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WTO Tells China To Ease Regulation of US Media
Headline Topics |
2009/08/12 11:50
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According to Courthouse News, the World Trade Organization handed the United States a major victory on Wednesday with a ruling that China can't claim exclusive distribution rights to the CDs, DVDs, books, music and other media products made by US companies and sold in China.
The United States filed suit in March 2008, after unsuccessfully trying to get China to lift its hold on distribution. China required all US media producers to route their products through Chinese state-owned companies.
The WTO issued the 464-page ruling last month, but the opinion wasn't released to the public until Wednesday. The WTO panel supported many of the claims made by trade associations representing US media companies such as EMI, Sony BMG, McGraw-Hilland Simon amp; Schuster.
Hollywood studios like Warner Bros., Disney and Paramount were less successful in challenging China's purported duopoly, or requirement that US films go through one of two distributors, a restriction not imposed on Chinese films. |
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Judge Limits Reliance Theory In BDO Seidman Securities Case
Headline Topics |
2009/08/11 09:18
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According to The Legal Intelligencer, a federal judge has denied a motion for class certification made by a group of investors seeking to hold accounting firm BDO Seidman responsible for poor returns on their purchase of notes and other securities from American Business Financial Services.
In determining whether the plaintiffs in emMalack v. BDO Seidman/em met qualifications for receiving class status, US District Court Judge Thomas N. O'Neil Jr. for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania gave a lengthy analysis of the varying cases in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and other district and circuit courts that dealt with the issue at hand in emMalack/em --a fraud-created-the-market theory of reliance. The theory relaxes the burden of proof for plaintiffs regarding reliance when it comes to newly issued securities, which is what the plaintiffs purchased from now bankrupt ABFS.
The idea is that because the notes are new and the price isn't determined by the market, but by the seller, investors can rely on securities laws to protect them from fraud. |
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Suquamish Tribe Can Fish Outside Usual Areas
Headline Topics |
2009/08/10 13:46
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Courthouse News reports the Suquamish Tribe can fish in Puget Sound areas outside their traditional grounds, the 9th Circuit ruled, explaining that a 1978 federal court decision clearly allowed the tribe to fish in Saratoga Passage and Skagit Bay.
The Skagit Tribe and federal government challenged the Suquamish Tribe's fishing in these Puget Sound zones, as the Suquamish only recently changed their fishing patterns to include these areas.
The Suquamish Tribe, along with the state of Washington, appealed US District Judge Ricardo Martinez's grant of summary judgment to the Skagit Tribe.
The 9th Circuit found that the 1978 decision, written by now-deceased US District Judge Boldt, unambiguously defined the Puget Sound as bounded from the northern tip of Vashon Island to the Fraser River. This clearly includes Saratoga Passage and Skagit Bay, the appeals court said, as these regions lie in the sound's center. |
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Court Overturns $2.5M Patent Award For Exergen
Headline Topics |
2009/08/07 08:41
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According to Courthouse News, the Federal Circuit reversed a $2.5 million award for Exergen in a patent dispute over infrared thermometers.
Systems Application of Advanced Technology (SAAT) makes radiation-detecting thermometers that allegedly infringe on Exergen's patents. The thermometer detects radiation from skin near the temple on a person's forehead and converts the reading to the patient's oral temperature.
The case proceeded to trial, and the jury awarded Exergen $2.5 million in lost profits, finding that SAAT had directly violated two patents and induced infringement of a third patent. The jury also rejected SAAT's defense that the patents weren't valid.
However, as the case was appealed, both the circuit court and the district court agreed that SAAT's argument, known as inequitable conduct, requires it to identify the who, what, where and how of the alleged misrepresentation or omission. In this regard, SAAT's pleading fell short, Judge Linn concluded.
The court reversed the final judgment for Exergen on validity and infringement, and dismissed SAAT's inequitable conduct claim. |
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Navy Can Keep Weapons Files Secret, Court Says
Headline Topics |
2009/08/06 09:13
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Courthouse News reports that the US Navy does not have to disclose the locations and potential blast ranges of military weapons stored on a small island in Puget Sound, a 9th Circuit panel ruled in a 2-1 opinion.
Glen Scott Milner, a lifelong Puget Sound resident and member of the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action, filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking information on weapons stored at Washington's Naval Magazine Indian Island. Though the Navy oversees all operations on the island, the weapons are also used by US Joint Forces, the Department of Homeland Security, and other federal agencies and allied forces.
Milner managed to buy a section of the Navy's operations manual on the Web - information that the Navy considers restricted, the ruling states. He then sought documents listing the types of weapons and explosives kept on the island and their arc maps, along with safety instructions and operating procedures.
The Navy withheld 81 of the 1,000 files that met his parameters, and Milner filed suit in order to view the remaining documents.
The Seattle-based appellate panel allowed the government to keep those 81 documents confidential, because they fell under FOIA Exemption 2, which protects internal personnel rules and practices. The three-judge panel rejected Milner's attempt to cast the exemption as applying only to law enforcement materials. |
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National Park Security Checkpoints Upheld
Headline Topics |
2009/08/05 09:08
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According to Courthouse News, the 9th Circuit on Tuesday upheld the use of checkpoints at the entrances to the Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks to stop illegal hunting.
The checkpoints ensnared Ricardo Fraire, who was charged with drunk driving after a ranger smelled alcohol on his breath and observed that his eyes were bloodshot and glassy. Fraire gave the ranger permission to search his vehicle, where the ranger found several open alcohol containers.
Fraire argued that the checkpoint violated his Fourth Amendment right against unlawful search and seizure.
Finding the security stops reasonable, the three-judge panel in San Francisco upheld the lower court's ruling for the government. |
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Gambling Challenge Too Late, Ohio Justices Rule
Headline Topics |
2009/08/04 09:05
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According to Courthouse News, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that it is too late for gambling opponents to object to a petition for an initiative that would legalize more gambling in Ohio.
The Ohio Jobs and Growth Committee filed a petition in June that, if passed by voters, would allow casino gambling in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo.
A horse-track operator objected to the petition, challenging the validity of some of the signatures and addresses.
Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner ruled on July 21 that the petition had enough valid signatures to make it onto the ballot.
In a per-curiam decision, the Ohio Supreme Court justices ruled that Brunner did not have the obligation to investigate the matter further. |
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