By Sonia McNeil Myriad Genetics Appeals Ruling on Patentability of Isolated Genes Myriad Genetics has appealed the Southern District of New York’s ruling in Association for Molecular Pathology v. USPTO. The district court invalidated seven Myriad Genetics patents relating to the human Breast Cancer Susceptibility Genes 1 and 2 (collectively, “BRCA1/2”), finding that the claimed isolated DNA is not markedly different from native DNA as it exists in nature and therefore constituted unpatentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. ... Read More...
Archive for October, 2010
Copyright Troll Righthaven Experiences Setback due to District Court’s Grant of Dismissal Motion to Defendant Claiming Fair Use By Jonathan Allred – Edited by Cary Mayberger Righthaven v. Realty One Group, 2:10-cv-1036-LRH-PAL (D. Nev. Oct. 18, 2010) Opinion hosted by the Las Vegas Sun In one of the first rulings to come down in plaintiff Righthaven’s many copyright suits, the District Court of Nevada granted defendant Michael Nelson’s motion to dismiss. Righthaven’s lawsuits are notable because they represent a new ... Read More...
The Supreme Court Asked to Rule on the Constitutionality of “Restored” Copyright Protection By Andrew Goodwin – Edited by Cary Mayberger Petition for Writ of Certiorari, Golan v. Holder (U.S. 2010) Petition hosted by The Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School In June 2010, the United States Circuit Court for the Tenth Circuit held that § 514 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (“URAA”), codified in 17 U.S.C. §§ 104(A) and 109(a), did not violate the First ... Read More...
Charitable Activities Do Not Create Commercial Interests in Untrademarked Names By Harry Zhou – Edited by Ryan Ward Stayart v. Yahoo! Inc., __ F.3d __, 2010 WL 3785147, No. 09-3379 (7th Cir. Sept. 30, 2010) Slip Opinion hosted by Seattle Trademark Lawyer On September 30, 2010, the Seventh Circuit affirmed the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, dismissing a complaint filed by Beverly Stayart alleging false endorsement under the Lanham Act and various state law claims ... Read More...
By Dorothy Du Facebook Plans to Fix Privacy Flaw that Allows “Apps” to Share User Information The Wall Street Journal reports that Facebook applications (“apps”) have been transmitting user-IDs to dozens of third parties. These third parties include advertising and data-gathering companies, which use and sell the information. The Electronic Frontier Foundation reports that all of the top ten Facebook.com “apps,” including FarmVille and Mafia Wars, are guilty of such actions in violation of their web developer agreements with Facebook. ... Read More...
