Retail & E-Commerce

  • February 25, 2025

    Patent Exec Says Starbucks Is Liable For Atty's Statements

    A patent-licensing company executive pushed back on Starbucks Corp.'s attempt to exit his defamation lawsuit over statements from counsel for Starbucks, arguing the Florida federal court has jurisdiction partly because the executive lives in the district.

  • February 25, 2025

    Vape Cos. Want To Stop Iowa Law Banning Some E-Cig Sales

    A group of vape companies and users is again asking an Iowa federal court to block a state law banning the sale of some e-cigarette products, saying it is preempted by federal law and the Constitution.

  • February 24, 2025

    Injury Attys Sanctioned Over AI-Hallucinated Case Citations

    A Wyoming federal judge overseeing a personal injury lawsuit against Walmart sanctioned the plaintiffs' attorneys from Morgan & Morgan PA and the Goody Law Group after they filed pretrial motions containing case law hallucinated by artificial intelligence, but acknowledged Monday their "remedial steps, transparency and apologetic sentiments."

  • February 24, 2025

    Bigelow Says Class Trial Is On 'Road To Nowhere'

    Counsel for R.C. Bigelow Inc. urged a California federal judge Monday to call off an upcoming class action damages trial over the tea-maker's "manufactured in the USA" labels, saying the proceeding would be a "road to nowhere" because of fatally flawed sales data.

  • February 24, 2025

    Baby Bottle Cos. Get Parts Of Microplastics Suit Tossed

    Parents who sued Philips over allegations that microplastics leach from its "BPA free" baby bottles and sippy cups saw their lawsuit partially trimmed, after a California federal judge said that the company's label isn't misleading because it doesn't promise the products are "devoid of all harmful plastic."

  • February 24, 2025

    Bezos Satellite Co. Seeks To Block His Paper In Docs Dispute

    A satellite facility launched by Jeff Bezos' Amazon wants a preliminary injunction to partially block Washington state's labor department from releasing records to the Bezos-owned Washington Post, arguing that the photos and documents are exempt under the state's public records law because they would expose sensitive trade secrets.

  • February 24, 2025

    USPTO Trademark Head, Ex-Solicitor To Depart This Week

    Two more senior leaders are leaving the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office — the current commissioner for trademarks, who is concluding his five-year term, and a longtime agency attorney who said he's departing as part of President Donald Trump's federal worker "deferred resignation" program. 

  • February 24, 2025

    DraftKings Rips 'Flawed' Privacy Suit Over Meta Tracking Pixel

    DraftKings Inc. wants a New York federal judge to toss a "fundamentally flawed" suit that accuses the company of disclosing customer information to third parties for targeted advertising, arguing the plaintiff is attempting to expand the Video Privacy Protection Act beyond its intended purpose.

  • February 24, 2025

    CVS Says Union Vote Certifications Require NLRB Quorum

    CVS has argued that National Labor Relations Board regional offices cannot certify the results of union representation elections while the agency lacks a quorum, advancing the latest argument employers have adopted seeking to block the board's actions.

  • February 24, 2025

    Boehringer Ingelheim Wins Illinois Zantac Cancer Retrial

    An Illinois state jury swiftly sided with Boehringer Ingelheim on Monday over two men's claims that taking the company's over-the-counter Zantac for decades contributed to their prostate cancer diagnoses, handing each of the men a trial loss after juries in their previous trials had deadlocked.

  • February 24, 2025

    Calif. City Gets Suit Over Pot License Application Tossed

    A California federal judge has thrown out a retailer's suit that in part alleges the city of Chula Vista ignored a court order and delayed scoring its application for cannabis licenses, saying the complaint fails to establish that the city violated its constitutional rights.

  • February 24, 2025

    Trade Court Upholds Duties On Chinese Cabinets

    The U.S. Court of International Trade upheld a determination that products made by Chinese manufacturer Nanjing Kaylang Co. are subject to 2020 antidumping-duty and countervailing-duty orders on wooden cabinets and vanities.

  • February 24, 2025

    Justices Turn Away Challenge To Philly Gun Shop Ban

    The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it won't take up a Philadelphia gun range's challenge to a city rule banning gun shops in residential neighborhoods, after a Pennsylvania appellate court said in 2024 that the Second Amendment didn't cover zoning rules restricting where firearms could be sold.

  • February 21, 2025

    FTC's Holyoak Has Her Eyes On DeepSeek

    Federal Trade Commission member Melissa Holyoak suggested Friday that DeepSeek, the Chinese artificial intelligence startup whose rise has roiled AI markets, could have competed unfairly if it really trained its model using ChatGPT in violation of OpenAI's policies, as has been suggested.

  • February 21, 2025

    ITC To Review Hoverboard Maker's Patent Case

    The U.S. International Trade Commission is going to look into the latest patent complaint from the inventor of a self-balancing hoverboard who is targeting rival products from China.

  • February 21, 2025

    Unilever Settles Class Suit Over Benzene In Shampoo

    Unilever has reached a deal in principle that should end a proposed class action accusing the consumer goods giant and its suppliers of selling carcinogen-tainted dry shampoo, according to a joint notice filed Thursday in Connecticut federal court.

  • February 21, 2025

    Trump Says Tariffs Coming For Countries With DSTs

    President Donald Trump's administration will impose tariffs on countries with taxes that disproportionately affect American companies, such as digital services taxes, which mainly apply to tech giants, according to a memorandum released late Friday.

  • February 21, 2025

    Whirlpool Seeks More Damages And Fees After $27M TM Win

    Michigan-based appliance company Whirlpool Corp. has requested enhanced damages and attorney fees after a Texas federal jury found last month that Chinese company Shenzhen Sanlida Electrical Technology Co. Ltd. owed Whirlpool $27 million for willfully infringing and diluting the trademark for its iconic KitchenAid stand mixers.

  • February 21, 2025

    Puma, Brooks End IP Fight Over 'Nitro' Running Shoes

    Puma and Brooks Sports have agreed to drop dueling intellectual property claims over "Nitro"-branded sole foam technology used by both athletic apparel retailers to market running shoes, according to a notice filed in federal court in Seattle on Friday.

  • February 21, 2025

    Crocs Hit With Stockholder Suit Over Heydude Revenue Woes

    An investor hit Crocs Inc. and its top management Friday with a derivative suit alleging they knew that revenue growth from a newly acquired brand was driven by overstocking inventory and wasn't sustainable, claiming company insiders profited off strong revenue reports that later hurt stockholders when inventory problems reared their ugly head.

  • February 21, 2025

    Mich. Pot Cos. Say Grand Rapids' Equity Fees Are Illegal

    A group of cannabis companies is suing the city of Grand Rapids in Michigan state court, saying it is illegally charging them millions in fees through its social equity program.

  • February 21, 2025

    6 Things To Know About Shein's Fast Fashion Feuds

    Ultra-fast fashion behemoth Shein is facing accusations of infringing intellectual property in dozens of cases from plaintiffs ranging from major fashion brands to individual artists. Here are six things to know about Shein's intellectual property battles.

  • February 21, 2025

    Harry Manbeck, Former USPTO Head, Dies At 98

    Former U.S. Patent and Trademark Office leader and chief patent counsel at General Electric Co., Harry F. Manbeck Jr., died Wednesday. He was 98.

  • February 21, 2025

    CFPB's $8 Late Fee Rule On Ropes As Banks Move In For Kill

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other trade groups have urged a Texas federal judge to strike down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's $8 credit card late fee rule once and for all, saying, among other things, that the CFPB is itself a "veritable issue-spotter of constitutional law violations."

  • February 21, 2025

    Fla. Worker's Wage Suit Against Dillard's Sent To Arbitration

    A Florida federal judge on Friday ordered Dillard's and a former employee to resolve claims that the company shorted workers on minimum and overtime wages out of court after granting an unopposed motion to compel arbitration and stay proceedings in a proposed collective action lawsuit.

Expert Analysis

  • Assessing Algorithmic Versus Generative AI Pricing Tools

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    A comparison of traditional algorithmic pricing models and those powered by generative artificial intelligence can help regulators and practitioners weigh the pros and cons of relying on large language models to price products or services, say Maxime Cohen at McGill University, and Tim Spittle and Jimmy Royer at Analysis Group.

  • 3 Patent Considerations For America's New Quantum Hub

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    Recent developments signal an incredibly bright future for Chicago as the new home of quantum computing, and it is crucial that these innovators — whose technology has the potential to transform many industries — prioritize intellectual property strategy, says Andrew Velzen at McDonnell Boehnen.

  • Navigating A Potpourri Of Possible Transparency Act Pitfalls

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    Despite the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's continued release of guidance for complying with the Corporate Transparency Act, its interpretation remains in flux, making it important for companies to understand potentially problematic areas of ambiguity in the practical application of the law, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • How Companies Are Approaching Insider Trading Policies

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    An analysis of insider trading policies recently disclosed by 49 S&P 500 companies under a new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rule reveals that while specific provisions vary from company to company, certain common themes are emerging, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • 11 Patent Cases To Watch At Fed. Circ. And High Court

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    As we head into fall, there are 11 patent cases to monitor, touching on a range of issues that could affect patent strategy, such as biotech innovation, administrative rulemaking and patent eligibility, say Edward Lanquist and Wesley Barbee at Baker Donelson.

  • How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations

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    Textualists at the U.S. Supreme Court are increasingly considering new methods such as corpus linguistics and surveys to evaluate what a statute's text communicates to an ordinary reader, while lower courts even mull large language models like ChatGPT as supplements, says Kevin Tobia at Georgetown Law.

  • Finding Coverage For Online Retail Privacy Class Actions

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    Following recent court rulings interpreting state invasion of privacy and electronic surveillance statutes triggering a surge in the filing of privacy class actions against online retailers, companies should examine their various insurance policies, including E&O and D&O, for defense coverage of these claims, says Alison Gaske at Gilbert LLP.

  • Trending At The PTAB: Obviousness In Director Reviews

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    Three July decisions from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office favoring petitioners indicate a willingness by the director to review substantive issues, such as obviousness, particularly in cases where the director believes the Patent Trial and Appeal Board provided incorrect or inadequate rationale to support its decisions, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • Why Attorneys Should Consider Community Leadership Roles

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    Volunteering and nonprofit board service are complementary to, but distinct from, traditional pro bono work, and taking on these community leadership roles can produce dividends for lawyers, their firms and the nonprofit causes they support, says Katie Beacham at Kilpatrick.

  • Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.

  • How Cos. Can Leverage IP In Corporate Bankruptcy

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    In light of an increase in year-to-date Chapter 11 filings, businesses must understand the importance and value of intellectual property in corporate bankruptcy and restructuring, from contributing to enterprise value, to providing leverage in negotiations and facilitating recovery, says Gregory Campanella at Ocean Tomo.

  • 5 Tips To Succeed In A Master Of Laws Program And Beyond

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    As lawyers and recent law school graduates begin their Master of Laws coursework across the country, they should keep a few pointers in mind to get the most out of their programs and kick-start successful careers in their practice areas, says Kelley Miller at Reed Smith.

  • Opinion

    Portland's Gross Receipts Tax Oversteps City's Authority

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    Recent measures by Portland, Oregon, that expand the voter-approved scope of the Clean Energy Surcharge on certain retail sales eviscerate the common meaning of the word "retail" and exceed the city's chartered authority to levy tax, say Nikki Dobay at Greenberg Traurig and Jeff Newgard at Peak Policy.

  • IP Hot Topic: The Intersection Of Trademark And Antitrust Law

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    Antitrust claims – like those in the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent case against Apple – are increasingly influencing trademark disputes and enforcement practices, demonstrating how antitrust law can dilute the power of a trademark, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • Series

    Being An Opera Singer Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    My journey from the stage to the courtroom has shown that the skills I honed as an opera singer – punctuality, memorization, creativity and more – have all played a vital role in my success as an attorney, says Gerard D'Emilio at GableGotwals.

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