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June 28, 2024
Patent Office Asks For Comments On 'Experimental Use'
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has indicated that it wants to hear what attorneys think about the current state of the "experimental use exception," which permits individuals to infringe a patent when the use is for "philosophical," not commercial, pursuits.
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June 28, 2024
Condo Seeks Bar On Enforcement Of Corp. Transparency Act
A Boston condominium association has asked a federal judge to shield it and other Massachusetts condo boards from enforcement of an anti-money laundering measure, saying the requirement to submit personal information to a government database creates an undue and unnecessary burden on volunteer organizations.
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June 28, 2024
Co. Cites High Court's SEC Ruling To Fight Labor Board Case
Claims that an oil pipeline operator wrongfully fired an employee should go before a jury, not the National Labor Relations Board, the company argued in a new lawsuit in Texas federal court, citing the U.S. Supreme Court's rebuke of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's in-house court.
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June 28, 2024
Maxeon Was Overreliant On SunPower Sales, Investor Says
Maxeon Solar Technologies was hit with a proposed shareholder class action alleging that the company concealed that a significant portion of its business depended on exclusive sales of certain products to its former parent company, SunPower Corp., and that a terminated contract between the two would lead to a 41% revenue drop for Maxeon.
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June 28, 2024
As Election Looms, M&A Attys Advise To 'Stay The Course'
The contentious presidential election is bound to rattle mergers and acquisitions activity in the short term, and the eventual winner will create unique sets of winners and losers in the market, but attorneys have a simple message to clients: "Stay the course."
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June 28, 2024
SEC Sues Crypto Software Firm Consensys
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued blockchain firm Consensys Software Inc. on Friday for allegedly acting as an unregistered broker and facilitating unregistered securities sales through software products that allow users to buy and sell digital assets tied to so-called staking programs.
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June 28, 2024
AT&T Faces Derivative Suit In Del. Over Toxic Cable Risks
An AT&T Inc. stockholder launched a derivative suit in Delaware's Court of Chancery on Friday seeking damages from the company's directors and top officers on the company's behalf for past, present and future expenses caused by toxic risks from lead-tainted cables around the country.
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June 28, 2024
Philly Judge Calls $2.25B Roundup Verdict 'Excessive'
A Philadelphia state judge has explained her decision to slash a cancer patient's $2.25 billion win against Monsanto for its Roundup weedkiller contributing to his lymphoma, calling the jury's January verdict unconstitutionally "excessive."
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June 28, 2024
Google Cloud Hires Ex-Federal CISO To Run Gov't Compliance
Google has hired a former federal chief information security officer and deputy national cyber director to lead global public sector compliance at Google Cloud, where he will work to expand the platform's offerings in artificial intelligence, cloud computing and security to government entities.
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June 28, 2024
Insurer Says Kennel Expansion Complaints Not Covered
A Hanover unit told a California federal court that it has no obligation to defend a dog kennel in an underlying lawsuit alleging that the kennel's expansion, which increased capacity from about 20 dogs to 200 dogs, interfered with the community's rights of possession.
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June 28, 2024
Most H.I.G. Capital Claims Advance In $915M Del. Audax Suit
A Delaware Superior Court judge has kept alive much of a suit filed by affiliates of H.I.G. Capital alleging "brazen" sell-side fraud and conspiracy by interests of Audax Group in connection with H.I.G.'s $915 million deal in early 2022 for an allegedly overvalued Mobileum Inc.
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June 28, 2024
Tesla Laid Off 14K Workers Without Notice, WARN Suit Says
Tesla Inc. laid off approximately 14,000 employees without giving them a fair warning required under both federal and California law, a former parts advisor alleges in a putative class action seeking back pay and penalties on the automotive company.
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June 28, 2024
Verizon Hit With $847M Patent Verdict In EDTX
An Eastern District of Texas federal jury on Friday said Verizon should pay $847 million for infringing two General Access Solutions wireless network patents, providing the patent owner with the full relief it requested.
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June 28, 2024
NY Law Firm Botched Gas Co. Sale, Ex-Client Says
Albany, New York-based Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP is facing a lawsuit in New York federal court alleging it failed to properly structure the sale of a gas company and caused its owner to incur an avoidable tax liability.
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June 28, 2024
GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overturned a decades-old precedent that instructed judges about when they could defer to federal agencies' interpretations of law in rulemaking, and the Conference Board issued a new report urging the country's leaders to adopt a national artificial intelligence framework. These are among the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.
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June 28, 2024
Off The Bench: NFL's Big Loss In Court, NBA Agent Spat
In this week's Off The Bench, a jury delivers the NFL a $4.7 billion punch to the gut, an NBA agent looks to get paid for work that was credited to Rich Paul, and the Arizona Cardinals try to get a former executive's defamation claims sent to arbitration.
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June 28, 2024
4 Things To Know As New SPAC Rules Take Effect
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new rules governing special-purpose acquisition companies take effect on Monday, marking an expansive attempt to strengthen oversight of SPAC deals. Here, Law360 examines what to expect as the agency's 581-page rule package goes live.
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June 28, 2024
Nixed Purdue Ch. 11 Plan May Leave States Ready For A Fight
State attorneys general across the country could be gearing up for more opioid-related litigation against the Sackler family after the U.S. Supreme Court wiped out a $5.5 billion third-party release for the owners of bankrupt drugmaker Purdue Pharma LP, experts told Law360.
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June 28, 2024
High Court Enters July With 3 Rulings To Go
In a rare move, the U.S. Supreme Court will issue opinions into the beginning of July as the court tries to clear its merits docket of three remaining cases dealing with presidential immunity, whether governments can control social media platforms' content moderation policies and the appropriate deadline to challenge agency action.
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June 28, 2024
Sidley Adds Akin Antitrust Global Co-Chair In DC
Sidley Austin LLP has hired the former global co-chair for the antitrust and international competition practice at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, who also served as that firm's head of its Federal Trade Commission-facing consumer protection practice.
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June 28, 2024
Supreme Court Strikes Down Chevron Deference
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overturned a decades-old precedent that instructed judges about when they could defer to federal agencies' interpretations of law in rulemaking, depriving courts of a commonly used analytic tool and leaving lots of questions about what comes next.
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June 27, 2024
Milwaukee Tool Accused Of Selling Gloves Made By Prisoners
Milwaukee Tool has touted itself as having "no tolerance for forced labor," all the while selling work gloves made by inmates at a Chinese prison, according to a lawsuit filed by a former prisoner in Wisconsin federal court Thursday.
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June 27, 2024
Tesla Error Doomed Bid To Arbitrate Race Bias Suit, Court Says
Tesla must face a Black ex-employee's claims of race discrimination in court, a California appeals court ruled Wednesday, affirming a lower court's finding that the electric vehicle maker lost its chance to arbitrate the claims after it failed to pay arbitration fees on time.
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June 27, 2024
DOJ Defends Transport Monopoly Charges In Antitrust Case
Federal prosecutors have opposed an accused conspirator's bid to dismiss charges against him in an antitrust case claiming he's one of a dozen individuals who monopolized cross-border sales of used vehicles and other goods from the U.S. to Central America through violence.
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June 27, 2024
Justices' SEC Ruling Reaffirms Oil States For Patent Attys
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision limiting the use of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's administrative courts on Thursday did not address weedy issues that could have shaken up the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, but it did "put a ribbon on" the justices' Oil States decision, attorneys said.
Expert Analysis
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National Security And The Commercial Space Sector: Part 1
The recently published U.S. Department of Defense space strategy represents a recalibration in agency thinking, signaling that the integration of commercial space capabilities has become a necessity and offering guidance for removing structural, procedural and cultural barriers to commercial-sector collaboration, say Jeff Chiow and Skip Smith at Greenberg Traurig.
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BF Borgers Clients Should Review Compliance, Liability
After the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently announced enforcement proceedings against audit firm BF Borgers for fabricating audit documentation for hundreds of public companies, those companies will need to follow special procedures for disclosure and reporting — and may need to prepare for litigation from the plaintiffs bar, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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How Employers, Attorneys Can Respond To Noncompete Ban
As the Federal Trade Commission's recently issued noncompete ban faces ongoing legal challenges, now is a good time for employers to consider whether they want to take a wait-and-see approach before halting use of noncompetes and for practitioners to gain insight into other tools available to protect their clients' business interests, says Jennifer Platzkere Snyder at Dilworth Paxson.
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New TSCA Risk Rule Gives EPA Broad Discretion On Science
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent final amendments to its framework for evaluating the risks of chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act give it vast discretion over consideration of scientific information, without objective criteria to guide that discretion, say John McGahren and Debra Carfora at Morgan Lewis.
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Perspectives
Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys
As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.
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What Updated PLR Procedure May Mean For Stock Spin-Offs
A recently published Internal Revenue Service revenue procedure departs from commonly understood interpretations of the spinoff rules by imposing more stringent standards on companies seeking private letter rulings regarding tax-free stock spinoff and split-off transactions, and may presage regulatory changes that would have the force of law, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Fintech Compliance Amid Regulatory Focus On Sensitive Data
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent, expansive pursuit of financial services companies using sensitive personal information signals a move into the Federal Trade Commission's territory, and the path forward for fintech and financial service providers involves a balance between innovation and compliance, say attorneys at Wilson Sonsini.
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Opinion
Del. Needs To Urgently Pass Post-Moelis Corporate Law Bill
After the Delaware Chancery Court's decision in West Palm Beach Firefighters' Pension v. Moelis sparked confusion around governance rights, recently proposed amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law would preserve the state's predictable corporate governance system, says Lawrence Hamermesh at Widener University Delaware Law School.
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Cos. Must Stay On Alert With Joint Employer Rule In Flux
While employers may breathe a sigh of relief at recent events blocking the National Labor Relations Board's proposed rule that would make it easier for two entities to be deemed joint employers, the rule is not yet dead, say attorneys at Day Pitney.
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Key Insurance Considerations After $725M Benzene Verdict
The recent massive benzene verdict in Gill v. Exxon Mobil will certainly trigger insurance questions — and likely a new wave of benzene suits — so potential defendants should study Radiator Specialty v. Arrowood Indemnity, the only state high court decision regarding benzene claim coverage, says Jonathan Hardin at Perkins Coie.
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Fed. Circ. Scrapping Design Patent Tests Creates Uncertainty
The Federal Circuit last week discarded established tests for proving that design patents are invalid as obvious, leaving much unknown for design patent applicants, patentees and challengers, such as what constitutes analogous art and how secondary references will be considered and applied, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.
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Series
Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My deep and passionate involvement in playing, writing and producing music equipped me with skills — like creativity, improvisation and problem-solving — that contribute to the success of my legal career, says attorney Kenneth Greene.
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How AI Cos. Can Cope With Shifting Copyright Landscape
In the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, recent legal disputes have focused on the utilization of copyrighted material to train algorithms, meaning companies should be aware of fair use implications and possible licensing solutions for AI users, say Michael Hobbs and Justin Tilghman at Troutman Pepper.
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How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case
The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.
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One Contract Fix Can Reduce Employer Lawsuit Exposure
A recent Fifth Circuit ruling that saved FedEx over $365 million highlights how a one-sentence limitation provision on an employment application or in an at-will employment agreement may be the easiest cost-savings measure for employers against legal claims, say Sara O'Keefe and William Wortel at BCLP.