Blawgletter likes to gripe about the Antitrust Division’s lately lackadaisical record of bringing new price-fixing cases. Just yesterday, we again taunted the AD. Little did we know that at that very moment law enforcement officers sprang into action, hauling a bunch of price-fixing execs to the pokey. Press release here.
The conspiracy? To fix
Blawgletter fancies that not many world class law firms feature a nude dude in their newsletters.
But we know of one exception — Susman Godfrey L.L.P.
And we know about it because we did it. Check it out here.
Barry Barnett
The Third Circuit today affirmed summary judgment against former AT&T employees who missed out on the chance to earn more pension benefits after AT&T sold the business unit for which they worked. AT&T agreed in the sale not to rehire the business unit’s employees for eight months. The agreement prevented the employees from retaining pension
An Envirocooler product.
Today, the Federal Circuit affirmed summary judgment of no patent infringement in a case involving shipping containers whose design allows the contents to stay cold during transport. The court agreed with the district court’s construction of the patent claims at issue and held that, under that construction, the district court properly rendered
The Sixth Circuit today affirmed dismissal of securities fraud claims arising from Morgan Stanley’s encouraging brokers to push investors into Class B mutual fund shares instead of Class A shares. Morgan Stanley paid higher compensation for sales of Class B shares. The court noted a dilemma that the putative class representatives faced: in order to
On the very same day that the Supreme Court broadened patent law’s "obviousness" doctrine (post), Vonage asked the Federal Circuit to toss a patent infringement judgment in favor of Verizon. Stories here and here. The Federal Circuit docket sheet shows:
5/1/2007 MOTION: Entry 26 :by Appellant – Motion to vacate district court’s
Blawgletter could wax gloomy about the challenges confronting the rule of law these days — tort reform, the corrosive effect of politics on the justice system, long hours, waning prestige, and tort reform. But we choose a happier theme on this the 49th annual Law Day.
Sure, the NYT today grumped about how, in its
Not to sound like a vinyl platter sporting multiple scratches across its groovy surface, Blawgletter continues to wonder why the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice still hasn’t brought a major new price-fixing case this year — and only one in more than a year. We reported on the phenomenon last month.
What
An obvious combination of two inventions into a third invention doesn’t deserve patent protection, the Supreme Court held today. The combination at issue — as far as Blawgletter can tell — involved putting a computer sensor at the bottom of a gas pedal that the driver could move back or forward to accommodate his height.
Blawgletter has enjoyed a furiously busy Monday and so will simply point you to a couple of interesting-looking copyright law decisions that arrived today. Jarvis v. K2 Inc., No. 05-35609 (9th Cir. Apr. 30, 2007); Vincent v. City Colleges of Chicago, No. 06-3082 (7th Cir. Apr. 30, 2007).
Barry Barnett
