Since we’ll be discussing patent law over the next couple of weeks, here is an article from IP Watchdog, with its assessment of the most important patent cases from last year:

http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2015/12/31/the-year-in-patents/id=64342/

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/233386

Because South Bend recently began allowing food trucks to operate in town, I thought this was a cool article detailing the legal aspects of operating such a business.  Please read before you purchase an old ice-cream truck and throw in a stove!

Based on this weeks copyright discussion I thought this would be an interesting article on a case brought against Spotify for copyright infringement.

I thought this was worth a read …

http://www.theverge.com/2015/7/8/8914817/tivo-spamming-aereo-customers

New case showing how the Safe Harbor provisions for Online Service Providers works. Here, the free-wifi provider is insulated from liability because they are treated as being a “mere conduit.” Specifically, transmitting, routing, or providing connections to people who ultimately infringe copyrights will not result in liability as long as certain criteria are met (e.g. initiated by another, carried out through an automatic process, recipients not selected, no accessible copies are made or unreasonably maintained, and the content is not modified).

http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=219d2792-7880-497e-a4f5-08ac24a0d359

Presidential candidates drawn into Napster debate

In honor of the upcoming presidential election and the Napster case today. A look back…

Yesterday, the Justice Department filed a motion for a continuance on a hearing set to happen today. They claim a third party has found a way to get access to the encrypted information on the phone used in the San Bernardino killing. The DOJ may ultimately end up dropping the case if Apple files a motion for discovery to know about the third-party method.  It has appeared the Justice Department’s motive was to set a legal precedent, and this may be a strategic decision to drop the case.

http://www.wired.com/2016/03/fbi-now-says-may-crack-iphone-without-apples-help/

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2016/03/17/study-immigrants-founded-51-of-u-s-billion-dollar-startups/

Recent Wall Street Journal article highlights a recent study, which showed that immigrants started more than half of the current crop of U.S.-based startups valued at $1 billion or more. Despite the lengthly and cumbersome process to be become a US citizen these immigrants are still making an impact on U.S. startups by utilizing H1-B visas. These visas do not guarantee citizenship and equate to another risk factor when starting a business.  With the impeding presidential election on the horizon these issues may become even more important no just at the border but for Silicon Valley.

The Family Medical Leave Act requires companies give workers 12 weeks of unpaid leave. However, companies with less than 50 employees are exempt. For companies that are greater than 50 employees, only 12% of workers are offered paid leave. Recently, the upcoming tech company Etsy adopted a policy of 6 months paid parental leave. Tech companies appear to be adopting more favorable policies in an effort to attract top talent.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2016/03/16/etsys-6-month-paid-parental-leave-the-new-normal-in-tech-as-u-s-law-lags/2/#7123cf058a3a

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-10-21/maternity-leave-why-small-businesses-should-offer-benefits#r=hpt-fs

… since I could not display it in class yesterday.

AUTM_Infographic_FY2014