Tag Archives: Judge

Microsoft Antitrust Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson Dead at 76

McGruber writes “The NY Times has the news that federal judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, who ruled in 2000 that Microsoft was a predatory monopoly and must be split in half, has died. He was 76 years old. ‘A technological novice who wrote his opinions in longhand and used his computer mainly to e-mail jokes, Judge Jackson refuted Microsoft’s assertion that it was impossible to remove the company’s Internet Explorer Web browser from its operating system by doing it himself. When a Microsoft lawyer complained that too many excerpts from Bill Gates’s videotaped deposition — liberally punctuated with the phrase “I don’t remember” — were shown in the courtroom, Judge Jackson said, “I think the problem is with your witness, not the way his testimony is being presented.”‘”

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Thomas Penfield Jackson, judge in DOJ-Microsoft case, dies at 76

Judge Jackson ruled in 2000 that the tech titan was a monopoly that should be split in two before his removal from the case for “seriously tainting” proceedings. [Read more]

    




CNET News

Judge orders Google to turn over customer data to FBI

A federal judge has ruled that Google Inc. must comply with the FBI’s warrantless demands for customer data, rejecting the company’s argument that the government’s practice of issuing so-called national security letters to telecommunication companies, Internet service providers, banks and others was unconstitutional and unnecessary.


FOX News

Decryption disclosure doesn’t violate Fifth Amendment, judge rules in child porn case

A federal judge in Wisconsin has ordered a suspect in a child porn investigation to either provide prosecutors with the passwords to several encrypted storage devices of his that are thought to contain incriminating evidence or to provide them with a decrypted copy of the contents of the drives.
Computerworld News

Judge Thinks Apple Will Lose E-Book Price-Fixing Case

Nerval’s Lobster writes “Apple could face a difficult time winning its court case against the U.S. Department of Justice over e-book pricing, according to the federal judge overseeing the trial. ‘I believe that the government will be able to show at trial direct evidence that Apple knowingly participated in and facilitated a conspiracy to raise prices of e-books,’ U.S. District Judge Denise Cote said during a May 23 pretrial hearing, according to Reuters, ‘and that the circumstantial evidence in this case, including the terms of the agreements, will confirm that.’ Apple’s legal counsel is a bit perturbed over her comments. ‘We strongly disagree with the court’s preliminary statements about the case today,’ Apple lawyer Orin Snyder wrote in a statement also reprinted by Reuters. The Justice Department has asserted that Apple, along with those publishers, conspired to raise retail e-book prices in tandem ‘and eliminate price competition, substantially increasing prices paid by consumers.’ Apple battles Amazon in the e-book space, with the latter company achieving great success over the past few years by driving down the price of e-books and Kindle e-readers; while Apple co-founder insisted in emails to News Corp executive James Murdoch (son of Rupert Murdoch), that Amazon’s pricing was ultimately unsustainable, the online retailer shows no signs of flagging with regard to its publishing-industry clout.”

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Judge Tosses DMCA Defenses, Creating Unexpected Copyright Liability for Web Services In New York

micEditor’s note: Sid Venkatesan is an IP partner specializing in high stakes IP disputes and IP counseling for technology companies in the Silicon Valley office of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. James Freedman is an associate in Orrick’s IP group and a recent Stanford Law School graduate. 

A New York appellate court has recently ruled in UMG Recordings v.Escape Media Group that the safe harbor protections that Congress designed for Internet companies do not cover sound recordings made before 1972. The decision is a new and unexpected break with earlier decisions by state and federal trial courts.
TechCrunch

Judge Refers Prenda Copyright Trolls To Criminal Investigators

SternisheFan tipped us to news that the infamous copyright trolls Prenda Law are in a bit of trouble with the law. Today, U.S. District Court judge Otis Wright issued sanctions against Prenda. He recommends that the lawyers involved be disbarred and fined, granted court and lawyer fees to the defendants (doubled for punishment), and has referred them for criminal prosecution. Among the findings of fact are that they set up dozens of shell companies to disguise the true owners, actually committed identity theft, dodged taxes on settlement money, lied to the court, and abused the court by setting settlements on flimsy charges just below the cost of a defense.

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Judge Throws Out Craigslist’s Copyright Lawsuit, But It Can Still Sue 3Taps Over Data Use

craigslist-logoA California federal judge has ruled that Craigslist can’t sue real estate listings platforms 3Taps, PadMapper, and Discover Home Network for copyright infringement. But the judgement isn’t a complete victory for the developers of 3Taps because Craigslist is still allowed to sue the startup for gaining unauthorized access to data on its Web site. Critics of Craiglist’s actions have said that they stifle innovation and competition.
TechCrunch

Judge to Motorola: You’re asking too much for patents

The wrangling over patents has shifted its focus to Motorola today, which took a blow in court over standards-essential patents and how much the company is entitled to over them. Specifically, the now Google-owned Motorola Mobility sought billions from Microsoft over its use of the patents, but a judge has put the kibosh on that,

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YouTube still protected under DMCA, says Judge, Viacom sent packing

YouTube still protected under DMCA, says Judge, Viacom sent packing

YouTube trends may have changed over the last few years, but the company’s legal standing hasn’t: according to a federal judge, the DMCA still protects the streaming site from Viacom’s copyright claims. The ruling responds to Viacom’s appeal of a 2010 case, which stated that YouTube couldn’t be held responsible for copyright infringing content uploaded by its users. Viacom sought to revise the ruling, insisting that YouTube was “willfully blind” of the activity. That may be the case, but Judge Louis Stanton sees things differently. “Knowledge of the prevalence of infringing activity, and welcoming it, does not itself forfeit the safe harbor. To forfeit that, the provider must influence or participate in the infringement.” Since YouTube doesn’t pre-screen content before throwing it live, and because it always takes down infringing content upon request, it simply isn’t liable.

Viacom says that the decision “ignores the opinions of the higher courts and completely disregards the rights of creative artists,” and promises to appeal the decision again with hopes of taking the case to a jury. Google, on the other hand, is playing it cool. “The court correctly rejected Viacom’s lawsuit against YouTube, reaffirming that Congress got it right when it comes to copyright on the Internet. This is a win not just for YouTube, but for people everywhere who depend on the Internet to exchange ideas and information.” Looking for a side to pick? Check out the court’s full decision after the break.

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Source: AllThingsD, YouTube

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Judge Denies Class Action Status In Tech Workers’ Lawsuit

We’ve mentioned a few times the “gentleman’s agreements” which some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley used to reduce the risk of employee poaching. walterbyrd writes “This comes from the same judge who awarded Apple $ 1 billion from Samsung. ‘A federal judge on Friday struck down an effort to form a class action lawsuit to go after Apple, Google and five other technology companies for allegedly forming an illegal cartel to tamp down workers’ wages and prevent the loss of their best engineers during a multiyear conspiracy broken up by government regulators.’” The lawsuit itself is ongoing (thanks to a ruling last year by the same judge); it’s just that the plaintiff’s claims cannot be combined.

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ITC judge says Samsung infringes on Apple’s text-selection patent

An ITC judge believes that Samsung has infringed on a key part of one of Apple’s patents. Judge Thomas Pender stated that he found Samsung’s text-selection feature to be infringing on the patent, a feature that is both part of the Internet Browser in Samsung’s devices, as well as the translucent buttons in Samsung’s photo

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Samsung infringed Apple patent on text selection, says ITC judge

A handful of Samsung smartphones infringe an Apple patent on text selection, according to the initial determination of a U.S. International Trade Commission judge.
Computerworld News

Judge awards class action status in privacy lawsuit vs. comScore

A federal court in Chicago this week granted class action status to a lawsuit accusing comScore, one of the Internet’s largest user tracking firms, of secretly collecting and selling Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, passwords and other personal data collected from consumer systems.
Computerworld News

Victim of $440K wire fraud can’t blame bank for loss, judge rules

A federal court in Missouri has rejected an escrow firm’s attempt to blame its bank for a $ 440,000 cyberheist in March 2010.
Computerworld News

Judge ignores leniency plea, hands AT&T hacker a 41-month-sentence

A federal judge today sentenced hacker Andrew Auernheimer’s to 41 months in prison for illegally accessing email addresses and other data belonging to more than 120,000 iPad subscribers from AT&T’s networks.
Computerworld News

Judge: FBI surveillance method violates First Amendment

A judge in California has ruled that National Security Letters, more commonly called NSLs, are in violation of the First Amendment. This is a significant ruling, and comes at a time when the FBI has come under fire for using them with false claims and other such issues. NSLs are said to be a vital

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SlashGear

Speed cameras are a scam, Ohio judge rules

A judge in Ohio says what so many have been thinking, but never expected to hear from a judge. He described them as “nothing more than a high-tech game of 3-card Monty.” [Read more]


CNET News

Judge rules traffic cameras violate motorists’ rights

A judge in Ohio ruled that the traffic cameras located in Elmwood Place, Ohio are a violation of the motorists’ rights. Judge Robert Ruehlman stated that the entire system is a scam. Many drivers and business owners believed that the cameras were too harsh and that they were becoming detrimental to the village’s image. The

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SlashGear

Judge says Apple’s Siri case against Samsung can proceed

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh had said last month that a second patent case pitting Apple against Samsung in Northern California might be put on hold. Now she says otherwise. [Read more]


CNET News

Judge Cuts $450M From Apple’s $1B Damages Decision Against Samsung, Orders Second Trial

apple-samsungApple’s landmark $ 1 billion damages award over Samsung has been partially vacated by presiding judge Lucy Koh, FOSS Patents reports. The judge has orders just north of $ 450 million be struck from the $ 1 billion total, an amount which relates to 14 Samsung products involved in the case, pending a new trial to determine appropriate damages for those specific devices.
TechCrunch

Judge lowers Apple’s $1B Samsung award, orders partial retrial

A judge has ordered a partial retrial in Apple’s patent lawsuit against Samsung in California, and has cut hundreds of millions of dollars from the $ 1 billion in damages that Apple was awarded last summer.
Computerworld News

Judge lowers Apple's $1 billion Samsung award, orders partial retrial

A judge has ordered a partial retrial in Apple's patent lawsuit against Samsung in California, and has cut hundreds of millions of dollars from the $ 1 billion in damages that Apple was awarded last summer.
Computerworld News

Australian court assigns second judge to Apple-Samsung trial

The patent trial in Australia between Apple and Samsung Electronics has become so complex that a second judge has been assigned to the case.
Computerworld News

Judge Sides With Greenlight, Blocks Apple From Holding Shareholder Vote On Proposal Over Preferred Stock

apple-logo-money-ogradyThe “silly sideshow” around Greenlight Capital and Apple issuing preferred stock, as Apple CEO Tim Cook put it, will go on according to a ruling today by U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan in NYC today. Sullivan sided with Greenlight Capital manager David Einhorn, blocking Apple from being able to proceed with a shareholder vote on whether or not the company can issue preferred stock.
TechCrunch

Judge wants second Apple-Samsung case put on hold

The judge overseeing Apple's two lawsuits against Samsung in California has indicated she would like to put the second case on hold pending resolution of the first case, the trial for which ended last summer with a big win for Apple.
Computerworld News

Judge tosses some shareholder suits over Facebook’s IPO flop

Several class-action lawsuits filed against the social network are dismissed when judge rules that Facebook “made express and extensive warnings” about its revenue growth before its IPO. [Read more]


CNET News

Judge Invalidates 13 Motorola Patent Claims Against Microsoft

walterbyrd writes “Microsoft scored a victory against Google-owned Motorola Mobility this week after a judge scrapped 13 of the latter party’s patent claims in a years-long dispute over H.264-related royalties. Waged in US and German courts, the battle involves three patents (7,310,374, 7,310,375, and 7,310,376) that Motorola licenses to Microsoft for several products, including the Xbox 360, Windows and Windows Phone. PJ is commenting on the case over at Groklaw.net.”

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Slashdot

Judge dismisses one of nine Nokia patent gripes against HTC

The U.S. International Trade Commission decides that Nokia can’t claim patent infringement over a patent for routing data to an app. [Read more]


CNET News

Judge invalidates 13 Motorola patent claims against Microsoft

Judge invalidates 13 Motorola patent claims against Microsoft

Google’s Motorola branch isn’t having much success lately in getting patent claims to stick against Microsoft. A few months after the company dropped some ITC claims, the judge in a Seattle contract lawsuit has granted Microsoft’s motion to invalidate 13 of Motorola’s claims across three standards-based patents, all of them linked to H.264 video coding. The individual claims aren’t well-defined enough to hold, Judge James Robart says. The ruling takes most of the thunder out of components in the lawsuit that aren’t directly related to the contract, and could lead to lighter penalties against Microsoft should Google and Motorola win — not that Google has much sway when it’s prevented from seeking bans over standards-based patents.

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Via: Electronista

Source: FOSS Patents

Engadget

Judge invalidates 13 Motorola Mobility patent claims in Microsoft case

A U.S. district court judge has ruled that 13 Motorola Mobility patent claims related to digital video are invalid in a patent licensing case brought by Microsoft.
Computerworld News

Judge: Samsung didn’t ‘willfully’ infringe Apple patents

A California judge made a post-trial ruling today in the Apple vs. Samsung case that will most likely prevent the iPhone-maker from collecting millions more in damages [Read more]


CNET News

Apple, Google, Intel CEOs ordered to discuss no-poaching deal with judge

Emails that were sent between executives at Apple, Google, and Intel show that there was a real financial benefit to refrain from poaching employees from each others’ companies, according to Judge Lucy Koh, who recently led the trial between Apple and Samsung. The CEOs from each company; Tim Cook, Eric Schmidt, and Paul Otellini, will

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Execs’ e-mails key in employee no-poaching lawsuit, judge says

E-mails between executives at Apple and Google reveal a shared belief that there was substantial financial benefit in agreements not to recruit each other’s employees, the judge in the case says. [Read more]


CNET News

Judge: News agencies shouldn’t have used Twitter photos

A judge rules that the AFP news agency and The Washington Post infringed on the copyrights of a photographer by publishing images that he’d posted to Twitter. [Read more]


CNET News

Judge Rules Twitter Images Cannot Be Used Commercially

New submitter trekkie314 writes “Reuters reports that a Manhattan District Judge has ruled that AFP and the Washington Post infringed a photographer’s copyright by re-using photos he posted on his Twitter account. The judge rejected AFP’s claim that a Twitter post was equivalent to making the images available for anyone to use (drawing a distinction between allowing users to re-tweet within the social network and the commercial use of content). The judge also ruled against the photographer’s request that he be compensated for each person that viewed the photos, ruling instead that damages would be granted once per infringing image only. This last point might have interesting implications in file-sharing cases — can it set a precedent against massive judgments against peer-to-peer file-sharers?”

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Judge Grants Defendant’s Motion To Explore Alleged Fraud By Prenda Law

An anonymous reader writes “Prenda Law — one of the most notorious copyright trolls — has sued hundreds of thousands of John Doe defendants, often receiving settlements of thousands of dollars from each. Prenda Law principal John Steele has reportedly made a few million dollars suing BitTorrent file-sharers. Prenda Law has been accused in federal court of creating sham offshore corporations using the identity of his gardener. In other words, it is alleged that the law firm and their client are the same entity, and that Prenda law has committed identity theft and fraud. Now, a judge in California has granted a John Doe defendant’s motion to further explore the connection between the offshore entity and the law firm.”

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U.S. ITC judge recommends ban on Samsung products

A U.S. International Trade Comission judge recommends sanctions against Samsung that include an import and sales ban on products found to infringe Apple patents, and the posting of a bond for 88% of the value of some of the devices involved in the case.
Computerworld News

ITC Judge recommends Samsung post 88 percent value bond, import bans in Apple patent case

If you’re keeping track of the multiple, and let’s face it, tiresome Samsung / Apple patent debacle, a document that just turned up at the ITC might spell more trouble for the Korean manufacturer. It’s a publicly redacted version of Judge Pender’s recommendations, and pertains to the October ruling that deemed Samsung borrowed four of Cupertino’s designs. The most iconic being design patent D618,678 (that which you see above). The others include multi-touch patent 7,479,949 (which was tentatively invalidated) along with two other patents (RE41,922 and 7,912,501) relating to graphic display elements and audio hardware detection. If the recommendations are adopted — and FOSS Patents suggests this is entirely possible — Samsung could face a US import ban after a 60 day presidential review, an order prohibiting “significant” sales of infringing products in America along with a posting a bond for 88 percent of the entered value of mobile phones (plus 32.5 percent for media players and 37.6 percent for tablets) that include the breaching design features. Pender has, however, reportedly cleared several Samsung “designarounds” which, if implemented to satisfaction, would mean the tech giant could continue trading. For now though, the recommendations are awaiting the Commission’s review.

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Via: FOSS Patents

Source: ITC (Doc ID 500118)

Engadget

ITC judge sides with Apple in latest Motorola patent spat

Apple’s iPhone has been cleared of infringing on one of Motorola’s patents, the International Trade Commission said today. The ruling is not final. [Read more]


CNET News

Judge denies Apple request to ban Samsung phones that illegally used its technology

The ruling comes after Apple this summer was awarded $ 1.05 billion in damages.


FOX News

Apple Vs. Samsung: U.S. Judge Denies Apple’s Request For Permanent Injunction, Tosses Samsung’s Call For New Trial

apple-samsungThe U.S. judge in the Apple vs Samsung court battle that’s being played out in the district court of Northern California has denied Apple’s request for a permanent injunction on Samsung devices, Reuters is reporting. This follows Cupertino’s $ 1.05 billion damages award against Samsung this summer when the jury in the case ruled that multiple Samsung smartphones infringed Apple patents.
TechCrunch

Judge denies retrial to Samsung in patent dispute with Apple

A court in California has denied Samsung Electronics a retrial in a patent dispute with Apple, and also refused Apple a ban on the sale of some Samsung products.
Computerworld News

Judge denies Apple a permanent ban on Samsung devices, tosses Samsung’s attempt at a new trial

Judge denies Apple a permanent ban on Samsung devices, tosses Samsung's attempt at a new trial

A permanent sales ban on a number of Samsung devices isn’t happening, says Judge Lucy Koh, shooting down an injunction request filed by Apple. In a filing denying the motion, Koh admits that Samsung may have cut into Apple’s customer base, but says “there is no suggestion that Samsung will wipe out Apple’s customer base or force Apple out of the business of making smartphones. The present case involves lost sales — not a lost ability to be a viable market participant.” Basically, Samsung’s products aren’t going to force Apple to change its business strategy in order to retain its customers. Koh shot down one of Samsung’s requests too, denying the company a new trial due to alleged jury misconduct. Looks like that billion dollar verdict isn’t going anywhere.

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Source: Verge, FOSS Patents, Reuters

Engadget

Judge to decide John McAfee’s Guatemalan fate

After a month of high-tech hide and seek, software megamogul John McAfee’s next steps are out of his hands, the Guatemalan government said.


FOX News

Judge Koh: ‘global peace’ between Apple and Samsung would be ‘good for consumers’

Judge Koh speaks necessary obvious: 'global peace' between Apple and Samsung would be 'good for consumers'

While Judge Lucy Koh may not pull down the same staggering wage or get as much TV time as that other well-known arbiter, she’s just as outspoken in her own courtroom. While presiding yesterday over the neverending story that is Apple v. Samsung, she called for “global peace” between the two. Inciting chuckles from the crowd, she reaffirmed her point: “I’m not joking… it would be good for consumers and good for the industry.” Head lawyer for Samsung said the company was “willing to talk,” but the opposition wasn’t so amicable, claiming that the billion-odd judgment in its favor was a mere “slap on the wrist,” and that clear boundaries were necessary for setting a precedent.

Cupertino‘s camp also attacked Samsung’s design decisions, saying they were knowingly taken to the limit of what it could legally get away with, while the Korean manufacturer’s team thinks Apple wants to “compete through the courts rather than the marketplace,” and was using the courts to conduct a smear campaign. When commenting on the patent rows in a TV interview yesterday, Apple CEO Tim Cook repeated his stance on litigation, but said there was “no other choice,” and that “in a perfect world,” companies would “invent their own stuff.” Sadly, it looks like Judge Koh’s plea for resolution won’t have much of an impact, but we’re with her in thinking: if only this had all played out during a 10-minute segment on daytime TV.

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Source: Financial Times

Engadget

Apple Vs Samsung: Judge Koh Makes Plea For “Global Peace” As Pair Muster Latest Round Of Legal Arguments

apple-samsungIn the latest episode of the Apple vs Samsung legal drama that’s been playing out in the U.S. district court of Northern California, the pair met again at an appeal hearing on Thursday to argue their respective corners. Judge Lucy Koh is reviewing the jury’s $ 1.05 billion verdict against Samsung.
TechCrunch

Judge pleads for ‘global peace’ in Apple-Samsung fight

At the end of a long court hearing in California on Thursday that saw Apple and Samsung argue over a $ 1 billion damages award granted to Apple this summer, Judge Lucy Koh had a simple yet optimistic request: global peace.
Computerworld News

Judge warns Apple, Samsung to follow court rules in patent case

Two days ahead of the first post-trial hearing in the patent infringement fight between Apple and Samsung, a California judge has signaled to lawyers for both companies that she expects them to follow her instructions and work by her rules.
Computerworld News

Judge finds “no obvious deficiencies” in Facebook Sponsored Stories settlement offer

Social network Facebook found itself at the heart of a lawsuit having to do with its Sponsored Stories advertisements. Facebook was sued by users of the social network after their names were used in Sponsored Stories advertisements without their express permission. This week a federal judge has given preliminary approval to a negotiated settlement for

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