TCL appears to be making the new Amazon Fire TV, we were told. The e-commerce giant unveiled the products Thursday and they include hands-free Alexa voice control via built-in mics. “It is common for TCL to provide both components and assembly for our branded TV competitors,” a spokesperson emailed. “However, the OEM side of our business operates with confidentiality agreements.” Amazon works with “a variety of suppliers and partners to source and build devices,” it emailed. The company also beefed up its Fire TV streaming media stick with new Alexa voice features, more power and a quad-core processor.

COVID-19-related timing provision adjustments are extended through Nov. 7, the Copyright Office said Wednesday (see 2107090046). The CO is allowing flexibility for applicant correspondence that was due between Aug. 10 and Sept. 9, the office said Wednesday, citing a technical upgrade-related outage. Claims can be reopened by contacting a public information officer.

Debuting new releases on Disney+ cuts off potential viewers who aren’t current subscribers and don’t pick up the service and pay the additional Premium Access fees, blogged Parks Associates analyst Liam Gaughan Thursday, commenting on Disney’s three-pronged strategy for releases via theaters, Disney+ and Premium Access. Parks data shows 44% of viewers are unlikely to subscribe to an online video service for access to an in-demand title, Gaughan said. Referencing comments Disney CEO Bob Chapek made on a July earnings call (see 2108130027), Gaughan said day-and-date release offers viewers more flexibility in viewing options, but it’s not clear at what loss to revenue. “Multiple viewers who could have purchased individual movie tickets may have ended up watching Black Widow together at home, depleting the potential box office revenue,” he said, citing Black Widow’s $367 million global box-office receipts through late August plus $125 million in streaming and download retail receipts and noting the film is one of the lowest grossing Marvel Studios titles released by Disney. A shortened window for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which premiered Friday, “should increase revenue from both anticipating viewers and casual moviegoers,” said Gaughan. A diversified approach lets the company continue experimenting with theatrical and transactional windowing as it observes changing viewing habits, he said. Disney didn't comment Friday.

The FCC should clarify that its rules for foreign-sponsored content don’t apply to “advertisements for commercial goods and services of any length or type,” said Meredith in comments posted Thursday in docket 20-299. Meredith’s arguments echo those by all four network affiliate groups (see 2107190053), which requested that clarification in July. “Clarifying as such will allow the Commission to meet the goals of the Foreign Sponsorship Report and Order, provide certainty for regulated entities, and avoid administrative law concerns,” Meredith said. NAB, the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council, and the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters called on the FCC to reconsider the foreign-sponsored content rules (see 2108130074).

The register of copyrights reserves the right to “adjust the effective date of registration assigned to registration claims affected” by an electronic Copyright System outage in August, the Copyright Office announced Wednesday. The disruption was resolved by Sunday. Affected parties can request an adjustment here.

Limiting use of the 5.9 GHz band to cellular vehicle-to-everything use must make sure supply chain participants have fair and nondiscriminatory access to licenses for C-V2X technology to ensure competition, Continental Automotive Systems representatives told FCC Office of Engineering and Technology, Office of General Counsel and Office of Economics and Analytics staffers, said a docket 19-138 post Tuesday. The company said some C-V2X standard essential patent holders refuse to license auto industry participants such as it, or only on unreasonable and discriminatory terms. It said the agency should acknowledge such a decision puts big market power in the hands of C-V2X patent holders and require that such licenses be available to any auto supply chain participant seeking one on reasonable, nondiscriminatory terms. Continental said if there are patent disputes, the commission should ensure U.S. courts have jurisdiction to address whether license terms are reasonable and nondiscriminatory and include with its rulemaking a general policy statement that it would be contrary to the public interest if C-V2X patent holders refuse licenses to some market participants.

Responses are due Oct. 27 to revelations by U.S. District Judge William Conley in Madison, Wisconsin, that he owned Apple stock when presiding over Nokia-Apple patent litigation more than a decade ago, said a letter posted Monday in docket 3:10-cv-00249 and signed by Joel Turner, the court’s deputy chief clerk. Conley contacted Turner to tell him the Apple stock ownership was “brought to his attention,” but that it “neither affected nor impacted his decisions in this case,” said the letter. His ownership of Apple shares would have required his immediate recusal under the code of conduct for federal judges, said Turner: "Judge Conley directed that I notify the parties of the conflict." Court records show the litigation before Conley ended in January 2011 when he granted Apple’s motion, over Nokia's opposition, to transfer the case to U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Delaware, for convenience and other judicial reasons. Responses by the Oct. 27 deadline “will be considered” by Chief Judge James Peterson without Conley’s “participation,” said Turner. Attempts to reach Nokia and Apple lawyers Monday were unsuccessful. Conley's chambers didn't respond to questions.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is seeking comments by Oct. 11, rebuttals Oct. 25, identifying online and physical markets it should consider including in its 2021 “notorious markets” report, says Monday’s Federal Register. The annual report lists markets singled out for “substantial copyright piracy or trademark counterfeiting,” said USTR. Its “issue focus” for 2021 “will examine the adverse impact of counterfeiting on workers involved with the manufacture of counterfeit goods,” it said.

Frontier Communications' requested stay of piracy litigation brought by various music labels (see 2108130033) in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to consolidate a trio of such claims, but only the U.S. District Court in Manhattan can do that, the labels told the Manhattan court in an opposition (in Pacer, docket 21-cv-05050) Friday. They said they were forced to split their claims between U.S. District Court and Bankruptcy Court by the deadline for filing administrative proofs of claim in Frontier's bankruptcy. Frontier counsel didn't comment.

Music label copyright litigation against Frontier Communications (see 2108110011) and related movie company claims brought in U.S. District Court are an attempted "end-run" around U.S. Bankruptcy Court, where the claims originally were filed, Frontier told the U.S. District Court in Manhattan Friday in a motion to stay (in Pacer, docket 21-cv-5050). Citing "basic fairness and efficiency," Frontier said the Manhattan court should stay the complaints pending adjudication of what it said were duplicative claims in Bankruptcy Court. Outside counsel for the music label plaintiffs didn't comment.