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Two summers ago, a unanimous Supreme Court struck down patent protection for a computerized method of reducing “settlement risk” in financial transactions. Since that case, Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International, IP attorneys and courts alike have struggled with how to treat software, computerized business methods. But, the Federal Circuit’s recent Enfish ruling may provide some guidance, opening the door to broader patent eligibility for inventions that might otherwise have been rejected for being abstract....

A seemingly harmless comment in the movie American Hustle led to a highly-publicized defamation suit in California. The suit has temporarily come to a resting place following a recent ruling. The ruling shows that, when it comes to defamation, context is everything. The plaintiff Paul Brodeur made headlines when it was revealed that he’d sued the producers and distributors of American Hustle alleging that Jennifer Lawrence’s character damaged his reputation. In the movie, a husband and wife are having an argument over whether or not microwave ovens denude foods of all their nutritional value....

With glory comes a price. American athletes took home a record 121 medals from the Rio 2016 Olympics, including 46 golds. But it’s not all profit, sunshine, and rainbows. The tax on winning even a single gold medal could be close to $10,000. So how much could multiple medal winners end up paying in taxes on the medals themselves and their bonuses? And is there any relief on the horizon?...

Normally at Tarnished Twenty we stick to the sports on the field/pitch/court/ice/turf, and we leave the criminal stuff to our FindLaw Blotter blog. But criminal law often overlaps with athletic activities, especially in the context of sports that take place outside stadiums and arenas. Here’s a list of sports you won’t find on ESPN and could get you arrested: BASE Jumping. Who doesn’t want to scale the unfinished tower at 1 World Trade Center and hurl themselves off, trying to deploy a parachute in time while also avoiding other buildings, vehicles, pedestrians, and, you know, cops on the way down?...

The Board of Directors of the University of Oklahoma’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter has retained attorney Stephen Jones, best known for representing Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. The hire comes after the chapter was recently barred from campus and evicted from their frat house following the release of video footage of showing members’ racist chanting. In a press conference Friday, Jones said that he had not been retained to initiate litigation, Oklahoma City’s KOKH-TV reports....

Justin Dale Little Jim is an officer of the U.S. Army. And, Little Jim is now facing charges after a blow-up doll arrest in Virginia after he broke into an adult store. Yes, a “blow-up doll” as in an adult toy that can be “blown up” which can then be used to (fill in the blank here). Little Jim was found inside an adult store which sells these blow-up dolls. Police dogs sniffed him out and found him in a precarious position: wearing women’s panties and trying to do the dirty with one of the dolls in a closet, reports The Washington Post....

You applied. You interviewed. They offered and you accepted. You might’ve signed a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement, and maybe you even got your first paycheck already. But, you’re having second thoughts about your new job, and wondering if it’s too late to walk out the door. The good news is, it’s probably not. The bad news is, the good news doesn’t always apply. The vast majority of employment is “at-will,” meaning that your employer can fire you for any reason or no reason at all (as long as it’s not a bad reason, like because of race or gender)....

The California State Bar Board of Trustees announced in December that it would be appointing Jayne Kim to a second four-year term as chief trial counsel, the state bar’s top prosecutor position. The chief trial counsel is responsible for investigating and prosecuting attorneys for professional misconduct, overseeing more than 200 employees and a $40 million budget. But Kim is a contentious choice for reappointment, after employees in the Office of Chief Trial Counsel overwhelmingly voted “no confidence” in her leadership in October....

Plenty of fans and maybe even some players have had their suspicions that a referee or umpire might be under the influence during a game. Few can say they’ve seen an official arrested for just that offense while the game was still going on. Count those attending a Princeville (AL) High School junior varsity baseball game among those few, as umpire Derek Bryant was arrested for public intoxication with just one inning left in the game....

A “divorce hotel” is slated to open in upstate New York, but its future customers should check up on the law before they check in. The Gideon Putnam Resort in Saratoga Springs, New York, is set to be the American launching point for a Dutch-based “Divorce Hotel,” one that has already been a “huge success” in the Netherlands, reports ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Divorce Hotel guests will be treated to two separate rooms, a divorce mediator, and presumably a legal divorce upon check-out....

Has this election cycle driven you to drink? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. You can take comfort in knowing that it will all be over soon, though. Tomorrow marks the last presidential debate before voters go to the polls. After the debate, there are less than 20 days until the contest is finally decided. The final debate, however, is particularly relevant for legal professionals, as the Supreme Court is scheduled as one of six topics to be covered....

Attorneys are generally more litigious than other people but the attorney who sued his daughter this week takes the cake. To be fair, Richard Fischbein’s daughter, Beth Fischbein-Bodner, is the one who first involved the legal system. She asked a judge for an accounting of her trust fund which she was supposed to collect back in 1990. As part of her request she accused him of mishandling the trust. In response, Fischbein filed a $3 million suit for libel against his own child....

PAI Corp. v. US, 10-5003, involved a plaintiff’s bid protest case challenging the government’s award of a support services contract to Innovative Technology Partnerships, LLC (ITP) by the Department of Energy’s Office of Secure Transportation, claiming that the contracting officer’s organizational conflict of interest created an advantage to ITP over other bidders. In affirmed the trial court’s entry of judgment in favor of the government, the court held that the contracting officer fully complied with the Federal Acquisitions Regulations (FAR) requirements....

Even though there has been a palpable change in the mood as to the continued viability of the large law firm model, BigLaw still is a crowd-drawer. Consumers and practitioners alike are always interested the latest on BigLaw scandals, career prospects, and money reports. Well, this time it’s money. This year, the biggest winner in the gross revenue category is Latham & Watkins, hardly surprising. What’s the number to top next year?...

A Missouri couple got more than they bargained for, twice, when they purchased an upscale home next to a golf course in 2007. First, the couple discovered that their new home was filled with up to 6,000 venomous brown recluse spiders, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Adding insult to injury, the couple prevailed in a lawsuit against the home’s previous owners, but was never able to collect the judgment nor were they successful in filing a claim with their insurance carrier....

As the effects of global warming are felt every day as we weather this drought, California legislators continue to debate how to deal with the impending effects of climate change. And as cap-and-trade is debated, California’s Department of Health is setting new standards by “adopting the nation’s first-ever drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium,” reports the Los Angeles Times. California Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) proposed a carbon tax on consumer fuels in February and his proposal was met with opposition on both sides of the aisle, reports The Associated Press....

City’s petition for review of an order of the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) awarding the full $125,000 death benefit to the California Department of Industrial Relations, Death Without Dependents Unit (DWD Unit), notwithstanding the City’s payment of $104,208 in death benefits to the deceased worker’s estate pursuant to Labor Code section 4702(a)(6)(B) is annulled because the escheat of a death benefit to the state after partial payment to the estate, in effect the award of two death benefits for a single death, is inconsistent with the governing statutes and the legislative policy they implement....

If you were to steal someone’s golf cart after assaulting them, crash said golf cart into a gate, then refuse to cooperate with police officers while slinging misogynistic and homophobic slurs their way, you would probably be arrested on suspicion of a laundry list of criminal offenses: robbery, auto theft, criminal damage, resisting arrest, and driving under the influence among them. If you’re lucky, prosecutors might whittle those charges down to a couple felonies (theft of a means of transportation and resisting arrest with physical force), charge the assault as a misdemeanor, and leave the DUI for city court....

Anyone who wants to complain about how overloaded their email inbox is, should check in with U.S. District Court Judge Robert W. Gettleman before opening their mouth. According to ABC News, as a result of an action by a defendant in a case before him, Judge Gettleman received so many emails they crashed his court computer and shut down his blackberry. So he did what any reasonable person would want to do; brought the person responsible up on contempt charges which look likely to include jail time....

Former Houston Texans punter Brett Hartmann is suing over a potentially career-ending knee injury that he blames on owners and managers of Reliant Stadium. Last December, Hartmann caught his foot between two pallets of grass on the field and tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) as a result. He also fractured a bone and has been trying to recover ever since, the Houston Chronicle reports. Hartmann still faces multiple surgeries and may never play professional football again....