By Eric Engle Prosecutors Drop Controversial “Cyberbullying” Case: Possible Appeal? On November 20, Wired reported that the federal prosecutors in the Lori Drew cyberbullying case did not plan to appeal Drew’s acquittal. The trial judge reversed Drew’s criminal conviction by a jury, holding that criminal penalties for violating a website’s terms of service would be unconstitutional. Although Drew won’t have to further defend against criminal charges for her alleged harassment of a teenage girl who later committed suicide, she might ... Read More...
Archive for November, 2009
Federal Circuit Affirms Muscle Supplement Patent Invalid as Anticipated by Prior Art Advertisement By Ian B. Brooks – Edited by Miriam Weiler Iovate Health Sciences, Inc. v. Bio-Engineered Supplements & Nutrition, Inc., No. 2009-1018 (Fed. Cir. November 19, 2009). Slip Opinion The Federal Circuit affirmed the District Court for the Eastern District of Texas decision invalidating Iovate Health Sciences’ U.S. Patent 6,100,287 (“’287”) as anticipated under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b). The Federal Circuit held that the advertisement for Iovate’s protein ... Read More...
By Michelle Berger Chief Judge of Federal Circuit to Hang Up His Robes As Patently-O reports, Chief Judge Paul Michel of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals announced on November 20 that he will be retiring from the bench on May 31, 2010. Judge Randall Rader will replace him as chief judge at that time. Throughout his tenure, Michel has been outspoken on patent issue and the role of the court in shaping patent policy. Although he will no longer ... Read More...
Court extends application of Bilski and invalidates patents By Kate Wevers – Edited by Amanda Rice H&R Block Tax Servs., Inc. v. Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, Inc., No. 6:08-cv-37 (E.D. Tex. Nov. 10, 2009) Slip Opinion (hosted by Patently O) Magistrate Judge Love, sitting in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, found several of H&R Block’s financial instrument patents invalid, and recommended that Jackson Hewitt’s motion for summary judgment be granted-in-part. The court applied the ... Read More...
Ninth Circuit Remands Cybersquatting Case By Debbie Rosenbaum – Edited by Amanda Rice Lahoti v. Vericheck Inc., No. 08-35001 (9th Cir., Nov. 16, 2009) Opinion On November 16th, the Ninth Circuit held that the district court’s finding that the mark “VeriCheck” was an inherently distinctive, legally protectable mark was based in part on erroneous legal reasoning and in part on valid reasoning. Accordingly, it vacated the lower court’s award of summary judgment in favor of the defendant and remanded. However, ... Read More...
