A blog relating to Internet legal issues by Professor John Swinson, University of Queensland
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Software and Internet Patents
The U.S. Federal Circuit on October 9, 2012 granted en banc review of a case in which a Federal Circuit panel held that a claim must not be deemed inadequate under 35 U.S.C. §101 if, after taking all of the claim recitations into consideration, it is not “manifestly evident” that a claim is directed to a patent ineligible abstract idea. CLS Bank International v. Alice Corp., Fed. Cir., No. 11-1301, 10/9/2012. Alice Corp is an Australian company, suing for patent infringement in the United States.
The en banc court vacated the panel decision and requested briefing on the following questions:
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What test should the court adopt to determine whether a
computer-implemented invention is a patent ineligible "abstract idea”;
and when, if ever, does the presence of a computer in a claim lend
patent eligibility to an otherwise patent-ineligible idea?
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In assessing patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101 of a
computer-implemented invention, should it matter whether the invention
is claimed as a method, system, or storage medium; and should such
claims at times be considered equivalent for § 101 purposes?
[N]othing in the Supreme Court’s
precedent, nor in ours, allows a court to go hunting for abstractions by
ignoring the concrete, palpable, tangible, and otherwise not abstract
invention the patentee actually claims. It is fundamentally
improper to paraphrase a claim in overly simplistic generalities in
assessing whether the claim falls under the limited “abstract ideas”
exception to patent eligibility under 35 USC §101. Patent eligibility
must be evaluated based on what the claims recite,
not merely on the ideas upon which they are premised.
To read the Court’s order for en banc review, click here; to read a summary of the panel decision and obtain a copy of Judge Linn’s opinion, click here.
Hobart.com Domain Name Sale
An Australian domain name company has sold Hobart.com.au for $65,000 to a website hosting business after purchasing the website for just $875 back in 2005, highlighting the potential riches in buying and selling geographic domains.
See Article
See Article
Google Sued in New Zealand, and wins
Google NZ was sued for defamation. The lawsuit was dismissed on summary judgment, because it was decided that the Google NZ entity was not carrying on business in New Zealand and had no control over the search engine. The court left open the question of whether Google is responsible for defamatory material that it produces from its search engine.
See NZ Court Decision (A v. Google New Zealand Ltd) and comment.
See NZ Court Decision (A v. Google New Zealand Ltd) and comment.
Facebook Photo Removed
A business was found to have breached advertising standards in relation to a photo on Facebook. See Smart Company
Donuts Applies for Most gTLDs
The single most aggressive bidder for lucrative new web domains is a little-known investment group: Donuts Inc. Its $57 million play for 307 new domains - more than Google, Amazon and Allstate combined - has prompted alarm among industry groups and internet watchdogs.
See SMH
See SMH
Employees Violating Computer Misuse Policy
In July, the Fourth Circuit weighed in on the scope of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) in
WEC Carolina Energy Solutions, LLC v. Miller and found that the CFAA is not broad enough to impose liability on an employee who has
lawful access to his employer's electronic information but later
misuses that information - such as by stealing the employer's electronic
trade secrets. In taking this narrow approach to the CFAA and siding
with the Second and Ninth Circuits, the Fourth
Circuit has widened the circuit split over whether the CFAA applies to
disloyal employees who violate the computer use policies of their
employer. In this Legal Alert, Audra Dial and John Moye discuss the
Fourth Circuit's recent ruling and its impact for employers
drafting computer use policies as well as companies pursuing trade
secret claims through the CFAA.
See kilpatrickstockton.com
See kilpatrickstockton.com
United States of America v Dotcom
United States of America v Dotcom [2012] NZHC 2076 (16 August 2012)
http://www.nzlii.org/nz/cases/NZHC/2012/2076.html
New Cyber Data Laws
See Cyber Data Law story.
"NEW laws will allow authorities to collect and monitor Australians' internet records, including their web-browsing history, social media activity and emails. But the laws, which will specifically target suspected cyber criminals, do not go as far as separate proposed laws designed to retain every Australian internet user's internet history for two years in the name of national security. Under the laws passed yesterday, Australian state and federal police will have the power to compel telcos and internet service providers to retain the internet records of people suspected of cyber-based crimes, including fraud and child pornography. Only those records made after the request will be retained, but law enforcement agencies will be prevented from seeing the information until they have secured a warrant."
"NEW laws will allow authorities to collect and monitor Australians' internet records, including their web-browsing history, social media activity and emails. But the laws, which will specifically target suspected cyber criminals, do not go as far as separate proposed laws designed to retain every Australian internet user's internet history for two years in the name of national security. Under the laws passed yesterday, Australian state and federal police will have the power to compel telcos and internet service providers to retain the internet records of people suspected of cyber-based crimes, including fraud and child pornography. Only those records made after the request will be retained, but law enforcement agencies will be prevented from seeing the information until they have secured a warrant."
Publicity Monster
An interesting story about a company that promised to improve your Google rankings.
See Publicity Monster Investigated.
See Publicity Monster Investigated.
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