No Warrant Required for Undercover Agent to Use Concealed Recording Device, Says Ninth Circuit

United States v. Wahchumwah
By Pio Szamel – Edited by Geng Chen

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a ruling by the Eastern District of Washington which held that the use of a concealed audiovisual recording device on the person of an undercover agent to record inside a defendant’s home without a warrant did not violate the defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights. In inviting the undercover agent into his home, the defendant “forfeited his expectation of privacy as to those areas that were knowingly expose[d] to” the undercover agent.

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.

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.

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.

Federal Circuit Reaffirms Sufficiency of Animal Testing for Medical Device Patents, Makes eBay Test Less Rigid

Edwards Lifesciences v. CoreValve
By David LeRay – Edited by Dorothy Du

The Federal Circuit affirmed in part and remanded in part the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, which had found that CoreValve infringed upon Edwards Lifesciences’ heart valve patent and awarded lost profits damages, but did not issue an injunction.