- Ninth Circuit panel strikes down California’s Prop 8 [Volokh, Kerr, Magliocca, Lithwick, Steve Chapman]
- Judge dismisses PETA “killer whales enslaved” case [Caroline May/Daily Caller, CNN, earlier]
- “Patent Troll Claims Ownership of Interactive Web – And Might Win” [Joe Mullin/Wired, earlier; more on testimony by Web father Tim Berners-Lee] Update: Ding Dong! Jury rejects claim;
- “Further Analysis of the Bottle-Rocket Case” [Lowering the Bar, earlier]
- As patients suffer: “The War Over Prescription Painkillers,” start of a Radley Balko series [HuffPo parts one, two so far]
- Richard Epstein on federal fiat and Yale disciplinary procedure [Defining Ideas] Under new-style rules at Yale, will a professor even be aware he’s been accused and henceforth is to be “monitored”? [KC Johnson]
- Jim Copland testimony on abuses in government contingent-fee litigation [Manhattan Institute, PDF] “Parens patriae” proposal to replace class actions with state attorney general suits, but with private entrepreneurial bar still in saddle [Adam Zimmerman/Prawfs on Myriam Gilles/Gary Friedman, SSRN]
Tagged as:
animal rights,
attorneys general,
class actions,
colleges and universities,
Ninth Circuit,
patent trolls,
pharmaceuticals,
same-sex marriage,
Yale
A new study by James Bessen, Jennifer Ford and Michael J. Meurer in Cato’s Regulation magazine:
This article makes several findings about this litigation [patent litigation by non-practicing entities (NPEs)]. First, by observing what happens to a defendant’s stock price around the filing of a patent lawsuit, we are able to assess the effect of the lawsuit on the firm’s wealth, after taking into account general market trends and random factors affecting the individual stock. We find that NPE lawsuits are associated with half a trillion dollars of lost wealth to defendants from 1990 through 2010. During the last four years, the lost wealth has averaged over $80 billion per year. These defendants are mostly technology companies that invest heavily in R&D. To the extent that this litigation represents an unavoidable business cost to technology developers, it reduces the profits that these firms make on their technology investments. That is, these lawsuits substantially reduce their incentives to innovate.
Tagged as:
Cato Institute,
patent trolls
- “The real cost of patent trolls” [Brad Feld, PoL on BU study] Survey finds patent litigation booming [Corporate Counsel, Reynolds Holding/Reuters] Company claiming patent on wi-fi-in-stores unlikely to sue retail customers “at this stage” [Patent Examiner] Retrospective on crustless-sandwich case [Peter Smith/Good, earlier]
- Louisiana federal court holds severe obesity to be disability under ADA [Sam Bagenstos, related]
- Florida: many cops remain on job despite evidence linking them to crimes [Balko on Sarasota Herald-Tribune investigation]
- “FDA Regulation Could Doom Cigar Shops” [Jacob Sullum]
- Ted Frank vs. Brian Fitzpatrick on class action fees [PoL, David Lat on Federalist Society panel]
- Orange County keeps mum about partnerships it’s entered with plaintiff’s attorneys Robinson, Calcagnie and Thomas Girardi [Kim Stone, Fox & Hounds] Maybe like “private attorney generals”? Fannie/Freddie genre of government-sponsored enterprises called “monstrous moral hybrids” [Mark Calabria, Cato]
- Posner: lawyers appeared more likely to run junk-fax suit for own interests than clients’ [Beck, Trask (Creative Montessori Learning Centers v. Ashford Gear LLC)]
Tagged as:
class actions,
Florida,
Los Angeles,
obesity,
patent litigation,
patent trolls,
police,
public employment,
tobacco
- House Judiciary holds hearing on asbestos-claim fraud and abuse, with Prof. Brickman headlining [Main Justice, Legal NewsLine, WSJ law blog, PoL, Brickman testimony]
- Endangered species habitat in Nevada: “Elko County wants end to 15-year-old trout case” [AP]
- “Why is the Eastern District of Texas home to so many patent trolls?” [Ted Frank/PoL, more] Tech giants say multi-defendant patent suits place them at disadvantage [WSJ Law Blog] Plus: “Patent company has big case, no office” [John O'Brien, Legal NewsLine]
- Lawsuit settlement and the lizard brain [Popehat]
- “U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Looks Into Eminent Domain Abuses” [Kanner, Somin] U.K.: “Squatters could be good for us all, says judge in empty homes ruling” [Telegraph]
- Madison mob silences Roger Clegg at news conference where he releases new study of UW race bias [ABA Journal, Althouse]
- Life in Australia: “Another motorized-beer-cooler DUI” [Lowering the Bar]
Tagged as:
asbestos,
Australia,
Eastern District of Texas,
eminent domain,
endangered species,
Lester Brickman,
Nevada,
patent trolls,
settlement,
United Kingdom
- Seattle’s best? Class action lawyer suing Apple, e-publishers has represented Microsoft [Seattle Times, earlier]
- “Disabled” NYC firefighter/martial arts enthusiast can go on getting checks for life [NYPost; compare]
- After the FDA enforcement action on drug manufacturing lapses come the tagalong liability claims by uninjured plaintiffs [Beck]
- “What If Lower Court Judges Weren’t Bound by Supreme Court Precedent?” [Orin Kerr]
- Fark.com settles a patent suit for $0 (rough language);
- Canadian law society to pay $100K for asking prospective lawyers about mental illness [ABA Journal]
- Self-help eviction? “Chinese Developers Accused Of Putting Scorpions In Apartments To Force Out Residents” [Business Insider]
Tagged as:
Apple,
China,
disabled rights,
FDA,
firefighters,
Microsoft,
patent trolls,
Steve Berman,
Supreme Court,
workers' compensation
Rob Beschizza sees clues to the economics of patent litigation in the public pronouncements of Lodsys, a company that has sued small Apple developers based on IP claims covering such common app features as upgrade buttons. [BoingBoing, more, This Is My Next (with copy of a 2007 patent for "Methods and Systems for Gathering Information from Units of a Commodity Across a Network"] Update: Apple intervenes.
Tagged as:
Apple,
patent trolls,
small business
- Furor as NLRB issues complaint against Boeing for planning to open S.C. plant [Wichita Business Journal, Costa/NR "Corner", Wood/ShopFloor, more, Tom Bevan/RCP, Ira Stoll, Hirsch/Workplace Prof, Megan McArdle, Jonathan Adler]
- Perp meanwhile declared not criminally responsible and awaits release: “Jury orders Nordstrom to pay $1.6 M to Bethesda stabbing victims” [WaPo]
- Not so reliable: how eyewitness and confession testimony can result in convicting the innocent [Brandon Garrett, Slate]
- Trying to pin down who merits label of “patent troll” [Michael Risch, Prawfs, and followup] “Digital Innovators vs. the Patent Trolls” [Peter Huber, WSJ]
- Publishers as targets in pharma suits? Philadelphia product liability case names as defendant the company that put out drug fact sheet [Beck]
- Regulate-Google schemes: “If search neutrality is the answer, what’s the question?” [Manne/Wright, TotM]
- Hey, John Boehner’s tweeting about my blog post [@johnboehner]
Tagged as:
labor unions,
patent trolls,
pharmaceuticals,
prosecution,
third party liability for crime
The Federal Trade Commission “today released a 300-page report examining the effect that patent trolls – or as the FTC more tactfully dubs them, ‘patent assertion entities’ – have on competition…. The practice, said the FTC, ‘can deter innovation by raising costs and risks without making a technological contribution.’” [BLT]
Tagged as:
Federal Trade Commission,
patent trolls
- Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s firm suing Apple, Google and many others over common web features [Atlantic Wire, Groklaw ("Allen v. World and Dog"]
- Probably not a good idea to give local authorities cash incentive to snatch kids from homes [Bader, CEI]
- Hyperlink liability case: “If I lose there won’t BE an Internet in Canada” [Ars Technica]
- Shooting spree at Denny’s results in suit charging eatery with negligent security [PNWLocalNews.com]
- More links: “Do securities lawsuits help shareholders?” [Point of Law, Bainbridge]
- Fourth Circuit revives CSX fraud suit against asbestos lawyers [Dan Fisher, Forbes] “Asbestos defendants want automatic access to info in bankruptcy trusts” [Chamber-backed LNL]
- Creation of noncompliant consumer financial product is a criminal offense under Dodd-Frank [Josh Wright, TotM]
- Man sues over seeing contestants eat rats on NBC reality show “Fear Factor” [six years ago on Overlawyered]
Tagged as:
asbestos,
Canada,
Child Protective Services,
libel slander and defamation,
online speech,
patent trolls,
restaurants,
securities litigation,
third party liability for crime,
Washington state
A UK game developer spent “tens of millions” successfully resisting a broad patent claim over online multiplayer gaming. [BoingBoing, GamaSutra]
“It is exceedingly unfortunate that the U.S. legal system can force a company with a sole presence in Cambridge, UK to incur a seven-digit expense and waste over a year of management time on a case with absolutely no merit,” [said company CEO Mark Gerhard] in a statement. “This anomaly, which could easily break smaller studios, doesn’t happen in the UK since you can pursue frivolous litigants for the costs of such claims,” he added.
Tagged as:
loser pays,
patent trolls,
videogames
- Minneapolis police arrest author-blogger-gun rights activist Joel Rosenberg [Popehat, Mark Bennett, Scott Greenfield]
- In Wal-Mart v. Dukes, Justice Ginsburg’s instincts as a proceduralist might come in tension with her instincts as a feminist [Alexandra Lahav, Mass Tort Lit]
- “Cease this shouting!” cried Grinch, “From all Yule din desist!” But he’d Moved To The Nuisance and so, case dismissed [Art Carden, Forbes]
- “San Francisco Sues to Close Down Immigration Law Firm, Claims ‘Exorbitant’ Fees” [ABA Journal]
- New ATRA report blasts overly cozy state attorneys general cooperation with plaintiff’s bar ["Beyond Reproach? Fostering Integrity and Public Trust in the Offices of State Attorneys General," PDF]
- Nathan Myrhvold’s patent aggregator Intellectual Ventures, which said it was disinclined to sue, begins suing [The Recorder, Salmon]
- Privacy = when I choose to conceal my life data, secrecy = when you conceal yours [Kelly Young via Dave Boaz, Cato at Liberty]
- One doc’s memoir: litigation crisis as morality crisis [seven years ago on Overlawyered]
Tagged as:
attorneys general,
Christmas and other holidays,
guns,
immigration law,
Minnesota,
patent trolls,
privacy,
Wal-Mart v. Dukes
Using a patent acquired from the much-criticized Intellectual Ventures, a company called Webvention claims to control broad rights over many common website features such as mouse rollover previews. It has begun suing many well-known companies (in East Texas, naturally) for alleged infringement; its licensing come-on letter to one target warned that if the $80,000 fee was not forthcoming the sum would rise after 60 days to $160,000 and after 90 days to $300,000. [Ars Technica; Joe Mullin, Patent Litigation Weekly] More: Coyote (”I am just waiting for the patent on breathing or metabolizing food.”)
Tagged as:
patent trolls
- Representing Prof. Michael Krauss, Ted Frank will file objection to Classmates.com class action settlement [CCAF]
- Not without condescension, Harvard historian/New Yorker writer Jill Lepore asks why Woodrow Wilson’s so disliked these days; Radley Balko offers some help [The Agitator, NYT "Room for Debate"]
- China needs true private property rights, according to Charter 08 document, which helped Liu Xiaobo win Nobel Peace Prize [Tyler Cowen]
- Axelrod “foreign funders under every rug” demagogy might be turned against his own allies [Stoll; New York Times refutes earlier Obama talking point; Atlantic Wire; Sullum]
- R.I.P. influential class actions and mass torts scholar Richard Nagareda [Vanderbilt Law School]
- “Web Seminar Makes Case for Patent Troll Lawsuit Targets to Fight Back” [Washington Legal Foundation Legal Pulse]
- Contrary to WSJ report, if Congressional staffers are profiting in stock trades by way of insider knowledge, they probably do face some risk of legal liability [Bainbridge; a not entirely unrelated inside-trading controversy]
- Underpublicized: “California’s Proposed ‘Green Chemistry’ Regulations Move Forward” [Wajert]
Tagged as:
California,
campaign regulation,
class action settlements,
patent trolls,
Senate,
Ted Frank,
U.S. House of Representatives
