By Tyler Lacey Gamer Appeals Ban from Sony’s Playstation 3 Network On September 22, 2009, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed Erik Estavillo’s lawsuit against Sony. Fox40.com reports that Estavillo was banned from Sony’s Playstation 3 Network after allegedly uttering “racial and homophobic slurs to other online gamers.” Estavillo alleged that his freedom of expression was abridged, and likened Sony’s network to a company town. The district court dismissed Estavillo’s First Amendment claims, stating: ... Read More...

By Jyoti Uppuluri Nokia Sues Apple for Patent Infringement Related to iPhone On October 22, Nokia filed a suit against Apple in Delaware federal court, alleging that the iPhone infringes patents held by Nokia. The New York Times reports that the specific patents deal with the GSM and UMTS wireless standards utilized by the iPhone for voice and data communication, both of which were developed in part by Nokia. The Wall Street Journal notes that the suit might be a ... Read More...

Charges against Craigslist for their “Adult Services” section dismissed by Illinois District Court By Ye (Helen) He – Edited by Eric Engle Dart v. Craigslist, Inc., No. 09 C 1385 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 20, 2009) Opinion The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois held, on Craigslist’s motion for judgment on the pleadings, that Craigslist is not liable for the content posted by its viewers. The court cited Section 230(c) of the Communications Decency Act, concluding that ... Read More...

Facebook, Inc. v. Power Ventures, Inc. By Gary Pong – Edited by Eric Engle Facebook, Inc. v. Power Ventures, Inc., Case No. 08-cv-05780-JF (N.D. Cal. Oct. 22, 2009) Order (Hosted by SPAM NOTES) The United States District Court for the Northern District of California has granted a motion by Facebook to dismiss counter-claims and strike affirmative defenses in its ongoing case against Power Ventures (Power.com). In his order, United States District Judge Jeremy Fogel wrote that Power.com’s answer and counter-claim ... Read More...

Federal District Court Rules Ringtones Not Public Performance By Debbie Rosenbaum – Edited by Eric Engle In re: In the Matter of the Application of Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless, Case Nos. 09-cv-07074 & 41 Civ. 1395 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 14, 2009) Opinion (Hosted by EFF) The Southern District of New York has ruled that cell phone ringtones do not constitute a public performance, and thus mobile phone carriers do not need to pay performance royalties under the Section 110(4) of ... Read More...