Though it was paraded around as the biggest change to patent law in half a century, the America Invents Act (AIA) of 2011 failed to address many of the patent system's largest problems. In particular, patent trolls continue their deplorable business model of buying up patents and using the...

For years the content copyright industries have been lobbying, in national law or within trade agreements, for overreaching rules that would break the Internet in the name of copyright enforcement. Lately, such proposals ranges from the termination of user access account on the mere allegation of copyright infringement, to...

We submitted the following comment to the US Trade Rep today regarding the proposed United States-European Union trade agreement.
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The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is a digital civil liberties organization that has defended technology users’ rights for over 23 years. We primarily take the fight to court,...

Today, the Federal Circuit handed down a 135-page decision in an effort to set the record straight on what can and cannot be patented under § 101 of the Patent Act. Unfortunately, the ten judges could only agree on 55 words:
Upon consideration en banc, a majority of...

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) — a sprawling international agreement currently being negotiated in secret meetings between government and industry representatives around the world — claims to be focused on the kind of trade regulations that affect countries and huge corporations. But in fact, many of its provisions would have...

The Ninth Circuit appeals court today turned down copyright troll Righthaven’s last ditch effort to salvage its failed business model, upholding the federal district court’s decision to dismiss its bogus copyright case on the grounds that it never actually held the copyrights it was suing under.
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Proposals to update the email privacy law, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), are moving quickly in Congress. ECPA is in dire need of an update as it was written in the mid-1980s long before the advent of ubiquitous webmail and cloud storage. In the past, ECPA was...

A new bill introduced in Congress today aims to resolve the restrictions that complicate phone unlocking, and it's doing it the right way. While other proposals would apply temporary "bandaid" fixes that fail to address the underlying problems behind the restrictions, this bi-partisan proposal from Representatives Zoe Lofgren,...

One of our most recent additions to the Takedown Hall of Shame is Kern's Kitchen, the company behind the "most litigious dessert in America." It owns a trademark on the term Derby Pie, which is the name of a popular Southern confection made with chocolate, pecans, and lots...