Information is the Antidote to Fear: Wikileaks, the Law, and You
When it comes to Wikileaks, there's a lot of fear out there on the Internet right now.
Between the federal criminal investigation into Wikileaks, Senator Joe Lieberman's calls for companies to stop providing support for Wikileaks and his suggestion that the New York Times itself should...
Location, Location, Location: Three Recent Court Controversies on Cell Phone & GPS Tracking (and a Congressional Hearing, Too)
Welcome to the 21st century, where we all carry tracking devices in our pockets and where one morning you might find an FBI-installed GPS tracking device on your car. In this age of location-based-everything, the legal question of whether or not the government has to get a search...
U.S. Government Seizes 82 Websites: A Glimpse at the Draconian Future of Copyright Enforcement?
Over the past few days, the U.S. Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security and nine U.S. Attorneys’ Offices seized 82 domain names of websites they claim were engaged in the sale and distribution of counterfeit goods and illegal copyrighted works.
Setting aside the due process concerns inherent...
Supreme Court to Decide Standard for Proving Invalidity of a Patent
Today the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Microsoft’s appeal in a case that could make it easier to invalidate a patent. If successful, Microsoft’s challenge should help in the fight against bad patents by leveling the playing field for showing that a patent is invalid. A Microsoft win in...
Thomas-Rasset Damage Award: The Strange, Unpredictable World of Copyright Damages
After a brief deliberation, a jury this week awarded $1.5 million in statutory damages ($62,500 per recording) to the record label plaintiffs in Capitol v. Thomas-Rasset. The case has repeatedly made headlines as the first action against an individual accused of illegal file-sharing to make it to the...
Copyright Abuse in Ohio Governor Election
UPDATE: The video was restored on October 8. We thank YouTube for its willingness to restore the video so promptly.
With just weeks to go before Ohio votes on its next governor, the contest has devolved into a copyright squabble that is keeping a political video off YouTube on...
EFF Supports Microsoft in Seeking to Make it Easier to Invalidate Patents
Today EFF, joined by Public Knowledge, the Computer & Communications Industry Association and the Apache Software Foundation, filed an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case in which Microsoft is trying to make it easier to invalidate an issued U.S. patent. If successful, this challenge...
Revised Opinion in Privacy Case Blurs Clear Limits to Digital Search and Seizure
Yesterday, the Ninth Circuit issued an unfortunate revised opinion in United States v. Comprehensive Drug Testing Inc., a case featuring blatantly unconstitutional government action. As the court put it:
“This case is about a federal investigation into steroid use by professional baseball players. More generally, however, it’s about...
9th Circuit's Troubling New State Secrets Decision Demonstrates Need for Reform
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, ruling en banc in a case called Mohamed v. Jeppesen Dataplan, yesterday adopted the Bush and Obama Administration's joint Executive Branch power grab in the form of the state secrets privilege. The Court, in a 6-5 en banc ruling, dismissed a case brought...
“Magic Words” Trump User Rights: Ninth Circuit Ruling in Vernor v. Autodesk
In a major blow to user rights, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a decision that will go a long way toward ensuring that software buyers will rarely be software owners.
In a triumph of legal formalism over reality, the Court held that the copyright’s first...
