Ninth Circuit Allows Individuals to Use Devices to Decrypt Satellite Television Signals By Nick Bramble — Edited by Wen Bu DirecTV, Inc. v. Huynh Ninth Circuit, No. 05-16361, September 11, 2007 Slip Opinion Faced with the question of how to resolve a provision of the Federal Communications Act banning the assembly and modification of devices primarily designed for the unauthorized decryption of satellite signals, the Ninth Circuit held on September 11 that this provision applies only to “assemblers, manufacturers, and ... Read More...

Stronger 1st Amendment Review of Expansions in Copyright Protection? By Nick Bramble On September 5, the 10th Circuit handed down its opinion in Golan v. Gonzales, No. 05-1259 (10th Cir. Sept. 4, 2007). The court held that the implementation of the Berne Convention on Copyrights (the Uruguay Round Agreements Act § 514) may violate the 1st Amendment by removing some materials–books, films, and songs, mostly–from the public domain and placing them under copyright protection. Generally, the court’s ruling would expand ... Read More...