A Republican assemblywoman from Monmouth County plans to introduce legislation to protect texters from being sued if they send a distracting message to a driver who gets into an accident.

The bill, authored by Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande, comes in response to last week's groundbreaking decision by two state appeals court judges who said texters who send messages to someone they know is driving have a responsibility to other drivers.

"It is a sad state of affairs when a court believes that someone sending a text message can be held accountable if they have a special reason to know the recipient will be driving a vehicle and then read the message," Casagrande said. "This legislation puts the responsibility where it belongs - in the front seat with the driver - not with the sender who can be held culpable for something beyond their control."

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Gov. Christie Signs Facebook Password Bill Into Law 

Gov. Chris Christie today signed into law an amended version that bars employers from requiring current or prospective employees to turn over their login information for social networking websites as a condition of employment.

The Governor conditionally vetoed the original version of the bill because he felt a provision that barred employers from asking a current or prospective employee if they have a personal account or profile on a social networking website could lead to frivolous lawsuits.

The full legislature eliminated the clause and passed the bill.

"In this job market, especially, employers clearly have the upper hand," said Assemblyuman John Burzichelli, who co-sponsored the legislation. "Demanding this information is akin to coercion when it might mean the difference between landing a job and not being able to put food on the table for your family. This is a huge invasion of privacy that takes 'Big Brother' to a whole new level. It's really no different than asking someone to turn over a key to their house."

The re-worked bill that is now law will prohibit an employer from requiring a current or prospective employee to provide or disclose any user name, password, or other means for accessing a personal account or service through an electronic communications device.

It was amended to strike the clause prohibiting employers from asking a current or prospective employee if they have a personal account or profile on a social networking website. 

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New Jersey firm stands up to patent trolls 

By Tom De Poto | The Star-Ledger

September 6, 2013 

In April, a South Plainfield company received notice it was being sued by a Florida law firm alleging six instances of patent infringement. The Florida firm, ArrivalStar, was willing to accept a settlement of $15,000.

Most companies would have paid the money to make the matter go away. Fighting a patent lawsuit in court all the way can cost several million dollars.

But Tumi, a worldwide manufacturer of luggage and handbags with U.S. headquarters in South Plainfield, sensed its company was the target of patent trolls - firms that own a few meaningless patents and send out frightening letters to hundreds of companies demanding payment for "infringement."

So it fought back.

The patents in this case had nothing to do with luggage design but were loosely linked to how the company tracked customer orders and shipments through its website.

The lawsuit had been filed by a Luxembourg-based nonpracticing entity, or NPE. Nonpracticing entities don't produce or sell anything or offer services. They make money by getting license fees from companies that use technology that, they allege, is based broadly on patents they have acquired.

Tumi filed a counterclaim, alleging ArrivalStar's lawsuit was "frivolous," "baseless" and a "sham" meant to extort money.