Government Says Megaupload Users Must Pay to Retrieve Their Data By Jacob L. Rogers – Edited by Heather Whitney United States v. Kim Dotcom, No. 1:12CR3 (E.D. Va. June 8, 2012) Kyle Goodwin’s motion for return of property (hosted by EFF) Government reply brief (hosted by Wired) In United States v. Kim Dotcom (“the Megaupload case”), the government has filed a reply brief regarding their responsibility (or lack thereof) to provide third parties their data in a situation where the ... Read More...

Employee Alleging Employer Accessed Quasi-Public Facebook Posts States a Valid Claim for Invasion of Privacy By Charlie Stiernberg – Edited by Heather Whitney Ehling v. Monmouth-Ocean Hosp. Serv. Corp., No. 2:11-cv-03305 (WJM) (D.N.J. May 30, 2012) Slip Opinion (hosted by Justia.com) The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey granted defendant Monmouth-Ocean Hospital Service Corp.’s (“MONOC”) Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss plaintiff Deborah Ehling’s New Jersey Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act (“NJ Wiretap ... Read More...

California District Court Dismisses Oracle’s Copyright Infringement Claims Against Google, Finds APIs not Copyrightable By Susanna Lichter – Edited by Jennifer Wong Oracle America, Inc., v. Google Inc., No. C 10-0361 WHA (N.D. Cal. May 31, 2012) (hosted by Groklaw) The U.S. District Court of Northern California in San Francisco dismissed Oracle’s claims that Google had infringed Oracle’s copyright in 37 application programming interfaces (“APIs”), holding that the particular elements duplicated in Google’s Android operating system were free for all ... Read More...

Kentucky District Court Latest to Grapple with Warrantless GPS Tracking after Jones By Sarah Jeong – Edited by Michael Hoven United States v. Lee, Criminal No. 11-65-ART (E.D. Ky., May 22, 2012) Slip opinion (hosted by TalkLeft) The U.S. District Court of Eastern Kentucky suppressed the discovery of 150 pounds of marijuana in the defendant’s possession, due to the placement of a warrantless GPS tracking device on his car. The search and arrest took place prior to United States v. Jones, ... Read More...

Jury Decides Google Did Not Infringe Oracle Patents but Question of Whether APIs Can Be Copyrighted Remains By Brittany Horth – Edited by Michael Hoven Oracle America, Inc. v. Google Inc., No. 10-03561 (N.D. Cal. 2012) Special verdict on copyright claims from May 7, 2012 (hosted by Scribd) Special verdict on patent claims from May 23, 2012 (hosted by Scribd) A jury in the U.S. District Court of Northern California in San Francisco unanimously decided that Google’s Android mobile operating ... Read More...