On July 1st, Applefiled a motion for a preliminary injunctionagainst four flagship Samsung products in the US. Apparently that request was answered on July 2nd by Judge Lucy Koh, although it was just discovered today by Florian Mueller ofFOSS Patents. In her order,dated July 2nd, Koh expresses doubts about whether five weeks is enough time to conduct discovery regarding the legitimacy of the injunction. Based on the parties’ previous representations, it appeared that the parties intended to conduct discovery pertinent to the preliminary injunction motion following the filing of the opening and opposition briefs....

TNW Quick Hit: Following a firestorm of lawsuits, shouted accusations, and other general clamor, a judge has laid down the gavel and stated that ex-Microsoft employee Matt Miszewski can’t take the job he was hired for at Salesforce. Why not? Because it is in “direct violation of his non-compete agreement” that he signed with Microsoft. Contracts are as contracts do, as they say. If you recall, Microsoft accused Miszewski of stealing a large cache of files on his exit from the company, files that it does not want Salesforce to see....

WikiLeaksfounder Julian Assange has applied to the UK’s Intellectual Property Office for a trademark on his own name. Theapplication, submitted by Assange’s London law firm two weeks ago, covers use of his name in the fields of “Public speaking services; news reporter services; journalism; publication of texts other than publicity texts; education services; entertainment services.” It’s not uncommon for those in the public eye toprotecttheir image with such a trademark to help ensure their financial stake in any commercial use of their name or likeness....

Julian Assange can be extradited to the US, British judges ruled today at the UK’s High Court. Assange is expected to appeal the decision, which overturnsa judgment issued earlier this year. The WikiLeaks co-founder is wanted in the US for allegedly illegally obtaining and disclosing classified information related to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In January, a UK court ruled that Assange couldn’t be extradited, due to concerns over his mental health and risk of suicide in a US prison....

Julian Assange has been announced as the winner of the 2011Martha Gellhorn Prize for journalism. The prize was first given out in 1999, and was established in the honor of renowned war correspondentMartha Gellhorn.It’s awarded to journalists that challenge ‘official drivel’, as Gellhorn herself called it, and it: “…celebrates journalism that challenges secrecy and mendacity in public affairs and raises ‘forgotten’ issues of public importance, without fear or favor, working against the grain of government spin....