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In January, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in two patent cases originating in the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals: Limelight Networks, Inc. v. Akamai Technologies, Inc. and Nautilus, Inc. v. Biosig Instruments, Inc. Both cases were granted cert. on the same day, and the decisions in both cases were handed down on the same day. Read on to learn how the Court decided. In Limelight, the Court had to determine whether a party may be liable for inducing patent infringement, even though there was no direct infringement....

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the California Supreme Court’s 2011 People v. Maikhio warrantless search ruling this week. The denial could be bad news for California’s parks enthusiasts, as it means that game wardens still do not need a warrant to stop cars exiting the state’s hunting and fishing grounds. The case originated in San Diego, where a game warden, who was surveilling a public fishing pier with a spotting telescope, witnessed fisherman Bouhn Maikhio catching and bagging either a lobster or a fish....

When it comes to managing your workforce over the summer, or in warm weather climates, having heat wave related policies can go a long way to keeping employees happy and minimizing your company’s exposure to various hot weather liabilities. Employees that suffer heat exhaustion, or heat stroke, on the job, will likely miss work, cause disruption to other employees, and may even have workers compensation claims. To minimize these risks, employers need to specially tailor their policies to best protect their employees, their own interests, and, most importantly, the bottom line....

Pittsburgh Steelers’ Hines Ward’s DUI has come at a bad time for both Ward and the NFL. And, it begs the question: what’s next for Hines Ward? A NFL suspension? Ward was arrested in Georgia last week, charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, reports CNN. He was released on a $1,000 bond. Ward’s agent maintains that he was not driving under the influence, CNN reports. Ward recently gained more notoriety as the winner of the last season of Dancing with the Stars....

The holidays are supposed to be about love, family and cheer. This is supposed to be the season of goodwill and giving. But for some? Last week was anything but. This edition of T.G.I.Findlaw! focuses on some of the stranger crimes committed over Christmas break. There were dozens to choose from, but the following won out for one specific reason: The weapons. Families who attack together, stay together. In jail. A teenage tiff sent one Jackson, Tenn....

We normally refrain from giving legal advice on these blogs, but we can say with certainty that you should never drive drunk. And if you’re driving drunk and need to go to the bathroom, you should pull over at a safe place and find a restroom. What we’re pretty sure you should not do is urinate from the open door of your vehicle. Don’t do that. That’s bad, and illegal....

Montee Ball was sent to the hospital following an unprovoked attack by five men early Wednesday morning. Ball, star running back of the Wisconsin football team, was a Heisman Trophy finalist last year. It’s not clear if his high-profile status around Madison played a role in the attack. As a result of the beating, Ball suffered head injuries, reports ESPN. Ball didn’t know his attackers and the assault is classified as “unprovoked,” according to an incident report....

Let’s face it, counsel: it is about the money. Especially when it comes to compensation, few professions rank as high as the legal profession in bowing to the almighty dollar. Make that at least a million dollars. The homage goes for men and women alike, but this post is just about female lawyers. Here’s to the highest-paid women general counsel: A Tough Job In-house jobs are often perceived as cushy because corporate attorneys are not slaves to the billable hour....

Okay, class sizes are down slightly. Applications are down more than slightly. The market is correcting for the lack of employment opportunities for law graduates. This is something that we can all be happy about, right? But who is avoiding law school? Apparently, per a recent study, it’s white applicants who are eschewing a legal education, at least outside of the top tier schools. And while that means there is a more diversity (again, outside of the top tier schools), is this actually a good thing?...

In 2017, things got a little weird. Criminal and civil law has always attracted some odd characters and some odd scenarios, but this year seemed to take the cake. Here are some of the oddest legal stories from 2017: Sure, the answer may seem simple, until you remember that corporations are people when it comes to the law. And the first lawsuit demanding that an elephant’s legal right to be treated as a thing and not be imprisoned argued that pachyderms should be afforded the same legal recognition as people....

So we’ve made it through another week of How to Get Away With Murder, the best worst show on television, and it looks like Annalise might survive this season as well. Though the theme of this season is “who shot Annalise?” everyone’s favorite Crim Law prof. might live to see season three. This week’s episode featured no sex scenes, no shots of Annalise chugging warm vodka, and only a few glaring legal errors....

Eight days after the New Year and we finally have the Federal Circuit’s first precedential opinion of 2015. Patents? Trademarks? Tariffs? You wish! Instead, Schwalier v. Hagel is about a promotion that never came to pass. Air Force Brigadier General Terryl Schwalier was nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate to the rank of major general. He was supposed to be appointed in 1997, but the appointment got delayed and President Clinton decided not to appoint him after all....

In a recent case out of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeal applying the Alice v. CLS standard, the appellant unsuccessfully sought to overturn a district court’s dismissal. The case, Two-Way Media LTD. v. Comcast Cable Communications, was dismissed as the district court found the patent claims ineligible for protection under section 101. In short, the court relied on the rational in Alice to determine that Two-Way Media’s patent claims were directed at abstract ideas and did not contain the necessary additional elements required to transform the nature of the claims into ones that are patent eligible....

Millennials are driving a trend towards shared office space, as they try to save money while starting new businesses. It’s not just a thing; it is “the thing’ in commercial real estate. The supply of shared office spaces has gone from 14 to more than 11,100 in the past ten years. That’s an increase of nearly 80,000 percent. It’s exciting for the real estate business, but an issue for general counsel who watch for problems with shared liability....

Karma’s a … well, you know what karma is. And so do Eldon Alexander and Korin Vanhouten of Ogden, Utah. The couple was caught shoplifting Thursday afternoon at a WinCo Foods grocery store. And while they were inside being questioned, a different thief was outside breaking into their truck. That’s right – the shoplifters were robbed while they were off stealing someone else’s stuff. Eldon Alexander and Korin Vanhouten only took about $50 worth of merchandise, according to ABC News....

We can certainly appreciate a lawyer who is willing to go above and beyond for his client. That’s arguably better than falling asleep during your client’s cross-examination. But assisting your client with breaking and entering is a good way to lose your license. And we’re not just speaking in hypotheticals here. The New Mexico Supreme Court suspended attorney Raymond T. Van Arnam from practicing law for two years last week. To be readmitted at the end of his suspension, he will have to undergo a psychological evaluation and submit to a fitness assessment, the Alamogordo Daily News reports....

Trial court’s grant of defendant-employer’s motion for nonsuit in plaintiff’s wrongful termination suit is reversed and remanded as the public policy in favor of the employer’s duty to pay overtime wages protects an employee from termination for making a good faith but mistaken claim to overtime. Read Barbosa v. Impco Tech., Inc. , No. G041070 [HTML] Read Barbosa v. Impco Tech., Inc. , No. G041070 [PDF] Appellate Information Filed November 30, 2009...

If you are a prospective law student who is currently weighing her options between schools, no doubt estimated debt figures have entered into your analysis. But how much can you rely on these figures? According to the opinion of Shannon Achimalbe at Above the Law, you’d be prudent to watch your step. Those numbers could be double or even triple when reality hits. Thomas Jefferson School of Law Strikes Again Thomas Jefferson School of Law has gotten quite a bit of media attention recently due to a certain student’s lawsuit....

Protip: If you are in the habit of using or possessing illegal drugs, don’t reside with a probationer — especially one subject to “search terms”. Williams lived with Brandy Ermi (the appellant) and her child. They all shared one bedroom. The officer searched that bedroom, and while searching, noticed a tan purse sitting out in the open in the middle of the room. Was it the probationer’s purse? Probably (and it seems factually) not....

The California prison system can’t seem to stay out of the news – or controversy – for that matter. Earlier this month the Supreme Court denied California Governor Jerry Brown’s application to stay a court order requiring California to reduce its prison population. And one month prior, we saw the initiation of a hunger strike (“Massive Hunger Strike”). On July 8, 2013, the Massive Hunger Strike was started, by prisoners in California prisons, protesting the prolonged use of solitary confinement and the controversial “debriefing policy” where prisoners must provide officials with gang-related information in order to get out of solitary....