Federal Judge Rejects Verizon’s Challenge to New FCC Data Roaming Rule

Cellco P’ship v. FCC
By Kathleen McGuinness – Edited by Charlie Stiernberg

The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected a facial challenge to the Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC”) new rule requiring “providers of commercial mobile-data services to offer data roaming agreements to other such providers on commercially reasonable terms.”  The court held that the FCC had statutory authority to regulate data roaming, and that the flexibility of the new requirement does not amount to the imposition of common carrier requirements.

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USPTO Proposes New Rules for Micro Entity Status By Jeffery Habenicht – Edited by Dorothy Du Changes to Implement Micro Entity Status for Paying Patent Fees, 77 Fed. Reg. 31,806 (proposed May 30, 2012) (to be codified at 37 C.F.R. pt. 1). Federal Register On May 30, 2012, the PTO published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register entitled Changes to Implement Micro Entity Status for Paying Patent Fees. The new rules, to be codified as 37 C.F.R. ... Read More...

California Considers Regulation of Autonomous Vehicles By Yana Welinder – Edited by Albert Wang California S.B. 1298 – Autonomous Vehicles Bill Leginfo.ca.gov summary On February 23, California Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) introduced S.B. 1298. This bill would direct the Department of the California Highway Patrol to adopt “safety standards and performance requirements” with respect to autonomous vehicles that use “computers, sensors, and other technology and devices that enable [them] to safely operate without the active control and continuous monitoring of ... Read More...

By Geng Chen Violent Video Game Fight Ends Not With a Bang, But With an Invoice The Sacramento Bee had the last word in the California violent video games saga. California taxpayers will end up bearing the $1.8 million bill for legal services related to defending the controversial state statute, struck down by a 7-2 vote in the Supreme Court last year in Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Ass’n. It would have prevented retailers from selling video games depicting killing, maiming, ... Read More...

Third Circuit Affirms Prior Decision to Strike Down FCC Fine for CBS Broadcast of Janet Jackson’s Breast During Super Bowl Halftime Show By Abby Lauer – Edited by Albert Wang CBS Corp. v. FCC, No. 06-3575 (3d Cir. Nov. 2, 2011) Slip Opinion The Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed its earlier decision throwing out a $550,000 fine that the Federal Communications Commission imposed on broadcasting corporation CBS for airing a split-second image of Janet Jackson’s exposed breast during the ... Read More...