By Dr.Jur. Eric Engle LLM[i] Editorial Policy An internet fraudster, a repeat offender, has recently been charged[ii] with “fraud and related activity in connection with computers”[iii] in connection with a financial crime – fraudulent currency trading through phishing.[iv] The defendant obtained the passwords to another person’s internet account and then used that person’s account to trade foreign currency. Interestingly, the indictment[v] uniquely charges the fraudster with a computer crime. The fact pattern, however, raises the interesting question of whether the ... Read More...

By Kassity Liu JD ’12 Edited by Joey Seiler Editorial Policy On October 6, 2009, Eolas Technologies Inc., a research and development company specializing in web solutions, filed a federal lawsuit in the Eastern District of Texas against 23 prominent companies in the software and Internet industry. Eolas claims that these companies are infringing two of its patents, U.S. Patent No. 5,838,906 (’906 Patent) and U.S. Patent No. 7,599,985 (’985 Patent). These two patents cover technology that enables websites to ... Read More...

First Circuit Explains Judgment Against File-Sharer Tannenbaum By Eric Engle  – Edited by Miriam Weiler Sony BMG Music Entertainment et al. v. Tannenbaum, Case No. 07cv11446-NG (Dist. Mass., Dec. 7, 2009) Memorandum and Order The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts elaborated on its July 27 summary judgment against Joel Tannenbaum, holding that file sharing for personal use was not presumptively fair under the Fair Use doctrine.  In so holding, the court suggested that Tannenbaum could have escaped ... Read More...

Second Patent Case in a Year Ordered Transferred from E.D. Texas By Stephanie Weiner – Edited by Jad Mills In re Hoffman-La Roche Inc., et al., No. 911 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 2, 2009) Slip Opinion On December 2, 2009, a Federal Circuit panel granted Hoffman-La Roche’s petition for a writ of mandamus ordering the District Court for the Eastern District of Texas to transfer a patent infringement suit brought by Novartis to the Eastern District of North Carolina.  The Federal ... Read More...

Federal Circuit Affirms: Spam Patent is Obvious By Gary Pong – Edited by Jad Mills Perfect Web Technologies, Inc. v. InfoUSA, Inc., No. 2009-1105 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 2, 2009). Slip Opinion The Federal Circuit affirmed the Southern District of Florida’s decision granting summary judgment to invalidate plaintiff’s U.S. Patent No. 6,631,400 (“‘400 patent”) due to the obvious nature of the asserted claims under 35 U.S.C. § 103. The Federal Circuit held that the ‘400 patent failed the KSR test for ... Read More...