No charges
0 0 Mark Devlin Mark Devlin2015-09-16 16:15:242015-09-16 16:15:24No chargesLoses KitKat trademark fight
Nestle fails to convince judges that it has the right to trademark the shape of its KitKat four-finger chocolate bar. The judges say that the company must demonstrate that the public relies on the shape alone to identify the snack. However, this was difficult to prove since the chocolate bar also shows the brand name. Cadbury has fought to prevent Nestle from obtaining the ruling, as it would stop other confectionery producers making chocolate bars of the same shape or size. Both companies said they are “pleased” with the ruling, and the case will now return to the UK’s High Court for a final decision.
Arrested
Mohamed is arrested after taking a homemade clock to school. The clock — a circuit board with a power supply wired to a digital display — is confiscated during English class because the alarm kept beeping.
She was like, it looks like a bomb. It doesn’t look like a bomb to me.
He is taken out of class by the principal and questioned by five police officers who demand to know his intentions and why he brought the device into school.
They were like, ‘So you tried to make a bomb? I told them no, I was trying to make a clock. He said, ‘It looks like a movie bomb to me’.
They take him to a juvenile detention center. He is suspended from school and may still face charges of making a hoax bomb. Mohamed’s father, who emigrated from Sudan:
He just wants to invent good things for mankind. But because his name is Mohamed and because of Sept. 11, I think my son got mistreated.
I expect they will have more to say tomorrow, but Ahmed's sister asked me to share this photo. A NASA shirt! pic.twitter.com/nR4gt992gB
— anildash.com (@anildash) September 16, 2015
Direct Message class action suit
A proposed class action lawsuit claims that Twitter surreptitiously eavesdrops on its users’ private Direct Message communications. For example, if a user privately tells a follower through the service to check out a story on nytimes.com, providing a full URL, Twitter will modify this into a custom link such as “http:/t.co/CL2SKBxr1s” (while still displaying the text “www.nytimes.com” to its users). The lawsuit says that by sending users to Twitter’s analytics servers before passing them on to the linked-to website, Twitter is benefiting by demonstrating to The New York Times and others where the source of the traffic is.
The end result is that Twitter can negotiate better advertising rates.
The claimed damages are as high as $100 per day for each Twitter user whose privacy was violated
Dancing Baby case will go to trial
A three-judge panel in The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, clears the way for the “Dancing Baby case” to go to trial. The court rules that fair use is “uniquely situated in copyright law so as to be treated differently than traditional affirmative defenses,” and copyright holders like Universal must consider fair use before issuing takedown notices asking services like YouTube to remove videos that include material they control. EFF:
Today’s ruling sends a strong message that copyright law does not authorize thoughtless censorship of lawful speech.
RIAA:
We respectfully disagree with the court’s conclusion about the D.M.C.A. and the burden the court places upon copyright holders before sending takedown notices.
Embezzlement charge
Japanese prosecutors charge Karpeles with embezzling 321 million yen ($2.66 million) by transferring clients’ funds deposited at Mt.Gox’s bank account to other accounts. Sources say the money was spent on buying computer software development rights and an expensive custom-built bed. Karpeles is suspected of falsifying data on the outstanding balance of the exchange. Karpeles has denied the charges, telling investigators the data falsification was done for the company and he had intended to pay back the money. He has been held without formal charge for six weeks, as allowed under Japanese law.
Drops appeal
Pao drops her appeal against Kleiner Perkins, saying she cannot afford the risk of incurring additional costs to fight the company. Pao says she has not reached a settlement with the firm and will pay some of its $275,000 legal fees.
This battle has been painful for me personally and professionally, and also for my family. It is time to move on. I look forward to continuing the conversation about workplace equality and to building great companies in the technology industry.
Kleiner Perkins said in a statement that it was glad to put the case behind it.
There is no question diversity in the workplace is an important issue. KPCB remains committed to supporting women and minorities in venture capital and technology both inside our firm and within our industry.
Released
Judge Bunning releases Davis, saying he is satisfied that her deputies fulfilled their obligations to give marriage licenses to same-sex couples in her absence. Bunning’s new order says Davis, once free, still cannot interfere with her deputies issuing marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples. Davis is released from jail, and says she plans to return to work this week. When a reporter asks if her stay in jail was worth it, she smiles and nods. Attorney:
I can guarantee you, knowing Kim, she loves God, she loves people, she loves her work, and she will not betray any of those three. She’ll do her job good. She’ll serve the people…and she’ll also be loyal to God, and she’s not going to violate her conscience.
$6.4 million wrongful death settlement
Baltimore officials reach a $6.4 million wrongful death settlement with Gray’s family. The deal still must be approved on Wed 9 September by the city’s Board of Estimates, the governing body that oversees the city’s spending. $2.8 million will be paid to Gray’s family this fiscal year, and $3.6 million in the fiscal year beginning next July. The settlement also calls for the Baltimore police department to begin requiring its officers to wear body cameras. The mayor’s office says the settlement will resolve any civil claims against the city, the police department and the individual officers, but is not an admission of liability and would not impact the criminal cases.
The proposed settlement agreement going before the Board of Estimates should not be interpreted as a judgment on the guilt or innocence of the officers facing trial. This settlement is being proposed solely because it is in the best interest of the city, and avoids costly and protracted litigation that would only make it more difficult for our city to heal and potentially cost taxpayers many millions more in damages.
‘Misbehavior before the enemy’ charge
Bergdahl is charged with “misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of a command, unit or place and prompting the military to launch search operations,” according to an Army statement. The charge carries a potential life sentence.
Files appeal
Attorneys for Davis appeal a judge’s decision to put her in jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The three-page motion amends Davis’ earlier appeal of the judge’s order
Indecent exposure
Police say a woman tells them she was walking towards the restroom of a West Palm Beach Burger King when she noticed Jefferson King, a homeless man, touching himself inappropriately.
Woman: What are you doing?
King: What? I’m playing with my penis.
When a store manager asked King to leave, he refused and continued to touch himself. King is facing a charge of indecent exposure of sexual organs, and is being held at the Palm Beach County Jail in lieu of $1,000 bail.
Arrested
U.S. District Court Judge Bunning orders Davis remanded into to U.S. Marshall custody until she complies with his order to issue the licenses as her job requires. Bunning said he didn’t think fining a defiant Kentucky clerk would force her to comply with his order to issue marriage licenses. Davis testifies for about 20 minutes at the hearing and is very emotional.
I didn’t have to think about it. There was no choice there. Marriage is between one man and one woman. You can’t be separated from something that’s in your heart and in your soul.
Bunning:
The court cannot condone the willful disobedience of its lawfully issued order. If you give people the opportunity to choose which orders they follow, that’s what potentially causes problems.
#KimDavis leaves Fed Building in handcuffs. pic.twitter.com/ymJcPVDaQW
— JonathanPalmer (@JonathanPalmer) September 3, 2015
Four-match suspension vacated
U.S. District Judge Berman vacates NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s decision in July to uphold Brady’s four-game suspension over his alleged role in a scheme to deflate footballs used during a January playoff victory. Berman found Goodell’s ruling was plagued by “several significant legal deficiencies,” including a failure to notify Brady beforehand that his alleged conduct could be punished by suspension. The NFL can appeal the decision. Berman:
The court finds that Brady had no notice that he could receive a four-game suspension for general awareness of ball deflation by others or participation in any scheme to deflate footballs.
Four charged in drive-thru attack
Four people are charged in the assault of a McDonald’s drive-thru worker in LaPlace, a city about 25 miles west of New Orleans. Kailin Holland, 17, is charged with felony battery and released from jail on a $10,000 bond. Misdemeanor summonses for simple battery to two others, and a disturbing the peace charge for the fourth person.
Orders separate trials
Williams orders separate trials for the defendants. He rejects a prosecution motion that Officer Goodson, the van driver; Officer Nero, who had helped arrest Gray; and Sergeant White, who was an on-duty supervisor, should be tried together and the other three separately.
Having Officers Goodson and Nero together is not in the interest of justice.
Charges stand
The defense motion for the charges to be dropped is denied by Circuit Court Judge Williams. Defense attorneys had sought to drop the charges because of prosecutorial misconduct on the part of State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby. said that while he was “troubled” by some of the comments Mosby made during a May 1 news conference, they did not compromise the defendants’ right to a fair trial. The judge also deniess a motion to recuse Mosby and her staff due to what defense attorneys characterized as conflicts of interest.
Parents file claims
Steinle’s parents, Jim Steinle and Liz Sullivan, file three claims seeking unspecified damages against San Francisco’s Sheriff Mirkarimi, the Bureau of Land Management and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to hold them accountable for her death. If the claims are denied, the family could file wrongful death suits. Lawyer:
Both statistics and this gentleman’s history would tell you that what happened out on Pier 14 was not only forseeable, it was predictable.
The Steinle family say they were prompted to act after witnessing weeks of finger-pointing over the killing and no change in the sanctuary city policies. Brother:
We’re here to make sure that a change is made so no one has to endure the pain my mom and dad and I go through on a daily basis. Because the system failed our sister. And at this point, no one has taken responsibility, accountability, and nothing has changed.
Illegal business practices suit
New York state’s attorney general Schneiderman files a $40 million lawsuit against Trump and his for-profit investment school, accusing them of engaging in illegal business practices. The suit alleges the Trump Entrepreneur Institute – called Trump University until 2010 – operated without an educational license while misleading consumers into paying for courses promising to teach Trump’s real estate investment techniques. More than 5,000 people nationally took the courses, paying $40 million. The lawsuit seeks restitution of at least $40 million, as well as a disgorgement of profits, penalties and an injunction. Schneiderman:
No one, no matter how rich or popular they are, has a right to scam hard-working New Yorkers.
Sentenced
A judge in Egypt sentences three Al-Jazeera journalists to jail for supporting the banned Muslim Brotherhood and operating in Egypt without a licence; Greste and Fahmy for three years, while Mohammed receives an extra six months for possessing a single bullet. Greste will avoid imprisonment as he was deported to Australia and was being tried in absentia, but Fahmy and Mohamed are immediately taken back into police custody after the verdict was given. Greste:
Whatever the consequences, the fact is that this is a judgment that is not based on evidence. Anyone who watched the trial, and we had many people broadcasting or reporting on the trial … none saw any evidence to substantiate the allegations. So we need also to call on international pressure, on governments and diplomats around the world, to make it clear to Egypt that it cannot make these kinds of judgments. The fact is this is wrong, this is unjust, this is unethical, this is immoral on so many levels [and] it cannot be allowed to stand. It cannot be allowed to get away with this.