Just on the coattails of Roadshow Films v iiNet, we are about to get another landmark ruling on ISP liability. If there was any doubt that we are witnessing a legal struggle between intermediaries and content owners, we can lay those doubts to rest. Sabam v Tiscali has been a Read more
As was mentioned last week, we have been expecting an important ruling with regards to internet service provider (ISP) liability from Australia. Behold Roadshow Films Pty Ltd v iiNet Limited [2010] FCA 24. This is a case of tremendous importance because it is one of the first skirmishes in the Read more
It was supposed to be the British equivalent of high-profile cases such as PirateBay and the Jamie Thomas trial. It was supposed to act as a clear deterrent to a new generation of file-sharers against widespread copyright infringement. Instead, Alan Ellis, the founder of torrent tracking site OiNK has been Read more
(Via Jordan Hatcher) What are the rules with regards to contract formation through email? When exactly is a contract concluded if the negotiators have not disclosed the terms and conditions clearly? The case of Baillie Estates Ltd v Du Pont (UK) Ltd helps to elucidate some of these questions. The Read more
The adoption of the French version of three-strikes legislation has been filled with more plot twists than a Brazilian soap opera. First it got rejected by Parliament, then it passed, and now the French constitutional court has rejected it on the grounds that access to the Internet is a human Read more
The UK Intellectual Property Office has ruled in favour of an application for an invention implemented in software, and therefore complies with section 1(2) of the 1977 Patent Act. The controversy involves patent application GB2407893A by Nokia which protects “a method of rapid software application development for a wireless mobile Read more
Edited February 2012: This old entry is getting a lot of hits from Google, so I have decided to update it. There was an appeal to the sentence described below on October 2010, which reduced the sentences. On January 2012, the Supreme Court of Justice of Sweden denied another appeal Read more
A Federal jury in Los Angeles has convicted Lori Drew of three misdemeanour counts of computer fraud, specifically accessing a computer without authorisation. This is not unusual in itself, but the novelty of the decision is that Ms Drew’s conduct was to create a fictional MySpace account to bully neighbour Read more
I finally got around to reading In Re Bilski (via Groklaw), the latest landmark case in the United States with regards to patentability issues. While abstract ideas are not patentable, ever since the case State Street, the U.S. has allowed mere abstractions as patentable subject matter if they produce a Read more
I have been following with interest the software patent case of Symbian v Comptroller General for Patents. The Court of Appeals has rejected an appeal by the UKIPO, which seems to move English software patent rulings closer to te EPO Board of Appeals interpretation. As background, Symbian is a UK Read more