Litigation

In Association for Molecular Pathology v. USPTO, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York invalidated patents related to isolated BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility genes. The surprising aspect of the decision was the reason for invalidity ' the district court held that the isolated genes did not constitute patentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. ' 101.

In pharmaceutical and medical device litigation, the failure-to-warn claim continues to be among the most common causes of action. This article examines some of the key factors involved in proving causation in a failure-to-warn case, and discusses recent case law in this area.

Comcast Corp.'s courthouse victory over the FCC in April might not turn out to be a win for the company after all if it speeds the path for wider regulation of broadband services. In a move that some say would spark the "World War III" of communications law, advocates for consumers and content providers want the FCC to reclassify Internet service providers as telephone-style common carriers.

A New York Supreme Court judge has thrown out a suit by Sony Music Entertainment against a competitor record company and one of the competitor's top executives, who allegedly breached a $3 million employment contract with Sony.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed a securities suit brought by several investing financial institutions against Paramount Pictures.

Many articles have been written about the enforcement of non-compete agreements in franchise cases. The "textbook" law is clear, and we address that law in this article. However, the message that we in the franchise bar have been sending our clients about the law may not be so clear: Nobody really "wins" these cases ' except the lawyers who take them to court.

A recent decision from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in 405341 Ontario Limited v. Midas Canada Inc., calls into question the some common practices of franchisors in Canada.

In the wake of a stinging defeat in court, the Federal Communications Commission finds its ability to regulate the Internet in question, its signature "net neutrality" initiative hanging by a thread. Now, the agency faces several unpalatable options.