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JudgeAP: Judge to Order Google to Turn Over Portion of Internet RecordsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on March 14, 2006 - 10:56am.
Mountain View, Calif. - A federal judge on Tuesday said that he will order Google to turn over a portion of its Internet records subpoenaed by the Justice Department as part of the Bush administration's effort to revive a law intended to restrict minors' access to online pornography. The Associated Press reported that U.S. District Judge James Ware plans to order Google to turn over some of the requested records -- including a random list of web sites indexed by the company -- but expressed reservations about requiring the company to divulge actual requests entered into its search engine. Ware said that he was "particularly concerned" about creating the perception of Internet search engines turning into tools of surveillance for the government. The Justice Department is asking to see a random sampling of one million searches conducted on Google over a one-week period as part of its effort to revive the 1998 Child Online Protection Act (COPA), designed to protect minors from sexually explicit material.
Judge Tosses Illinois Law Banning Sale of Violent Video Games to MinorsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 5, 2005 - 10:09am.
Springfield, Ill. - A federal judge has tossed out Illinois' recently enacted ban on the sale of violent and sexually explicit video games to minors. U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kennelly said in his ruling on Friday that the state came "nowhere near" proving that the law wasn't an unconstitutional restraint on First Amendment free speech protections. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who backed the legislation, said he intends to appeal the ruling, as well as aid efforts to "stigmatize" retailers who sell violent games to minors. "This battle is not over," said Blagojevich. "Parents should be able to expect that their kids will not have access to excessively violent and sexually explicit video games without their permission." Illinois retailers praised Judge Kennelly's ruling. "It's unfortunate that the state of Illinois spent taxpayer money defending this statute. This is precisely what we told them would happen," said David Vite, president of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association. Similar laws have been declared unconstitutional in the state of Washington, the city of Indianapolis, and St. Louis County. The video game industry has also filed suit to stop two other recently passed statewide video game sales bans in California and Michigan from taking effect. Last week, Senators Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) floated legislation that would create a federal ban on the sale of violent video games to minors, and plan to introduce it when Congress reconvenes.
Judge Halts Michigan Video Game Law, Pans Violence-Link ResearchAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 10, 2005 - 8:29am.
Detroit - A federal judge has temporarily halted enactment of a recently passed law in Michigan that prohibits the sale or rental of violent video games to minors, while a lawsuit filed by the video game industry to overturn the law is heard in court. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge George Steeh said Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the state are unlikely to win the lawsuit, filed by the Entertainment Software Association, adding that the "loss of First Amendment freedoms, for even minimal periods of time, unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury." The judge also stated that the research presented by the state, which purports to link violent games and aggressive behavior -- the same research relied upon in crafting similar laws in California and Illinois -- was unpersuasive and insufficient. Courts have routinely overturned similar video game sales restrictions on First Amendment grounds in Washington state, St. Louis County and the city of Indianapolis. "We are gratified that Judge Steeh has issued this preliminary injunction and in so doing has suggested that the arguments and research relied on by Governor Granholm and the Legislature are weak and unpersuasive," said ESA president Doug Lowenstein. The ESA has also filed suit to overturn the video game sales restrictions recently enacted in California and Illinois.
Judge Finalizes Terms of iPod Battery Class Action SettlementAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on August 26, 2005 - 6:35am.
San Mateo, Calif. -- A federal judge has finalized the terms of a class action settlement brought against Apple, by owners of iPods whose batteries died earlier than advertised. Under the terms, anyone who purchased a first- or second-generation iPod before May 31, 2004 is entitled to $25, or $50 in Apple store credit, while those who bought third-generation iPods before that date may either request the $50 credit, or send the device to Apple to have the battery -- or in some cases the entire device -- replaced. Those who already paid to have their iPod batteries replaced can also recoup half the cost of that service from Apple. "This is a very good settlement in that it gives consumers with defective batteries what they need -- to have the battery of their iPods replaced, and in some cases the whole player," said attorney Steve Williams, whose law firm handled the class action suit against Apple.
Judge Denies Bertelsmann Motion to Dismiss in Napster Investor LawsuitAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on June 3, 2005 - 2:46am.
San Francisco -- The federal judge presiding over a lawsuit brought by major record labels against early Napster investors, including fellow label-owner Bertelsmann, has denied a Bertelsmann motion to dismiss the case, moving it a step closer to trial, the Los Angeles Times reported. The lawsuit alleges that Bertelsmann, venture capital firm Hummer Winblad and others who invested nearly $100 million in the early version of Napster contributed to the large-scale copyright infringement committed by users of the file-sharing software. In light of the original Napster's bankruptcy, the labels went on to seek recourse from the company's deep-pocketed investors, for copyright infringement damages from illegal downloads. Additionally, U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel's ruling on Wednesday determined that Napster's offering of a centralized song index did not itself constitute copyright infringement, meaning labels must now provide specific evidence of files uploaded or downloaded by individual Napster users in order to claim damages. "We are extremely pleased with yesterday's ruling, which confirms that the simple indexing of file titles does not constitute an act of copyright infringement without evidence that actual files have been transferred," Bertelsmann attorney R. Bruce Rich told the Times. However, in the course of the labels' successful initial litigation against Napster, they served Napster with hundreds of thousands of "takedown" notices citing instances where songs were uploaded by users. "This will ultimately result in significant liability for Bertelsmann," Universal Music's Peter LoFrumento told the Times.
Judge Orders Halt to PlayStation Sales Over Vibrating Controller PatentsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on March 28, 2005 - 8:27am.
San Jose, Calif. -- Sony Computer Entertainment has been ordered by a federal judge to halt sales of its PlayStation video game consoles, and pay force feedback technology developer Immersion $90.7 million in damages in a patent infringement judgment. Sony's appeal of the ruling will temporarily maintain sales of the original PlayStation, PlayStation 2, two game controllers and 47 software titles that were found to be infringing as a result of the suit from San Jose, Calif.-based Immersion. The judge's ruling follows a California jury's similar finding last year that awarded $82 million to Immersion, whose technology causes video game controllers to vibrate in sync with a game's action. "The Court-ordered permanent injunction to stop the shipment and sale of infringing products in the U.S. is an important indicator of the strength of our case and the potential risks involved in this litigation," said Immersion CEO Victor Viegas. Microsoft settled a similar patent dispute with Immersion in 2003, paying $26 million to license the company's haptic technology for use in its PC and Xbox controllers and games.
Judge Dismisses Some Marvel Claims Against NCsoft Over "City of Heroes"Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 11, 2005 - 4:08am.
Los Angeles -- A federal judge in Los Angeles this week dismissed several of comic book publisher Marvel's trademark and copyright infringement claims against video game publisher NCsoft and Cryptic Studios, which created the "City of Heroes" massively multiplayer online roleplaying game. The game allows users to create their own superhero characters with various traits and powers, who then interact with one another in an online environment. Marvel's suit against NCsoft and Cryptic alleges that these user-created characters are stolen from its own stable of comic book superheroes, which includes Spider-Man, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four. U.S. District Court Judge R. Gary Klausner has dismissed more than half of Marvel's claims, including those that alleged direct trademark infringement by defendants and liability for infringement by players of "City of Heroes." In addition, it was revealed that Marvel staffers actually created some of the purported "City of Heroes" user characters submitted as evidence of infringement. The trial will now move forward on copyright infringement and contributory copyright infringement claims that survived the motion to dismiss.
Judge Denies Motion to Dismiss TiVo Patent Claims Against EchostarAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on March 10, 2005 - 4:48am.
Alviso, Calif. -- TiVo announced late on Wednesday that a federal judge has refused a motion to dismiss and transfer its patent infringement case against satellite TV operator Echostar Communications -- which operates the DISH Network -- allowing its charges to go forward in the Eastern District of Texas. Alviso, Calif.-based TiVo sued Echostar for infringing its basic digital video recorder technology, contained in the "Time Warp" patent it was granted in May 2001. Echostar rival DirecTV is currently the largest distributor of TiVo's technology, in the form of satellite TV set-tops equipped with digital video recorders. Jury selection in the patent infringement trial against Echostar is now slated to begin on Oct. 4, 2005.
Judge: Google Keyword Ads Do Not Infringe Geico's TrademarksAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 15, 2004 - 11:30am.
Alexandria, Va. -- A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that search engine giant Google did not violate car insurance vendor Geico's trademarks when it displayed ads for rival insurance providers when users search for "Geico" on Google. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia did not agree with Geico's assertion that the practice diluted its trademarks and caused confusion among consumers. "It confirms that our policy complies with the law, particularly the use of trademarks as keywords," said Google general counsel David Drummond. "This is a clear signal to other litigants that our keyword policy is lawful." At least one other pending lawsuit makes similar claims that Google's lucrative keyword advertising service has infringed on its trademarks.
Judge Rules MPAA Can't Lump Movie File-Swapper Lawsuits TogetherAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 29, 2004 - 4:20am.
San Francisco -- A federal judge in California has slowed Hollywood's recently-launched legal campaign against Internet movie file-swappers, ruling last week that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) may not lump its "John Doe" defendants into groups and sue them collectively. The MPAA is seeking to have its "John Doe" defendants identified by their Internet service providers, via the IP address registered when they allegedly used file-sharing networks. In a tactic first used by the record industry before being ruled illegal in court, the MPAA joined defendants into groups of 12 or more. U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup wrote in his order, released last week, that "such joinder may be an attempt to circumvent the filing fees by grouping defendants into arbitrarily-joined actions but it could nonetheless appear improper." Wendy Seltzer, a staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which filed a friend of the court brief objecting to the grouped lawsuits, said the decision "helps to give due process rights to the Internet users accused of infringement. Lumping them together makes it more difficult for everyone to defend against these claims."
Judge Throws Out Federal Ban on Sale of Live Concert BootlegsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on September 29, 2004 - 8:49am.
New York -- A federal judge in New York has struck down a 1994 law that made it illegal to sell bootleg recordings of live concert performances, Billboard.com reported. U.S. District Judge Harold Baer Jr. threw out the indictment of Jean Martignon, a Manhattan woman who runs a mail-order bootleg business called Midnight Records. In his ruling, Baer Jr. said the anti-bootleg law went beyond standard laws regarding studio recordings because it placed no time limit on the ban; copyrights on studio recordings expire 70 years after the author's death. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) said the decision "stands in marked contrast to existing law and prior decisions that have determined that Congress was well within its constitutional authority to adopt legislation that prevented trafficking in copies of unauthorized recordings of live performances." The U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan has not yet said if it will appeal the ruling.
Judge Allows Trademark Claims Against Google Keyword Ads to ProceedAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on September 3, 2004 - 5:37am.
Alexandria, Va. -- A federal court has ruled that insurance provider Geico can pursue a trademark infringement case against keyword advertising providers Google and Overture Services, over the sale of ads linked to keyword terms like "Geico" that users type into search engines. Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia denied a motion from Google and Overture to dismiss the trademark infringement charges, but did rule out other Geico claims of tortious interference and statutory business conspiracy. The matter will now go to trial. If found guilty of trademark infringement, Google and Overture would likely have to make changes that could hamper their lucrative keyword advertising sales businesses.
Judge Denies Free Speech Defense for Music File-SwappersAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on July 27, 2004 - 4:30am.
New York -- In a victory for the recording industry, a federal judge has ruled that cable TV operator Cablevision must reveal the identities of its subscribers whom record labels believe are using their high-speed connections to pirate music on file-sharing networks, CNET News.com reported. U.S. District Judge Denny Chin said that while file-swapping does qualify as "speech," Cablevision subscribers sued via "John Doe" lawsuits are not entitled to First Amendment protections, in the first ruling to directly address the issue with regard to copyright infringement on Internet file-sharing networks. The copyright suits were filed in February against 40 "John Doe" Cablevision subscribers; to date, Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) member labels have sued nearly 3,000 individuals for copyright infringement on peer-to-peer networks.
Judge Strikes Down Wash. Law Banning Violent Game Sales to MinorsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on July 16, 2004 - 5:20am.
Seattle -- A Washington state law passed last year that restricts the sale of violent video games to minors has been struck down in federal court via summary judgment. U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik said the law was "unconstitutionally vague" and violated free-speech rights. The law would have imposed a $500 fine on any clerk who sold games depicting violence against law enforcement officers. "While we may have lost this one battle in the sale of violent games against children, the war is far from over," Washington Democratic state Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, who wrote the law, told Reuters. She added that she has not decided yet whether to appeal or propose new legislation. "It's our hope that Washington state and all other states will now turn their focus to helping us in our efforts to implement voluntary ratings measures at the retail level and enhance parental awareness and use of the ESRB game ratings," said Doug Lowenstein, president of industry trade group the Entertainment Software Association, which supported plaintiffs the Video Software Dealers Association.
Judge Allows Infringement Case Against Napster Investors to Move ForwardAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on July 14, 2004 - 6:07am.
San Francisco -- A federal judge has denied motions to dismiss a lawsuit claiming that companies that invested in Napster during its early years, such as Bertelsmann and venture capital firm Hummer Winblad, could be held liable for copyright infringement for keeping the company afloat. U.S. District Judge Marilyn Patel on Wednesday ruled to allow the case to continue through the discovery process, where record labels and others could present evidence arguing that Bertelsmann's $90 million investment in Napster in 2000 cost them millions in lost sales due to copyright infringement. "By investing both millions of dollars and management resources in Napster, which was an illegal enterprise built on the unlawful distribution of copyrighted works, Bertelsmann and Hummer Winblad enabled and encouraged the wholesale theft of copyrighted music," Jeanne Meyer, a spokeswoman for major label EMI, told Reuters. "Our position remains that those allegations are not factually true and will be disproven through the discovery process," Bertelsmann attorney Bruce Rich told Reuters.
Microsoft Officials to Meet with EU Judge on July 27Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 7, 2004 - 7:00am.
Brussels -- Officials from the European Court of First Instance said late Tuesday that Judge Bo Vesterdorf would hold an informal meeting on July 27 with Microsoft and other interested parties to discuss the software giant's request to suspend EU sanctions against it. Court officials also said the informal meeting could possibly be followed by a formal hearing. Four months ago, the European Commission ruled that Microsoft must release a version of Windows without Microsoft's Media Player and pay a 497-million-euro ($614 million) fine. Microsoft has paid the fine, but appealed the antitrust ruling. It is now asking that sanctions against it be suspended until the appeal process, which could take several years, is complete. Separately, Reuters earlier this week quoted Microsoft lawyer Brad Smith as saying that a recent antitrust victory for the company in the U.S. addressed "many of the precisely same questions that are front and center in Europe."
Judge Orders Microsoft to Search for E-Mail Related to Burst.com CaseAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on May 24, 2004 - 7:37am.
Santa Rosa, Calif. -- A federal judge in Baltimore has ordered software giant Microsoft to search for an e-mail from one of its executives that allegedly ordered employees to delete any e-mails relating to the company's discussions with a Bay Area firm, the Associated Press reported. Santa Rosa, Calif.-based Burst.com sued Microsoft in 2002, alleging that the company stole its ideas for multimedia software after discussing the technology for several months with Burst. Now, U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz has ordered Microsoft to search computers, servers and backup tapes, as well as question the company's lawyers, about the alleged e-mail sent by vice president James Allchin. According to lawyers for the plaintiff, the e-mail warns employees not to save their e-mail for more than 30 days. Spencer Hosie, an attorney for Burst.com, said that the e-mail could have large ramifications, since Microsoft at the time was "up to its neck in high-stakes litigation." "It appears Microsoft as matter of institutional policy has decided to destroy e-mails in anticipation of litigation," Hosie told the AP.
Kazaa Asks Industry for Infringer Identities; Aussie Judge Sets Gag OrderAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on May 19, 2004 - 8:03am.
Melbourne, Australia -- Lawyers for Sharman Networks, which distributes the Kazaa file-sharing software, argued in Australian Federal Court last week that Sharman has not committed copyright infringement, and asked for the names and addresses of Kazaa users the recording industry believes have used Kazaa to infringe copyrights, Wired News reported. The Australian music industry conducted raids on Kazaa offices and executives' homes in March to gather evidence for a copyright infringement investigation. "Our evidence contains dozens of incidents of downloading," music industry attorney Richard Cobden said in court. "Why should we be asked now for the names and addresses of these people who operate by pseudonyms? We could not possibly do it, your honor, but we are going to suggest that the evidence is perfectly clear that the recordings are made available." Justice Murray Wilcox also placed a gag order on both sides, after an issue of Australian Personal Computer magazine was presented that included actual pictures from the raids. "Somebody has, we would submit, used the proceedings for the purpose of embarrassing, demeaning, however you like to describe it, our clients," said Kazaa attorney Robert Ellicott.
Judge Allows Eminem's Copyright Claims Against Apple, MTV to ProceedAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on May 18, 2004 - 8:09am.
Detroit -- A federal judge in Michigan has ruled that rapper Eminem's copyright infringement claims against Apple Computer and MTV, over the unauthorized use of a song in an Apple ad that aired on MTV, may proceed. U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor threw out two claims of unfair competition and unjust enrichment, but ruled that Eminem's copyright infringement claims may go forward. The rapper alleges that the companies did not have permission to employ an actor to sing part of his track "Lose Yourself" for use in a TV commercial for Apple's iPod and iTunes service, which also appeared on Apple's website. The suit also names the advertising firm TBWA/Chiat/Day.
Judge Rules RIAA Can't Consolidate "John Doe" Suits Against File-SwappersAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on March 9, 2004 - 6:31am.
Philadelphia -- A federal judge on Friday put a kink in one of the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) legal campaigns against alleged file-swappers when he ruled the RIAA must file separate "John Doe" lawsuits against 203 individual file-swappers instead of grouping them all into a single suit. The record industry was forced to begin filing "John Doe" lawsuits after a federal judge ruled in December its previous expedited subpoena process for revealing the names of alleged infringers from their Internet service providers was illegal. On Friday, Judge Clarence Newcomer of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania allowed a single suit to be filed, against "John Doe" #1, for whom the RIAA provided additional details. The RIAA must now file separate suits against the remaining 202 John Doe defendants -- all of whom are Comcast Internet subscribers -- and pay additional filing fees that the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) estimated to total $30,000.
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