Federal Reporter, Third Series
999 volumes · 275,482 opinions
384 opinions in Federal Reporter, Third Series with a Wikipedia-sourced synopsis — the cases notable enough that someone wrote an encyclopedia article about them.
- Patchak v. Salazar (2011)632 F.3d 702 · United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Patchak v. Zinke, 583 U.S. ___ (2018), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court upheld the Gun Lake Trust Land Reaffirmation Act, which precludes federal courts from hearing lawsuits involving a particular parcel of land. Although six justices agreed that the Gun Lake Act was constitutional, they could not agree on why. In an opinion issued by Justice Thomas, a plurality of the Court read the statute to strip federal courts of jurisdiction over cases involving the property and held that this did not violate Article Three of the United States Constitution. In contrast, Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor, both of whom concurred in the judgment, upheld the Act as a restoration of the government's sovereign immunity.
- United States v. Kramer (2011)631 F.3d 900 · United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
United States v. Neil Scott Kramer, 631 F.3d 900 (8th Cir. 2011), is a court case where a Motorola RAZR cellphone was used to coerce a minor into engaging in sex with an adult. Central to the case was whether a cellphone constituted a computer device. Under United States law, specifically U.S.S.G.§ 2G1.3(b)(3), the use of computers to persuade minors for illicit ends carriers extra legal ramifications.
- United States v. Warshak (2010)631 F.3d 266 · United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
United States v. Warshak, 631 F.3d 266 (6th Cir. 2010) is a criminal case decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit holding that government agents violated the defendant's Fourth Amendment rights by compelling his Internet service provider (ISP) to turn over his emails without first obtaining a search warrant based on probable cause. However, constitutional violation notwithstanding, the evidence obtained with these emails was admissible at trial because the government agents relied in good faith on the Stored Communications Act (SCA). The court further declared that the SCA is unconstitutional to the extent that it allows the government to obtain emails without a warrant.
- Bryan v. MacPherson (2010)630 F.3d 805 · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Bryan v. McPherson, 630 F.3d 805 (9th Cir. 2009), was heard by United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in October 2009. Plaintiff-appellee Carl Bryan was tasered by defendant-appellant Officer Brian MacPherson after being pulled over to the side of the road for failure to wear a seat belt. The case considered whether MacPherson's use of a taser during a routine traffic stop violated Bryan's Fourth Amendment rights. The majority opinion, written by Kim McLane Wardlaw, declared that the use of the taser in this situation could be considered excessive force. Richard Tallman and Consuelo María Callahan wrote the dissent. This case affirmed that this use of a taser could indeed be considered excessive force.
- Doe v. Shurtleff (2010)628 F.3d 1217 · United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
Doe v. Shurtleff, 628 F.3d 1217 (10th Cir. 2010), was a United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit case assessing the constitutionality of Utah Code Ann. § 77-27-21.5, a law that requires sex offenders to register their internet identifiers with the state in order to "assist in investigating kidnapping and sex-related crimes, and in apprehending offenders." In this case, a convicted sex offender, appearing anonymously as John Doe, appealed a decision Archived January 4, 2014, at the Wayback Machine by the United States District Court for the District of Utah to vacate an order enjoining the enforcement of Utah Code Ann. § 77-27-21.5.
- Finjan, Inc. v. Secure Computing Corp. (2010)626 F.3d 1197 · United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Finjan, Inc. v. Secure Computing Corp., 626 F.3d 1197 (2010), was a patent infringement case by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit involving "proactive scanning" technology for computer security. The Federal Circuit made a mixed decision after hearing the appeals from both sides. In terms of infringement, the Federal Circuit affirmed Secure Computing's infringement on Finjan's system and storage medium patent claims but reversed the infringement on Finjan's method claim. In terms of damage award, the Federal Circuit not only affirmed the previous $9.18 million award by the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, but also remanded for the district court to assess the extra damages between the post-judgement and pre-injunction period.
- Securities & Exchange Commission v. Rajaratnam (2010)622 F.3d 159 · United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
SEC v. Rajaratnam, 622 F.3d 159 (2d Cir. 2010), is a United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit case in which defendants Raj Rajaratnam and Danielle Chiesi appealed a discovery order issued by a district court during a civil trial against them for insider trading filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The district court compelled the defendants to disclose to the SEC the contents of thousands of wiretapped conversations that were originally obtained by the United States Attorney's Office (USAO) and were turned over to the defendants during a separate criminal trial.
- Illinois v. Hemi Group LLC (2010)622 F.3d 754 · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Illinois v. Hemi Group, LLC, 622 F.3d 754 (7th Cir. 2010), was a personal jurisdiction case in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois' ruling finding personal jurisdiction based on Internet transactions. In the initial filing, the state of Illinois sued Hemi Group LLC (Hemi) for selling cigarettes to Illinois residents over the Internet in violation of state law and for failing to report those sales in violation of federal law. Hemi moved to dismiss the suit for lack of personal jurisdiction, but the district court found that the Internet transactions provided a basis for Hemi to be sued in Illinois.
- F.B.T. Productions, LLC v. Aftermath Records (2010)621 F.3d 958 · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
F.B.T. Productions, LLC, et al. v. Aftermath Records, et al. 621 F.3d 958 was a case in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dealt with how Federal Copyright Law applied to the sales and licensing contracts of music downloads and other downloadable copyrighted material. Specifically, the circuit court ruled that a licensing provision in the contract between F.B.T. Productions and Aftermath Records unambiguously applied to permanent downloads and mastertones offered through third party distributors. After reviewing the First Sale Doctrine and the nature of Aftermath's contracts with its distributors, the circuit court concluded that such downloads constituted a licensing of copyrights rather than a sale, causing Aftermath to pay higher royalties to F.B.T.
- Fujitsu Ltd. v. Netgear Inc. (2010)620 F.3d 1321 · United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Fujitsu Ltd. v. Netgear Inc., 620 F.3d 1321 (Fed. Cir. 2010), was a patent infringement case centered on three patents claimed to be required for full compliance of the IEEE 802.11 (WiFi) standard and the WiFi Alliance Wireless Multimedia Extensions (WMM) Specification. US patents 4,975,952, 6,018,642, and 6,469,993 were owned by Philips Electronics, Fujitsu, and LG Electronics respectively, and placed in the Via Licensing pool. The Via Licensing pool claimed to hold all patents required for a complete WiFi/WMM implementation. Netgear did not enter an agreement with Via Licensing but produced a series of products that conform to the WiFi standard and WMM Specification.
- Princo Corp. v. International Trade Commission (2010)616 F.3d 1318 · United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Princo Corp. v. ITC, 616 F.3d 1318 (Fed. Cir. 2010) was a 2010 decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, that sought to narrow the defense of patent misuse to claims for patent infringement. Princo held that a party asserting the defense of patent misuse, absent a case of so-called per se misuse, must prove both "leveraging" of the patent being enforced against it and a substantial anticompetitive effect outside the legitimate scope of that patent right. In so ruling, the court emphasized that the misuse alleged must involve the patent in suit, not another patent. The majority opinion substantially "entangle[d] patent misuse jurisprudence with antitrust concepts." The Supreme Court's subsequent opinion in Kimble v.
- Mohamed v. Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc. (2010)614 F.3d 1070 · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Mohamed et al. v. Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc., is a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of five victims of extraordinary renditions against Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc., which had provided services that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) used to perform renditions.
- Anonymous Online Speakers v. United States District Court (2010)611 F.3d 653 · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Anonymous Online Speakers v. United States District Court for the District of Nevada (In re Anonymous Online Speakers), 611 F.3d 653 (2010), is a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit lowering the standard a plaintiff must meet to compel identification of anonymous posters on the Internet. Quixtar, Inc. sued its competitor Signature Management TEAM, LLC for tortious interference with existing contracts. Quixtar claimed that TEAM created an Internet smear campaign involving anonymous postings of content that discredited Quixtar and its business practices. The district court ordered TEAM to identify three of the five anonymous authors who posted content about Quixtar. The Anonymous Online Speakers petitioned to the Ninth Circuit, challenging the district court's order.
- Fujifilm Corp. v. Benun (2010)605 F.3d 1366 · United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Fujifilm Corp v. Benun, 605 F.3d 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2010) was a case in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the judgment made by the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey that the defendants infringed patents owned by Fujifilm Corporation.
- Rio Grande Silvery Minnow v. Bureau of Reclamation (2010)601 F.3d 1096 · United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
Rio Grande Silvery Minnow v. Bureau of Reclamation, called Rio Grande Silvery Minnow v. Keys in its earlier phases, was a case launched in 1999 by a group of environmentalists against the United States Bureau of Reclamation and the United States Army Corps of Engineers alleging violations of the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. The case resulted in significant changes to water and river management in the Middle Rio Grande Basin of New Mexico in an effort to reverse the damage that had been done to the habitat of two endangered species. The waters of the middle section of the Rio Grande in New Mexico, running from north to south past the city of Albuquerque, have been used for irrigation for at least 1,000 years.
- Tiffany (NJ) Inc. v. eBay Inc. (2010)600 F.3d 93 · United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Tiffany (NJ) Inc. v. eBay Inc. 600 F.3d 93 (2nd Cir. 2010), was a landmark case in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit first addressed contributory trademark infringement in the context of online marketplaces. The case began in 2004 when Tiffany & Co. filed a complaint against eBay, alleging that the platform's conduct (i.e., facilitating and advertising the sale of counterfeit "Tiffany" goods) constituted direct and contributory trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and false advertising. Following a bench trial, the District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled in eBay's favor on all claims on July 14, 2008. Tiffany subsequently appealed to the U.S.
- Comcast Corp. v. Federal Communications Commission (2010)600 F.3d 642 · United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Comcast Corp. v. FCC, 600 F.3d 642 (D.C. Cir., 2010),was a ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia holding that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) does not have ancillary jurisdiction over the content delivery choices of Internet service providers, under the language of the Communications Act of 1934. In so holding, the Court vacated a 2008 order issued by the FCC that asserted jurisdiction over network management policies and censured Comcast from interfering with its subscribers' use of peer-to-peer software. The case has been regarded as an important precedent on whether the FCC can regulate network neutrality.
- United States v. John (2010)597 F.3d 263 · United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
In United States v. John, 597 F.3d 263 (2010) United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit interpreted the term "exceeds authorized access" in the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act 18 U.S.C. §1030(e)(6) and concluded that access to a computer may be exceeded if the purposes for which access has been given are exceeded. In particular, the court ruled that an employee would exceed authorized access to a protected computer if he or she used that access to obtain or steal information as part of criminal scheme. This case addresses the issue of the distinction between authorized access to information and subsequent use of information obtained through an authorized access for the purposes of CFAA.
- Layshock v. Hermitage School District (2010)593 F.3d 249 · United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Layshock v. Hermitage School District, 593 F.3d 249 (2010), was a freedom of speech case of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit concerning the online speech of a public school student. The appeals court affirmed the decision of the district court that the student's suspension for parodying his principal online was unconstitutional.
- United States v. Pineda-Moreno (2010)591 F.3d 1212 · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States v. Pineda-Moreno, 591 F.3d 1212 (2010) was a 2010 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals case regarding the use of GPS devices. The court ruled that placing a GPS tracking device on a personal vehicle without a warrant did not violate a suspect's Fourth Amendment rights, even if the vehicle was parked in the defendant's driveway at the time the device was placed. The case was reversed and remanded by the United States Supreme Court in light of United States v. Jones.
- Perfect Web Technologies, Inc. v. InfoUSA, Inc. (2009)587 F.3d 1324 · United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Perfect Web Technologies, Inc. v. InfoUSA, Inc. 587 F.3d 1324 (Fed. Cir. 2009), is a United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit case in which the court held that a patent can be invalidated due to the obvious nature of the asserted claims. Perfect Web, an e-mail marketer, sued its competitor InfoUSA for patent infringement, claiming that InfoUSA's bulk email distribution method infringed its Patent No. 6,631,400 ('400 patent). The district court initially found that the patent did not meet the non-obviousness requirement and was therefore invalid. On appeal, The Federal Court agreed that the patent was obvious because someone of ordinary skill could arrive at the patent claim using common sense.
- United States v. Kilbride (2009)584 F.3d 1240 · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States v. Kilbride, 584 F.3d 1240 (9th Cir. 2009) is a case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejecting an appeal from two individuals convicted of violating the Can Spam Act and United States obscenity law. The defendants were appealing convictions on 8 counts from the District Court of Arizona for distributing pornographic spam via email. The second count which the defendants were found guilty of involved the falsification of the "From" field of email headers, which is illegal to do multiple times in commercial settings under 18 USC § 1037(a)(3). The case is particularly notable because of the majority opinion on obscenity, in which Judge Fletcher writes an argument endorsing the use of a national community obscenity standard for the internet.
- LVRC Holdings LLC v. Brekka (2009)581 F.3d 1127 · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
LVRC Holdings v. Brekka 581 F.3d 1127, 1135 (9th Cir. 2009) is a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Decision that deals with the scope of the concept of "authorization" in the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The major finding of this case is that even if an employee accesses a computer for an improper purpose, such as one that violates the duty of loyalty to their employer, the employee remains authorized to access the computer until the employer revokes the employee's access. The findings of this case were upheld by another Ninth Circuit decision in United States v. Nosal, 676 F.3d 854 (9th Cir.2012) (en banc) and are the current law in this circuit.
- Arista Records, LLC v. Launch Media, Inc. (2009)578 F.3d 148 · United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Arista Records, LLC v. LAUNCH Media, Inc., 578 F.3d 148 (2d Cir. N.Y. 2009), is a legal case brought by Arista Records, LLC, Bad Boy Records, BMG Music, and Zomba Recording LLC (collectively, "BMG") alleging that the webcasting service provided by LAUNCH Media, Inc. ("Launch") willfully infringed BMG's sound recording copyrights. The lawsuit concerns the scope of the statutory term "interactive service" codified in 17 U.S.C. § 114, as amended by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 ("DMCA").
- Sinaltrainal v. Coca-Cola Co. (2009)578 F.3d 1252 · United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Sinaltrainal v. Coca-Cola, 578 F.3d 1252 (11th Cir. 2009), was a case in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld the dismissal of a case filed by Colombian trade union Sinaltrainal (National Union of Food Workers) against Coca-Cola in a Miami district court, demanding monetary compensation of $500 million under the Alien Tort Claims Act for the deaths of three workers in Colombia.
- Ovalles v. Holder (2009)577 F.3d 288 · United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Guerrero-Lasprilla v. Barr, 589 U.S. ___ (2020), was a United States Supreme Court case. The question before the Court was, "Is a request for equitable tolling, as it applies to statutory motions to reopen, judicially reviewable as a question of law?"
- Gordon v. Virtumundo, Inc. (2009)575 F.3d 1040 · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Gordon v. Virtumundo, Inc., 575 F.3d 1040, is a 2009 court opinion in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit addressed the standing requirements necessary for private plaintiffs to bring suit under the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003, or CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, 15 U.S.C. ch. 103, as well as the scope of the CAN-SPAM Act's federal preemption. Prior to this case, the CAN-SPAM Act's standing requirements had not been addressed at the Court of Appeals level, and only the Fourth Circuit had addressed the CAN-SPAM Act's preemptive scope.
- Barnes v. Yahoo!, Inc. (2009)570 F.3d 1096 · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Barnes v. Yahoo!, Inc., 570 F.3d 1096 (9th Cir. 2009), is a United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit case in which the Ninth Circuit held that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) rules that Yahoo!, Inc., as an Internet service provider cannot be held responsible for failure to remove objectionable content posted to their website by a third party. Plaintiff Cecilia Barnes made claims arising out of Defendant Yahoo!, Inc.'s alleged failure to honor promises to remove offensive content about the plaintiff posted by a third party. The content consisted of a personal profile with nude photos of the Plaintiff and her contact information. The United States District Court for the District of Oregon had dismissed Barnes' complaint.
- Ecolab, Inc. v. FMC Corp. (2009)569 F.3d 1335 · United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Ecolab v. FMC, 569 F.3d 1335 (Fed. Cir. 2009), is a decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC).
- Green v. Haskell County Board of Commissioners (2009)568 F.3d 784 · United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
Green v. Haskell County Board of Commissioners, 568 F.3d 784 (10th Cir. 2009), was a First Amendment case concerning the placing of a Ten Commandments monument on public property, an alleged violation of the separation of church and state.
- Abbott Laboratories v. Sandoz, Inc. (2009)566 F.3d 1282 · United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Abbott v. Sandoz, 566 F.3d 1282 (Fed. Cir. 2009), was a US patent law case argued before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that established a bright-line ruling regarding claims of patent infringement relating to disagreements over so-called “product-by-process” claims. The case was decided on May 18, 2009.
- United States v. Beckles (2009)565 F.3d 832 · United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Beckles v. United States, 580 U.S. ___ (2017), was a case in which the United States Supreme Court evaluated whether the residual clause in the United States Advisory Sentencing Guidelines was unconstitutionally vague. On November 28, 2016, oral arguments were heard, where a private attorney appeared for the accused, Deputy U.S. Solicitor General Michael Dreeben appeared for the government, and a professor appeared as a court appointed amicus curiae to defend the lower court's opinion. On March 6, 2017, the Supreme Court delivered judgment in favor of the government, voting unanimously to affirm the lower court.
- Nordyke v. King (2009)563 F.3d 439 · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Nordyke v. King was a case in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in which a ban of firearms on all public property and whether the Second Amendment should be applied to the state and local governments is to be decided. After several hearings at different levels of the federal court system, Alameda County, California promised that gun shows could be held on county property, essentially repudiating its ordinance.
- Rescuecom Corp. v. Google Inc. (2009)562 F.3d 123 · United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Rescuecom Corp. v. Google Inc., 562 F.3d 123 (2nd Cir. 2009), was a case at the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in which the court held that recommending a trademark for keyword advertising was a commercial use of the trademark, and could constitute trademark infringement.
- American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression v. Strickland (2009)560 F.3d 443 · United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression v. Strickland, 560 F.3d 443 (6th Cir. 2009), is a decision of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals involving a constitutional challenge—both facially and as-applied to internet communications—to an Ohio statute prohibiting the dissemination or display to juveniles of certain sexually-explicit materials or performances. The Sixth Circuit panel declined to resolve the constitutional issue but, instead, certified two questions to the Ohio Supreme Court regarding the interpretation of the statute. The Ohio Supreme Court answered both questions affirmatively and placed a narrowing construction on the statute. Since the Ohio Supreme Court's decision, the Sixth Circuit has not reheard the case.
- Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Eli Lilly & Co. (2009)560 F.3d 1366 · United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Ariad Pharmaceuticals et al. v. Eli Lilly and Company, 598 F.3d 1336 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (en banc), is a United States court case regarding accusations of infringement by Eli Lilly on U.S. patent 6,410,516 held by ARIAD Pharmaceuticals. The Federal Circuit ruled en banc to invalidate the patent for a lack of sufficient description of the invention. Amici briefing before the en banc panel was intensive, with 26 separate briefs filed, and the final decision has been heavily discussed by legal commentators. Its ultimate impact on biotechnology patents remains to be determined.
- In re Ferguson (2009)558 F.3d 1359 · United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
In re Ferguson, 558 F.3d 1359 (Fed. Cir. 2009) is an early 2009 decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, affirming a rejection of business method claims by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). One of the first post-Bilski decisions by a Federal Circuit panel, Ferguson confirms the breadth of the en banc Bilski opinion's rejection of the core holdings in State Street Bank & Trust Co. v. Signature Financial Group, Inc. Ferguson was brought as a test case by patent attorney Scott Harris in what proved to be an unsuccessful effort to compel the PTO to accept as patent-eligible subject matter a "paradigm," which is a pattern for a business organization. Harris was also one of the named inventors in the patent application.
- Doe v. See (2009)557 F.3d 1066 · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Doe v. Holy See, 557 F.3d 1066 (9th Cir. 2009), was a lawsuit involving the sovereign immunity status of the Holy See in relation to the Catholic sexual abuse scandal in the United States. The threshold question of law in the case was whether the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act allows the Holy See, a sovereign state in international law, to be sued for acts of local Catholic clergy. U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mosman ruled that the Holy See cannot be held liable because there was no relationship of employment in the case. Jeff Anderson, attorney for the plaintiff, said he would appeal the decision. The case was finally dismissed in August 2013.
- Anderson v. Jackson (2009)556 F.3d 351 · United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Anderson v. Jackson, 556 F.3d 351 (5th Cir. 2009) was a class action lawsuit seeking injunctive relief to prevent the demolition of four New Orleans public housing developments that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The suit alleged that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and state and city housing agencies were in violation of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937, the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (the Fair Housing Act), the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Prior to Hurricane Katrina, the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) planned to demolish and redevelop four deteriorated public housing developments: B.W. Cooper, C.J. Peete, St. Bernard, and Lafitte (collectively, "the Big Four").
- Yes on Term Limits, Inc. v. Savage (2008)550 F.3d 1023 · United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
Yes on Term Limits v. Savage (shortened YOTL v. Savage), 550 F.3d 1023 (10th Cir. 2008), is a case in which challenged Oklahoma's residency requirements for petition circulators. In 2007, the organization Oklahoma Yes on Term Limits filed a federal lawsuit against Oklahoma Secretary of State Susan Savage on First Amendment grounds. At the time, Oklahoma required petition circulators to be a state resident which it argued was "narrowly tailored" to uphold the integrity of the petitioning process in the state. Judge Tim Leonard of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma initially ruled in favor of the state of Oklahoma, but this decision was appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
- John Doe, Inc. v. Mukasey (2008)549 F.3d 861 · United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
John Doe v. Alberto R. Gonzales (originally filed as Doe v. Ashcroft, renamed Doe v. Gonzalez, and finally issued as Doe v. Mukasey) was a case in which the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Library Connection, and several then-pseudonymous librarians, challenged Section 2709 of the Patriot Act; it was consolidated on appeal with a separate case, Doe v. Ashcroft.
- In re Bilski (2008)545 F.3d 943 · United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
In re Bilski, 545 F.3d 943, 88 U.S.P.Q.2d 1385 (Fed. Cir. 2008), was an en banc decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) on the patenting of method claims, particularly business methods. The court affirmed the rejection of the patent claims involving a method of hedging risks in commodities trading, as non-patentable subject matter. Most importantly, the Court concluded, that machine-or-transformation test "was proper test to apply to determine patent-eligibility of process", and that the “useful, concrete and tangible result” of State Street Bank v. Signature Financial Group and AT&T Corp. v. Excel Communications, Inc. should no longer be relied upon. In In re Ferguson, 558 F.3d 1359, 1364–65 (Fed. Cir.
- Omega S.A. v. Costco Wholesale Corp. (2008)541 F.3d 982 · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Omega S. A. v. Costco Wholesale Corp., 541 F.3d 982 (9th Cir. 2008), was a case decided by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that held that in copyright law, the first-sale doctrine does not act as a defense to claims of infringing distribution and importation for unauthorized sale of authentic, imported watches that bore a design registered in the Copyright Office. It is contrasted with Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- Boschetto v. Hansing (2008)539 F.3d 1011 · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Boschetto v. Hansing, 539 F.3d 1011 (9th Cir. 2008) is a diversity jurisdiction case brought by California resident, Paul Boschetto ("Boschetto") against certain private corporations with their principal place of business in Wisconsin. The case involved the determination of the question whether the sale of an item via the internet consumer-to-consumer trading portal, eBay, by the defendants in Wisconsin to the plaintiff in California, was sufficient to confer personal jurisdiction over a non-resident defendant in the buyer's forum state.
- Wilson v. Libby (2008)535 F.3d 697 · United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Wilson v. Libby, 498 F. Supp. 2d 74 (D.D.C. 2007), affirmed, 535 F.3d 697 (D.C. Cir. 2008), was a civil lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on 13 July, 2006, by Valerie Plame and her husband, former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, IV, against Richard Armitage (individually) for allegedly revealing her identity and thus irresponsibly infringing upon her Constitutional rights and against Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney, Lewis Libby, Karl Rove, and the unnamed others (together) because the latter, in addition, allegedly "illegally conspired to reveal her identity." The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed.
- Jacobsen v. Katzer (2008)535 F.3d 1373 · United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Jacobsen v. Katzer was a lawsuit between Robert Jacobsen (plaintiff) and Matthew Katzer (defendant), filed March 13, 2006 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The case addressed claims on copyright, patent invalidity, cybersquatting, and Digital Millennium Copyright Act issues arising from Jacobsen under an open source license developing control software for model trains. In ruling on summary judgment motions the Northern District Judge ruled that liability for an open source copyright violation nevertheless did not support Plaintiff's claim for damages. The Ruling rendered Plaintiff's claim pointless since the Plaintiff could not recover money damages.
- United States v. Stevens (2008)533 F.3d 218 · United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
United States v. Stevens, 559 U.S. 460 (2010), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States, which ruled that 18 U.S.C. § 48, a federal statute criminalizing the commercial production, sale, or possession of depictions of cruelty to animals, was an unconstitutional abridgment of the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. After this ruling, the statute was revised by the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010 to have much more specific language indicating it was intended only to apply to "crush videos."
- Arar v. Ashcroft (2008)532 F.3d 157 · United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Arar v. Ashcroft, 585 F.3d 559 (2d Cir. 2009), was a lawsuit brought by Maher Arar against the United States and various U.S. officials pursuant to the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA), and the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York dismissed Arar's complaint due to lack of personal jurisdiction and national security and foreign policy considerations. This ruling was ultimately upheld by a divided en banc panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
- Parhat v. Gates (2008)532 F.3d 834 · United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Parhat v. Gates, 532 F.3d 834 (D.C. Cir. 2008), was a case involving a petition for review under the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 filed on behalf of Huzaifa Parhat, and sixteen other Uyghur detainees held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.
- Nader v. Brewer (2008)531 F.3d 1028 · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Nader v. Brewer, 531 F.3d 1028 (9th Cir. 2008) is a 2008 decision by the Ninth Circuit ruling that certain Arizona voting regulations were unconstitutional under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The original lawsuit was filed by Robert Barnes on behalf of Ralph Nader, Peter Camejo, Donald N. Daien, and Kendle H. Greenlee against Jan Brewer in her official capacity as Secretary of State of Arizona. The Supreme Court of the United States declined to hear an appeal on March 9, 2009.