Universal Remote Control CEO and founder Chang Park was named a CEDIA Lifetime Achievement Award winner and will be recognized at the CEDIA Expo opening keynote Sept. 14 in Dallas. Park has been developing and marketing remote controls and home automation products for more than 25 years, said a CEDIA blog post.

Correction: DJI Vice President-Policy and Legal Affairs Brendan Schulman said it's important that policymakers better understand technology because "my underlying concern is that the lack of knowledge about the technology could result in a policy outcome that overreaches and inadvertently curtails [its] benefits." (see 1607220035)

Consumer confidence about tech spending moved 4.1 point ahead in July, said CTA’s Tuesday Index of Consumer Technology Expectations. The index reached 91.6, its highest reading for tech spending since November, said CTA in a news release. CTA's Index of Consumer Expectations, which measures overall consumer sentiment about the U.S. economy, grew 0.7 points in July to reach 172, said CTA. “That tech spending sentiment is at its highest level in more than 18 months suggests strength ahead of the second half of the year,” said Shawn DuBravac, CTA chief economist. DuBravac pointed to summer promotions that are building “interest and momentum” for back-to-school shopping, saying they likely contributed to a second consecutive month of rising confidence in tech spending. An Ebates survey, meanwhile, said technology ranked fourth among items on consumers’ back-to-school shopping lists, said the Rakuten subsidiary in a news release Tuesday. The survey of 1,024 U.S. adults and 501 teens showed 6 percent named technology as the top category for back-to-school shopping, behind school supplies (37 percent), clothing essentials (32 percent) and stylish name-brand clothing (22 percent). Backpacks rounded out the list at 3 percent, it said. The CTA study was conducted using two probability samples: randomly selected landline telephone numbers and randomly selected mobile numbers. The combined sample consists of 1,012 adults (18 and older) living in the continental U.S.

CEDIA announced the 2016 Best New Product Awards finalists Monday, with winners to be announced at CEDIA Expo. Finalists are Amazon for the Echo; Artison for Nano Backpack P5; Autonomic's MAS-4-2e Mirage Audio System; Control4's EA series controllers; Datasat's RS20i digital audio controller; Dish Network's Hopper 3 DVR; Domotz's Pro remote tech support software; Grimani Systems' CinemaOne home theater; IC Realtime's Lifestyle video camera; iPort's Surface Mount With Button iPad charger; Lutron's Sivoia QS Triathlon Widr shades; Middle Atlantic Products’ DC power distribution systems; Nexus 21 Concealment Systems’ CL-65 TV flip-down system; Pakedge by Control4’s NK-1 controller; RoseWater Energy Group’s Residential Energy Management Hub; Savant’s Pro remote; Screen Innovations’ Zero-G screen; Séura’s Storm Ultra Brite 84-inch outdoor TV; SnapAV’s OvrC Pro cloud service; Sonos’ Play:5 wireless speaker and Trueplay; Sony’s XBR-75X940D 4K HDR Ultra HD TV, VPL-VW5000ES 4K projector and STR-ZA5000ES 9.2-channel 4K AV receiver; TiVo’s BOLT+ and Wilson Pro's 4000R signal booster. Winners will be announced at a news conference Thursday, Sept. 15, at 3 p.m. in booth 4710 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas.

CTA President Gary Shapiro hailed presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's selection of Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., as her vice presidential running mate. Throughout his political career, Kaine “has been a supporter of free trade and other issues critical to the technology sector,” Shapiro said in a Saturday statement. “As governor of Virginia, he supported the expansion of high-speed internet access." The tech sector “is driving our economy, creating good jobs and strengthening our nation's global competitiveness,” Shapiro said. “As the Clinton-Kaine campaign continues to discuss its forward-thinking policy plans for technology and innovation, we hope the Trump-Pence campaign will soon develop and share its own detailed tech policy agenda on these critical issues."

CTA CEO Gary Shapiro thanked the Republican Party for “rightfully acknowledging the ‘digital revolution’ and the critical roles technology, innovation and trade play in driving our economy, creating good jobs and strengthening our international competitiveness,” in a Tuesday statement on the party's 2016 platform. But Shapiro pushed for a detailed policy agenda from the Trump-Pence campaign outlining specific positions and priorities on technology and innovation. CTA is “encouraged by the party’s goal of creating a business climate that promotes innovation -- allowing the sharing economy to compete in an open and competitive market, ensuring access to spectrum to meet our demand for anytime/anywhere connectivity and encouraging the innovation needed for the Internet of Things to thrive,” Shapiro said. “We also applaud the platform’s recognition that American innovation deserves the freedom to succeed or fail on its own merits and international trade is crucial to our economy.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit shouldn’t rule on FilmOn X’s appeal of a lower court decision denying it a compulsory license until after the 9th Circuit decides a similar FilmOn X case in California, the streaming video company argued in an appellant brief (in Pacer) filed Monday. Oral argument in the California case, which also concerns FilmOn X’s right to a compulsory copyright license, is scheduled for Aug. 4. Though it wants the D.C. Circuit to wait, FilmOn also asked the court to reverse the lower court ruling and to disregard the opinion of the Copyright Office. “Not only do the Office’s informal and inconsistent policy opinions fall short of formal rulemaking, they reflect open hostility to the compulsory copyright licensing regime Congress Established,” FilmOn X said.

CTA President Gary Shapiro urged Donald Trump, presumptive GOP nominee, and his newly selected choice for vice president, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, to release a tech agenda. “The tech industry hopes that in the coming days, the Trump-Pence campaign will provide clarity on where it stands on trade and when we can expect a detailed and substantive agenda that specifically outlines its positions on technology and innovation issues,” Shapiro said Friday. CTA hopes Pence “will shape Donald Trump's tech agenda and share his strong advocacy for the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” he said. Earlier last week, Pence unveiled an Indiana tech fund (see 1607150043). “Indiana has twice earned top-tier status as an Innovation Champion in both of CTA's Innovation Scorecards, an annual innovation policy performance index," said Shapiro. "Gov. Pence legalized ridesharing statewide in 2015 and grew Indiana's technology sector by providing local and state tax revenue reinvestment for taking part in the creation of two dozen tech hubs. Although Gov. Pence supported laws allowing businesses to discriminate against the LGBT community, he listened to the tech community's concerns and amended the law.” Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., said he expects Trump to release such an agenda by the fall debates (see 1606290073). Pence is a former House lawmaker and sponsored the Broadcaster Freedom Act in multiple sessions of Congress. It would have forbidden the FCC from reviving the Fairness Doctrine.

The “detailed technology and innovation agenda” that presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton released two weeks ago (see 1606280071) demonstrated “her awareness of how vital our sector is to the success of the U.S. economy,” CTA President Gary Shapiro said in a Thursday statement. He urged presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump and Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson to “follow suit and release a substantive agenda that specifically outlines their positions on technology and innovation issues.” Shapiro wants to know where Trump and Johnson “differ” from Clinton on technology and innovation policy or “where is there common ground,” he said. “Do they have any plans at all on spectrum, investment, broadband, training and education, and competitiveness? If so, when will their plans be released?”

The NFC Forum cut the membership fee for startups, it said Wednesday. Organizations with less than $5 million revenue, incorporated in the past five years, can qualify for the $2,500 startup membership fee, which provides access to the forum and participation in the certification program, it said. Involvement in the group gives startups access to the near-field communication ecosystem, expected to have an installed base of more than 2 billion devices by year-end, according to Juniper Research data. In addition to mobile payments, NFC is expected to build applications in public transportation, wearables and retail, said the forum.