Determination of Patentable Subject Matter Not Limited to Machine-or-Transformation Test; Some Business Method Patents Survive By Davis Doherty – Edited by Matt Gelfand Bilski v. Kappos, No. 08-964 (U.S. June 28, 2010) Slip Opinion In a 9-0 decision, the Supreme Court affirmed an en banc ruling by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which held that the petitioners’ claimed invention, a commodities risk-hedging method, was unpatentable. At the same time, a 4-1-4 split on the broader issue of ... Read More...

Supreme Court Holds That a Government Employer’s Search of an Employee’s Messages on a Work-Related Pager Was Reasonable and Not a Violation of the Fourth Amendment By Andrew Segna – Edited by Helen He Ontario v. Quon, No. 08-1332 (U.S. Jun. 17, 2010) Slip Opinion The United States Supreme Court reversed a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that held that the Petitioner City of Ontario’s (“Ontario”) search of the Respondent Jeff Quon’s text messages was unreasonable and, therefore, a ... Read More...

By Ian B. Brooks Illinois Establishes Standard for Identifying Anonymous Internet Commenters Evan Brown at Internet Cases reports that the Appellate Court of Illinois, Third District has set forth a standard for identifying an anonymous internet commenter in Maxon v. Ottawa Publishing Co., No. 3-08-0805 (Ill. App. 3d June 1, 2010). A couple from Illinois, unhappy with anonymous comments on a local newspaper website, sought to identify the commenters. Illinois Rules on Civil Proceedings Rule 224 allows a petitioner to ... Read More...

Summary Judgment Entered Against Chuck DeVore on Copyright Claims By Harry Zhou – Edited by Helen He Henley v. DeVore, No. 8:09-cv-00481-JVS-RNB (C.D. Cal. Jun. 10, 2010) Order The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued a formal ruling on Musician Don Henley’s copyright and Lanham Act claims against California Assemblyman Chuck DeVore. Rejecting DeVore’s fair use defense, the court entered summary judgment in favor of Henley on all claims of copyright infringement. Henley’s false endorsement claim ... Read More...

By Kassity Liu Judge Orders Copyright Plaintiff to Justify Joining Thousands of Defendants in a Single Lawsuit Ars Technica reports that Federal Judge Rosemary Collyer ordered the US Copyright Group to explain why joining thousands of anonymous “John Does” into one lawsuit is permissible under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP). The judge, after encountering one case that was filed against 4,577 anonymous P2P defendants, issued the order requiring the Group to “convince [her] within two weeks that jamming ... Read More...