The lawyer who will stand before the court and argue that the law should be thrown out is likely to be Paul Clement, who served as U.S. solicitor general during the George W. Bush administration. Clement’s law firm, Bancroft PLLC, was one of almost two dozen firms that helped sponsor the annual dinner…
Category: The Courts
SCOTUS lets stand ruling that downloads are not performances
The Supreme Court left in place a ruling by a New York federal appeals court, which determined that song downloads are not “public performances” under copyright law. The ruling represents a victory for Yahoo! and RealNetworks, which have been locked in litigation with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers for several years over…
Verizon sues to halt FCC’s net neutrality rules
On Friday afternoon, Verizon filed its expected challenge to the FCC’s network neutrality rules, suing in federal court to stop them. Verizon claims that the agency has no authority to issue rules affecting the Internet. “Verizon is fully committed to an open Internet,” said Verizon senior vice president Michael Glover in a statement. “We are…
During Court Hearing, Conservative Fifth Circuit Chief Judge Shouts Down Progressive Colleague, Telling Him To ‘Shut Up’
The Fifth Circuit is probably the most conservative federal appeals court in the country. It recently sanctioned a cheerleader and alleged rape victim because she sued the school district that required her to cheer for her alleged rapist. Its judges frequently attend “junkets for judges” hosted by an oil-industry funded group. And the…
Copyright Troll Righthaven Says It’s Nearing Bankruptcy
The Las Vegas copyright-trolling firm Righthaven told a Nevada federal judge Friday it might file for bankruptcy protection, or cease operations altogether. To prevent that, Righthaven is asking U.S. District Judge Philip Pro to stay his decision requiring Righthaven pay $34,000 in legal fees to an online commenter it wrongly sued for infringement. Judge Pro…
Strict eavesdropping law ruled unconstitutional in Illinois case
An Illinois judge ruled the state’s eavesdropping law unconstitutional as applied to a man who faced up to to 75 years in prison for secretly recording his encounters with police officers and a judge.Share: · Facebook· LinkedIn· EmailPrintLink“A statute intended to prevent unwarranted intrusions into a citizen’s privacy cannot be used as a shield for…