadline for comments on the Copyright Office study of state sovereign immunity from copyright infringement suits was delayed from Aug. 3 to Sept. 2, said Wednesday's Federal Register. It said the deadline for replies and relevant empirical research is Oct. 2. The Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee requested the comments after the Supreme Court ruled in Allen v. Cooper states are immune to copyright infringement liability (see 2006030025).