N.D.Cal. Grants Preliminary Injunction Requiring ODNI to Turn Over FISA-Related Documents By Yelena Shagall — Edited by Wen Bu Electronic Frontier Foundation, Inc. v. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, No. C 07-5278 SI District Court for the Northern District of California, November 27, 2007 Order On November 27, the District Court for the Northern District of California granted in part and denied in part a motion by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) for a preliminary injunction against the ... Read More...

Federal Circuit Decides to Rehear Important Design Patent Case En Banc By Andrew Ungberg – Edited by Wen Bu Egyptian Goddess, Inc., v. Swisa, Inc. Federal Circuit, November 26, 2007, No. 2006-1562 Order Update: On September 22, 2008, the en banc Federal Circuit affirmed the decision of the District Court for the Northern District of Texas, which had granted summary judgment in favor of Swisa, Inc, finding that no jury could reasonably find Swisa’s nail-buffer design infringed Egyptian Goddess’s design patent. ... Read More...

Federal Circuit Clarifies Rule on Completeness of Patents in a Sequence By Sarah Sorscher — Edited by Johnathan Jenkins Zenon Environmental, Inc. v. United States Filter Corp. Federal Circuit, November 7, 2007, No. 2006-1266 Slip Opinion On November 7, the Federal Circuit reversed the District Court of the Southern District of California, which had found Zenon’s patent for a water filtration device not invalid by reason of anticipation in a bench trial. The Federal Circuit held that, because an intervening ... Read More...

Ninth Circuit Allows Individuals to Use Devices to Decrypt Satellite Television Signals By Nick Bramble — Edited by Wen Bu DirecTV, Inc. v. Huynh Ninth Circuit, No. 05-16361, September 11, 2007 Slip Opinion Faced with the question of how to resolve a provision of the Federal Communications Act banning the assembly and modification of devices primarily designed for the unauthorized decryption of satellite signals, the Ninth Circuit held on September 11 that this provision applies only to “assemblers, manufacturers, and ... Read More...