5 posts and columns on Court of Appeals

News Byte

Court Undoes Microsoft Win in Patent Case

in News on January 4, 2011 at 2:37 pm PT

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled today to reinstate a jury decision from an April case that found Microsoft’s anti-piracy software installation system infringed a patent held by Uniloc Singapore Private Ltd. The judge in the original case had thrown out the jury’s finding. The court also ruled, though, that a new trial is required to determine how much Microsoft should pay, stating that the jury’s $388 million award to Uniloc was “fundamentally tainted.”

Google Wins YouTube Copyright Suit; Viacom Promises Appeal

in Media on June 23, 2010 at 1:32 pm PT

Google has won its long-running case against Viacom, which accused the search giant’s YouTube of massive copyright infringement. Viacom promises to appeal the federal court ruling, which says that the video site is indeed protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. It’s a really big deal.

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines: Time for Another Round of Cable Deals?

in Media on August 28, 2009 at 10:21 am PT

Did a federal court just give underemployed M&A guys a boost? Could be: The United States Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., has overturned a longstanding cap on cable-system ownership. If the decision holds up, it could well start another round of dealmaking similar to the one we saw at the beginning of this decade in which the industry consolidated to about half a dozen major players.
carey_cable_guy

Voices

TiVo Off; Appeals Court Stays Ruling Vs. EchoStar, DISH

in News on July 2, 2009 at 5:50 am PT

TiVo shares this morning are heading lower after the company said the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has granted a request by EchoStar to stay a contempt order imposed by a lower court pending the outcome of EchoStar’s appeal in the the patent dispute between the two companies.

Voices

Cablevision: Supreme Court Won’t Block Network DVR

in News on June 29, 2009 at 9:50 am PT

The U.S. Supreme Court today cleared the way for Cablevision to offer a network DVR service, allowing consumers to record copies of television programming “in the cloud,” rather than on set-top boxes. Without comment, the court refused to review a Court of Appeals ruling that rejected claims by film studios and television networks that the network DVR approach would infringe copyrights.