Federal Circuit Finds No Federal Jurisdiction Over Patent Claim By Debbie Rosenbaum – Edited by Caitlyn Ross  Larson v. Correct Craft, June 5, 2009 No. 2008-1208 Opinion hosted by The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit On June 5, the Federal Circuit vacated the judgment of the district court in Larson v. Correct Craft and remanded with instructions to transfer the case back to state court based on lack of subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1338(a).  ... Read More...

By Tyler Lacey Federal Prosecutors Launch New Attack Against Online Gamblers in the United States On June 9, the New York Times reported that federal prosecutors asked four American banks to freeze accounts containing money believed to be used for distributing winnings to online poker players. Wells Fargo, one of the contacted banks, received a court order requiring that the funds be frozen. Professor I. Nelson Rose of Whittier Law School described the move as “surprising” and as a “gamble” ... Read More...

Indiana Supreme Court Considers Website Design Ownership By Jad Mills – Edited by Ezra Pinsky Conwell v. Gray Loon Outdoor Marketing Group Inc., May 19, 2009, No. 82S04-0806-CV-00309. Slip Opinion On May 19, 2009, the Indiana Supreme Court affirmed the Vanderburgh Superior Court and Indiana Court of Appeals decisions ordering Piece of America (POA) to pay Gray Loon Outdoor Marketing hosting fees and website redesign charges and denying POA’s conversion claim for the loss of its original website. Writing for ... Read More...

By Sarah Sorscher Supreme Court to Consider Business Method Patents Patently-O reports that the Supreme Court granted certiorari on Bilski v. Doll. The Court will address whether a patentable “process” must be tied to a particular machine or apparatus, or transform a particular article into a different state or thing. The Court will also consider whether this “machine-or-transformation” test, which effectively forecloses meaningful patent protection to many business methods, runs counter to the intent of Congress in enacting 35 U.S.C. ... Read More...

D.C. Circuit Upholds FCC Ban on Exclusive Contracts in Multi-Dwelling Units By Andrew Jacobs – Edited by Ezra Pinsky Nat’l Cable & Telecomm. Association v. Fed. Commc’ns Comm’n, May 26, 2009, No. 08-1016 Slip opinion On May 26, 2009, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC”) ban on future and existing exclusivity agreements between cable companies and the owners of apartment buildings and multi-unit developments (“MUDs”). Writing for a unanimous court, ... Read More...