EchoStar Communications Corporation and Hughes Electronics Corporation, parent company of DirecTV, are still hopeful of a merger, despite regulatory opposition. The two would-be partners are working on concessions that could win over officials at the Federal Communications Commission and the US Justice Department.

Last week, video-technology developer <A HREF="http://www.faroudja.com">Faroudja</A> announced the resolution of a patent dispute with <A HREF="http://www.snellwilcox.com/">Snell & Wilcox</A>. In the dispute, Faroudja alleged that S&W's Interpolator infringed a patent held by Faroudja as well as two patents licensed by Faroudja from General Instrument on an exclusive basis in certain fields.

The <A HREF="http://www.fcc.gov/">Federal Communications Commission</A> was correct when it formulated rules preventing cable operators from offering integrated security and channel-surfing features in cable set-top boxes, a District of Columbia appeals court has declared. The regulations, which will take effect in 2005, are derived from a proper interpretation of provisions in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the court found.

The Federal Communications Commission has changed some of its rules governing the transition from analog to digital television, according to an unofficial <A HREF="http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/News_Releases/2001/nrmm0114.html">... about a "reconsideration order" issued November 8.