It may seem hard to believe that the future of the Internet is at the forefront of an “extremely boring case about invisible braces.” But that’s exactly what’s happening with a case called ClearCorrect v. International Trade Commission, which was argued this morning before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

In an amicus brief filed today, Public Knowledge and EFF urge the Supreme Court to reject fuzzy, ambiguous patents that harm innovation.

Public Knowledge urges the Supreme Court to recognize that abstract ideas are unpatentable even when they are implemented on a computer.

Last Friday, PK joined the Organization for Transformative Works in supporting Stephanie Lenz in her suit to hold Universal Music accountable for abusing the notice-and-takedown system.

Public Knowledge filed an amicus brief with the Central District of California today in Fox v. Dish, a case that could threaten how consumers record and view programming in the privacy of their home. While this case is only in the preliminary injunction stage, these pre-trial stages have become increasingly important in copyright cases. Consequently, this case has the potential to upend long-standing fair use principles.

The case involves DISH’s “Hopper,” one of DISH’s set-top boxes. The Hopper can be set (by the customer) to record prime-time television on any of the four major broadcast channels. For some programming, the Hopper gives viewers the option to play back the programming without commercials beginning the following day.