In a landmark intellectual property decision Thursday, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled 9-3 that a business concept for hedging risk in the field of commodities trading was too vague for patent protection. The case on an application by Bernard Bilski, the CEO of a company called Weatherwise, could affect the [...]
International Criminal Court (ICC) President Judge Phillippe Kirsch told the UN General Assembly Thursday that the ICC is at a "critical stage" ten years after its creation. Presenting his annual report , Kirsch said that while serious war crimes and crimes against humanity within the jurisdiction of the court continue to be committed worldwide, it [...]
Ivan Hoffman : "There is ample precedent for the structure of Google's settlement with the Authors Guild. It certainly reflects emerging technology and, as indicated below, will need to be reflected in modified agreements. For many decades, going back into the early 20th century, music rights holders collectively established ASCAP and BMI as "performing rights [...]
The Indonesian parliament on Thursday passed a controversial anti-pornography law criminalizing all "obscene" works and "bodily movements" that could violate public morality. Proponents of the law include President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his administration, who claim that the law will protect Islam and cultural art while eradicating pornography. Critics of the measure counter that the [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on Wednesday upheld an injunction granted by a federal judge earlier this month ordering Michigan voting officials to reinstate on voter rolls the names of newly-registered voters whose voter registration cards were returned to the post office as undeliverable. The ACLU of Michigan had challenged the [...]
A court in military-ruled Myanmar on Wednesday sentenced nine activists to six months in prison after they complained that their trials were being held in secret, according to a statement by one of their lawyers speaking to Reuters. The presiding judge at the trial in Yangon's Insein Prison ruled that the activists had interrupted a [...]
Croatia's recently appointed Justice Minister Ivan Simonovic on Wednesday proposed a set of legal reforms intended to combat the country's organized crime problem. In an address to the Croatian parliament , Simonovic suggested establishing special courts to try organized crime and corruption suspects in the cities of Zagreb, Split, Rijeka and Osijek. Other proposed measures [...]
The Constitutional Court of South Korea upheld a law criminalizing adultery on Thursday, rejecting complaints that the 55-year-old law is outdated and constitutes an invasion of privacy. The challenge was brought by the lawyers of popular South Korean actress Ok So Ri, who was charged under the law when her husband filed a criminal complaint [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia granted summary judgment Wednesday for the Department of Defense (DOD) , holding that unredacted transcripts allegedly containing evidence of torture used against fourteen "high-value" detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay could be validly withheld from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in response [...]
The US Department of Justice Antitrust Division on Wednesday approved a merger of Delta Airlines and Northwest Airlines after determining the deal would not significantly decrease competition. The department said the merger would likely decrease operational costs for the carriers that would benefit customers, and was not likely to harm the industry: The two airlines [...]
