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Technology
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October 17, 2024
Alabama, Florida Get OK To Access $2.5B BEAD Funding
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced Thursday it has approved proposals from Alabama and Florida for $2.5 billion funding to begin implementing the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program to improve high-speed internet connectivity in underserved communities.
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October 17, 2024
Pa. AG Can't Get State Claims Restored In FTC Amazon Suit
A federal judge tersely denied a request from Pennsylvania's attorney general, who had sought to reinstate her state's consumer protection claims against Amazon in the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust suit.
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October 17, 2024
Former X Exec 'Worst' For Class In Bonus Suit, Judge Says
A former X Corp. senior director of compensation is "the worst possible candidate" for the class he proposed in his suit claiming unpaid bonuses after Elon Musk took the reins of the company, a California federal judge said, slamming his bid for class certification.
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October 16, 2024
BetterHelp Can't Ax Suit Over Sharing Data With Advertisers
A California federal judge has trimmed but refused to completely toss a consolidated putative class action accusing online counseling platform BetterHelp Inc. of unlawfully disclosing consumers' confidential information to third parties for advertising purposes, finding that newly added details boosted several of the plaintiffs' claims.
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October 16, 2024
Spex Jury Can't Use Kingston Deal To Calculate IP Damages
A California federal judge ruled Wednesday that jurors deciding whether Western Digital infringed Spex Technologies' data security patent can't consider Spex's 2009 licensing agreement with Kingston Technology to calculate potential damages, since there was no way to tease the value of the patent-at-issue out of the broader deal.
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October 16, 2024
NY's Financial Regulator Releases AI Cybersecurity Guidance
New York's Department of Financial Services issued new guidance Wednesday intended to give state-regulated financial institutions an outline for protecting against cybersecurity risks posed by artificial intelligence.
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October 16, 2024
Chinese AI Co. Hit With Investor Suit Over Nasdaq Compliance
China-based artificial intelligence company Xiao-I Corp. was hit with a proposed investor class action in New York federal court alleging it downplayed increasing research and development costs that it was incurring, increasing the likelihood that it would fail to comply with the Nasdaq Stock Market's minimum price requirement after going public.
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October 16, 2024
Apple Heart Rate Monitor Patent Survives PTAB
An administrative patent board has decided not to invalidate an Apple patent that the tech giant once asserted in its ongoing fight with a company in the smartwatch space.
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October 16, 2024
Atty Pressed On DMI Stock Drop Focus In Del. Merger Suit
A Delaware vice chancellor repeatedly pressed an attorney for shareholders of 3D printer manufacturer The ExOne Co. Wednesday on the relative importance of a stock drop experienced by acquirer Desktop Metal Inc. before and after shareholders voted on a $575 million merger.
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October 16, 2024
Sudanese Men Charged With Hacking Cedars-Sinai, Microsoft
California federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that two Sudanese brothers have been charged with operating a prolific hacking group that orchestrated tens of thousands of politically motivated cyberattacks against worldwide government agencies, Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and companies including Microsoft, PayPal, Google and Netflix.
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October 16, 2024
FTC Says Customers Must Be Able To 'Click To Cancel'
Companies will now be required to allow customers to ditch their subscriptions with a single click after the Federal Trade Commission finalized its new "click to cancel" rule, which has been years in the making.
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October 16, 2024
Pharma Co. Contractor Settles SEC Insider Trading Claim
An information technology consultant for a Massachusetts biopharmaceutical company will pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over $28,000 to resolve claims he immediately dumped shares of his client when he got wind of its yet-to-be announced plans for major layoffs.
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October 16, 2024
Fla. Sued Over Threats To TV Stations For Airing Abortion Ad
The sponsor of a ballot initiative that would enshrine the right to abortion in the Florida Constitution sued the state Wednesday over letters threatening television stations with criminal prosecution if they did not pull a campaign ad promoting the initiative.
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October 16, 2024
Alphatec Investor Seeks $9.5M Atty Fee After Chancery Win
A family office investment company that recently won a five-year battle over millions worth of securities purchase rights not honored by a surgical and medical device developer asked Delaware's Court of Chancery on Wednesday to shift more than $9.5 million in fees and expenses to the developer.
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October 16, 2024
SEC Data Contractor Faked Audit Certification, Feds Say
The CEO of a company that received roughly $11 million from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to provide data infrastructure services was charged in D.C. federal court with creating a shell entity to fraudulently claim his business was certified for high-level reliability and security, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
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October 16, 2024
NY Urges Sotomayor Not To Block Broadband Price Cap Law
New York is fighting the telecommunications industry's effort to halt its new law capping broadband prices for low-income residents, telling U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to reject a petition that would stay the law's implementation pending a forthcoming certiorari bid challenging the law.
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October 16, 2024
Pa. AG Wants State Claims Restored In FTC Amazon Suit
Pennsylvania's attorney general wants to get back into a joint state and federal antitrust case against Amazon, asking a Washington federal judge to reconsider tossing claims under Pennsylvania's consumer protection law because Amazon allegedly concealed its unfair trade practices from Pennsylvania customers.
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October 16, 2024
Fed. Circ. Restores Patent Fight Between LED Light Cos.
A small Utah company that claims to have developed novel LED lights persuaded the Federal Circuit on Wednesday to keep its patent lawsuit alive after a Los Angeles judge used an "improper construction" of words to allow a different company that sells light bulbs to slip out of the suit.
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October 16, 2024
Fed. Circ. Affirms Samsung's PTAB Wins Over LED Patents
The Federal Circuit on Wednesday upheld the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's decision to invalidate the vast majority of two Lynk Labs LED patents, but wasn't ready to address a larger issue from a third, related case.
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October 16, 2024
Latham-Led Silicon Carbide Biz Lands $2.5B Of New Funding
Silicon carbide technology company Wolfspeed, advised by Latham & Watkins LLP and Smith Anderson, announced that it expects to receive up to $2.5 billion in new funding, through the CHIPS and Science Act and from a consortium that includes private equity giant Apollo, to support the expansion of silicon carbon manufacturing in the U.S.
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October 16, 2024
M&A Pros Cautious About Expected Private Equity Surge
It's an oft-repeated line that private equity activity is set to surge amid pressure to exit older investments and deploy record stores of dry powder, but mergers and acquisitions professionals recently surveyed by Dykema were cautious when asked if they expect private equity to boost deal flow in the next 12 months, with a majority saying they only "somewhat agree."
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October 16, 2024
Remote Workers Weren't Reimbursed For Expenses, Suit Says
A customer experience technology company required remote workers to purchase high-speed internet and computers but didn't reimburse them for these costs, causing their wages to hold less value, a former employee said in a lawsuit filed in Colorado federal court.
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October 16, 2024
DLA Piper Says 'Sloppy' Work Cost Pregnant Associate Job
DLA Piper urged a New York federal court to throw out a former associate's lawsuit alleging that she was fired after requesting maternity leave, saying her work performance was "shockingly poor" during her one year with the firm.
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October 16, 2024
Two Circles Boosts 'Big 5' Sports Client Base With Kore Buy
Sports data and entertainment company Two Circles said Wednesday it has agreed to buy sports industry intelligence platform Kore, in a deal that will create a merged company worth a reported $650 million.
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October 16, 2024
RTX To Pay $1B For Qatari Bribes And Defrauding US Gov't
RTX Corp. and its Raytheon subsidiary have agreed to pay approximately $1 billion and enter into two separate deferred prosecution agreements in connection with a bribery scheme to secure Qatari military contracts, as well as separate ploys to defraud the U.S. government in deals for Patriot missile and radar systems.
Expert Analysis
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Navigating Complex Regulatory Terrain Amid State AG Races
This year's 10 attorney general elections could usher in a wave of new enforcement priorities and regulatory uncertainty, but companies can stay ahead of the shifts by building strong relationships with AG offices, participating in industry coalitions and more, say Ketan Bhirud and Dustin McDaniel at Cozen O’Connor.
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How A Trump Win Might Affect The H-1B Program
A review of the Trump administration's attempted overhaul of the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program suggests policies Donald Trump might try to implement if he is reelected, and specific steps employers should consider to prepare for that possibility, says Eileen Lohmann at BAL.
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Challenge To Ill. Card Fee Law Explores Compliance Hurdles
A recent federal lawsuit challenging an Illinois law that will soon forbid electronic payment networks from charging fees for processing the tax and tip portions of card transactions, fleshes out the glaring compliance challenges and exposure risks financial institutions must be ready to face next summer, says Martin Kiernan at Amundsen Davis.
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Recent Securities Cases Highlight Risks In AI Disclosures
Increasing public disclosure about the use and risks of artificial intelligence, and related litigation asserting that such disclosures are false or misleading, suggest that issuers need to exercise great care with respect to how they describe the benefits of AI, say Richard Zelichov and Danny Tobey at DLA Piper.
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Opinion
This Election, We Need To Talk About Court Process
In recent decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has markedly transformed judicial processes — from summary judgment standards to notice pleadings — which has, in turn, affected individuals’ substantive rights, and we need to consider how the upcoming presidential election may continue this pattern, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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A Look At The PTAB's Assessment Of Prior Art Exceptions
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board's approach over the last 10 years to assessing Section 102(b) prior art exceptions reveals a few trends, including that evidence of common ownership may have a higher likelihood of successfully disqualifying prior art under Section 102(b)(2)(C) at the institution stage, say Louis Panzica and David Holman at Sterne Kessler.
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Series
Playing Diplomacy Makes Us Better Lawyers
Similar to the practice of law, the rules of Diplomacy — a strategic board game set in pre-World War I Europe — are neither concise nor without ambiguity, and weekly gameplay with our colleagues has revealed the game's practical applications to our work as attorneys, say Jason Osborn and Ben Bevilacqua at Winston & Strawn.
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Open Questions In Unsettled Geofence Warrant Landscape
The Fourth and Fifth Circuits recently reached radically divergent conclusions about the constitutionality of geofence warrants, creating an uncertain landscape in which defendants should assert and preserve the full range of conventional Fourth Amendment challenges, says Charles Fowler at McKool Smith.
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A Look At 5 States' New Data Privacy Laws
With new data privacy laws in Utah, Florida, Texas, Oregon and Montana recently in effect or coming into force this year, state-level enforcement of data privacy creates significant challenges and risks for how businesses interact with employees and consumers, and for companies that provide and use technologies in multiple jurisdictions, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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Antitrust In Retail: Why FTC Is Studying 'Surveillance Pricing'
The Federal Trade Commission's decision to study targeted "surveillance pricing" should provide greater clarity into the nature of the data aggregation industry, but also raises several issues, including whether these practices are in fact illegal under any established interpretations of U.S. antitrust law, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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Mental Health First Aid: A Brief Primer For Attorneys
Amid a growing body of research finding that attorneys face higher rates of mental illness than the general population, firms should consider setting up mental health first aid training programs to help lawyers assess mental health challenges in their colleagues and intervene with compassion, say psychologists Shawn Healy and Tracey Meyers.
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Licensing And Protections For Voice Actors In The Age Of AI
While two recently enacted California laws and other recent state and federal legislation largely focus on protecting actors and musicians from the unauthorized use of their digital likenesses by generative artificial intelligence systems, the lesser-known community of professional voice actors also stands to benefit, says attorney Scott Mortman.
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Series
Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3
In the third quarter of the year, California continued to be at the forefront of banking regulation as it enacted legislation on unfair banking practices and junk fees, and the state Department of Financial Protection and Innovation notably initiated enforcement actions focused on crypto-assets and student loan debt relief, say Stuart Richter and Eric Hail at Katten.
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8 Issues AI Firms May Encounter As M&A Action Accelerates
As the AI merger climate heats up, potential complications may arise, including antitrust scrutiny, talent retention agreements, and aggressive and protective deal terms intended to compensate for lofty valuations, say Scott Schwartz and Kishan Barot at Manatt.
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2 High Court Securities Cases Could Clarify Pleading Rules
In granting certiorari in a pair of securities fraud cases against Facebook and Nvidia, respectively, the U.S. Supreme Court has signaled its intention to align interpretations of the heightened pleading standard under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act amid its uneven application among the circuit courts, say attorneys at V&E.