Supreme Court Holds that “Dog Sniffing” in Area Around the Home Constitutes a Fourth Amendment “Search”

Florida v. Jardines
By Mary Grinman – Edited by Geng Chen

In a 5–4 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed the Supreme Court of Florida, which had held that the use of a trained narcotics dog to inspect the area immediately surrounding Joelis Jardines’s home, including his porch, constituted a Fourth Amendment “search.”

Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments on Reverse Payments to Generic Drug Manufacturers

FTC v. Actavis, Inc.
By Suzanne Van Arsdale – Edited by Jennifer Wong

On Monday, March 25, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in FTC v. Actavis, Inc., to determine the legality, under antitrust laws, of patent litigation settlements made by the maker of a brand-name drug to the maker of a generic competitor to keep the generic off the market temporarily, known as a “reverse payment agreement” or “pay for delay.”

Flash Digest: News in Brief

By Kathleen McGuinness

Supreme Court of Canada Rules That Text Message Monitoring Requires Warrant

Google Announces Open Patent Non-Assertion Pledge

Legal Challenges to “Stingray” Surveillance Devices Continue to Grow

Ninth Circuit Affirms DMCA Safe Harbors for Streaming Video Providers

UMG v. Veoh
by Pio Szamel ­– Edited by Jacob Rogers

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the Federal District Court for the Central District of California, which had granted summary judgment finding that the streaming-video host Veoh was protected by the safe harbor provisions of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) and dismissed additional infringement claims against Veoh’s investors.