Free Republic

U.S. Supreme Court limits where patent-infringement cases can be filed; decision could limit venue-shopping “The Supreme Court on Monday limited the ability of patent holders to bring infringement lawsuits in courts that have plaintiff friendly reputations, a notable decision that could provide a boost to companies that defend against patent claims,” Brent Kendall reports for The Wall Street Journal. “The high court, in an opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas, ruled unanimously that a lower court has been following an incorrect legal standard for almost 30 years that made it possible for patent holders to sue companies in almost any U.S....

REUTERS/ANDREW KELLY - A federal judge has thrown out a verdict requiring Apple Inc (AAPL.O) to pay VirnetX Holding Corp (VHC.A) $625.6 million for infringing four patents relating to Internet security technology, causing VirnetX's share price to plunge. VirnetX shares were down $1.93, or 44.6 percent, at $2.40 in Monday morning trading, after earlier falling to $2.14. In a decision late Friday, U.S. District Judge Robert Schroeder in Tyler, Texas said it was unfair to Apple that two VirnetX lawsuits had been combined into a single trial. He said jurors may have been confused by more than 50 references to...

Apple has been hit by one of the more shocking patent lawsuits in recent memory.A company that seemingly does nothing but license patents or, if necessary, sue other companies to get royalties, has taken aim at Apple But here’s the kicker: the lawsuit alleges that Apple’s last several iPhones and iPads violate a slew of patents related to seemingly standard features, including the ability to place calls as well as sending and receiving emails. A total of six patent infringement claims were brought against Apple by Corydoras Technologies on May 20, according to Apple-tracking site Patently Apple, which obtained...

Update: CNBC confirms that the New York Fed is part of a consortium that have launched a lawsuit against BofA regarding Countrywide mortgages. Shares are now off 3%. Original post: Interesting! Shares of Bank of America (BAC) are getting crushed on headlines that the New York Fed and PIMCO are about to jump on the Bank of America mortgage putback bandwagon. It's particularly surprising to see the NYFED jump in on the action, since that means they'd be actively working to weaken Bank of America. PIMCO is private, so their only interest is making more money. It makes sense. All...

4 In Your Corner continues to investigate the Rocket Docket. That's the speedy-foreclosure process in Southwest Florida's 20th Judicial Circuit. We have the story of one Charlotte County man who's trying to stop it. As a notary public with over 20-years experience, Ron Gillis scrutinized his mortgage documents preparing for his foreclosure hearing. And he claims to have found on paper what many of you have complained to 4 In Your Corner about, mortgage fraud and falsified documents; and in the courtroom, violation of due process and rogue judges. That's why he's filing complaints against foreclosure judges Leeann Schreiber and...

There's no polite way to put this. A growing cancer is infecting the backlogged legal process of foreclosing on hundreds of thousands of homes in Florida. It's endangering the legal and economic stability of this state. And it's exposing an appalling lack of leadership, first for allowing such a breakdown in the legal system and, now, for failing to own up to this mess and get it fixed. How bad is it? Laws governing who actually owns a foreclosed home are becoming so suspect a new buzzword is emerging: blighted titles. Even the tepid rebound of Florida's economy may face...

snip> Last month, Palm Beach County Senior Judge Roger Colton opened his afternoon foreclosure session by telling homeowners that he'd heard all their stories before, and he would give them a maximum of five months before letting lenders take their homes. "I know all about the Chinese drywall problems. I know all about sickness," Judge Colton said. "I know all about divorce. I know all about anything else as to why we find ourselves in this position today." In the first case, Judge Colton signed a final summary judgment giving Everhome Mortgage Co. the right to foreclose on a Lake...

When Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum announced a probe into one of the state’s largest foreclosure law firms for allegedly fabricating legal papers used to speed up foreclosures, Hobe Sound attorney Trent Steele dubbed it “a good beginning.” That’s because for a couple of years, he and other foreclosure attorneys have been questioning suspicious looking documents lenders have presented to judges statewide to expedite the thousands of foreclosure cases grinding their way through the courts. “It’s far more than forging signatures,” Steele said about what he and other lawyers have witnessed first-hand. “I have never seen this kind of institutionalized...

ROANOKE - A “dramatic overreach of power.“ That’s how Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli described the health care reform bill that passed the House of Representatives Sunday night. In an interview with Washington D.C. NBC affiliate WRC on Monday, Cuccinelli laid out his justification for plans to file a lawsuit against the federal government over health care reform.

Within minutes of President Obama's signature on a sweeping health care reform bill Tuesday, the Commonwealth of Virginia filed a lawsuit that argues the law unconstitutional. Similar moves are coming from at least a dozen other states. "We're off in the Rocket Docket," said Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who filed the suit. The Rocket Docket is what legal insiders call the United States District Court in Richmond because of its reputation for settling cases quickly. Cases that now include Virginia's lawsuit against the Obama health care law.

Cuccinelli going to court to ‘defend Virginia’. A-G to file suit in ‘Rocket Docket’ today – noon “not unreasonable” Sometime just after 11.15a.m. theAttorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Ken Cuccinelli, will file an unprecedented suit questioning the constitutionality of the health care reform bill passed by the House of Representatives this past Sunday.

BetaNet on Monday filed a lawsuit against 18 companies, including Apple, Adobe and Microsoft. Filed in the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, the lawsuit claims the companies violate the ‘134 patent, entitled “Secure System for Activating Personal Computer Software at Remote Locations.” The patent was issued on June 22, 1993, according to the lawsuit. BetaNet specifically mentions Apple’s iTunes, Aperture, QuickTime and MobileMe as infringing on its patent. The lawsuit describes Apple’s violation like this: “The program file contains a first executive control program, representing a limited version of the program file. License transaction information is entered in the...