Technology

  • July 23, 2024

    4 Firms Guide SPAC Mergers Targeting AI, Cannabis Sectors

    An AI-powered startup that vows to combat "disinformation" and a medical cannabis developer have agreed to go public by merging with special purpose acquisition companies through separate deals unveiled this week, guided by four law firms and a law office.

  • July 23, 2024

    Chamber Rips Multibillion-Dollar Atty Fee Bid In Musk Pay Suit

    The nation's largest business organization has urged Delaware's Court of Chancery to adopt sweeping curbs to jumbo plaintiff attorney fee awards, declaring a multibillion-dollar fee bid following the cancellation of Tesla CEO Elon Musk's stock-based pay plan "shocks the conscience."

  • July 23, 2024

    Rising Star: Goodwin's James Ding

    James Ding of Goodwin Procter LLP has worked on several multibillion-dollar technology deals, including the $12.5 billion sale of software company Qualtrics, earning him a spot among the technology lawyers under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 23, 2024

    Clinic Gets NC Biz Court's Final OK For Hacking Suit Deal

    A North Carolina Business Court judge granted final approval to a class action settlement between a physician-owned orthopedic practice and the current and former patients who took it to court over a data breach that exposed their private information, including their medical records.

  • July 23, 2024

    Chase, McKinsey Get FTC Inquiry Over 'Surveillance Pricing'

    The Federal Trade Commission has issued orders to eight companies — including Mastercard, Chase, Accenture and McKinsey & Co. — seeking more information about the potential impact their practices of "surveillance pricing" products and services have on privacy, competition and consumer protection, the FTC said Tuesday.

  • July 22, 2024

    Elon Musk's X Corp. Accused Of TM Infringement, Again

    Public relations firm Multiply on Monday accused Elon Musk's social media platform of ripping off its stylized "X" logo to create a substantially similar design, despite knowing Multiply already has a registered trademark, according to an infringement lawsuit in California federal court.

  • July 22, 2024

    Neo Wireless Deceived Patent Officials, Auto Giants Say

    Automakers accused of infringing Neo Wireless LLC's technology have urged a Michigan federal judge to keep alive their defense that Neo committed misconduct, arguing that the wireless company withheld information about a competitor's project that would have rendered the patents at issue obvious.

  • July 22, 2024

    Verizon's TracFone Hit With $16M FCC Data Breach Penalty

    Verizon's prepaid service subsidiary TracFone Wireless has agreed to shell out a $16 million civil penalty to resolve Federal Communications Commission probes into whether it failed to protect customer information during three data breaches, the agency announced Monday.

  • July 22, 2024

    VidStream Can't Block X Features That Allegedly Infringe IP

    VidStream can't block X Corp. from deploying features that allegedly infringe its patent over a system for receiving and distributing user-generated video, a Texas federal judge said Monday, finding that VidStream is unable to show the alleged infringement can't be remedied through monetary damages and therefore fails to show it will be irreparably harmed.

  • July 22, 2024

    FCC, Industry Debate If Brand X Case Set Broadband In Stone

    Industry groups are pushing their case to the Sixth Circuit that the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules should be tossed because the demise of the Chevron doctrine trimmed agency's legal authority, but the FCC argues that the recent paring back of federal regulators' discretion means nothing for the agency's restrictions on broadband providers.

  • July 22, 2024

    Beauty Co. Misled Investors Ahead Of Its $424M IPO, Suit Says

    Israeli beauty and wellness products company Oddity Tech Ltd. has been hit with a potential class action in New York federal court by an investor who alleges that the company overstated its artificial intelligence technology capabilities before its $424 million initial public offering last year.

  • July 22, 2024

    FCC Blames AT&T Network Change For 'Sunny Day' Outage

    The Federal Communications Commission said Monday it will consider enforcement action after finding that an AT&T network change triggered a massive service outage in February, which blocked more than 92 million calls and 25,000 attempts to reach 911.

  • July 22, 2024

    Tesla's Autopilot Caused Calif. Man's Fatal Crash, Family Says

    The family of a Fresno, California, man who died following a car crash last year says Tesla Inc.'s Autopilot system is to blame, according to a wrongful death suit filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court.

  • July 22, 2024

    Uber, Investors Ink $200M Deal To End 'Train Wreck' IPO Suit

    Uber Technologies Inc. has agreed to pay $200 million to exit a class action accusing it of failing to inform investors about significant business risks tied to stalling growth and potential legal issues ahead of its $8.1 billion initial public offering in 2019.

  • July 22, 2024

    Rail Biz Asks 4th Circ. To Revive Va. Broadband Law Fight

    The Association of American Railroads is asking the Fourth Circuit to step in and put a stop to a Virginia law that allows broadband providers easier access to railroad property, calling it a "supercharged eminent-domain scheme."

  • July 22, 2024

    Chancery Ruling Denies Extra New Relic Doc Release Demand

    Two shareholders of web analytics firm New Relic Inc. lost a Delaware Court of Chancery bid Monday for additional disclosures regarding the company's $6.5 billion, $87-per-share buyout by private equity firms Francisco Partners and TPG Capital LP, despite a magistrate's finding that the original, general demand was proper.

  • July 22, 2024

    BlackBerry Sex Harassment Plaintiff May Lose Anonymity

    A former BlackBerry executive claiming CEO John Giamatteo sexually harassed her on his way up to the top job while she was fired for reporting his actions may not be able to proceed with her suit anonymously, a California federal judge said Monday.

  • July 22, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Axes Claim In UNM Network Patent, Questions Others

    The Federal Circuit ruled Monday that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board wrongly upheld part of a University of New Mexico wireless communications patent challenged by network equipment maker Zyxel, and ordered the board to reconsider amended claims it had allowed.

  • July 22, 2024

    9th Circ. Backs Moving Video Game IP Suit To South Korea

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday said a federal judge correctly dismissed a copyright and trade secrets complaint from a South Korean video game developer against a rival because their country is a more convenient venue, rejecting plaintiff Nexon Korea Corp.'s arguments that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act should have prevented that from happening.

  • July 22, 2024

    Scanner Maker Tells 4th Circ. Contract Ends Honeywell Suit

    Laser technology company Opto Electronics urged the Fourth Circuit to overturn a jury finding that it was liable for ripping off Honeywell International over royalties for barcode scanners, arguing that a contract between the companies foreclosed the result as a matter of law.

  • July 22, 2024

    NC Hospital, Patients Nearing Deal In Hacking Suit

    Columbus Regional Healthcare System and the patients who accused it of failing to properly protect their personal information at its North Carolina hospital have reached a tentative settlement agreement, according to a new notice asking the Tar Heel State's business court to pause proceedings while they hash it out.

  • July 22, 2024

    Goodwin Guides Bregal Sagemount's $500M Fund Close

    Growth-focused private equity shop Bregal Sagemount, advised by Goodwin Procter LLP, on Monday announced that it clinched its inaugural fund after raising $500 million of capital commitments.

  • July 22, 2024

    Lexitas Says IT Consulting Co. Didn't Finish $2M Project

    Litigation services company Depositions Solutions LLC, which does business as Lexitas, said in a Texas county complaint Monday that a Philadelphia-based information technology company hired to upgrade its web services failed to complete a more than $2 million project.

  • July 22, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    A $6 million bank fee, a $42.5 million shopping mall deal, some questionable Amazon deliveries and long-ago expired ketchup: it was all part of the comings and goings in Delaware's Court of Chancery last week. New cases involved mining and cybersecurity companies, board takeovers, "weaponized" director election provisions, and legal fees following a $3.1 billion telecom merger. In case you missed it, here's the latest from the Chancery Court.

  • July 22, 2024

    AI-Focused Velocium To Go Public Via $445M SPAC Merger

    AI-focused technology provider Velocium Inc. has agreed to go public by merging with special purpose acquisition company Maquia Capital Acquisition Corp. in a deal that values Velocium at $445 million, both parties announced.

Expert Analysis

  • How Duty Of Candor Figures In USPTO AI Ethics Guidance

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    The duty of candor and good faith is an important part of the artificial intelligence ethics guidance issued last week by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and serious consequences can visit patent and trademark applicants who violate that duty, not just their attorneys and agents, says Michael Cicero at Taylor English.

  • Del. Match.com Ruling Maintains Precedent In Time Of Change

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    Despite speculation that the Delaware Supreme Court could drive away corporations if it lowered the bar for business judgment review in its Match.com stockholder ruling, the court broke its recent run of controversial precedent-busting decisions by upholding, and arguably strengthening, minority stockholder protections against controller coercion, say Renee Zaytsev and Marc Ayala at Boies Schiller.

  • The Future Of BIPA Insurance Litigation After Visual Pak

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    A recent Illinois appellate court decision, National Fire Insurance v. Visual Pak, may have altered the future of insurance litigation under the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act by diametrically opposing a prominent Seventh Circuit ruling that found insurance coverage for violations of the act, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Patent Lessons From 8 Federal Circuit Reversals In March

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    A number of Federal Circuit patent decisions last month reversed or vacated underlying rulings, providing guidance regarding the definiteness of a claim that include multiple limitations of different scopes, the importance of adequate jury instruction, the proper scope of the precedent, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.

  • First 10b5-1 Insider Trading Case Raises Compliance Issues

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    The ongoing case against former Ontrak CEO Terren Peizer is the U.S. Department of Justice's first insider trading prosecution based primarily on the filing of 10b5-1 plans, and has important takeaways for attorneys reviewing corporate policies on the possession of material nonpublic information, say attorneys at Cadwalader.

  • Tenn. Law Protecting Artists From AI Raises Novel Issues

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    Tennessee recently enacted a law that extends the right of publicity protection to individuals' voices in an attempt to control the proliferation of artificial intelligence in the music industry, presenting fascinating questions about the First Amendment, the fair use doctrine and more, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • Consumer Privacy Takeaways From FTC Extraterritorial Action

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    With what appears to be its first privacy-related consent agreement with a non-U.S. business, the Federal Trade Commission establishes that its reach is extraterritorial and that consumer internet browsing data is sensitive data, and there are lessons for any multinational business that handles consumer information, say Olivia Greer and Alexis Bello at Weil.

  • A Look At Ex Parte Seizures 8 Years Post-DTSA

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    In the eight years since the Defend Trade Secrets Act was enacted, not much has changed for jurisprudence on ex parte seizures, but a few seminal rulings show that there still isn’t a bright line on what qualifies as extraordinary circumstances warranting a seizure, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • Series

    Whitewater Kayaking Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Whether it's seeing clients and their issues from a new perspective, or staying nimble in a moment of intense challenge, the lessons learned from whitewater kayaking transcend the rapids of a river and prepare attorneys for the courtroom and beyond, says Matthew Kent at Alston & Bird.

  • AI In The Operating Room: Liability Issues For Device Makers

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    As healthcare providers consider medical devices that use artificial intelligence — including systems to help surgeons make decisions in the operating room — and lobby to shift liability to device manufacturers, companies making these products must review potential product liability risks and important design considerations for such equipment, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • 10 Years After Alice, Predictability Debate Lingers

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    A decade after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Alice ruling, critics continue to argue that the subject matter eligibility framework it established yields inconsistent results, but that contention is disproved by affirmance data from the Federal Circuit, district courts and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, say Dennis Abdelnour and David Thomas at Honigman.

  • This Earth Day, Consider How Your Firm Can Go Greener

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    As Earth Day approaches, law firms and attorneys should consider adopting more sustainable practices to reduce their carbon footprint — from minimizing single-use plastics to purchasing carbon offsets for air travel — which ultimately can also reduce costs for clients, say M’Lynn Phillips and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.

  • 4 Ways AI Tools Can Improve Traditional Merger Analyses

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    Government officials at the American Bar Association's annual antitrust spring meeting last week reinforced the view that competition cases will increasingly rely on sophisticated data analysis, so companies will likewise need to use Big Tech quantitative techniques to improve traditional merger analyses, say Patrick Bajari, Gianmarco Calanchi and Tega Akati-Udi at Keystone.

  • How Companies Can Use Big Data As A Strategic Asset

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    Artificial intelligence technology powered by big data has the potential to create radical improvements to business operations, but if big data is improperly protected or monetized, this same information can give competitors similar advantages, or at the very least undermine a company's edge, say Gary Weinstein and Hudson Peters at Faegre Drinker.

  • Oracle Ruling Underscores Trend Of Mootness Fee Denials

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    The Delaware Chancery Court’s recent refusal to make tech giant Oracle shoulder $5 million of plaintiff shareholders' attorney fees illustrates a trend of courts raising the standard for granting the mootness fee awards once ubiquitous in post-merger derivative disputes, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

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