The Second Circuit recently held that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional. That section prohibits recognizing same sex marriages under federal law. The court’s decision in Windsor v. United States is the second by a U.S. Circuit Court to find that this portion of DOMA violates the Constitution’s Equal Protection
October 2012
Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Foreign-Made Textbooks Case
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., a case addressing whether textbooks — and other copyrighted works — made abroad can be imported and sold in the United States without the copyright holder’s permission.
The Court’s decision will clarify to what extent § 109(a) of the Copyright…
Spectrum Watch: FCC Holds Broadcaster LEARN Program Workshop
On Friday, October 26, 2012, the Federal Communications Commission held its first workshop as part of its Learn Everything About Reverse-Auctions Now (“LEARN”) Program — a series that seeks to provide broadcasters guidance on the incentive auction process by which the FCC will reallocate a to-be-determined amount of broadcast television spectrum in the 600 MHz…
Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument on Standing Issue in Challenge to FISA Amendments Act of 2008
By David Fagan
By Alex Berengaut
On Monday, October 29, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Clapper v. Amnesty International (No. 11-1025), a challenge brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) against the FISA Amendments Act (FAA) of 2008. The FAA amended the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978 by authorizing new procedures for electronic…
FTC Finalizes Settlements with Companies for Exposing Sensitive Consumer Information through Installation of Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Software
By Mike Nonaka
On October 26, 2012, the FTC finalized settlements with Georgia auto dealer Franklin Budget Car Sales, Inc. and Utah-based debt collector EPN Inc. over charges that each company illegally exposed sensitive personal information of consumers by allowing peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing software to be installed on their corporate computer systems. The final settlements follow a notice-and-comment…
Free for Anyone with an “I Voted” Sticker?
As attention turns to the importance of voter turnout in deciding this election, a complaint filed in Colorado last week highlights a perennial in election law: restrictions on paying people to register or vote. While paying for votes with cash is rare, well-meaning offers of free pizza, coffee, t-shirts or ice cream can face the…
FCC Sets Comment Cycles for Additional Petitions Seeking to Clarify TCPA Provisions
In follow up to our previous blog entry on the subject, comment deadlines were set for additional petitions seeking to clarify TCPA provisions and related FCC rules. Comments on these Petitions are due on November 23, 2012, and reply comments are due on December 10, 2012.
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Oral Argument Scheduled in Aereo Appeal
On November 30, 2012, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral argument regarding whether to uphold the trial judge’s decision to decline to enjoin Aereo’s “Watch Now” television streaming service pending the outcome of a full trial. Major television networks and broadcast stations serving the New York City-area market are seeking to prevent…
FTC Issues Guidance on Best Practices for Facial Recognition Technology
This week, the FTC released a staff report urging companies to adopt best practices for commercial uses of facial recognition technology. The report, entitled Facing Facts: Best Practices for Common Uses of Facial Recognition Technologies, follows a workshop held last December and more than 80 public comments addressing issues raised at the workshop. Facing Facts…
Copyright Office Issues Notice of Inquiry on Orphan Works
By Covington
In parallel with international initiatives, which we have blogged about here and here, the U.S. Copyright Office has issued an initial Notice of Inquiry seeking comments on the vexing problem of what to do about orphan works. Generally speaking, an “orphan work” is a work protected by copyright, yet whose owner(s) cannot be located…