Ninth Circuit Holds Anti-Spyware Software Company is Protected by Communications Decency Act Sec. 230 Immunity By Dmitriy Tishyevich-Edited by Anthony Kammer Zango, Inc. v. Kaspersky Lab, Inc., June 25, 2009, No. 07-35800. Slip Opinion On June 25, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment for Kaspersky Lab, which distributes software that filters and blocks malicious programs.  The Ninth Circuit held that Kaspersky qualified for civil liability immunity under the Communications Decency ... Read More...

By Sarah Sorscher Supreme Court to Consider Business Method Patents Patently-O reports that the Supreme Court granted certiorari on Bilski v. Doll. The Court will address whether a patentable “process” must be tied to a particular machine or apparatus, or transform a particular article into a different state or thing. The Court will also consider whether this “machine-or-transformation” test, which effectively forecloses meaningful patent protection to many business methods, runs counter to the intent of Congress in enacting 35 U.S.C. ... Read More...

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Considers Internet Service Provider’s Liability for Fake Profiles By Ezra Pinsky – Edited by Dmitriy Tishyevich Barnes v. Yahoo!, Inc., May 7, 2009, No. 05-36189. Slip Opinion On May 7th, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part a district court’s 12(b)(6) dismissal of a complaint which had sought to impose negligence liability on Yahoo for hosting a fraudulent personals profile created by the plaintiff’s ex-boyfriend, despite plaintiff’s ... Read More...

Content by Vera Ranieri Google Sued for Use of Trademarked Terms in Adwords Program A class action was filed against Google on May 11, 2009 in federal court in Texas challenging its use of trademarked terms in its adwords program. The New York Times covered the case and surrounding issues. Ars Technica analyzes Google’s new AdWords policy. ACLU Challenges Constitutionality of Gene Patents The ACLU filed suit in the Southern District of New York challenging the patenting of genes and genetic tests as ... Read More...

Governor Schwarzenegger’s Video Game Act Terminated by the Ninth Circuit By Brittany Blueitt- Edited by Anna Lamut Video Software Dealers Assoc. v. Schwarzenegger February 20, 2009, Case No. 07-16620 Opinion The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the order of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, enjoining the enforcement of an Act that imposed a mandatory labeling requirement for all “violent” video games and prohibited the sale of such games to ... Read More...