Judge Posner Dismisses Apple v. Motorola Patent Suit in its Entirety By Charlie Stiernberg – Edited by Jeff Habenicht Apple, Inc. v. Motorola, Inc., No. 1:11-cv-08540, 2012 WL 2376664 (N.D. Ill. June 22, 2012). Slip Opinion (Hosted by Electronic Frontier Foundation) The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed with prejudice the suit between Apple, Inc. and Motorola, Inc. in its entirety.  The court had previously excluded testimony from the parties’ damages experts and cancelled the ... Read More...

Supreme Court Rules Against the FCC, but Avoids First Amendment Issues By Sarah Jeong – Edited by Jennifer Wong Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations, Inc., No. 10-1293 (U.S. June 21, 2012) Slip Opinion The Supreme Court ruled last week that the Federal Communication Commission’s (“FCC”) rules on “fleeting expletives” did not give fair notice to networks like Fox and ABC, and were therefore unconstitutionally vague. While all eight justices (Justice Sotomayor recused herself) were unanimous in a judgment ... Read More...

By Susanna Lichter Fair Use Defense Bolstered by 7th Circuit Decision in South Park Viral Video Lawsuit In a victory for fair use proponents, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a District Court’s grant of a motion to dismiss based on fair use before any discovery took place in a lawsuit between the makers of the South Park television show and plaintiff Brownmark Films, LLC. Judge Cudahy found South Park’s substantial recreation of Brownmark Films’ viral video “What What ... Read More...