August 2012

Dozens of hospitals across the country lost access to crucial electronic medical records for about five hours during a major computer outage last week, raising fresh concerns about whether poorly designed technology can compromise patient care.

Cerner Corp., a leading supplier of electronic health records to hospitals and doctors, said "human error" caused the outage July 23 that it said affected an unspecified number of hospitals that rely on the company to remotely store their medical information. Last week's episode highlighted some of the risks as hospitals and doctors' offices nationwide undergo a massive upgrade in the way they handle medical records. As part of the 2009 economic stimulus, the Obama administration is spending more than $27 billion to speed the switch to computerized patient records.

The Federal Communications Commission is restarting the clock on consideration of the license transfers associated with Tribune's reorganization out of bankruptcy. According to a copy of a letter from Media Bureau Video Division Chief Barbara Kreisman to Tribune attorneys, the FCC will restart the clock on Aug. 6. It was on day 74 of its informal 180-day shot clock, which it stopped on Oct. 12, 2011, retroactive to July 26, 2010.

The long battle for cybersecurity legislation ended August 2 as the Senate failed to pass a motion to end debate on the bill. The Cybersecurity Act, introduced by Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), was rejected on a 52-46 vote — 60 votes were required to move forward with the legislation.

The bill's collapse likely kills any legislative action on cybersecurity this year, punting efforts to 2013. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said the bill was critical for the nation’s security, but the powerful U.S. Chamber of Commerce objected to the bill. “We know how important this legislation is, we know it’s more important than getting a pat on the back from Chamber of Commerce,” Sen Reid said before the vote. “That’s why Republicans are running like a pack of scared cats.” “I am disappointed, perplexed and somewhat confused about how the Republicans want to proceed,” Sen Reid said. “Clearly they won’t until they have a sign-off from Chamber of Commerce.”

In a statement released shortly after the vote, White House press secretary Jay Carney criticized Republican opposition to the bill and called Congress's stalemate on cybersecurity "a profound disappointment."

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and the co-sponsors of the legislation said they are hopeful that the bill can be revived after the August recess despite the long odds against it.

Apple has asked the federal court judge presiding over its patent infringement case against Samsung to rule in its favor, after the South Korean company’s legal team publicly released evidence that had been excluded from trial.

That evidence was pulled together in support of Samsung’s argument that Apple derived the original design of the iPhone from Sony — an argument excluded from the case because Samsung didn’t disclose it until after the discovery phase of the trial concluded. In a filing to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Apple said the court should sanction Samsung by ruling that the patents at issue in the case are valid and infringed by Samsung. And if the court declines to do so, it should at the very least instruct the jury that Samsung has engaged in “serious misconduct,” and bar the company from any further mention of its “Sony style” argument in court. Apple, in its motion for sanctions, argues that Samsung’s broadcast of excluded evidence is not only a clear attempt to prejudice the jury, but part of an emerging pattern of misconduct. From Apple’s perspective, Samsung’s release of excluded evidence at a time when the jury will be away from Court for two days, was not only a clear attempt to prejudice the jury but a gambit for a mistrial. But Apple has no plans to request a mistrial. To do so, the company argues, would be to reward Samsung’s misconduct.