Telecommunications

  • July 29, 2024

    DirecTV Calls Bundled Service Exemption For Fee Regs Unfair

    If the Federal Communication Commission decides to exclude bundled services from new rules it plans to put in place banning cable and satellite providers from charging early termination fees, satellite providers will be the only ones actually bound by the rules, DirecTV has told the agency.

  • July 29, 2024

    Tenn. Republican Seeks To Block Net Neutrality In Senate

    Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn is trying to gut the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules, mirroring an ongoing effort by House Republicans.

  • July 29, 2024

    Senate To Vote On Bills To Protect Kids Online

    The Senate is poised to vote on Tuesday on a package of two major bipartisan bills to protect children online that could represent a watershed moment in technology regulation.

  • July 29, 2024

    Ga. Auto Salvage Chain Hit With Suit Over Harassing Texts

    Pull-A-Part LLC on Friday was slapped with a proposed class action in Georgia federal court that accuses the Atlanta-based junkyard and auto salvage chain of sending unsolicited promotional text messages to consumers even after they asked to stop receiving them in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

  • July 29, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Litigation linked to Elon Musk sparked several filings in Delaware's Court of Chancery last week, including a call for sanctions and hand-wringing about a proposed multibillion-dollar attorney fee. Here, Law360 looks at this and other highlights from last week in Delaware's Chancery Court.

  • July 29, 2024

    5th Circ. Takedown Prompts Call To Reform Universal Service

    A major telecom trade association is telling Congress to get started reforming the Universal Service Fund quickly, saying that the Fifth Circuit's recent holding that the program's current setup is unconstitutional should bring an urgency to restructuring efforts.

  • July 26, 2024

    DOJ Whistleblower Pilot On Deck As Cos. Boost Compliance

    Corporations are making their compliance programs more proactive amid an ongoing push from the Biden administration for firms to come forward with information as the U.S. Department of Justice prepares to roll out a pilot program to reward whistleblowers who alert prosecutors to significant corporate misconduct.

  • July 26, 2024

    Off The Bench: NBA Signs Mega Deals, Jerry Jones Settles

    In this week's Off The Bench, the NBA signed $77 billion worth of telecast and streaming deals while longtime league broadcaster TNT challenged the decision, Jerry Jones' suit against his alleged daughter settled while jurors were at lunch, and Pennsylvania's high court agreed to hear an appeal relating to Pittsburgh's jock tax, a fee applied to nonresident professional athletes.

  • July 26, 2024

    ESPN, Fox, Hulu Oppose Bid To Block Sports Streaming JV

    Streaming service Fubo has told a New York federal court that ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery are teaming up with others to knock down its "sports-first streaming business," but what Fubo calls anticompetitive behavior, the trio of companies on the other side of a lawsuit call fair competition.

  • July 26, 2024

    More Airwaves Needed To Support Drones, FCC Told

    Several utility companies have come together to tell the Federal Communications Commission that they need more room in the 5 gigahertz and 4.9 GHz bands for drone operations, which they say make their employees' jobs safer and easier.

  • July 26, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Upholds PTAB Estoppel Rule, But Limits Its Reach

    The Federal Circuit on Friday upheld a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rule that can lead to Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions rendering patent claims invalid in later office proceedings, but found in a case involving Apple and Motorola that the rule doesn't apply to issued claims.

  • July 26, 2024

    Calif. Community Org Opposes FCC Bulk Billing Clampdown

    A technology-focused community group in California has joined a chorus of advocates calling for the Federal Communications Commission to hit the brakes on a proposal to tighten rules for bulk billing in multitenant environments.

  • July 26, 2024

    FCC Kicks Off Rapid Response Team To Zap Pole Disputes

    The Federal Communications Commission has launched a rapid response team to clear up disputes between utility pole owners and internet service providers over the cost of upgrading or replacing poles to allow for new broadband equipment.

  • July 26, 2024

    'Worthless' Insurance Scam Gets Telemarketing CEO 25 Years

    An Illinois federal judge has sentenced the owner of a telemarketing company to 25 years in federal prison for scheming with another former executive to sell consumers health insurance plans with low coverage caps.

  • July 26, 2024

    Data Co. Told To Turn Over Contracts In Kochava Case

    A D.C. federal judge plans to order TargetSmart to turn over supplier contracts to the Federal Trade Commission in the agency's case against TargetSmart client Kochava on Friday, after TargetSmart's attorney said she was "99% sure that there was no due diligence done by Kochava" regarding the data's provenance.

  • July 26, 2024

    Taxation With Representation: Wachtell, Polsinelli, Kirkland

    In this week's Taxation With Representation, T-Mobile partners with KKR to acquire Metronet, Exclusive Networks gets a takeover offer, KKR buys Instructure Holdings Inc., and Bally's Corp. merges with The Queen Casino & Entertainment Inc.

  • July 26, 2024

    HP Calls Dolby, Philips, Mitsubishi Patent Fees A 'Money Grab'

    Computer maker HP Inc. has claimed Dolby Laboratories, Mitsubishi and Philips are attempting a "money grab" by attempting to overcharge on licensing fees for ultra-high-definition streaming patents, according to a complaint filed in Massachusetts state court.

  • July 26, 2024

    Telecom Worker Data Breach Deal Gets Final Approval

    A North Carolina federal judge gave his final sign-off on a class action settlement between telecommunications provider CommScope and its current and former employees who said it failed to protect their personal information and then took months to tell them about a data breach.

  • July 26, 2024

    Illinois Cases To Watch In 2024: Midyear Report

    Illinois attorneys say they are considering the path forward for Springfield corruption prosecutions following a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, as well as paying attention to what comes next in Motorola Solutions' trade secret contempt fight and potential new guidelines for music copyright cases. Here are the cases to watch in Illinois for the rest of 2024.

  • July 25, 2024

    Meta, Snap Can't Ignore Murder Case Subpoenas, Court Says

    Social media companies' ability to access and use their customers' information means they fall outside the scope of the Stored Communications Act, a California appellate court has ruled, rejecting Meta Platforms Inc. and Snap Inc.'s argument that the SCA's disclosure limitations mean they can't comply with subpoenas in a murder case.

  • July 25, 2024

    Google Wants To Keep 'Monopolistic Status Quo,' Epic Says

    Epic Games assailed Google on Wednesday for overcomplicating and overpricing changes to the Play Store required by the gaming giant's antitrust jury win, arguing that what Google says are needed security and maintenance protocols are just the latest effort to relitigate the case and "weaken the remedy."

  • July 25, 2024

    Feds Unseal Indictment Against Fla. IT Worker in Spying Case

    The U.S. Department of Justice has unsealed an indictment charging a Chinese-born American citizen with conspiring to act as an agent of the People's Republic of China, saying the PRC used the Florida information technology worker as a "cooperative contact" to support its intelligence goals.

  • July 25, 2024

    FCC Keeps Chin Up, But Chevron Woes Won't Soon Fade

    After the U.S. Supreme Court term stampeded over long-established elements of administrative law this summer, the future of several major Federal Communications Commission initiatives was cast into doubt, but the agency says it's still optimistic it can navigate the new challenges.

  • July 25, 2024

    Cable Group Says Funds May Cover Less Under BEAD Rules

    The funds the Biden administration has put into the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program should be enough to get most eligible locations connected if the National Telecommunications and Information Administration doesn't set any mandates on how much that service will cost after it's there, a cable trade group says.

  • July 25, 2024

    Advocacy Group Pushes FCC For Hearing On Fox TV License

    An advocacy group accusing a Philadelphia Fox television station of knowingly airing harmful conspiracy theories following the 2020 election has told the Federal Communications Commission the group has collected more than 25,000 signatures from people saying the agency should grant a hearing on the subject of yanking the station's license.

Expert Analysis

  • What Lawyers Must Know About Calif. State Bar's AI Guidance

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    Initial recommendations from the State Bar of California regarding use of generative artificial intelligence by lawyers have the potential to become a useful set of guidelines in the industry, covering confidentiality, supervision and training, communications, discrimination and more, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Industry Must Elevate Native American Women Attys' Stories

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    The American Bar Association's recent research study into Native American women attorneys' experiences in the legal industry reveals the glacial pace of progress, and should inform efforts to amplify Native voices in the field, says Mary Smith, president of the ABA.

  • Understanding Discovery Obligations In Era Of Generative AI

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Attorneys and businesses must adapt to the unique discovery challenges presented by generative artificial intelligence, such as chatbot content and prompts, while upholding the principles of fairness, transparency and compliance with legal obligations in federal civil litigation, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • Chancery's 'Unfair Deal, Fair Price' Ruling Part Of A Trend

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    The Delaware Court of Chancery's recent decision in In re: Straight Path Communications is the latest in a line of recent post-trial rulings by the court that seem to prioritize a fair price in determining damage awards — even when a transaction has been clouded by an unfair process, say attorneys at V&E.

  • Kochava Ruling May Hint At Next Privacy Class Action Wave

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    The Southern District of California's recent ruling in Greenley v. Kochava and increasing complaints alleging that a consumer website is an illegal “pen register” due to the use of third-party marketing software tools foreshadow a new theory of liability for plaintiffs in privacy litigation, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: Mexico

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    ESG has yet to become part of the DNA of the Mexican business model, but huge strides are being made in that direction, as more stakeholders demand that companies adopt, at the least, a modicum of sustainability commitments and demonstrate how they will meet them, says Carlos Escoto at Galicia Abogados.

  • The Case For Post-Bar Clerk Training Programs At Law Firms

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    In today's competitive legal hiring market, an intentionally designed training program for law school graduates awaiting bar admission can be an effective way of creating a pipeline of qualified candidates, says Brent Daub at Gilson Daub.

  • Opinion

    A Telecom Attorney's Defense Of The Chevron Doctrine

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    The Chevron doctrine, which requires judicial deference to federal regulators, is under attack in two U.S. Supreme Court cases — and while most telecom attorneys likely agree that the Federal Communications Commission is guilty of overrelying on it, the problem is not the doctrine itself, says Carl Northrop at Telecommunications Law Professionals.

  • Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary

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    The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

  • What Cos. Should Know About FTC's Proposed Junk Fee Rule

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    The Federal Trade Commission recently announced a notice of proposed rulemaking targeting junk fees and how businesses may advertise prices to consumers — and since it would give the agency powers to seek monetary penalties against businesses that do not comply, companies should look to get ahead now, say Phyllis Marcus and Nicole Johnson at Hunton Andrews.

  • 9th Circ. ERISA Ruling Informs DOL's New Fiduciary Proposal

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    The Ninth Circuit's reasoning in its recent Bugielski v. AT&T decision illustrates the importance of the U.S. Department of Labor's proposals to expand the reach of Employee Retirement Income Security Act third-party compensation disclosure rules and their effect on investment adviser fiduciaries, says Jeff Mamorsky at Cohen & Buckmann.

  • AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier

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    Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Why The Effect Of Vivint Has Been Minimal

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    A survey of recent ex parte reexamination decisions since the Federal Circuit’s 2021 In re: Vivint decision appears to support the court’s conclusion that the ruling was limited in scope and would have limited impact, says Yao Wang at Fish & Richardson.

  • Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World

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    As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: South Korea

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    Numerous ESG trends have materialized in South Korea in the past three years, with impacts ranging from greenwashing prevention and carbon neutrality measures to workplace harassment and board diversity initiatives, say Chang Wook Min and Hyun Chan Jung at Jipyong.

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