Vermont became first state to outlaw fracking
May 18, 2013
On May 18, 2012, Vermont became the first US state to ban hydraulic fracking when Governor Peter Shumlin signed Bill H. 464 into law. Hydraulic fracking is a method used by many major oil companies to extract natural gas and obtain shale oil and gas by using an extremely pressurized mixture of water....... [more] 
Federal judge denies class action certification in Google copyright case
May 16, 2013
A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Wednesday denied a motion to certify a putative class action against Google's YouTube involving copyright owners from around the world. Named plaintiffs included the English Premier League, the French Tennis Federation, the N....... [more]
Wells Fargo ordered to pay $203 million for misleading customers
May 16, 2013
A federal judge on Tuesday reinstated a $203 million penalty against Wells Fargo in a class action suit alleging that the bank affirmatively misled customers and then charged excessive overdraft fees. Rather than processing purchases in a chronological order, as is the common practice, the bank proc....... [more]
Germany court orders Google to remove defamatory autocomplete results
May 14, 2013
The Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe on Tuesday ordered Google to remove defamatory autocomplete results if notified. The plaintiffs, an unidentified company selling nutritional supplements and its founder, claimed when their names were entered on Google's German-language website, autocomplete....... [more]
Supreme Court rules for Monsanto in seed patent dispute
May 13, 2013
The US Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday in Bowman v. Monsanto that a farmer who buys patented seeds may not reproduce them through planting and harvesting without the patent holder's permission. Monsanto holds a patent on genetically-modified seeds that utilize Roundup Ready technology. The se....... [more]
Federal appeals court splits on patentability of software and business methods
May 11, 2013
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Friday ruled per curiam that an abstract idea is not patentable simply because it is tied to a computer system. Analysts say the ruling could have severe implications on software and business method patents. In the case, CLS Bank v. Alice Corporatio....... [more]
DOJ filed discrimination suit against Arizona sheriff
May 10, 2013
On May 10, 2012, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a discrimination suit in the US District Court for the District of Arizona against the Sheriff's Office of Arizona's Maricopa County and Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The claim alleged that Sheriff Arpaio and his office unlawfully and systematically disc....... [more]
Italy appeals court upholds Berlusconi tax fraud conviction
May 8, 2013
A Milan appeals court on Wednesday upheld the tax fraud conviction of former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, affirming his four-year sentence. He was convicted in October on charges that his media empire Mediaset purchased television rights for US movies through offshore companies and fal....... [more]
Federal appeals court blocks Florida law barring contracts with Cuba, Syria businesses
May 7, 2013
The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on Monday upheld a lower court ruling blocking enforcement of a Florida law that denies government contracts to companies that do business in Cuba or Syria. The law was challenged last year by Odebrecht Construction, a Brazilian company that would be....... [more]
European Commission investigating Motorola for abuse of injunctions against Apple
May 6, 2013
The European Commission on Monday sent a Statement of Objections informing Motorola Mobility, a telecommunications equipment corporation owned by Google, of its preliminary view that the company's seeking and enforcing of an injunction against Apple in Germany is an abuse of its market position. Th....... [more]
US lawmakers released draft of online child privacy act
May 6, 2013
On May 6, 2011, two congressmen, Edward Markey and Joe Barton, released a draft of legislation they aimed to introduce in the US House of Representatives; the bill would have prevented companies from tracking the Internet activity of minors without parental consent. The congressmen introduced the le....... [more]
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