US Supreme Court upholds rules used by patent-review board
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a system that has helped companies like Google Inc. and Apple Inc. invalidate hundreds of disputed patents without having to go to court.
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‘Stairway’ trial opens with questions about obscure ‘Taurus’
The trial over whether Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and Robert Plant stole the iconic opening riff to “Stairway to Heaven" opened with testimony about when the British rockers might have heard the 1968 song they’re accused of copying.
Ready to rock out at Zeppelin ‘Stairway’ trial? Try sheet music
Anyone with internet access can listen for themselves to whether Led Zeppelin’s opening “Stairway to Heaven” riff rips off a song recorded three years earlier. But the jury deciding the fate of the rock masterpiece — and its millions of dollars in royalties — won’t hear a simple mash-up with the obscure 1968 instrumental “Taurus” by the group Spirit.
Novel FedEx drug-shipping case left to skeptical judge at trial
Proving to jurors that FedEx Corp. is a criminal because it delivered illegal prescriptions from Internet drug stores was never going to be easy. Convincing a federal judge who questioned the “novel prosecution” may be even tougher.
Hospitals that mess up are urged to confess
A new approach promoted by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is explicitly aimed at saving hospitals money on malpractice litigation while encouraging more robust scrutiny of what went wrong.
Congratulations, your genius patent is now a military secret
Just a handful of people find themselves in Jim Geer’s position, forbidden by the government from pursuing ideas laid out in patent applications due to national-security concerns.
Merck’s patent win over Gilead reversed over false testimony
Merck & Co.’s $200 million jury verdict against Gilead Sciences Inc. was voided in a patent dispute over a breakthrough for hepatitis C because of misconduct by a witness at the companies’ trial.
Justice Thomas may be writing ruling in Puerto Rico debt case
Two opinions released Monday by the U.S. Supreme Court hinted that conservative Justice Clarence Thomas is likely to be the author of the decision expected within weeks in a closely watched case affecting Puerto Rico’s financial future.
As Koch brothers cling to Madoff cash, a new legal battle arises
Billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch have made plenty of good business decisions over the years. Placing millions of dollars with Ponzi-scheme mastermind Bernard Madoff may have been one of them.
Dell shareholders win hollow court victory over buyout price
Dell Inc. shareholders who thought they were fleeced by the deal that took the computer maker private in 2013 have scored a rare — though hollow — legal victory.
Trump says he’ll win lawsuit over his real estate school
Donald J. Trump claimed he’ll win a lawsuit alleging his namesake real-estate school swindled students as documents unsealed in a related racketeering case showed the hard sell given hesitant prospects.
State Farm gets US high court hearing in Katrina billing case
The case tests the U.S. False Claims Act, the law that lets whistle-blowers sue on behalf of the federal government and then collect a share of any funds recovered.
Uber vies to force arbitration in surge-price antitrust suit
Uber Technologies Inc. is trying to force an antitrust suit over the company’s surge-pricing algorithm into arbitration, arguing the class-action case is attempting to dodge a ban on customers taking disputes to court.
Madoff sons’ fight over cash endures long after their deaths
The trustee unwinding Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme is losing patience with the estates of the con man’s dead sons.
Oracle and Google to replay World Series of copyright trials
Oracle Corp. and Google are stepping before a jury a second time with potentially $9.3 billion on the line, and the prospect of profoundly changing how software is protected and licensed.
Facebook must face privacy claims over photo-tagging feature
Facebook Inc. users who say the social network’s photo-tagging feature flouts their privacy rights won the first round of a court fight.
Apple loses fight to keep ‘iPhone’ label off Chinese wallets
Apple Inc. lost its fight to keep the “iPhone” name exclusive to its products with a Beijing court deciding a little-known accessories maker can use the label for a range of wallets and purses.
PepsiCo’s Quaker sued for not flagging pesticide in oatmeal
Consumers in New York, California and Illinois sued PepsiCo Inc.’s Quaker Oats for false advertising, claiming the brand’s signature product contains a possible carcinogen that is not listed as an ingredient.
J&J faces 1,000 more talc-cancer suits after verdict loss
Johnson & Johnson must pay $55 million to a 62-year-old South Dakota woman who blamed her ovarian cancer on the company’s talcum powder in the second such trial loss this year.
In a divorce, who gets to keep the family dog?
Rudy is a 9-year-old German shorthaired pointer with a regal personality and loving owners who are divorced. The humans in his life agreed to a shared-custody arrangement: Every two weeks, Rudy goes back and forth between their two homes in western Massachusetts.