The Copyright Office will allow exceptions for certain noncommercial uses of pre-1972 sound recordings “that are not being commercially exploited,” effective May 9, said a rule for Tuesday's Federal Register. It's part of the 2018 Music Modernization Act.

Information technology modernization remains a top priority for the Copyright Office (see 1805110042), the CO said Friday in its Strategic Plan for the next five years. The goal is to develop a “robust and flexible enterprise IT system” designed for current and future copyright needs, the CO said. Optimizing business processes, organization change management, education and engagement and impartial copyright expertise also made the list of focus areas.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing is “confident in its proprietary and independently developed technology and will defend its technology and business against any patent challenge,” emailed a spokesperson Wednesday. The International Trade Commission launched a Tariff Act Section 337 investigation into allegations the company is manufacturing semiconductor devices that infringe patents held by Innovative Foundry Technologies (see 1904030030).

President Donald Trump directed the Department of Homeland Security to deliver a report on online trafficking of counterfeit and pirated goods. Due in about 200 days, it's aimed at gaining a better understanding of how online third-party marketplaces and other third-party intermediaries facilitate illegal activity, their origins and what goods are trafficked. Another goal is to “identify administrative, regulatory, legislative or policy changes that would enable agencies … to more effectively share information regarding counterfeit and pirated goods,” Trump said Wednesday.

Haier and Skyworth joined the Advanced Audio Coding patent pool, said administrator Via Licensing Monday (here and here). The AAC pool has 900 global licensees, it said.

China’s trade practices “in several specific areas,” especially forced technology transfer and the Made in China 2025 industrial program, continue to “cause particular concern” for U.S. “stakeholders,” the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative reported. Made in China 2025 “seeks to build up Chinese companies in 10 targeted sectors "at the expense of, and to the detriment of, foreign industries and their technologies,” said Friday’s report. The program’s “initial goal” is to “ensure, through various means, that Chinese companies develop, extract or acquire their own technology, intellectual property and know-how and their own brands,” said USTR. Its ultimate goal is “to capture much larger worldwide market shares” in China’s targeted “strategic sectors,” said the office. U.S. and Chinese negotiating teams, trying to hammer out a comprehensive trade agreement, continue “to make progress during candid and constructive discussions on the negotiations and important next steps,” said the White House Friday. Talks continue this week in Washington. "Building on the substantive progress achieved," China hopes the two sides "can continue to work with concerted efforts, meet each other halfway, implement the importance consensus reached by the two presidents, and make attempts to ensure a mutually beneficial agreement,” said a Foreign Ministry spokesperson Monday.

Oracle’s software packages are 'copyright-protected,' and Google’s “copying of the material” wasn't fair use, Oracle argued to the Supreme Court Wednesday, citing previous court decisions (see 1902250065). Oracle dismissed Google’s “doomsday predictions about the imminent demise of the software industry.” Oracle develops a “licensing regime to ensure compatibility,” and its computer programs help programmers write their own applications, Oracle said. It accused Google of copying thousands of lines of code and the structure of 37 software packages. Overturning long-accepted software practices will hurt innovation across the computer industry, Google Senior Vice President-Global Affairs Kent Walker emailed Thursday. "Oracle is just wrong. … We are asking the Supreme Court to hold that copyright law supports the kind of interoperability that has been critical to the astonishing progress of software development in the United States.”

Charter Communications, through "willful and extensive" contribution to music piracy by thousands of broadband subscribers, did nothing to curb that copyright infringement but "prioritize[d] its own profits over its legal obligations," said music labels and publishers in a civil complaint Friday (in Pacer, docket 19-cv-874) filed in U.S. District Court in Denver. They said Charter "routinely thumbed its nose" at the labels by continuing to provide service to subscribers it knew to be serially infringing copyright. The suit lists several IP addresses allegedly of Charter subscribers who have been subject of dozens of infringement notices. Among those suing are Warner Brothers, Atlantic, Sony Music and Capitol Records. They allege violations of the Copyright Act and seek unspecified statutory damages. Charter told us Monday it will “defend against these baseless accusations.” Some of the same labels also are suing cable ISP Grande Communications (see 1802080001) and Cox Communications (see 1808020009).

Rights owners may be eligible to recover “statutory damages and/or attorneys' fees for the unauthorized use” of pre-1972 sound recordings, the Copyright Office said Friday. The rule was finalized as part of the Music Modernization Act. The CO also finalized a related rule amending regulations for “compulsory license to make and distribute phonorecords of musical works” (see 1812070052). That took effect Friday.

The International Trade Commission launched a Tariff Act Section 337 investigation (docket 337-TA-1148) March 11 that could lead to a ban on imports of certain integrated circuits and the devices that contain them. In a Dec. 19 complaint, Tela Innovations accused Intel and Acer, Asus, Lenovo, Micro-Star and their U.S. subsidiaries of copying its patented layout optimization technology for ICs and incorporating those chips into downstream products. The ITC will consider whether to issue a limited exclusion order banning import and sale of the allegedly infringing products. Intel and Lenovo declined comment, and the others named in the investigation didn't respond to emails. Intel and Lenovo, in Feb. 22 comments on the public interest ramifications of Tela’s complaint, said an import ban would harm many in the public and private sectors. “The accused processors are foundational for the U.S. economy,” said Intel (login required). “These Intel processors are used in computers across every major sector of U.S. industry and in defense, government, healthcare, banking, and education.” Lenovo said (login required) banning its PCs and their embedded Intel processors would “degrade the ability of Lenovo’s customers, including healthcare providers, to deliver vital services effectively and efficiently.”