supreme court ruling

["Rickerson, George" <RickersonG@umsystem.edu>]

Greetings -

	In the August 2 issue of Business Week, on page 74, there is an
opinion piece that discusses a recent ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court.  
The case was Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board vs.
College Savings Bank.

	According to the piece, the state of Florida, in responding to a
patent infringement suit by the bank, claimed that states are
constitutionally immune from federal intellectual-property laws under the
doctrine of sovreign immunity.  The high court agreed and ruled in favor
of the state of Florida.

	The column goes on to state that the ruling may mean that states,
including all their subsidiary agencies such as universities and colleges,
have a free pass to ignore federal intellectual-property laws and can
freely copy copyrighted works, appropriate registered trademarks for their
own use and violate patents without fear of suit.

	Has anyone read the court's decision?  

Thanks,
George.