It's one thing to write opinion on matter of abstruse law. It's quite something else to write on whether something is or isn't a crime.
U.S. Attorney General, Michael Mukasey, interview, Jan. 16, 2009.
Video of Spring Break Fake Sex Okay, Eleventh Circuit Holds
Did you know that inducing, taking, or publishing nekkid pictures of frolicking spring breakers could land the images-purveyor in a federal lawsuit for damages? If you didn't, now you do.
The Eleventh Circuit — which, yes, does include Daytona Beach, Florida — ruled yesterday that one such frolicker didn't have a claim despite video of her, er, involvement
KSR Kills Stent Patent
Boston Scientific sued Cordis for making Cyper stents like this one.
Recall that KSR Int'l Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 127 S. Ct. 1727 (2007) (see post), eased the test for patent-invalidating "obviousness" – whether a practitioner in the relevant art would have found the invention obvious in light of existing art. Pre-KSR decisions by the
European Commission Admits Smart Chips Investigation
This smart card uses radio frequency identification to expedite transactions.
The European Commission raided smart chip makers' premises last October. Smart chips go into smart cards, which can store and process data, and SIM cards, which identify the subscriber in cell phones and other telephony devices.
The press release of January 7, 2009
Deliberations on Clarence Darrow’s Views on Voir Dire
Catch your breath before going to the latest Deliberations post, which looks at a 1936 article by Clarence Darrow on "How to Pick a Jury".
Anne Reed there expresses proper horror at Darrow's categorizations, including our favorite, the Presbyterian, whom Darrow deems "as cold as the grave".
Baptists? Worse. Much worse.
Nortel Bankruptcy Petition
U.S. subsidiaries of Canadian parent Nortel Networks Corporation plopped into Delaware bankruptcy court today. NNC itself said it plans to file (and may have already filed) under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. Blawgletter guesses that'll happen (or has happened) in Toronto, Ontario, site of NNC's headquarters.
A Nortel press releases says:
Nortel made this decision with
Quote of the Day: Eric L. Clay
U.S. Circuit Judge Eric L. Clay (1948-).
Qui tam is short for the Latin phrase qui tam pro domino rege quam pro si ipso in hac parte sequitur, which means “who pursues this action on our Lord the King’s behalf as well as his own.” Vermont Agency of Natural Res. v. United States
Busy Day at Federal Circuits
Shazaam!
Our U.S. circuit judges — and their sitting by designation helpers — must've spent the holidays running Westlaw searches and tapping out judicial prose. For today the electronic opinionosphere fairly gushed a freshet of big, juicy, and momentous decisions.
In view of the abundance of material, Blawgletter offers even-briefer-than-usual blurbs (but still with links!):
- Argentina explicitly
Virginia’s Long Arm Reaches India, Fourth Circuit Holds
The Fourth Circuit has upheld haling an Indian outfit into a Virginia federal court to answer claims that it misused a Virginia entity's intellectual property in the U.S.
The decision pivoted on the fact that the parties' relationship had its "genesis" in the Indian defendant's visit to the Charlottesville in 1984. The parties' ensuing License Agreement allowed the Institute
Texas Supremes Grant Mandamus to Send Edinburg Case to Waukegan
The Supreme Court of Texas today enforced a forum selection clause in contracts relating to business and tax consulting services. The clause said: "It is agreed that exclusive jurisdiction and venue shall vest in the Nineteenth Judicial District of Lake County, Illinois, Illinois law applying." A district court in Hidalgo County denied the consulting firm's