An en banc ruling from 12 judges on the Federal Circuit gives Tivo more ammunition in its seven-year patent battle with EchoStar. But EchoStar probably isn't done fighting. "I think a cert petition is highly likely," said Edward Reines of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, who filed an amicus brief for the American Intellectual Property Law Association. "You can bet on it."

As the titanic copyright battle between Oracle and Google continues at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Google is hoping for a shot in the arm from amicus briefs filed last week by a parade of computer scientists, law professors, and application developers.

The Obama Administration's decision to veto a looming import ban on some iPhones and iPads was a huge relief for Apple, and a big setback for its arch IP rival, Samsung. It could also weaken the lure of the International Trade Commission as a venue for picking patent battles, especially in cases involving industrywide technical standards.