George H. Wu
Judge Wu no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Wu decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
On a Rule 29(c) motion for judgment of acquittal Wu held that an intentional breach of a website's terms of service, without more, is not a misdemeanor Computer Fraud and Abuse Act violation, and that reading the statute otherwise would render it unconstitutionally vague (the Lori Drew MySpace prosecution).
“V. CONCLUSION For the reasons stated above, the Defendant's motion under F.R.Crim.P. 29(c) is GRANTED.”
On a Rule 12(c) motion for judgment on the pleadings he will hold patent claims invalid under 35 U.S.C. 101 as directed to an abstract idea under the Alice/Mayo framework (the McRO automated-animation patents, later reversed by the Federal Circuit).
“IV. Conclusion For the foregoing reasons, the Court would GRANT the Motion, and hold '576 Patent claims 1, 7-9, and 13, and '278 Patent claims 1-4, 6, 9, 13, and 15-17 invalid under 35 U.S.C. s 101.”
Procedural preferences
Wu's practice is to circulate a written tentative ruling before the hearing, hear argument, and then adopt the tentative as the court's final ruling.
“The Tentative circulated and attached hereto, is adopted as the Court's Final Ruling. Defendants' motion is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“V. CONCLUSION For the reasons stated above, the Defendant's motion under F.R.Crim.P. 29(c) is GRANTED.”
“IV. Conclusion For the foregoing reasons, the Court would GRANT the Motion, and hold '576 Patent claims 1, 7-9, and 13, and '278 Patent claims 1-4, 6, 9, 13, and 15-17 invalid under 35 U.S.C. s 101.”
“The Tentative circulated and attached hereto, is adopted as the Court's Final Ruling. Defendants' motion is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.”
“RULING ON DEFENDANTS' REQUEST FOR PUBLICATION OF ORDER ENTERED JULY 26, 2016 DISMISSING PLAINTIFFS' FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT ... Defendants' Request for Publication of the Ruling on their Motion to Dismiss (see Docket No. 37) is granted.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
A windowed sample of Judge Wu's contested civil cases filed from 2009 through 2015 shows a docket weighted toward complex intellectual-property and commercial litigation: copyright and trademark infringement, patent disputes, securities fraud, consumer class actions, and civil-rights claims. He handles high-profile technology and entertainment matters, including the Fox Television copyright suit against the 'Aereokiller' online-streaming service. The sampled Fox copyright case ran roughly 4.8 years from filing to termination, while a film-rights copyright dispute ran just over two years. He remains in the active rotation despite senior status.
A historical record
Judge Wu no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.