Technology

  • December 06, 2024

    DC Circ. Upholds TikTok Sale-Or-Ban Law

    A D.C. Circuit panel on Friday upheld a federal law giving TikTok until January to cut ties with its Chinese parent company or face a ban in the U.S., ruling that the statute survives constitutional scrutiny.

  • December 05, 2024

    9th Circ. Open To Reviving Snap Stock Suit Over Privacy Tools

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared open Thursday to reviving a proposed securities class action alleging Snap downplayed the impact Apple's privacy changes would have on ad revenues, causing the stock to eventually plunge, with two judges noting they must infer the allegations in the investors' favor at the pleading stage.

  • December 05, 2024

    Trump Taps Musk Ally David Sacks As 'AI & Crypto Czar'

    President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday that he has selected David O. Sacks, a tech investor who worked alongside Elon Musk and entrepreneur Peter Thiel in the early days of PayPal, to be the newly created "White House AI & Crypto Czar."

  • December 05, 2024

    Internet Archive Won't Take E-Book Fair Use To Justices

    The Internet Archive on Wednesday said it will not ask the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on whether its practice of distributing copyrighted e-books for free without permission from some of the world's biggest publishers is excused by the Copyright Act's fair use doctrine.

  • December 05, 2024

    IP Forecast: PTAB To Hear Pfizer Fight Over COVID-19 Patents

    Pfizer heads to an administrative board at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office next week to argue Moderna should not have been issued patents covering "a basic idea" like using mRNA to fight the COVID-19 virus. Here's a spotlight on that case — plus all the other major intellectual property matters on deck in the coming week.

  • December 05, 2024

    Man Cops To $3.5M 'Cryptojacking' Scam Against Cloud Cos.

    A Nebraska man admitted on Thursday to running a so-called "cryptojacking" scheme to defraud two cloud computing services out of $3.5 million of resources that were used to mine $1 million in cryptocurrency, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • December 05, 2024

    Frontier Pays $3.5M To End Calif. AG's Illegal Dumping Probe

    The California subsidiary of telecom company Frontier Communications will pay $3.5 million to end an investigation into the improper disposal of batteries, aerosol cans and other hazardous waste at warehouses and field service facilities dating back to 2008, the Golden State's attorney general announced Thursday.

  • December 05, 2024

    Money Services Co.'s Arbitration Bid Revived In $9M Fraud Suit

    The Eighth Circuit on Thursday reversed an Arkansas federal judge's order denying money service business EZBanc Corp.'s motion to arbitrate financial services company BSI Group's $9 million fraud suit over alleged unauthorized withdrawals, finding there to be material factual disputes over whether an agreement to arbitrate was effectively communicated to BSI.

  • December 05, 2024

    CFTC Flags AI Compliance Obligations In New Advisory

    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Thursday issued a staff advisory outlining its registrants' compliance obligations under the Commodity Exchange Act regarding the myriad of ways they may be using artificial intelligence, with the agency's chair painting the guidance as a first step ahead of potential policies.

  • December 05, 2024

    Software Co. Five9 Sued After Surprise Guidance Slash

    Cloud-based customer contact center Five9 Inc. and two of its executives face claims they misrepresented that the company was on track for healthy revenue growth, only to hurt investors by reversing course nine weeks later when they slashed Five9's financial guidance for the year.

  • December 05, 2024

    Apple To Appeal Epic's Atty-Client Privilege Challenge Win

    Apple and Epic Games told a California federal judge Thursday that they've agreed on a protocol for a special master to re-review 57,000 documents that Apple claims are attorney-client privileged in their antitrust fight, while Apple added that it plans to appeal his finding that its privilege assertions over a sample were overbroad.

  • December 05, 2024

    Investors Sue Pegasystems In Corporate Espionage Case

    Business software developer Pegasystems Inc. has been hit with allegations that it misled an asset management firm by concealing its use of illegal and unethical tactics to misappropriate competitor Appian Corp.'s trade secrets, which led to a since-overturned $2 billion Virginia state court judgment for unjust enrichment. 

  • December 05, 2024

    Netgear Seeks Anti-Suit Injunction Over Huawei's Wi-Fi SEPs

    Netgear is urging a California federal judge to block Chinese router-maker Huawei Technologies from seeking injunctions through Wi-Fi patent infringement actions the company pursued in foreign courts, arguing that Huawei is trying to impose excessive royalty rates and is avoiding its commitment to license its patents on reasonable terms.

  • December 05, 2024

    Apple Beats ICloud Storage Consumer Claims At 9th Circ.

    The Ninth Circuit was unconvinced Wednesday that Apple Inc. traps computer users into paying for additional iCloud storage upon reaching a 5-gigabyte backup limit, declining to revive a putative consumer class action against the technology giant.

  • December 05, 2024

    Vidal Sends Nokia's Patent Challenges Back To PTAB, Again

    The head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has again vacated a Patent Trial and Appeal Board refusal to hear three patent challenges by Nokia, saying the board needs to take a look at the case a third time.

  • December 05, 2024

    Judge Recommends Axing Some Claims In X Severance Suit

    A Delaware federal judge on Thursday recommended pruning of a 14-count suit filed by six former Twitter employees accusing the company now known as X and Elon Musk of contract breaches and other claims in connection with Musk's takeover of the social media giant in 2022.

  • December 05, 2024

    DOJ Is Eyeing Foreign Patent Litigation Funding, GAO Says

    The U.S. Department of Justice is examining the role foreign countries might be playing in funding patent litigation in the U.S., the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Thursday exploring the benefits and pitfalls of the proliferation of third-party intellectual property litigation financing.

  • December 05, 2024

    Gov't Efficiency Push Is A 'New Day,' House Speaker Says

    House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., spoke excitedly Thursday about the new government efficiency operation helmed by billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and touted the budding bipartisan lineup of a congressional caucus that will work with it.

  • December 05, 2024

    Sanctioned VLSI Patent Challenger Must ID Members In Va.

    VLSI Technology LLC won a major victory Thursday in litigation where it's looking for compensation from a mysterious company it claims tried to "extort" it at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, with a Virginia federal judge ordering that company to disclose its members.

  • December 05, 2024

    Infringing Phone Mounts Permanently Blocked In Patent Case

    A Washington federal judge agreed on Thursday to block a maker of electronic device mounts from selling certain products that have infringed a patent owned by a rival.

  • December 05, 2024

    Face-Swapping App Can't Ax Reality TV Star's Suit At 9th Circ.

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday refused to toss a reality TV star's proposed class action accusing a face-swapping app of misusing his likeness, finding his statutory right-of-publicity claim isn't preempted by the federal Copyright Act since the claim involves his likeness and "not a work of authorship."

  • December 05, 2024

    Yardi Must Face Rent-Fixing Suit With Tough Standard

    A Washington federal court has refused to dismiss an antitrust case accusing multifamily building owners of conspiring to use Yardi's revenue management software to inflate rental prices and found the claims should be treated as classic price-fixing allegations.

  • December 05, 2024

    Chinese Bank Faces New Suit Alleging Reinsurance Fraud

    Another group of insurers has accused one of China's largest banks of participating in a "multi-billion-dollar fraud" in the reinsurance market, telling a New York federal court Thursday that the bank, including its New York branch, has refused to honor over $890 million worth of letters of credit.

  • December 05, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Unlikely To Help Realtek Pursue ITC Sanctions

    A Federal Circuit panel seemed baffled Thursday as a K&L Gates attorney argued that the U.S. International Trade Commission wrongly stopped his client from pursuing sanctions, with the panel repeatedly noting that the semiconductor company wasn't even a party in the import dispute.

  • December 05, 2024

    Charter Settles For $1.1M After FCC Emergency Alert Probe

    Charter has agreed to pay $1.1 million to end an investigation by the Federal Communications Commission into whether the cable giant failed to properly keep emergency alert devices online during an FCC test of the system last fall.

Expert Analysis

  • 3 Coverage Tips As 2nd Circ. 'Swipes Left' On Tinder Claim

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    The Second Circuit's recent opinion in Match Group v. Beazley Underwriting, overturning Tinder's victory on its insurer's motion to dismiss a coverage action, reinforces three best practices policyholders purchasing claims-made coverage should adhere to in order to avoid late-notice defenses, say Lynda Bennett and Alexander Corson at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Ruling On Foreign Dividend Break Offers 2 Tax Court Insights

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    In Varian v. Commissioner, the U.S. Tax Court allowed a taxpayer's deduction for dividends from foreign subsidiaries, providing clarity on how the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision may affect challenges to Treasury regulations, and revealing a potential disallowance of foreign tax credits, say attorneys at Davis Polk.

  • How Loper Bright Is Affecting Pending FCC Litigation

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    Pending challenges against Federal Communications Commission orders at the Sixth and Eleventh Circuits following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright highlight that counsel must be familiar with the statutes, regulations and precedent relevant to the FCC to best navigate the rapidly changing compliance landscape, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • USPTO Guidance Suggests 2 Strategies For AI Inventions

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    Analyzing the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's recent guidance, it appears that there are at least two paths for establishing that an artificial intelligence invention is eligible for protection, and that which strategy to use may turn on how broadly the invention is applied, says William Morriss at Frost Brown.

  • Series

    Round-Canopy Parachuting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Similar to the practice of law, jumping from an in-flight airplane with nothing but training and a few yards of parachute silk is a demanding and stressful endeavor, and the experience has bolstered my legal practice by enhancing my focus, teamwork skills and sense of perspective, says Thomas Salerno at Stinson.

  • And Now A Word From The Panel: The MDL Map

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    An intriguing yet unpredictable facet of multidistrict litigation practice is venue selection for new MDL proceedings, and the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation considers many factors when it assigns an MDL venue, says Alan Rothman at Sidley Austin.

  • Navigating Restrictions Following Biotech Bill House Passage

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    Ahead of the BIOSECURE Act’s potential enactment, companies that obtain equipment from certain Chinese biotechnology companies should consider whether the act would restrict their ability to enter into contracts with the U.S. government and what steps they might take in response, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Dealmaker Lessons From CFIUS' New Enforcement Webpage

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    The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States’ recently launched webpage, which details the actions — and inactions — that led to enforcement activity, provides important insights for dealmakers about filing requirements, mitigation commitments and the cost of noncompliance, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • What's In Colorado's 1st-Of-Its-Kind Neural Privacy Law

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    Colorado recently became the first U.S. state to directly regulate neurotechnology with new legislation amending the Colorado Privacy Act to specifically protect biological and neural data, offering an example of how lawmakers can tackle the perceived regulation gaps in this area, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Why Now Is The Time For Law Firms To Hire Lateral Partners

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    Partner and associate mobility data from the second quarter of this year suggest that there's never been a better time in recent years for law firms to hire lateral candidates, particularly experienced partners — though this necessitates an understanding of potential red flags, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics

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    Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.

  • What To Know About Insurance Coverage For Antitrust Risks

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    With all the regulatory activity surrounding antitrust and unfair competition claims, as highlighted by last month's D.C. federal court decision that Google is a monopolist, businesses must not only ensure compliance, but also understand their potential insurance coverage when such claims arise, says Micah Skidmore at Haynes Boone.

  • It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers

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    Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.

  • Service Agreement Lessons From July's Global Tech Outage

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    The worldwide outages recently caused by Crowdstrike Holdings' misconfigured software update highlight the need to evaluate potential IT vendors, negotiate certain service agreement terms, and review existing agreements and diligence forms to help prevent future disruptions and mitigate the fallout should one occur, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Calif. Bill, NTIA Report Illustrate Open-Model AI Safety Debate

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    The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s balanced recommendations for preventing misuse of open artificial intelligence models, contrasted with a more aggressive California bill, demonstrate an evolving regulatory debate about balancing democratic access to this powerful new technology against potential risks to the public, say Stuart Meyer and Fredrick Tsang at Fenwick.

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