U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

49 F.3d 807 (1st Cir. 1995)

Held that the menu command hierarchy of the Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet program was an uncopyrightable method of operation under Section 102(b) of the Copyright Act. A landmark decision in software copyright law that distinguished between creative expression and functional elements of computer programs.

311 F.3d 435 (1st Cir. 2002)

Addressed the scope of the Armed Career Criminal Act, examining what constitutes a 'violent felony' for purposes of enhanced sentencing. The court analyzed whether prior state convictions qualified under the federal statute's residual clause.

817 F.3d 12 (1st Cir. 2016)

Held that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act immunized Backpage.com from liability for sex trafficking facilitated through its classified advertisements. The court acknowledged the tragic circumstances but found that Congress had granted broad immunity to website operators for third-party content. The decision contributed to the passage of FOSTA-SESTA in 2018.