Bio-piracy: the story of US Patent #5,894,079In 1999, an American found some yellow beans in a Mexican market, named them Enola Beans and slapped a patent on them, allowing him to tax people who had been growing, consuming and exporting the beans for centuries. Ten years later, the patent has finally been scrapped.
Legal affairs
I’m being sued for millions for sharing mp3s
Joel Tenebaum faces up to $4.5m in fines for illegally downloading mp3s, but he’s refusing to “cave” to the music industry and its army of lawyers. He explains how sharing a few Nirvana tracks online has led to a multi-million dollar David vs Goliath battle.
Aboriginal patients may end up the real losers in ACC victory
After a long-running legal tussle, a remote Aboriginal health clinic has lost its battle against the Australian Crime Commission to safeguard the privacy of its patient records.
Hate speech, the hijab and western media
Despite the gruesome nature of Marwa el-Sherbini’s murder in a German courtroom by her neighbour, the western media have shied away from telling her story.
Madoff: I won’t appeal
Bernie Madoff’s lawyer tells The Daily Beast that the Ponzi schemer won’t be appealing his 150-year jail sentence, saying there’s no point: “If the court were to say, ‘150 years is excessive, but 40 years is not,’ what’s the point? …He is not going to walk out of prison at age 106.”
Madoff hires help to find the comfiest jail
Bernie Madoff has hired a “veteran prison consultant” to help find him the best possible prison in which to serve his 150-year jail term.
Judge bans Catcher in the Rye sequel
Author J. D. Salinger has won his court case to ban the US publication of a book by a Swedish author that is being touted as an “unauthorised sequel” to The Catcher in the Rye.
“Evil” Madoff sentenced to 150 years
Disgraced businessman Bernie Madoff has been sentenced to 150 years in prison for operating one of the largest frauds in Wall Street history, a crime described by the judge as “extraordinarily evil”.
Shell pays $15.5m over Saro-Wiwa death
Shell has agreed to pay a settlement of $15.5m over the death of Nigerian environmental activist and writer Ken Saro-Wiwa in 1995, after they allegedly provided the Nigerian army with vehicles, patrol boats and ammunition used in the killing.
San Francisco may fine non-recyclers
San Francisco city officials are likely to introduce a law making recycling and composting mandatory, with a $500 fine for people who don’t comply.
JD Salinger’s latest law suit
Though he is frail and deaf, JD Salinger is trying to halt an alleged sequel to Catcher in the Rye. The Smoking Gun has the Affidavit. Apparently Salinger has even refused a Spielberg film of the novel.
The Gatorade-Powerade showdown
Coke’s Powerade and Pepsi’s Gatorade are locked in an epic courtroom battle over the former’s advertising. Which drink will reign surpreme?
When copyright is specious: Salinger and The Catcher
The dogmatic insistence that The Catcher in the Rye is a masterpiece beyond change, adulteration or imitation is naïve at best, disingenuous at worst, writes Binoy Kampmark.
Could Google’s summaries get your website into trouble?
A Dutch website has been found liable for the way that Google summarised the content on the website. That’s what you call opening up a can of worms…
Dear Fairfax: Martin Bryant’s mother set to sue
Crikey has obtained a copy of a letter from Slater and Gordon to Fairfax Media on behalf of convicted serial killer Martin Bryant’s mother Carleen Bryant.
The search for an unbiased Pirate Bay judge
Finding a judge in Sweden who isn’t aligned with the Swedish Copyright Association is proving difficult for those involved in the Pirate Bay trial.
Shell goes to court over murder
Oil giant Shell is headed to court, standing accused of complicity over the 1995 murder of environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa.
Is Annie Leibovitz facing bankruptcy?
An involuntary bankruptcy petition is set to be filed against celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz, claiming she owes $189,00. If successful, her entire photographic archive could be taken.
Italian judges: lawyer guilty of lying to protect Berlusconi
Premier Silvio Berlusconi says he will respond to an Italian judicial panel’s determination that a British lawyer lied in court to protect him in exchange for $600,000. The three-judge panel released a 400-page document laying out its reasons for finding British lawyer David Mills guilty of corruption.
How I found out a killer was stalking me
Earlier this month, psychiatrist Jean Eric Gassy was found guilty of murder. Dr Peter Arnold writes that shortly after Gassy was charged, he was told that the accused was found carrying a photo of him.
Warhaft reaches for a lawyer in The Monthly fracas
The battle over Sally Warhaft’s departure from The Monthly could be about shift to the courtroom.
The anti-corruption czar and the caddy
The chief of Indonesia’s anti-corruption body has been accused of ordering the murder of a business executive who was caught up with him in a love-triangle.
Could Cheney be convicted for torture?
There’s a case to be made for prosecuting Dick Cheney and co. for torture-related offenses, but the real question is whether he’d ever get a conviction.
Guy Rundle: David Souter — the Republican’s Democrat
Appointing liberal-minded Republican David Souter to the Supreme Court bench has had momentous consequences for American society.
