Apple has also been engaged in litigation with Samsung [corporate website] in courts around the world. According to some commentators [JURIST op-ed], Apple's legal strategy has been an effort to influence the marketplace from the courtroom. Earlier this week a US judge denied [JURIST report] Samsung's request to keep sales data from some of its products sealed in its patent dispute with Apple. In October, a Dutch court ruled [JURIST report] that Samsung did not infringe on an Apple design patent. That same month, a UK court ruled [JURIST report] in favor of Samsung in a design infringement case, and the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed an injunction [JURIST report] against Samsung that prevented it from selling its Galaxy Nexus product. In August of 2012, Apple won [JURIST report] a $ 1.05 billion judgment against Samsung for violating Apple's smartphone and tablet technology related patents.

The Syrian government has been engaged in a bloody conflict with numerous opposition groups [BBC backgrounder] since March 2011 when nationwide protests opposing the government of President Bashar Assad [JURIST news archive] began. US President Barack Obama [JURIST news archive] has formally recognized [NYT report] the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces as the country's legitimate representative. Last month the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) [official website] released its latest periodic update [JURIST report] on the conflict, finding persistent violence and human rights abuses and that civilians have "borne the brunt" of the conflict. In October Pillay called on the international community to bring an end to the violence in Syria.

Apple and Samsung have been embroiled in continuous patent litigation in courts around the world. Last month Apple revealed an agreement [JURIST report] to withdraw patent claims against Samsung in the US District Court for Northern California for a new Samsung phone, Galaxy S III Mini, that the South Korea-based company said it was not offering for sale in the US market. In October the Dutch Rechtbank's-Gravenhage [official website] court ruled that Samsung did not infringe [JURIST report] an Apple software patent. That same month a UK court also ruled that Samsung did not infringe [JURIST report] an Apple design patent. In the same time frame Apple appealed a Tokyo District Court ruling [JURIST report] which dismissed the company's claim that Samsung had infringed its patents. At the beginning of October the Federal Circuit reversed an injunction [JURIST report] against Samsung that prevented it from selling its Galaxy Nexus. In August Apple won a $1.05 billion judgment [JURIST report] in the Northern District of California against Samsung involving other patent infringements.

The Catholic Church remains an influential institution in the Philippines where 80 percent of the population is Catholic. Last week the Church announced it would challenge the Reproductive Health law, arguing [JURIST report] that it undermines the value of marriage and increases promiscuity. The new law, which had been pending for 13 years, establishes mandatory sex education in schools and government funding for contraceptives and family planning services, and also guarantees all individuals the right to receive reproductive health care information. Philippine President Benigno Aquino [official profile] signed the bill into law on December 21 after both chambers of the parliament approved [JURIST report] it two days earlier.