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.

The bill also requires clearer reporting of home state projects, denies pension benefits to those convicted of serious crimes and requires lawmakers to pay the full price fare when traveling on chartered planes. Opponents of the bill complained the measure discouraged free speech by deterring petition drives, but majority leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) called the measure "the most significant legislation in ethics and lobbying reform we've had in the history of this country."

Paul and D.J. Zweigle, who lost their beloved two-year-old daughter Lynnea when a Ford F-250 truck backed over and killed her, today called upon the automotive industry to install rear camera systems and sensors in commercial trucks and large vans, pickup trucks and SUVs to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries each year that result from backover crashes.

On the morning of November 8, 2005, Mrs. Zweigle was preparing to take her six year-old son, Kaleb, to his art class, along with her two other young children, four year-old Jacob and Lynnea who was twenty-two months-old. The children were playing in the open yard in front of the house and immediately adjacent to the driveway.

Mrs. Zweigle went inside to retrieve a blanket and sippy cup from the house. During that time, a driver from a local trash company, Double J Disposal, Inc., drove up the Zweigle’s driveway and loaded their trash into the back of his Ford F-250 pickup truck.

The truck had a significant blind zone and lacked a rear video camera or any other devices, such as sensors, to alert the driver to the presence of individuals immediately behind the truck.

While backing up to turn around and leave the driveway, the vehicle struck Lynnea, causing her to fall to the ground, and then continued to back up and run over her. Her brother, Kaleb, saw the accident occur and immediately began to scream. Mrs. Zweigle ran out of the house to find Lynnea’s body lying in the driveway. Lynnea Zweigle died in her driveway of massive cranial cerebral injuries.

"Lynnea was a happy child who loved life and playing with her older brothers. No compensation will ever remedy the pain and loss that our family has suffered from the death of our beloved daughter," stated Paul and D.J. Zweigle. "We wish to honor Lynnea by bringing to the public’s attention that scores of children each year across America are needlessly killed and injured in backover incidents."

In a report issued to Congress in November 2006 by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA), the agency estimated, relying on 1998 data, that backover crashes involving all vehicle types cause at least 183 fatalities annually, with many of victims being children. In addition, between 6,700 and 7,419 injuries result from backover crashes per year.

Based on its research, the non-profit organization KIDS AND CARS states that "every year, thousands of children are hurt or die because a driver backing up didn't see them." Most of the victims are less than two years old, and over 60% of the tragedies involved a larger size vehicle such a truck, van or SUV. While backover incidents can happen in any vehicle because all vehicles have a blind zone, KIDS AND CARS notes that larger vehicles tend to have larger blind zones.

"Several technologies exist which can help reduce backover accidents," stated Paul and D.J. Zweigle. "We call upon the automotive industry to make rear video cameras and sensors standard equipment on commercial trucks and large vans, pickups and SUVs to stop this national tragedy. Companies that have purchased these vehicles should immediately undertake measures to improve the safety of their vehicles."

In litigation against Double J Disposal, Inc., which was resolved in December 2006, the Zweigles asked the trash company to install a rear video camera system on all of their trucks. To date, the company has agreed to install a rear video camera on the vehicle that killed their beloved daughter and the family continues to seek additional safety measures. “We call upon Double J Disposal to install rear video camera systems or other backup safety devices on all of their trucks,” stated Paul Zweigle.

Wendy R. Fleishman, a partner at the national law firm of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, which represented the Zweigles, commented, "I applaud the Zweigles for their courage and determination to raise the public’s awareness of backover incidents involving children. If all companies agreed to install safety systems on all of their large vehicles, millions of children nationwide would no longer be at risk of being the victim of a backover crash."

“We know young children are impulsive and have poor or no appreciation of risks obvious to adults,” stated attorney Fabrice N. Vincent of Lieff Cabraser. “Every life is precious and automobile and truck makers, owners and operators should take action now to stop scores of toddlers from being killed year after year simply because they were in the blind zone of large vehicles.”

To learn more about the dangers of backover accidents and ways to avoid them, please visit www.kidsandcars.org or www.vehicle-injuries.com/backoveraccident.htm.