Telecommunications

  • October 31, 2024

    IP Forecast: Another Apple Watch Trial Kicks Off In California

    Apple and Masimo will face off next week in their long-running feud over whether the tech giant misappropriated Masimo's trade secrets for some of the health-monitoring features used in newer versions of the Apple Watch. Here's a spotlight on that case — plus all the other major intellectual property matters on deck in the coming week.

  • October 31, 2024

    6th Circ. Wrestles With Reach Of FCC's Net Neutrality Powers

    Sixth Circuit judges on Thursday sought to clear up what one described as a "close call" over how much authority Congress gave the Federal Communications Commission to regulate internet traffic when lawmakers overhauled telecommunications law in 1996.

  • October 31, 2024

    Madigan Ally Set Up Work For Speaker's Fired Aide, Jury Told

    An ex-lobbyist on trial alongside former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan made arrangements for a political operative that Madigan fired to receive monthly payments while he was unemployed, suggesting he enter into contracts with loyal lobbyists and write up reports on legislators "in case the IRS checks this out," a federal jury heard Thursday.

  • October 31, 2024

    A Boeing Space Exit, $3B Hot Dogs And More Deal Rumors

    Like the two astronauts currently stranded on the International Space Station, Boeing is reportedly looking to get out of space — by exiting its NASA business. In earthly news, foreign meat companies are reportedly eyeing popular hot dog brand Oscar Mayer at a price tag that could approach an arguably gluttonous $3 billion, and Blackstone could shell out five big ones — $5 billion, that is — for a cellphone infrastructure business. Here, Law360 breaks down these and other deal rumors from the past week.

  • October 31, 2024

    CBS Escapes Ex-Employee's Vaccine Bias Suit

    CBSViacom/Paramount beat a former employee's lawsuit claiming she was fired because she requested a medical exemption to the company's COVID-19 vaccination policy, with a New York federal judge ruling she failed to fix errors previously identified by the court.

  • October 31, 2024

    Ex-Salesman Says CommScope's Bonus System Cut His Pay

    Broadband company CommScope Technologies is facing a proposed class action alleging that its system for tracking commissions is flawed to the point that it does not accurately reflect the full incentive bonuses its employees have actually earned and that the company has knowingly let the problem persist.

  • October 31, 2024

    FCC's Senior Republican Blasts Bulk-Billing Restrictions

    One-half of the Federal Communicatiions Commission's Republican minority is coming out strong against the majority's plans to restrict bulk billing for broadband services, saying that the commission was under pressure by the Biden administration to "raise the price of Internet service for Americans living in apartments by as much as 50%."

  • October 31, 2024

    Meta Users Fight Uphill For Cert., But Advertisers Have A Shot

    A California federal judge who was asked to certify two classes in litigation alleging that Facebook parent Meta Platforms monopolized the social media advertising market and misused users' data said Thursday that the users' damage theory wasn't "plausible," but appeared open to the advertisers' claim they suffered the same alleged injury.

  • October 31, 2024

    What DOJ's New National Security Obsession Means For Attys

    The Justice Department’s emerging criminal crackdown on corporate national security violations is putting increased pressure on white collar lawyers to be conversant, if not experts, on opaque, complex and swiftly evolving regulations.

  • October 31, 2024

    The 2024 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard

    Check out the Law360 Pulse Leaderboard to see which firms made the list of leaders in all-around excellence this year.

  • October 31, 2024

    Firms' Hiring Strategies Are Evolving In Fight For Top Spot

    Competition for top talent among elite law firms shows no signs of slowing down, even amid economic uncertainty, with financially strong firms deploying aggressive strategies to attract and retain skilled professionals to solidify their market position.

  • October 30, 2024

    Google Workers Want Antitrust 'Gag Order' Lifted

    A union for Google workers is demanding the company rescind a directive ordering employees not to discuss the government's search monopolization case against the tech giant or the remedies that could be imposed after the court found Google violated antitrust law.

  • October 30, 2024

    More Than Half Of Cos. Slow With Antirobocall Compliance

    Fewer than half of U.S. phone companies have finished installing equipment to stop scam robocalls in the three years since the adoption of Federal Communications Commission standards for robocall mitigation, according to a new report from a consumer watchdog group.

  • October 30, 2024

    Prison Phone Co. GTL Gets OK On $17M Price-Fix Deal

    Prison phone company Global*Tel Link Corp will pay $17 million to escape claims that it colluded with two other companies to inflate the cost of calls made from inside U.S. prisons after a Maryland federal judge gave the deal her preliminary seal of approval Wednesday afternoon.

  • October 30, 2024

    Amazon Escapes Biometric Data Suit Over Call Center Tech

    Amazon Web Services Inc. beat the last remaining claim in a proposed biometric privacy class action in Delaware federal court Wednesday, with a judge saying there's no evidence the tech giant's cloud-based call center service collects customer voice data.

  • October 30, 2024

    T-Mobile Defends UScellular Spectrum Buy At FCC

    T-Mobile and United States Cellular Corp. urged the Federal Communications Commission to dismiss challenges to UScellular spectrum leases as it seeks to sell wireless operations to T-Mobile, arguing the dispute over the leases is unrelated to the wireless sale.

  • October 30, 2024

    FCC To Consider Undersea Cable Security Review In Nov.

    The Federal Communications Commission next month is expected to embark on a review of security measures for undersea cables, an issue of growing concern over the last year.

  • October 30, 2024

    CTIA Asks To Expand Hot Spot Program Directly To Devices

    School districts and libraries should be able to use their E-rate funds to provide commercially available mobile broadband service to students instead of just hotspots, a wireless industry trade group has told the Federal Communication Commission.

  • October 30, 2024

    Gov't Contracts Of The Month: Uranium And Missile Detection

    Over the past month, the Biden administration advanced plans to secure the nuclear energy supply chain with $3.5 billion worth of uranium enrichment contracts and added $1.8 billion to its next-generation missile detection program. Here are Law360's most note-worthy government contracts for October 2024.

  • October 30, 2024

    Jones Day Hires Real Estate Partner For Chicago Office

    Jones Day announced Tuesday that it hired an experienced transactional real estate attorney as a partner for its real estate and energy transition and infrastructure teams based in Chicago.

  • October 30, 2024

    NY Telecoms Urge Justices To Keep Pause On Price Cap

    Telecommunications trade groups urged U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to keep New York's broadband price cap for low-income residents on hold even if the justices ultimately decide to review it, saying in a new brief Wednesday enforcement of the price caps would do irreparable harm to their members.

  • October 30, 2024

    MVP: Steptoe LLP's Pantelis Michalopoulos

    Pantelis Michalopoulos, a partner at Steptoe LLP, wasn't afraid to stand out from a crowd of defendants and guide his client Dish Network to forge a different path before the Seventh Circuit in a proceeding over franchise fees and public rights of way, and aided mergers involving EchoStar, earning him a spot as one of the 2024 Law360 Telecommunications MVPs.

  • October 30, 2024

    Cohen & Gresser Appoints Data Director As Global CIO

    Cohen & Gresser LLP announced Tuesday the appointment of its consulting director of data strategy to the position of global chief innovation officer.

  • October 29, 2024

    DOJ Will Restrict Data Swapping With 'Countries Of Concern'

    The U.S. Department of Justice has proposed new rules that will make it the regulator of any type of transaction that would put certain kinds of sensitive privacy data in the hands of any "covered persons" or "country of concern."

  • October 29, 2024

    Judge Extends Block On Florida's Threats Over Abortion Ad

    A Florida federal judge on Tuesday extended a temporary order blocking the state from threatening television stations with criminal prosecution if they did not pull a campaign ad promoting an abortion rights ballot initiative.

Expert Analysis

  • Considerations For Federal Right Of Publicity As AI Advances

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    Amid rapid advances in generative artificial intelligence technology, Congress should consider how a federal right of publicity would interact with the existing patchwork of state name, image and likeness laws, as well as other issues like scope, harm recognized and available relief, says Ross Bagley at Pryor Cashman.

  • What Patent Litigators Should Know About CHIPS Act Grants

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    With the U.S. Department of Commerce now actively awarding grants under the CHIPS and Science Act, recipients should ensure they understand the implications of promises to construct new semiconductor manufacturing facilities, especially in jurisdictions with active patent litigation dockets, say Gabriel Culver and Peter Hillegas at Norton Rose.

  • Opinion

    Data Breach Reporting Requirements Must Change In AI Age

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    Outdated data breach reporting laws are inadequate to protect consumers in the age of artificial intelligence, as AI’s ability to determine relationships coupled with its improvements to deepfake technology mean that the very definitions used in breach reporting laws are no longer sufficient, says Collin Walke at Hall Estill.

  • Series

    Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step

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    From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Recent Settlement Shows 'China Initiative' Has Life After Death

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    Though the U.S. Department of Justice shuttered its controversial China Initiative two years ago, its recent False Claims Act settlement with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation demonstrates that prosecutors are more than willing to civilly pursue research institutions whose employees were previously targeted, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • How Calif. Ruling Alters Worker Arb. Agreement Enforcement

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    The California Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Ramirez v. Charter Communications should caution employers that while workers’ arbitration agreements will no longer be deemed unenforceable based on their number of unconscionable provisions, they must still be fair and balanced, says Sander van der Heide at CDF Labor.

  • Questions Linger About DTSA's Scope After Motorola Ruling

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    The Seventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Motorola v. Hytera, which held that the Defend Trade Secrets Act applies extraterritorially, does not address whether an act that furthers misappropriation must be committed by the defendant in order to satisfy the law's extraterritoriality requirement, say Ilissa Samplin and Grace Hart at Gibson Dunn.

  • Series

    Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.

  • Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity

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    The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • Nat'l Security Considerations For Telecom Products Counsel

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    An increase in federal national security measures in the telecommunications space, particularly from the Federal Communications Commission, means that products counsel need to broaden their considerations as they advise on new products and services, says Laura Stefani at Venable.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers cases touching on pre- and post-conviction detainment conditions, communications with class representatives, when the American Pipe tolling doctrine stops applying to modified classes, and more.

  • 7th Circ. Motorola Ruling Raises Stakes Of DTSA Litigation

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    The Seventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Motorola v. Hytera gives plaintiffs a powerful tool to recover damages, greatly increasing the incentive to bring Defend Trade Secrets Act claims against defendants with large global sales because those sales could generate large settlements, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • Challenging Prosecutors' Use Of Defendants' Jail Phone Calls

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    Although it’s an uphill battle under current case law, counsel for pretrial detainees may be able to challenge prosecutors’ use of jail-recorded phone calls between the defendant and their attorney by taking certain advance measures, say Jim McLoughlin and Fielding Huseth at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Opinion

    Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism

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    As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.

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