Fifth Circuit Says First Amendment May Protect Domain Names

Gibson v. Texas Dep’t of Ins. – Div. of Workers’ Comp.
By Michael Hoven – Edited by Daniella Adler

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part the Northern District of Texas, which had dismissed John Gibson’s claim that a Texas law barring him from using the words “Texas” and “workers’ compensation” or “workers’ comp.” in his domain name violated the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments.

Dear Digest Readers,

As we are sure you have noticed, Digest has undergone a makeover. We hope you enjoy its new appearance, and we will continue refining it in the coming weeks. Please feel free to give us feedback at any time at digest.jolt@gmail.com. A special thanks goes to Dave LeRay, Catherine Roach, Jeff Dunn, Charlie Stiernberg, Dorothy Du, and Andrew Crocker for enabling this transition.

- The Digest Staff

Judges Approves Google’s $22.5 Million Settlement with FTC for Safari Privacy Violation

United States v. Google, Inc.
By Casey Holzapfel – Edited by Charlie Stiernberg

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California approved a proposed consent order between the United States and Google that requires Google to pay a $22.5 million civil penalty. Amicus curiae Consumer Watchdog was granted leave to submit a brief challenging the stipulated consent order, after it was filed in August. District Judge Susan Illston was not persuaded by Consumer Watchdog’s brief, however, and rejected its challenge.

Flash Digest: News in Brief

By Craig Fratrik

USPTO Director Kappos to Leave in January

SCOTUS to Hear Case on Patentability of Human Genes

Syria Cut Off from Internet for 38 Hours

District Court Rules Against Injunctions from RAND Standards Patents

Federal Judge Orders Patent Term Adjustment Recalculations for Novartis, Denies Equitable Tolling

Novartis AG v. Kappos
By Kathleen McGuinness – Edited by Jennifer Wong

In a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (“USPTO”) determination of patent term adjustments for twenty-three Novartis patents, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia granted partial summary judgment in Novartis’s favor on four patents.