courts

Supreme Court asks: Can feds require you to buy cell phones?

Foes of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate requiring Americans to buy health insurance have long argued that if the law is constitutional, a federal law forcing everyone to eat broccoli would be permitted as well.

During today's oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court, the justices instead asked a lawyer for the Obama administration this: Could Congress constitutionally require Americans to buy cell phones?

In other words, if Obamacare, as critics have labeled the Act, can require Americans to engage in commerce merely because they're breathing -- which is unprecedented in the history of the United States … Read more

Why you can't sue your wireless carrier in a class action

When AT&T slowed down Matt Spaccarelli's unlimited data plan on his iPhone, the unemployed truck driver from Simi Valley, Calif. took the country's largest phone company to court. And as a surprise to all, he won.

But Spaccarelli's victory rings hollow. In fact, the route he was forced to take -- suing AT&T by himself as opposed to employing a more influential and wider ranging class-action lawsuit -- illustrates just how difficult it is to change a carrier's business practice through legal means. Rather than big changes and a return of his … Read more

Japanese court besmirches Google's autocomplete feature

A Japanese man discovered that if he typed his name into Google search, more than 10,000 different suggestions popped up in the autocomplete feature allegedly relating his name to criminal acts. After Google reportedly refused his request to delete some of these words, the man decided to seek a court injunction against the Web giant in Japan.

The Tokyo District Court approved his petition last week, which demanded Google remove certain terms from autocomplete, according to a Kyodo News story published on the Japan Times Web site.

Apparently, the man (whose name was not made public) figured out the … Read more

Al Gore with Sean Parker at SXSW: 'Occupy democracy!'

AUSTIN, Texas--Former U.S. vice president Al Gore and Facebook's founding president Sean Parker argued passionately today that online communities must use the powerful tools at their disposal to save American democracy.

At South by Southwest (SXSW) here, Gore and Parker took the stage to tell an adoring crowd of several thousand that though they should be proud of the mass Internet activism that derailed the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), there is still a huge amount of work to be done if Americans want to keep special interests from perpetually forcing their agendas down society's throat.

Fortunately, … Read more

Apple says Samsung violated court order in patent case

Apple appears to be stirring up more legal headches for Samsung.

In a court document filed yesterday, Apple reportedly accused Samsung of only partially complying with a court order requiring the Korean handset maker to provide source code for the products involved in a patent suit, according to Bloomberg.

Samsung allegedly produced code for just one version of its 4G smartphones and Galaxy Tab tablets accused of patent infringement, Apple claimed in its filing. But the iPhone maker has contended that it needs to examine the source code for all versions of the products in question in order to prepare … Read more

Kodak aims to block Apple's renewed patent suit

Kodak has fired back at Apple in their ongoing courtroom battle, with the troubled photography company asking a judge to block Apple from reigniting legal proceedings on patents.

This latest tiff began last month when Apple requested permission from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan to file a patent infringement complaint against Kodak with the International Trade Commission, as well as a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Manhattan.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Kodak wants the patent dispute to be resolved as quickly as possible but believes that the renewed litigation should be put in … Read more

Note to self: Encrypt data, memorize password

In a case that serves as a reminder to: a) use encryption, and b) memorize the encryption pass-phrase, an appeals court has ruled that people have a constitutional right not to be forced to decrypt data that potentially includes evidence that could be used to prosecute them in court.

The Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination that prohibits authorities from forcing a suspect to reveal the combination to open a lock on a safe in an investigation also applies to the digital equivalent--data locked up with encryption, the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Northern District of Florida ruled yesterday. … Read more

German court rejects Apple bid to ban Galaxy phone, tablet

Apple's attempt to keep Samsung from selling its Galaxy 10.1N tablet and Galaxy Nexus smartphone in the country was rejected today.

"Samsung has shown that it is more likely than not that the patent will be revoked because of a technology that was already on the market before the intellectual property had been filed for protection," said Munich Regional Court Judge Andreas Mueller, according to Bloomberg.

Apple originally took aim at Samsung's devices--particularly the Tab--for bearing resemblence to its own products. Apple won an early injunction against Samsung's tablet in the country, forcing it … Read more

Supremes to Congress: Bring privacy law into 21st century

Editors' note: This is a guest column. See bios of Berin Szoka and Charlie Kennedy below.

Last week's unanimous decision of the Supreme Court in U.S. v. Jones (PDF) marks a major victory for constitutional rights.

While the justices split in their rationale, they agreed that protecting Americans' privacy in the digital age will require the Court to do a great deal more to untangle its confusing Fourth Amendment jurisprudence. That will likely take several more decisions -- and many years. Meanwhile, Congress should heed Justice Samuel Alito's call for legislation limiting government's ability to track … Read more

Apple's bittersweet week

Apple's celebration of record earnings was tempered this week by a grim report about working conditions at one of its component suppliers.

Obliterating its own earnings estimates, Apple reported quarterly revenue of $46.33 billion and profits of $13.06 billion.

"We're thrilled with our outstanding results and record-breaking sales of iPhones, iPads, and Macs," Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, said in a statement. "Apple's momentum is incredibly strong, and we have some amazing new products in the pipeline." Apple shares soar following historic earnings announcement Apple's biggest quarter by the numbers … Read more