Please Explain to Me What the Point of This Website Is? Reuters reports that "Calif. Lawmakers Vote to Ban Internet-Based Hunting." From the website: "Hunters may now stalk prey online at www.live-shot.com, a Web site linking firearms and cameras so customers can point, click and shoot antelope, sheep and wild hogs on a Texas ranch from thousands of miles away."

Patent News Here. Get Your Patent News Here. Howard has this report on the Federal Circuit's decision in the Merck case. BoingBoing has this post about a recent vote in the Indian parliament rejecting software patents. Copyfight has this on Congressional hearings on patent reform.

Research??? On the Internet??? Outrageous! Am I the only one who think DeLay has lost it? The AP reports that "CNN.com - DeLay criticizes Supreme Court justice ." From the article: "'And not only that, but he said in session that he does his own research on the Internet? That is just incredibly outrageous.'"

You Think They Were Trying to Make a Point... ... with their choice of defendants? The AP reports that "China Sentences U.S. Citizens for Piracy." From the article: "China has stepped up enforcement of laws against rampant bootlegging of DVDs, CDs and other intellectual property, under pressure from the United States and other trading partners. State media pointed to the case as an example of how foreigners are involved in the trade of pirated products."

Countdown to Reverse Passing Off Counterclaim. Search Engine Journal reports that "Google Files Suit Against Froogles for Trademark Infringment." From the article: "Google, after losing a battle last July to stop a shopping site from using the Froogles.com domain because it was “confusingly similar” to Google, has now filed suit against Froogles in a U.S. federal court alleging trademark infringment." Internetnews.com has more. Via Marty.

I'll Just Leave This One Alone... The AP reports in "Bush Supporter Sues RNC Over 'W' Logo." From the article: "But in early 2004, he says, a similar logo appeared on a Web site and he traced it back to the RNC. This month, Gossett's Rally Concepts LLC sued in federal court, seeking unspecified damages for copyright infringement and conspiracy."

Lesson: Be Careful Who You Pick On. The AP reports that "Mich. Court Tosses Lawsuit Against Eminem." From the article:

In the song, released on Eminem's 1999 "The Slim Shady LP," the rapper says Deangelo Bailey beat him up in a school bathroom, banging his head on a urinal and choking him.
Bailey, a sanitation worker, sued in 2001 and accused the rapper of invading his privacy by publicizing unreasonable information that put him in a false light. Bailey admitted that he picked on Mathers but said he merely 'bumped' him at school and threw a 'little shove.'

Sounds Like a Poor Customer Relations Move. Reuters reports that "Comcast Sued for Disclosing Customer Information." From the article: "But no court authorized Comcast to release names and addresses of its customers, or notified his client that her information had been given to an outside party, Lybeck said."

Coming Soon to a CD Player Near You. The AP reports that "Metromix. Rosa Parks, Rap Duo Settle Lawsuit." From the article: "OutKast, Sony BMG Music Entertainment and two of the company's units admitted no wrongdoing, but agreed to work on projects 'to enlighten today's youth about the significant role Rosa Parks played in making America a better place for all races,' Parks' guardian Dennis Archer said in a statement."

RIAA Targets Internet 2. USA Today reports in "College students face lawsuits for super speed file sharing." From the article: "The students who are being sued all attend universities that are part of the Internet2, an ultra high-speed network designed for collaborative research by 200 schools, government agencies and corporations. Internet2 speeds are estimated to be 20,000 times faster than an average broadband connection, says Internet2 CEO Douglas Van Houweling."

Patent Cases in the News. eWeek reports on a recent decision in "Court Blocks Microsoft's Chimney in Longhorn." From the article: "A preliminary injunction has been issued Tuesday against Microsoft in connection with a patent infringement case, preventing the software maker from using a networking feature in Longhorn, its upcoming operating system release." In other news, the New York Times reports that "Judge Upholds Lilly Drug Patent." From the article: "The three companies claimed that Lilly's American patent on Zyprexa was invalid because olanzapine was very similar to other compounds it had already patented, including flumezapine, a chemical that Lilly studied in the early 1980's as a potential schizophrenia medication."

This is the Most Irresponsible Thing I've Ever Heard. Senator Cornyn owes the families of those judges an apology. The Washington Post reports in "Senator Links Violence to 'Political' Decisions." From the article: "Cornyn continued: 'I don't know if there is a cause-and-effect connection, but we have seen some recent episodes of courthouse violence in this country. . . . And I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters, on some occasions, where judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in, engage in violence. Certainly without any justification, but a concern that I have.'" < / political rant >

Google Back in Court. The AP reports in "Company Files 'Pay Per Click' Ad Lawsuit." From the article: "Lane's Gifts and Collectibles says in a Miller County lawsuit that the Internet companies charged it for advertising traffic not generated by bona fide customers. Lane's Gifts hopes to represent numerous other companies in a class-action lawsuit against the Internet companies."

This Seems to Be Out in Left Field. Law.com reports on a recent New York state ruling in "N.Y. High Court Expands Copyright Protection for Recordings." From the article: "In an unprecedented expansion of common law copyright protections, the Court of Appeals Tuesday said recording artists are shielded in perpetuity under New York standards even when their foreign copyrights have long since expired. Attorneys predicted the 7-0 ruling in Capitol Records v. Naxos of America, 30, would have a significant impact on the recording industry."

I'm Not Sure the Headline Actually Captures the Ruling. The AP has an article entitled "Court: Man Can Disparage Company on Web." Of course, that's not quite the ruling. Instead, the court merely held that there was no likelihood of confusion, and thus no trademark infringement. (And the article also contains one of my pet peeves with non-lawyer written news reports - a confusion between trademark and copyright.) From the article: "The appeals court, however, reinstated part of the lawsuit in which Bosley alleged that Kremer is violating a so-called cybersquatting law by allegedly attempting to sell the site to Bosley in exchange for removing the disparaging material."

Practice Tip: Always Have a Contract. Law.com reports that "Major Electronic Databases to Pay Freelancers in $18M Copyright Dispute." From the article: "According to court papers, it was industry practice for years for freelance authors to sell their works to publications without a written contract. Customarily, for a fee paid to the author, the author granted to the publisher the first right to publish the work in a specified edition of the newspaper or magazine, but in all other respects the author retained copyright ownership to the work."

Laziness... I'm researching this myself, but I was wondering whether anyone knew off the top of their heads whether or not a competitor can be liable for linking to a website containing defamatory/false material, if the competitor is aware of the fact that the material is false?

Supreme Court Round-Up. Law.com has articles about yesterday's oral arguments:

From "High Court Divided in Grokster Case": "But the Court was clearly divided, with several justices expressing frustration over the dearth of factual findings about the magnitude of copyright infringement in the case. The fact that the dispute was appealed only after a summary judgment ruling in favor of Grokster made it appear possible that the Court might put off a ruling by remanding it to lower courts to develop the record."

From "In Broadband Case, Justices Seem Attuned to Internet Services' Arguments": "Though the Bush administration and the cable industry made a strong argument for deference, the justices seemed surprisingly receptive to arguments by Internet services that are seeking access to cable lines in the same way that phone companies have to give access to competitors."

The AP has this report on the Grokster case. Finally, InternetNews.com reads the tea leaves here.

Round Up: Today's Oral Arguments. The AP reports in "Supreme Court Weighs in on File-Sharing." From the article: "During a lively argument, justices wondered aloud whether such lawsuits might have discouraged past inventions like copy machines, videocassette recorders and iPod portable music players — all of which can be used to make illegal duplications of copyrighted documents, movies and songs." Reuters has this report. BoingBoing has this analysis and these links. Internetnews.com reports here. C-Net weighs in here and here. You can get CNN's take here, or get the LA Times' view here. Wired has this report. SCOTUS Blog has a full account here. Copyfight has the usual complete round-up.

Clearly He Didn’t Get the Memo.
Looks like one Washington Post columnist hasn't joined either the RIAA or the Grokster bandwagons.

You can read Robert MacMillan's take on the Grokster case in "No Sympathy For the Devils ." From the article: "Ordinary people, the people who don't know the ins and outs of the case beyond the top-of-the-hour headlines on their news radio station, can be forgiven for being baffled. It's a complicated topic and both sides produce their share of smoke that gets in our eyes. But here's the gist: If you blow away that smoke, you're left with the realization that few of the debate's participants stand on firm moral ground."