There are very few actions as immediately and obviously intrusive as having your mail read. No matter your age or place — or how much you still use physical mail — the right to private communications is an established social norm. Whether I send a letter, text, or email, I expect no one but the […]

Bashing social media for supposed liberal bias has become pretty standard fare for some conservative pundits and politicians. This remains true despite zero evidence of any kind of bias by social media companies against conservative content or Republican politicians. In fairness, Democratic political leaders have made similar accusations. For example, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has […]

I’m very concerned about yesterday’s decision in U.S. v. Sabre, the antitrust case examining the merger of Sabre and Farelogix, two airline ticket software companies. Aside from the consolidation of the airline ticket software industry, the decision includes a really troubling interpretation of the already problematic American Express decision from 2018, potentially making it more […]

Last month, Judge Victor Marrero of the District Court of the Southern District of New York issued a decision allowing the proposed merger between Sprint and T-Mobile to proceed, rejecting a suit brought by a coalition of state Attorneys General. This decision is deeply disappointing—Public Knowledge and other groups fought hard to stop the merger, […]

Last night, the House Judiciary Committee marked up Rep. Hakeem Jeffries’ (D-NY) bill, “Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019,” (H.R. 2426), to establish a new Copyright Claim Board within the United States Copyright Office.

Today, Judge Lucy Koh of the Northern District Court of California ruled that Qualcomm’s patent licensing practices violate the Federal Trade Commission Act.

Today, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the district court’s earlier opinion, which permitted the AT&T/Time Warner merger to proceed, to stay in place. Public Knowledge supported the Justice Department’s challenge of the merger.

Today, Public Knowledge joined 40 other consumer protection groups, digital divide advocates, and local government agencies — including New York City — in a letter urging Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to delay the vote on the “Restoring Internet Freedom” Draft Order, which would roll back the agency’s net neutrality rules if adopted. Specifically, the groups propose the FCC delay the vote until a pending court case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit — the en banc review in Federal Trade Commission v. AT&T Mobility — resolves.

Last Friday, the federal district court overseeing the BMI consent decree rejected the Department of Justice’s interpretation, holding that it did not prohibit so-called “fractional licensing.” In an opinion with little meaningful analysis, the court dismissed DOJ’s reading of the plain language of the consent decree, calling the consent decree language merely “descriptive.”

Today, the Supreme Court announced that it would hear arguments in the case of Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands. The case asks whether copyright may protect designs in useful articles, such as stripe patterns on cheerleader uniforms. Public Knowledge recently filed an amicus brief emphasizing the case’s potential impact on hobbyists and consumers. The International Costumers’ Guild and the Royal Manticoran Navy, two popular costuming organizations, also joined the brief.