Wilkommen, bienvenu, welcome! Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth is pleased to announce that, starting January 4, 2016, Justin Faulb is joining the FHH family as an associate attorney. Justin is a familiar figure in the communications bar. Since getting his law degree from the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America – with … Continue Reading
Short-circuiting conventional Paperwork Reduction Act requirements, the Office of Management and Budget has signed off on the strict auction-related rules just in time for the upcoming Broadcast Incentive Auction. The FCC’s Incentive Auction Report and Order, released June 2, 2014, included anti-collusion provisions forbidding– as of the close of the reverse auction application window (i.e., … Continue Reading
Appeals court tosses “disparagement” bar against registration of “offensive” trademarks Last May, our colleague Kevin “the Swami” Goldberg called readers’ attention to an interesting case wending its way through the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. It involves the rejection, by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), of an application for federal … Continue Reading
December 2015 Pillsbury’s communications lawyers have published FCC Enforcement Monitor monthly since 1999 to inform our clients of notable FCC enforcement actions against FCC license holders and others. This month’s issue includes: FM Licensee and Prospective Buyer Agree to Jointly Pay $8,000 for Unauthorized Transfer of Control TV Licensee Faces $13,000 Fine for Children’s Programming […]
The FCC appears poised to decide what to do with its proposals for an online public inspection file for radio stations, and for cable and satellite TV systems. The FCC’s list of “Items on Circulation” (orders that have been written and are being considered for approval by the FCC Commissioners) indicates that the decision has… Continue Reading
While January starts off with some regulatory deadlines that apply to all broadcasters – Quarterly Issues Programs lists must be placed in a station’s public file by the 10th of January – there are many other dates that come due this month, dates to which broadcasters need to pay careful attention. For TV stations, they… Continue Reading
In addressing LPTV/translator future, FCC declines to loosen several regulatory leashes Low Power Television (LPTV) and TV translator stations face a difficult and uncertain future in the post-incentive auction context. Thanks to the auction (and the consequent spectrum repack), the FCC will reduce the number of channels available for television broadcasting – perhaps eliminating for … Continue Reading
The actions and reactions in response to the Copyright Royalty Board’s decision from two weeks ago continue to roll in as the ramifications of the decision sink in. In the days before Christmas, two announcements were made that warrant note. One was a decision of the CRB itself, correcting the rates and terms that it… Continue Reading
A recent Court of Appeals decision that could have an impact on the Washington Redskins trademark dispute about their team name, is covered in the following article by my law partner, Mitch Stabbe, who specializes in trademark law. He writes about a case where the Court determined that trademark rule that has lead to the… Continue Reading