France answers hostile bids with the two-vote share

Steven Davidoff Solomon writes for The New York Times, May 19, 2015

While it may seem like the cure for short-termism, high-vote shares may instead do something else, giving power to a small group of shareholders with odd interests. And whether they exercise that power vengefully or selfishly is an unknown. C’ést la vie.

Can volleyball fight crime? East Palo Alto says, ‘Game On’

Sarah Lawrence quoted on NPR, May 10, 2015

“I’ve really seen a shift in the police officers’ perspective,” Lawrence says. When the program started, she interviewed participating officers. “I asked why they were doing it, and quite frankly a lot of them said, ‘I’m getting paid to exercise.’” Now, Lawrence says, “those same officers are saying, ‘These are my kids,’ and really taking ownership.”

AZ town hides license plate readers in dozens of fake cacti

Catherine Crump quoted in Engadget, May 9, 2015

UC Berkeley law professor Catherine Crump remains unimpressed. “It seems comical, but given the photo, not exactly an effort at concealment,” she told Ars Technica. “I am more interested in what else this town is doing with its $2 million police technology upgrade.”

Mylan’s too-harsh takeover defense

Steven Davidoff Solomon writes for The New York Times, May 8, 2015

It was not unexpected that Mylan would react negatively to Teva’s approach. Neither company has ever gotten along particularly well. But in terms of a negative response, Mylan’s is an 11 on a scale of one to 10.

Satanic temple sues to save abortion

Jesse Choper quoted in The Daily Beast, May 8, 2015

Jesse Choper … isn’t convinced that the group has the case in the bag…. “There is no right to an exemption for religion unless the state law singles out religion for adverse treatment,” says Choper. “But it does not single it out, it applies to everybody no matter their religion or lack of religion. It says anyone who wants abortion has to wait 72 hours.”

Two law professors’ plan to downsize patent litigation

Jennifer Urban and Jason Schultz cited in Bloomberg BNA, May 8, 2015

“We want them to put their money where their mouth is,” said Schultz, in an interview. To do this, he and Urban have proposed the Defensive Patent License:  It creates a legal framework for a network of companies that want to share their patents, and have agreed not to initiate patent lawsuits.