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New Best Practices for Open Government Data Updated: by

Josh Tauberer recently announced the release of “Open Government Data: Best Practices Language for Making Data ‘License Free.’ That document sets forth recommendations for federal agencies issuing data, and sample Creative Commons Zero (public domain) licensing statements.

Pending Cases on the FISA Public Court Docket Updated: by

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has created a public docket for declassified opinions. The documents have been released through the efforts of providers like Yahoo, Microsoft, and Google, as well as advocacy groups like the ACLU and the EFF, who filed requests to publish the opinions and filings in the…

EPIC asks U.S. Supreme Court to Vacate FISA Court Surveillance Order Updated: by

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed for a writ of mandamus and prohibition in the Supreme Court of the United States yesterday, asking them to vacate the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court’s Order requiring production of phone records for domestic customers of Verizon. In the petition, the questions presented…

California’s Public Records Act Survives Legislative Defunding Threat Updated: by

California’s Public Records Act survived a near miss last week. The EFF reports that the California legislature passed a bill last week that included a trailer to cut CPRA funding. The trailer bill would have made compliance with the CPRA optional for local governments. Thanks to pressure from activists, the…

Justia Writers’ Round Up – Supreme Court Opinions Issued June 24, 2013 Updated: by

The Supreme Court issued six opinions today. Read more about the decisions below. Fisher v. Univ. of Texas at Austin Docket: 11-345 Date: June 24, 2013 Read commentary & review related lower court decisions here. Justia Summary:  Since the Court’s 2003 decision, Grutter v. Bollinger, the University of Texas at…

New Threats to Free Law – Two Things You Should Read Today Updated: by

California is proposing to charge citizens to access and read court files and other public documents. The Administrative Office of the Courts has proposed that the state charge $10 for every name, file, or information that comes back from a search. Techdirt has the story. Charging for search results –…

President Obama’s Executive Order to Make Government Data Open and Machine Readable Updated: by

President Obama issued an executive order last month calling on the federal government to open access to public documents by making them “open and machine readable.” He called on government information to be “managed as an asset throughout its life cycle to promote interoperability and openness, and, wherever possible and…

Google Wallet the Focus of Patent Infringement Lawsuit Updated: by

According to a new infringement lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court (read it below), the Google Wallet app violates a Canadian resident's U.S. patent. Plaintiff Peter Sprogis holds U.S. Patent No. 7,298,271 for a "Method and apparatus for providing awards using transponders." The '271 patent abstract describes a customer loyalty program using…

Bingo! Justia’s Weekly Writers’ Picks Updated: by

Happy Friday! We're back from Cornell's Law via the Internet conference just in time for our weekly writers' picks. Dept of Texas, Veterans of Foreign Wars v. Texas Lottery Commission, US 5th  Cir. (10/10/12) Constitutional Law, Gaming Law Plaintiffs, a group of nonprofit organizations licensed to conduct bingo games, filed…