The tension between Bahrain's government and protesters has been increasing since the violence during last year's protests. Earlier this month the Bahrain Information Affairs Authority (IAA) [official website] announced [JURIST report] that it brought charges against 15 police officers for alleged "mistreatment of inmates in custody" amid complaints about police activity. In June the government also announced [JURIST report] that it would pay $2.6 million in restitution to the families of protesters killed in pro-democracy protests last year to comply with the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) [official website]. In April, AI condemned the country for its continued human rights violations despite reforms following the BICI report [JURIST reports] concerning human rights violations committed against anti-government protesters.

In May the UNAMI released a report stating that Iraq's human rights situation remains fragile [JURIST report], calling on the government to increase its effort to provide an equal environment in which all citizens are protected under the law regardless of their social, religious, ethnic and other distinguishable status. Earlier in May, Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] reported [JURIST report] that mass arrests and incommunicado detentions continue in Baghdad's prison that was planned to be closed. In 2011, UNAMI and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) [official website] reported [JURIST report] that human rights violations continue in several regions of Iraq. Similar findings were made several months earlier by Amnesty International [advocacy website] in its report [text, PDF] revealing [JURIST report] that governmental authorities shot and killed protesters while detaining and torturing political activists. In 2010, it also reported [JURIST report] on the government's unlawful arrests and tortures against thousands of detainees.

Earlier this month, a Ukrainian appeals court postponed [JURIST report] the appeal hearing challenging Tymoshenko's corruption conviction and seven-year sentence. This marked the third postponement in the case. The case was last postponed in June [JURIST report]. The new date was set to August 16 following the request of the prosecution. In April Tymoshenko returned [JURIST report] to prison after being sent to a clinic for medical treatment. A month earlier the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website] urged [JURIST report] the Ukrainian government to ensure that the former prime minister would receive adequate medical treatment. Although Tymoshenko has previously indicated that she would discontinue all appeals in Ukrainian courts [JURIST report], she is required to exhaust all national options before appealing to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website].

[The IMB] is an independent body set up to monitor these attacks free of political interference. IMB strongly urges all shipmasters and owners to report all actual, attempted and suspicious piracy and armed robbery incidents to the IMB PRC. This is an essential first step in the response chain. The statistics and reports of the IMB PRC act as a catalyst to encourage firm response by government and law enforcement.

In May the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit [official website] ruled that the legal definition of maritime piracy [JURIST news archive] includes an armed attack to hijack a ship, even if the attempt is unsuccessful. Earlier that week a United Arab Emirates court sentenced 10 Somali pirates [JURIST report] to 25 years in prison. Also that week six accused Somali pirates went on trial [JURIST report] in a Paris court for taking 30 crew members hostage in 2008 on a ship in the Gulf of Aden. The US government in March handed over 15 suspected Somali pirates [JURIST report] it had captured in January to the Republic of Seychelles for prosecution. Italy ordered its first international piracy trial in February against nine Somali pirates, while France began its first international piracy trial [JURIST reports] in November. In October the UN Security Council adopted a resolution encouraging states to criminalize and punish piracy after maritime piracy reached an all-time high [JURIST reports] last year. The UN also donated $9.3 million [JURIST report] in 2010 to fund piracy courts in Seychelles and Kenya, the only two countries that have created such courts

Apple and Samsung have been embroiled in continuous patent litigation around the world. Earlier this month, a UK court ruled [JURIST report] in favor of Samsung in a design infringement case brought by Apple alleging that three of Samsung's tablets infringed upon Apple's registered design patents while Samsung denied infringement. The court held that the designs of Samsung's Tablets 10.1, 8.9 and 7.7 did not infringe upon the Community Registered Design No. 000181607-0001 which belongs to Apple. On the other hand, a judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of California [official website] issued an injunction [JURIST report] against Samsung to stop the sale of its Galaxy Nexus smartphone in the US. Judge Lucy Koh held that Apple is likely to succeed on the merits in the litigation and would likely suffer irreparable harm if Samsung's sale of its smartphone is not stopped immediately. A week earlier, Koh had already granted [JURIST report] an injunction against Samsung blocking the sale of its Galaxy 10.1 tablet computer while the patent infringement case is reviewed. Apple filed a suit [JURIST report] against Samsung in April of last year alleging that Samsung committed 10 patent infringements, two trademark violations and two trade dress violations by copying iPhone and iPad technology in making its "Galaxy" products. In June, the District Court of The Hague ruled [JURIST report] in favor of Samsung against Apple holding that Apple was liable for infringing upon one of the Korean company's four patents, a 3G patent. In March Samsung filed suit [JURIST report] against Apple in the Seoul Central District Court in South Korea alleging Apple had infringed three of its utility patents.

Kodak, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January, has used patent litigation in recent years as a major part of the struggling company's strategy to generate revenue [Reuters report]. Last month Kodak won permission from the bankruptcy court to sell over 1,100 digital imaging patents to help repay creditors. The patents make up over one-tenth of Kodak's digital-capture portfolio for devices such as digital cameras, smartphones and tablets, a portfolio that has generated more than $3 billion in revenue since 2001. Kodak filed suit against Apple and RIM in 2010, alleging violations of the Tariff Act of 1930 "in the importation into the US, the sale for importation, and the sale within the US after importation of certain mobile telephones and wireless communication devices featuring digital cameras, and components thereof" that infringe Kodak's patent claims. Additionally last month Kodak filed suit against Apple [JURIST report] in bankruptcy court, claiming that currently Apple erroneously maintains ownership of 10 patents, also covering how digital cameras preview images, developed when the two companies worked together in the early 1990s. Apple is also a potential purchaser of Kodak's digital-capture patents.

The ACLU and PUPAT are concerned that these types of patents limit the amount of research that can be done and the availability of diagnostic tests associated with these genes to women in need. They filed a petition for certiorari [JURIST report] in the Supreme Court in 2011 after the Federal Circuit ruling that the patents were valid. This decision was contrary to the position of the Obama administration, which filed an amicus curiae brief [JURIST report] in support of the ACLU and PUBPAT. JURIST Guest Columnist Doreen Hogle [official profile] argued that the Mayo decision raised questions as to what innovations are subject to patent law protection and may result in stifled investment in technology [JURIST comment].

The Philippines has been facing criticism for numerous human rights violations. Earlier this month, two UN Special Rapporteurs urged [JURIST report] the government of the Philippines to protect human rights defenders and ensure that they can pursue their work without interference. The call came after killings of rights defenders such as Fr. Fausto Tenorio who was found murdered in Mindanao last year and death threats directed against the families of such defenders. In April, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] sent a letter to the chief of staff of the nation's military calling the Philippines to address the issue of numerous human rights abuses and hold perpetrators accountable [JURIST report]. HRW urged action in four areas: ending impunity for extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances; addressing abuses by paramilitary forces; ceasing falsely tagging children as rebel fighters; and ending military use of schools. The human rights group had already urged the government to act on human rights violations last year when it announced that the country's authority has failed to investigate and prosecute extrajudicial killings [JURIST report] tied to the country's military. In July 2010 President Benigno Aquino [BBC profile] signed an executive order to set up a "truth commission" to investigate allegations [JURIST report] that the outgoing administration engaged in corruption and human rights violations. The move came after he announced [JURIST report] earlier that month his plans for the investigation into the allegations.

West Bank settlements have caused tension between Israel and Palestinian authorities as well as criticism by international groups despite the Israeli parliament's vote [JURIST report] last month against legalizing the unauthorized settlement. Last month the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories Richard Falk demanded [JURIST report] Israel cease its demolition [press release] of Palestinian buildings in the West Bank settlements after finding that the demolition of Palestinian structures such as houses, animal shelters, water cisterns and roads have risen by 87 percent from last year. Israel responded to international investigations into these settlements by announcing [JURIST report] in March that it will sever ties to the UN Human Rights Council. The announcement came after the UN body initiated its investigation to determine the effect that Israeli settlements have had on the civil, political, economic and cultural rights of the Palestinian people. Even in March 2010, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official profile] called [JURIST report] Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank "illegal."