Category Archives: good law

An FCC commissioner who gets it � read here, and spread the word. Continue reading →

One of the most frustrating aspects of Eldred was the crudeness, in many places, of the legal anaysis by the government, and courts. Distinctions that should have been important were ignored or glossed over. Arguments making distinctions that should have been important were just glossed over.

It is therefore extraordinarily encouraging to read this by the Court of Federal Claims in the case of Figueroa v. US. Judge Futey is exceptionally careful and subtle in his analysis of the claim about patent fees. I don’t know enough about the non-Eldred parts here, but the constitutional analysis is very well done. Continue reading →

Red Hat has apparently filed suit against SCO, and promised a fund to protect GNU/Linux. Continue reading →

Eben has written a wonderful (and short) piece mapping the possible claims SCO might be making against GNU/Linux, and why these claims have likely no basis in the law. Read the essay here. Continue reading →

The California Supreme Court has decided that Hamidi did not trespass when he emailed complaints about Intel to Intel employees. Continue reading →

It was an extraordinary week last week at the Supreme Court. Most of the press has focused on the Michigan affirmative action cases, which were of course important, and rightly decided. But I continue to be struck by the profoundly important decision in the Lawrence case, which found it beyond the government’s power to regulate the private, consensual sexual behavior of adults.

There will be gaggles of law review articles written about this, and lots of speculation about the continued life of privacy jurisprudence. But I was struck by a more tangible reaction to the decision that says a great deal about how it feels to those it affects.

We’re living in the Castro in San Francisco while renovations on our house are completed. As anyone who has driven through this neighborhood knows, at Market and Castro there is a huge Gay Pride flag that flies every day of the year. Huge — maybe the largest flag I have ever seen.

I was out of town on the day of the decision. But I am told that the day after Lawrence was decided, the Gay Pride flag came down. An American flag was raised in its place.

It was an extraordinary moment that said more about the importance of this decision than any commentary ever could. Continue reading →

Dave and the Berkman Center folks have been building a “user agreement for weblog hosting at Harvard Law, and a privacy policy. We hope it could become a template for other universities, schools, libraries, perhaps even businesses.” Comments and help invited. Continue reading →

The White House has announced a new spectrum initiative. Continue reading →

So this is very cool — the 7th Circuit posts mp3s of its argument, so you can hear the argument in Aimster here. (Thanks to Howard Bashman.) Continue reading →

Nicely summarized here. Continue reading →