courts

Sweet Irony: Righthaven Sued by Company It Used to Sue Others

Stevie Converse — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 10:38:26 -0500

Full article: Ars Technica
Nate Anderson
Righthaven is in the final throes of full collapse. The copyright lawsuit factory claimed to have less than $1,000 in operating capital when opposition lawyers attempted to collect a judgment against Righthaven, and the company's lawyers have simply been ignoring court actions and have not shown up for proceedings. One Righthaven defendant is now asking a court to hold them in contempt.

Broadcasters Take on FCC Indecency Rules in Supreme Court Showdown

Stevie Converse — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 09:57:05 -0500

Full article: Los Angeles Times
Joe Flint
The broadcast industry will try next week to persuade the Supreme Court to tell the government to back off when it comes to regulating content. On Tuesday, the high court will hear arguments from News Corp.'s Fox and Walt Disney Co.'s ABC that the FCC's rules regarding indecent programming and the way they are enforced by the agency are both vague and unconstitutional.

Aurora Resident Says Comcast Equipment Has Bugs -- Literally

Stevie Converse — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 07:55:23 -0500

Full article: Beacon-News
Matt Brennan
An Aurora, Ill., resident recently acquired his cable television service through Comcast. After the installer left his home, cockroaches began crawling out of the cable box in his parents' room, Munoz said. He said it looked like the equipment came from a different user, and was not new. This incident came shortly after Comcast employees filed a class action suit against Comcast for forcing them to install inadequate, bug-infested equipment at homes on Chicago's South Side.

Telecom Customers May Sue Government over Wiretapping, Court Says

Stevie Converse — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 11:31:45 -0500

Full article: Los Angeles Times
Carol J. Williams
An appellate panel reinstates a lawsuit against the federal government over post-9/11 warrantless wiretapping and sends the case back to U.S. district court for trial.

Media Minutes: December 30, 2011

Candace Clement — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:03:45 -0500

Media Minutes presents its countdown of the year in media. Among the important media stories of 2011: An appeals court ruled against further media consolidation, the Senate slapped down an attempt to kill Net Neutrality and the Occupy movement highlighted police mistreatment of journalists.

Web Companies, Privacy Advocates Weigh In on Supreme Court Case

Stevie Converse — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:55:50 -0400

Full article: Media Post
Wendy Davis
An upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case is drawing the attention of Web companies as well as consumer advocates, who say the ruling in the case could affect a broad swath of litigation about online privacy.

Journalist in Legal Fight with Obama Administration over Sources

Stevie Converse — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 11:37:59 -0400

Full article: Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders urges the Department of Justice to withdraw the appeal it filed in a bid to force <em>New York Times</em> reporter James Risen to testify about his confidential sources in the trial of Jeffrey Sterling, a former Central Intelligence Agency officer who is accused of leaking top-secret information.

Media Minutes: September 30, 2011

Candace Clement — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:04:00 -0400

Free Press filed a federal lawsuit to challenge the Federal Communications Commission’s Open Internet rules. And Black Voices for Internet Freedom is a new coalition of local and national organizations and leaders focused on keeping the Internet open and free from discrimination.

Taking on a Veteran Antitrust Judge in the AT&T Fight

Stevie Converse — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 10:55:33 -0400

Full article: New York Times
Michael J. De La Merced
As AT&T prepares to defend its $39 billion deal for T-Mobile against a lawsuit by the Obama administration, the two sides will face a judge who has refereed many big antitrust fights. Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle, in her 12 years on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, has overseen numerous antitrust cases brought by regulators. In a case this complex, with reams of market and technological data to consider, a jurist with experience presiding over antitrust matters may prove a boon for both parties.

Comcast’s NBC Universal Takeover Approved With Continuing Court Oversight

Stevie Converse — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 10:02:09 -0400

Full article: Bloomberg
Tom Schoenberg
Comcast, the largest U.S. cable company, won a judge's approval for its acquisition of NBC Universal with conditions that will maintain court oversight of the deal for two more years. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington ruled that the Justice Department and the combined company must report on arbitration actions initiated by online video distributors under the final judgment. The distributers feared they would lose access to NBC's content because of the acquisition.