WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that Prometheus Laboratories could not patent a diagnostic method to observe changes in a patient’s body to determine the best drug dosage for certain diseases, a decision that may affect the future of personalized medicine.

The justices unanimously overturned a ruling by a U.S. appeals court allowing the patent for Nestle SA unit Prometheus for using synthetic thiopurine compounds to treat gastrointestinal disorders such as Crohn’s disease and other auto-immune illnesses.

By Diane Bartz

(Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department has warned Apple and five major U.S. publishers that it plans to sue them, accusing them of colluding to raise the prices of electronic books, a person familiar with the probe said on Thursday.

Several parties have held talks to settle the potential antitrust case, said the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. It is not yet clear what such a settlement might look like.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp hired as one of its lobbyists a former Federal Trade Commission lawyer who had access to “thousands” of confidential Google Inc documents, according to a source close to the situation.

The software maker took on Randall Long, who led the FTC’s investigation into Google’s acquisition of AdMob, to be a lobbyist in its Washington office, according to both Google and Microsoft.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Eight top Republicans introduced a cybersecurity bill on Thursday aimed at stopping an overarching, bipartisan measure proposed earlier this month in order to better protect critical infrastructure.

The measure, introduced by the top Republicans on eight committees, would require federal contractors to inform the government about cyber threats and make it easier for government regulators and corporations to communicate about threats.

Feb 17 (Reuters) – Apple Inc did not infringe
patented technology owned by Android phonemaker HTC Corp
, the U.S. International Trade Commission said on
Friday, the latest ruling in the wide-ranging smartphone patent
wars.

The complaint – one of several the two companies have filed
against each other – is a proxy for the larger fight for market
share between Apple’s products and Google Inc’s Android
software for cellphones and tablets, many of which HTC makes.
Taiwan-based HTC had filed a complaint in 2010
accusing Apple of infringing five patents on technologies for
power management and phone dialing.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Leading senators introduced a cybersecurity bill on Tuesday aimed at safeguarding the nation’s water and power systems, which experts have warned often only have the most rudimentary protections against hackers.

Senators John Rockefeller and Dianne Feinstein, both Democrats; Susan Collins, a Republican, and Joseph Lieberman, an independent, drafted a comprehensive bill that would require the secretary of homeland security to designate certain infrastructure as critical and compel steps to safeguard against hackers.

WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – U.S. and European regulators approved Google Inc’s $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc and said they would keep a sharp eye on the web search giant to ensure patents critical to the telecommunications industry would be licensed at fair prices.

It was one of a series of approvals on Monday that underscored the scramble by technology companies to acquire big pools of patents.

WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS, Feb 13 (Reuters) – U.S. and
European regulators approved Google Inc’s $12.5 billion
purchase of Motorola Mobility on Monday and said they
would keep a sharp eye on the web search giant to ensure patents
critical to the telecom industry would be licensed at fair
prices.

The U.S. Justice Department also approved an Apple Inc
-led consortium’s purchase of a trove of patents from
bankrupt Canadian company Nortel Networks.

WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice
Department will approve Google’s $12.5 billion bid to
acquire Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc, according to
sources close to the antitrust review.

The department is also expected to approve an Apple-led
consortium’s bid to acquire a group of patents from
bankrupt Canadian company Nortel Networks.

WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) – Objections to Express
Scripts’ $29 billion plan to buy rival pharmacy
benefits manager Medco Health Solutions are accumulating
as U.S. antitrust regulators weigh whether they have enough
evidence to stop the megamerger.

The Food Marketing Institute, which represents the biggest
grocery chains, sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission on
Feb. 2 saying the merged company would be able to cut payments
to supermarket pharmacies that already operate at very tight
margins.