CTA plans to charge a $149 fee to most who register to attend virtual CES 2021. The fee will apply to most attendees, including retailers, and journalists will be exempt, we were told Tuesday. The fee was described as an effort to defray expenses. Exhibitors will be offered a series of paid participation tiers, beginning with a basic package that starts at $1,200, up to a five-figure premium offer. The different tiers give exhibitors access to varying apportionments of Microsoft technologies to leverage for news conferences, virtual meetings and other CES activities under the “cloud platform” contract announced Monday (see 2010190043). "As with the live show, there will be a charge to participate and alumni groups will be granted a window to register for free," emailed a CTA spokesperson. "We will be sharing more details closer to registration," which opens Dec. 1, she said. "We will be offering three different exhibitor packages that meet the varying needs of our exhibitors for their CES digital activation." A stickler for auditing show attendance at physical CES events, CTA hasn't determined how the virtual event will be audited for accuracy in attendance, she said. "For live shows, CES has always been independently audited. We are still assessing options for an independent audit including recommended standards."

CTA chose Microsoft as its “cloud platform provider” to run CES 2021 as a virtual event, said the association Monday. CES will use Microsoft Azure cloud computing, Microsoft Teams videoconferencing and the Microsoft Power apps platform to deliver “an exhibitor showcase, media events, conference programming, networking events and more,” said CTA. It picked Microsoft after a “rigorous” search for the company’s “technical expertise, global scale and experience in creating [a] compelling digital event,” it said. CTA “can’t share contract details,” emailed Jamie Kaplan, senior director-global event communications. The association issued a request for information and evaluated more than 40 “companies and technologies” before picking Microsoft, she said. As for whether the contract includes a Microsoft keynote component, “we will be sharing more information about our keynotes in the coming weeks and months,” she said. Registration opens Dec. 1 for the Jan. 11-14 event.

Cloud technology is “changing every industry,” including content creation and distribution, MovieLabs Senior Vice President-Technology Craig Seidel told a Digital Entertainment Group webinar Thursday on reducing “friction” in the content supply chain. “If cloud isn’t part of your strategy, it’s time to take a look.” Besides being “absurdly scalable,” the cloud contains “an incredible collection of tools, and it keeps getting better,” said Seidel. In researching cloud-based messaging services for a past project, “we found one that cost $100 per year for up to a million messages a month,” he said. “This was far cheaper and more scalable than anything we could consider doing ourselves. It was a no-brainer.” Seidel’s message for the content supply chain: “If you’re not already using cloud technology, you likely will be soon, and so will your partners.”

New legislation and bigger fines were mentioned in a presidential memorandum Tuesday aimed at stopping imports of counterfeit goods through e-commerce platforms. Customs and Border Protection should seize counterfeit goods imported into the U.S. and impose the “maximum fines and civil penalties permitted by law on any e-commerce platform that directs, assists with, or is in any way concerned in the importation into the United States of counterfeit goods,” wrote President Donald Trump. He sought “legislation that would clarify and strengthen the executive branch’s authority and increase its resources to deter and address counterfeit trafficking on e-commerce platforms.” The Department of Homeland Security and attorney general are directed to “develop a legislative proposal to promote the policy objectives” within 120 days. EBay didn't comment Wednesday. Amazon didn't comment on the record.

Amazon’s seller fees and commissions are “very competitive when compared” with other options, a spokesperson emailed Friday in response to remarks on the House Antitrust Subcommittee’s Big Tech investigation (see 2010090053): “Sellers have many choices regarding how and where to sell their products, including physical stores, online marketplaces, and selling direct through their own storefronts.”

Samsung Electronics in South Korea filed Oct. 5 in the U.S. and Sept. 25 in the EU to trademark a wordless logo that depicts an old console TV on legs, its Patent and Trademark Office application shows. Samsung describes the logo as a “rectangle shape in the style of a television with a leg on both sides.” It wants to possibly use it for a broad swath of consumer tech goods, said the application. Console TVs went out of favor by the early 2000s after the transition began from CRT to flat-panel sets in large screen sizes. Samsung didn’t respond to questions Friday.

An e-waste incident reported by the Basel Action Network “appears to have been the result of human error” at a Goodwill location in Washington, D.C., where Dell displays were donated, emailed a Dell spokesperson Friday. BAN said four of six LCD monitors exported as e-waste to Guatemala were in “likely violation” of the country’s import laws and Dell’s corporate policy (see 2010070066). The other two monitors went to disposal companies in Maryland. “These six displays were incorrectly sorted and sent to another partner and never entered the Dell Reconnect program,” the Dell spokesperson said. “This Goodwill location has committed to immediate actions to ensure errors of this type do not occur again, and to use this as a training opportunity for all program participants. Dell will also support Goodwill Industries International to ensure participating Reconnect partners are aware of the processes in place.”

Over-ear headphones are the preferred form factor for listening at home, emailed Futuresource Friday. It forecasts over-ear headphones will grow at a 5% compound annual rate, generating $10 billion by 2024. Their average selling price grew from $80 in 2018 to $130, led by advanced features such as active noise canceling (ANC). Apple powered the true wireless earphone market, with 20% of shipments and 42% of value in the first half, Futuresource said. Features of the next AirPods, expected to be announced Tuesday, will likely include ANC and the spatial audio algorithm used in the AirPods Pro, said analyst Luke Pierce.

Aqara bowed a camera hub with Apple HomeKit Secure Video support. The G2H hub streams footage via Apple’s Home app in 1080p resolution and stores 10 days of recordings on supported iCloud accounts with no extra fees, with end-to-end encryption. Customers can be notified if humans, animals or moving objects are detected, it said Friday. The hub is available on Amazon for $69.

Amazon announced the first of its fleet of custom electric delivery vehicles from its partnership with Rivian (see 2009170047). It’s part of the company’s pledge to be net zero carbon by 2040, including having 10,000 Amazon electric delivery vehicles by 2022, 100,000 by 2030. The vans combine Rivian’s technology with Amazon’s delivery logistics and Alexa integration, said Ross Rachey, director-Amazon Global Fleet and Products, Thursday. The vehicles have sensor detection, highway and traffic assist technology and exterior cameras linked to an interior display for 360-degree coverage. Amazon is working on supporting technology for the vans, including charging infrastructure, Rachey said.