Issue ads are those that do not purport to influence an election, but rather focus attention on an issue their sponsors find important. A provision of the McCain-Feingold law prohibits mentioning a candidate in issue ads in the 60 days before a general election and 30 days before a primary.

Its purpose was to end the common practice of circumventing limits on contributions in federal elections by airing ads that avoided expressly advocating a vote for or against someone while making clear a preference for, or more often, disapproval of one candidate.

A lawsuit in which record companies allege XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. is cheating them by letting consumers store songs can proceed toward trial, a judge ruled Friday after finding merit to the companies' claims.

U.S. District Judge Deborah A. Batts made the finding in a case brought by Atlantic Recording Corp., BMG Music, Capitol Records Inc. and other music distribution companies against the licensed satellite radio broadcaster.

In a lawsuit last year, the companies said XM directly infringes on their exclusive distribution rights by letting consumers record songs onto special receivers marketed as "XM + MP3" players.

XM has argued it is protected from infringement lawsuits by the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992, which permits individuals to record music off the radio for private use. The judge said she did not believe the company was protected in this instance by the act.

In a statement, XM said it remains confident that the lawsuit is without merit and it will prevail.

"At this stage of the proceeding, the court's ruling is required to be based on the false characterizations set forth in the plaintiffs' complaint. The real facts strongly support our view that the lawsuit is barred by the Audio Home Recording Act. We look forward to making our case in court," the company said.

Messages for comment left with lawyers on both sides were not immediately returned.

In refusing to toss out the lawsuit, the judge noted that the record companies consent to XM's use of their copyrighted material solely for the purposes of providing a digital satellite broadcasting service.

She said XM operates like traditional radio broadcast providers who cannot offer an interactive service, publish programming schedules prior to broadcast and play songs from an artist more often than specified within a three-hour period. But by broadcasting and storing copyrighted music for later recording by the consumer, the judge said XM is both a broadcaster and a distributor, but only paying to be a broadcaster.

"The record companies sufficiently allege that serving as a music distributor to XM + MP3 users gives XM added commercial benefit as a satellite radio broadcaster," Batts said.

Although XM argued in court papers that an XM + MP3 player is much like a traditional radio-cassette player, the judge said "it is not."

"It is manifestly apparent that the use of a radio-cassette player to record songs played over free radio does not threaten the market for copyrighted works as does the use of a recorder which stores songs from private radio broadcasts on a subscription fee basis," she said.

XM shares fell 70 cents, or 4.3 percent, to $15.75 in midday trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

The Mountain View, Calif., maker of controller chips for PCs and LCD monitors has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple (AAPL), claiming the IT giant has been unfairly using Opti technology in its Macintosh line and its Xserve servers.

Specifically, the lawsuit claims that Apple used Opti-patented "predictive snooping" technology, which involves the transfer of data from a PCI bus controller to a PCI master bus. This piece of technology helps shorten the delay in data transfer within a microprocessor.

"The complaint alleges that Apple has infringed the patents by making, selling and offering for sale desktop and portable computers and servers incorporating Predictive Snooping," Opti said in a statement.

The lawsuit was nearly identical to one Opti filed against Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) in November. The three U.S. Patent numbers referenced in the two lawsuits were also the same: 5,710,906; 5,813,036; and 6,405,291.

All three patents refer to "Predictive Snooping of Cache Memory for Master-Initiated Accesses."

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on Jan. 18. The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages, according to the Opti statement.

Ney's prison sentence will include two years of probation and a $6,000 fine. If he completes a prison alcohol rehabilitation program to address his recently-acknowledged alcohol abuse problem, his sentence could be reduced by up to a year. During sentencing proceedings, Ney's defense team provided evidence that he was a "functioning alcoholic" whose decision-making ability was clouded by his dependency on alcohol. US District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle rejected the claim, asserting that it didn't fully explain his corrupt behavior or excuse violating laws he was "sworn to enforce and uphold."

Ralph Klein, the former Alberta premier whose grip on office earned him the sobriquet King Ralph, has gone from reigning to making rain.

The one-time TV reporter and high-school dropout announced yesterday he is joining national law firm Borden Ladner Gervais LLP as senior business adviser, just one month after resigning as premier and three days after relinquishing his seat in the Alberta Legislative Assembly.

Although not licensed to practise law, Mr. Klein says he will act as a resource for BLG lawyers working on files of key personal interest, such as energy development, health care reform and the evolution in securities law, among other things -- "although I need to bone up a bit on securities legislation."

Klein will devote about spend two-thirds of his time to the law firm and be based out of its Calgary office.

He is working with former Newfoundland premier Brian Tobin to develop an energy policy for the Fraser Institute and he’s joining another conservative think-tank, the Manning Centre for Building Democracy.

Klein will be a guest lecturer in the fall at the prestigious Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. The former premier also has commitments to be executive in residence at the University of Alberta, and chair of communications at Calgary’s Mount Royal College.

Fenwick & West LLP announced that it has elected two associates to join the Firm's partnership, effective January 1, 2007. The new equity partners are Blake W. Martell and Heather N. Mewes.

"We are honored to welcome Heather and Blake as our newest partners,commented Gordon K. Davidson, Chairman. Blake and Heather are exemplary attorneys who are dedicated to our clients and the firm. They are invaluable counselors to their clients, and their continued contributions will further strengthen and grow the firm.

Blake W. Martell. Blake is a member of the Equity Compensation and Employee Benefits Group. Blake's practice focuses on corporate governance and disclosure; tax, securities and accounting treatment with respect to equity awards and plans and other compensatory arrangements for both publicly traded and privately held companies. He is also active in the firm's M&A practice regarding equity compensation matters and employment agreements. Blake received his LL.M. in taxation from New York University School of Law, his J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law, and a B.A. in European history from the University of California, Davis.

Heather N. Mewes. Heather is a member of the Litigation Group. Her practice focuses primarily on patent litigation, but also includes other substantive areas of intellectual property law such as copyright and trade secrets. Heather's experience in patent litigation encompasses a variety of technological fields, including contact lenses, DNA FISH probes, semiconductors, computer graphics and electronic bingo games. Heather received her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), and a B.S. in foreign service from Georgetown University.

About Fenwick & West

Established in 1972, Fenwick & West works closely with technology and life sciences companies that are changing the world through innovation, and the investors that finance them. The firm has more than 30 years of experience crafting innovative solutions to the business challenges that arise at the intersection of technology and the law. Fenwick & West clients, who range from start-up ventures to global enterprises, value our attorneys' deep industry experience and understanding of their technologies. More information about the firm's expertise is available at www.fenwick.com.