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December 11, 2013
NASA Says Google Execs Got $5.3M DOD Fuel Discount
Google Inc. executives were inadvertently given a deal of up to $5.3 million on jet fuel for the planes they keep at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif., according to a report released Wednesday by NASA's inspector general.
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December 11, 2013
Data Pact Wrong Target For EU Ire, FTC's Brill Says
Federal Trade Commissioner Julie Brill on Wednesday stepped up her defense of the agreement governing the transfer of commercial data between the U.S. and European Union, saying the mechanism was being unfairly targeted for revocation in light of revelations about U.S. surveillance activities.
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December 11, 2013
Digital Trade Bill Aimed At Guarding Cross-Border Data Flow
A pair of senators on Tuesday introduced a bill meant to promote more open transfers of data across borders and to put digital trade issues high among the president's priorities.
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December 11, 2013
Google, Blockbuster Beat Chinese Inventor's Patent Suit
A California federal judge Wednesday threw out a Chinese inventor's claims that Google Inc., Blockbuster LLC and others infringed his patent on a program that protects software from unauthorized use, finding that a payment-related limitation he added isn’t supported by the patent.
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December 11, 2013
Rakoff Sets Royalty Rate For Nintendo 3DS Technology
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff on Wednesday set the royalty percentage Nintendo Co. Ltd. owes Tomita Technologies International Ltd. for using Tomita’s patented camera technology in its 3DS gaming system, ruling a flat amount per device would be an “unearned windfall” for Tomita as prices decline.
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December 11, 2013
JDSU Puts Up $200M For Network Instruments
Optical components maker JDS Uniphase Corp. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire computer networks manager Network Instruments LLC for $200 million in cash, the companies said Tuesday.
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December 11, 2013
Sens. Grill Intel Officials Over New Surveillance Claims
Several senior U.S. intelligence officials were grilled by Senate lawmakers Wednesday about ongoing reforms and potential legislative changes to government surveillance programs, in the wake of new revelations about the collection of cellphone and online gaming data.
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December 11, 2013
ITC To Review Infringment Finding In Nokia-HTC Patent Row
The U.S. International Trade Commission will review an administrative law judge’s determination that some HTC Corp. smartphones infringed two Nokia Corp. patents, saying Monday it will reconsider the judge’s striking of expert testimony and findings on claim construction and infringement.
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December 11, 2013
Apple, Nokia, Sony Hit With Camera Phone Patent Suits
Apple Inc., Nokia Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Sony Corp., and seven other tech goliaths were hit with cellphone patent infringement complaints Tuesday in Texas federal court, including one targeting the iPhone 4S.
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December 11, 2013
HP Laptop Buyers Seek Class Cert. In Warranty Suit
Hewlett-Packard Co. customers urged a California federal judge Wednesday to certify a nationwide class of consumers in a breach of warranty suit claiming custom-built laptops purchased on HP's online store couldn't use a dual-band wireless card, despite HP’s promises that they could.
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December 11, 2013
EU Court Backs Approval Of $8.5B Microsoft, Skype Deal
A European Union court on Wednesday affirmed antitrust regulators' approval of Microsoft Corp.'s $8.5 billion takeover of video chat provider Skype Technologies SA, shooting down Cisco Systems Inc.'s challenge to the tie-up and finding the transaction didn’t threaten competition in the video communications market.
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December 11, 2013
Deals Rumor Mill: Men's Wearhouse, Scripps, Morgan Stanley
Tensions between senior executives at Men's Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank have backed the companies' merger talks into a stalemate, while two U.S. cable TV titans could touch off a flurry of deal-making activity with their prospective tie-up.
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December 11, 2013
Female Powerbrokers Q&A: Morrison Cohen's Danielle Lesser
My advice to an aspiring female attorney is never to think of herself as a female attorney, says Danielle Lesser, co-chairwoman of Morrison Cohen LLP's business litigation department.
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December 11, 2013
Female Powerbrokers Q&A: Liner Grode's Angela Agrusa
When I learned that one of my male counterparts had received a larger compensation bump than I did only because he “had a wife and kids to support,” I didn't sit in frustration — I decided to get myself a place at the table. I became a practice group head and was in every meeting where compensation was discussed, says Angela Agrusa, a partner with Liner Grode Stein Yankelevitz Sunshine Regenstreif & Taylor LLP.
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December 10, 2013
Dish Chairman Finds No Quick Exit From LightSquared Row
Bankrupt wireless firm LightSquared Inc. on Tuesday won the green light to proceed with most of its suit against Dish Network Corp. and its chairman Charlie Ergen, whom it is accusing of secretly buying $1 billion in LightSquared's debt in a tactical ploy for its valuable spectrum assets.
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December 10, 2013
No Retrial For Nixed $107M Patent Suit Against Lexmark
A California federal judge refused Tuesday to overturn a jury’s August verdict that Abbyy Software House and printer company Lexmark International Inc. did not infringe three of Nuance Communications Inc.’s patents for optical character recognition software, which ended Nuance's $107 million lawsuit.
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December 10, 2013
Tensions High As Apple, Samsung Take Aim At Patent Experts
Tensions flared in California federal court on Tuesday as Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. jockeyed to strike each other's expert reports, in the run-up to a March 2014 trial over Apple’s allegations that Samsung mobile devices infringe patents on newer iPhones and iPads.
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December 10, 2013
Target Sues Technicolor, Mitsubishi Over CRT Price-Fixing
Target Corp. on Monday sued Technicolor SA, Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and others for allegedly fixing prices for cathode-ray tubes, the latest action to be filed in sprawling, years-old multidistrict litigation over the purported wide-ranging conspiracy.
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December 10, 2013
Silicon Storage Seeks Coverage For Xicor Trade Secrets Deal
Silicon Storage Technology Inc. sued National Union Fire Insurance Co. and XL Specialty Insurance Co. in California federal court Friday, saying they are obligated to cover the defense and settlement costs stemming from a trade secrets suit filed against SST in 2011.
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December 10, 2013
Batman Film Infringes Software Trademark, 7th Circ. Hears
A software developer on Tuesday pressed the Seventh Circuit to revive its unusual claim that a fictional computer program in the Warner Bros. film “The Dark Knight Rises” infringes its software trademark, arguing that the movie confused potential customers and caused sales to plummet.
Expert Analysis
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When Hacking An Email Account Doesn't Violate The SCA
Congress clearly had email hackers in mind when it drafted the Stored Communications Act in the mid-'80s. But while courts seem to agree that the SCA protects server-resident emails if they are unopened or opened and downloaded, they are split regarding emails that are opened and not downloaded, says Pierre Grosdidier of Haynes and Boone LLP.
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What To Expect From High Court In Software Patent Case
Since the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to review CLS Bank International v. Alice Corp. was announced on Dec. 6, the wires have been flooded with alarmist articles, but fears that software patents could be categorically excluded from patent eligibility by judicial decree are misplaced, says Linda Thayer of Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner LLP.
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FTC's Android App Suit Is An Important Section 5 Case
The Federal Trade Commission's recent Goldenshores Technologies LLC case is a signal to industry that material facts, especially those involving sensitive data, and especially where the facts involve collection, use or disclosure of data that is out of context of the use of the service, must be disclosed not only in a privacy policy, but also outside the privacy policy, say Reed Freeman and Adam Fleisher of Morrison & Foerster LLP.
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How FRCP E-Discovery Amendments Could Affect You
In light of the proposed e-discovery amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, businesses need to set themselves up to efficiently respond to discovery and requests for information from their counsel by implementing and following document-control policies as part of normal business practices. The failure to do so will eventually consume vast amounts of employee time, say Steven Cvitanovic and Colin Murphy of Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP.
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5 Key Provisions In The Innovation Act
On Dec. 5, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Innovation Act, which would modify patent law to make it harder for so-called patent trolls to perpetrate litigation abuses. There is parallel legislation in the Senate, but it is more limited and arguably directed to the worst patent-litigation abuses, say Jeffrey Lesovitz and Daniel Goettle of Woodcock Washburn LLP.
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Health Care Tech: A Year-End Review
The statutory and regulatory framework, marketplace, infrastructure and use of health information technology has grown and changed exponentially during the 2013 calendar year — but not without practical and legal challenges ranging from Affordable Care Act implementation to fraud and data protection concerns, say Sidney Welch and Cindy Acosta at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP.
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State AGs And Online Privacy: Trends We Saw In 2013
State attorneys general gave online privacy protection increasing attention in 2013. There was mounting pressure from attorneys general to expand privacy protections, a rising number of enforcement actions and increased coordination among states, says Jason Crawford, a federal law clerk.
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Thoughts On DOD Rules For Cybersecurity, Supply Chain Risk
Given the dim prospects for enactment of comprehensive cybersecurity legislation in the current political environment, the U.S. Department of Defense's new requirements for contractors are an important part of the Obama administration’s efforts to use the government’s procurement power and existing regulatory authorities to increase the cybersecurity of the companies on which the U.S. government relies, say attorneys with Arnold & Porter LLP.
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And Now A Word From The Panel: Too Hot Or Cold For An MDL?
What is the thinking as to whether leaky air conditioner cases warrant multidistrict litigation treatment? On Dec. 5, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation heads to Vegas to find out. This will bring a temperature shift in more ways than one from the September hearing, where the panel considered a potential MDL proceeding arising from allegedly defective clothes dryers, says Alan Rothman of Kaye Scholer LLP.
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Fed. Circ. Should Clarify Irreparable Harm In Patent Cases
In Broadcom v. Emulex, the Federal Circuit hewed closely to its old bias in favor of injunctions. Its facile reasoning bodes well for patentees in future cases, but departs from its recent, less plaintiff-friendly decisions establishing a “causal nexus” requirement in the battle between Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. Failure by one panel to follow the holding of another panel of the same court is error, say attorneys with Day Pitney LLP.