Table of Contents

TELECOMMUNICATIONS CASES

• Doe v. MySpace, Inc.
• Comcast Corp. v. FCC
• Southwestern Bell Tel., LP v. City of Houston
• Golden Bridge Tech., Inc. v. Nokia, Inc.

ADDITIONAL CASES INVOLVING TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES

• Harris v. Haberlin

TELECOMMUNICATIONS CASES

U.S. 5th Circuit, May 16, 2008
Doe v. MySpace, Inc., No. 07-50345
Dismissal of a claim for negligence and gross negligence and findings that the claims are barred by the Communications in Decency Act (CDA) is affirmed where the CDA bars claims against web based interactive computer services based on their publication of third party content. Read more...

U.S. D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, May 16, 2008
Comcast Corp. v. FCC, No. 07-1445
Comcast's petition for review of the FCC's policy regarding "low-cost, limited capability" set-top converter boxes is denied where: 1) petitioner is not entitled to a waiver under section 629(c) of the Telecommunications Act since it would undermine the FCC's policy of advancing common reliance on an identical security function, and petitioner already has an incentive to offer new services and high-value features; 2) FCC's interpretation of a 2005 Order was not unreasonable when it deemed plaintiff's low cost boxes to be too advanced for waiver; and 3) the FCC's denial of waiver requests is not discriminatory or inconsistent since staff level inconsistency does not render an agency action arbitrary. Read more...

U.S. 5th Circuit, May 20, 2008
Southwestern Bell Tel., LP v. City of Houston, No. 07-20320
In a dispute over an ordinance that allegedly violates the Federal Telecommunications Act (FTA), which proscribes state and local governments from prohibiting the ability of any entity to provide telecommunications services, dismissal of plaintiff's claim is affirmed where: 1) section 253 of the FTA does not create an enforceable private right pursuant to section 1983 since it does not unambiguously establish one, and it contains a comprehensive enforcement scheme for violations of FTA section 253; and 2) the ordinance is neutral and non-discriminatory, and thus falls within the safe harbor provision of section 253(c) and is not preempted by the FTA. Read more...

U.S. Fed. Circuit Court of Appeals, May 21, 2008
Golden Bridge Tech., Inc. v. Nokia, Inc., No. 2007-1215
In a patent case involving a mobile communication system, summary judgment finding that certain patent claims were anticipated by a particular reference is affirmed where the only argument raised on appeal was an issue of fact never presented to the district court, and a remand was unwarranted as the argument was raised without any justification for the first time on appeal. Read more...

ADDITIONAL CASES INVOLVING TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES

U.S. 6th Circuit, May 22, 2008
Harris v. Haberlin, No. 05-5591
Dismissal of a habeas petition raising Batson challenges to the prosecution's exercise of its peremptory strikes as race-based is vacated and the case remanded where the trial court was in a better position, not the appellate court, to consider newly discovered video evidence providing direct information about the prosecution's state of mind as part of the Batson fact-finding process. Read more...