Telecommunications

  • October 25, 2024

    FCC Didn't Play Favorites For Soros In Audacy Deal, GOP Told

    The Federal Communications Commission's approval of radio station chain Audacy's recent ownership change mirrored the way it handled similar media deals in past years, the FCC's chief told critics alleging it fast-tracked the Audacy plan to benefit Democratic donor George Soros.

  • October 25, 2024

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen the Competition and Markets Authority take action against a mattress retailer after it was caught pressuring its customers with misleading discounts, Lenovo and Motorola target ZTE Corporation with a patents claim, Lloyds Bank hit by another claim relating to the collapse of Arena Television and U.K. tax authority HMRC sued by the director of an electronics company that evaded millions of pounds in VAT. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • October 24, 2024

    FTC Official Doubts Election Will Deter Antitrust 'New Era'

    The Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition director defended the agency's new guidelines and its track record during a wide-ranging discussion at the 34th annual Golden State Institute on Thursday, and he expressed confidence that whichever presidential candidate wins, a new administration won't deter this "new era" of FTC antitrust enforcement actions.

  • October 24, 2024

    Split Fed. Circ. Rejects Expert's 'Because I Said So' Testimony

    A Delaware federal jury was wrong to find Comcast infringed a NexStep "digital butler" patent, and the trial judge properly overruled it, a split Federal Circuit panel said Thursday.

  • October 24, 2024

    PTAB Largely Ends 2 Telecom Patents After Cisco Challenge

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has fully thrown out an Orckit Corp. link aggregation patent and mostly invalidated another telecommunications patent following challenges from Cisco, finding their claims were too obvious to warrant patent protection.

  • October 24, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Revives Lenovo Bid For SEP Anti-Suit Injunction

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday gave Lenovo a new shot at securing an order that could bar Ericsson from enforcing injunctions in South America amid the companies' globe-spanning standard-essential patent dispute, faulting a lower court's reasoning for rejecting Lenovo's request.

  • October 24, 2024

    Broadband Co. Says $168M Peruvian Award Suit Is Valid

    A broadband corporation has urged a D.C. federal judge not to toss its lawsuit seeking enforcement of a $168 million arbitral award against telecom service Pronatel, saying the Peruvian state-owned entity is recycling arguments the court has already rejected.

  • October 24, 2024

    Trade Orgs Back Google's Bid For 9th Circ. Play Store Pause

    Trade groups and cybersecurity experts have told the Ninth Circuit to extend the pause on the mandate forcing Google to open up its Play Store and help rival app stores compete through that distribution mechanism, backing Google with amicus briefs warning of major disruptions to the app ecosystem.

  • October 24, 2024

    Bumble App Wants To Dump Straight Women's Bias Suit

    Bumble asked a California federal judge Wednesday to throw out a lawsuit alleging the dating app discriminates against straight women by requiring them to make the first move, saying the complaint "betrays a troubling irony" in perpetuating gender-based stereotypes that antidiscrimination laws were designed to prevent.

  • October 24, 2024

    FCC's Data Cap Study Tees Up Unjustified Ban, Think Tank Says

    As the Federal Communications Commission launches an inquiry into how data cap practices affect the public, a free market think tank is stepping into the fray to say it's worried any regulation limiting data caps would be "misguided."

  • October 24, 2024

    FCC Won't Hold Off Prison Phone Rate Caps During Suits

    The Federal Communications Commission has turned down three bids for the agency to shelve new prison phone service rate caps during legal appeals of the FCC's rule, saying such lawsuits are unlikely to prevail.

  • October 24, 2024

    Broadcasters Doubt Legality Of FCC Blackout Reporting Regs

    TV broadcasters questioned a Federal Communications Commission plan to require cable and satellite companies to report programming "blackouts" caused by carriage disputes to a central database, saying the agency appears to lack legal authority to impose such a requirement.

  • October 24, 2024

    TikTok Won't Get 3rd Circ. Rehearing Of Section 230 Ruling

    The Third Circuit on Wednesday turned down TikTok's request for an en banc rehearing of a panel decision that the social media company's "For You Page" algorithm isn't entitled to immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in a case over a 10-year-old's death.

  • October 24, 2024

    Biden Issues Guidelines For National Security Uses Of AI

    President Joe Biden issued a memo Thursday on the development and use of artificial intelligence for national security, directing actions such as shoring up the security of computer chip supply chains and ensuring AI is not used to commit human rights violations.

  • October 24, 2024

    FCC Finds Fraught Turf In Planning The Future Of 4.9 GHz

    The Federal Communications Commission wants to dedicate unused portions of the 4.9 gigahertz band to both public safety and 5G, but has discovered just how hard it is to please everyone in an era of dwindling spectrum resources.

  • October 24, 2024

    Huawei Trade Secrets Trial Pushed Back To 2026

    A Washington federal judge on Thursday approved a request from Huawei and the government to delay a trial until October 2026 in a case alleging the company stole T-Mobile's trade secrets.

  • October 24, 2024

    Statute Of Limitations Tolled In AT&T Workers' OT Suit

    An Illinois federal judge agreed Thursday to toll the statute of limitations for call center workers claiming that AT&T failed to pay them overtime, one day after the workers said extraordinary circumstances required tolling.

  • October 24, 2024

    Mass. Justices Reject Meta, Google 'Wiretap' Claims

    Massachusetts' highest court on Thursday found that website operators' use of tracking software like Meta Pixel and Google Analytics does not violate the state's wiretap law, drawing a sharp dissent from one justice who said the legislature will now need to "correct" the court's mistake.

  • October 23, 2024

    TriZetto Gets New Damages Trial After Ax Of $200M Awards

    A New York federal judge Wednesday agreed to hold a new damages trial in Cognizant affiliate TriZetto's trade secret misappropriation and copyright infringement dispute with Syntel, a development that comes after the judge wiped out $200 million in damages awards in favor of TriZetto earlier this year.

  • October 23, 2024

    Common Ownership Dooms Bids For 9 Low-Power Stations

    The Federal Communications Commission said it is not approving nine applications for new low-power FM stations because the entities that applied for them appear to actually all be part of the same organization, which violates the agency's rules on owning multiple stations.

  • October 23, 2024

    Feds, Huawei Ask To Delay 'Complex' Trade Secret Theft Trial

    Washington federal prosecutors and Huawei have both asked to delay until 2026 a trial in a case accusing the company of stealing T-Mobile's trade secrets, noting the complexity of the case and difficulties the attorneys for the Chinese chipmaker have had communicating with witnesses.

  • October 23, 2024

    Venezuelan TV Mogul Charged In $1.2B PDVSA Bribe Scheme

    A Florida federal grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday charging a Venezuelan television news network owner with participating in a $1.2 billion scheme to launder funds from Venezuela's state-owned energy company Petróleos de Venezuela SA in exchange for bribes to Venezuelan officials.

  • October 23, 2024

    Advocacy Group Denies Political Bent In Fox Philly Fight

    An advocacy group is coming out swinging against claims its attempts to strip a Philadelphia Fox television station of its license for peddling conspiracy theories about the 2020 election is partisan, telling the FCC that its petition is about the station's deliberate choice "to lie to the American people."

  • October 23, 2024

    Telecom Group Sues To Cancel FTC's 'Click To Cancel' Rule

    A major cable and internet industry group and others sued the Federal Trade Commission Wednesday over its new "click to cancel" rule, asking the Fifth Circuit to vacate the regulation one week after it was adopted in a 3-2 commission vote.

  • October 23, 2024

    FCC To Probe Broadband, Cable And Phone Customer Service

    The Federal Communications Commission is looking to find out how well the broadband, video distribution and phone industries are doing when it comes to customer service.

Expert Analysis

  • Google And The Next Frontier Of Divestiture Antitrust Remedy

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    The possibility of a large-scale divestiture in the Google search case comes on the heels of recent requests of business breakups as remedies for anticompetitive conduct, and companies should prepare for the likelihood that courts may impose divestiture remedies in the event of a liability finding, say Lauren Weinstein and Nathaniel Rubin at MoloLamken.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Patent Lessons From 4 Federal Circuit Reversals In July

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    The Federal Circuit’s July reversal of four cases, all of which were Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions, highlights lessons for patent practitioners regarding the scope of estoppel provisions, potential issues with obtaining certain substitute claims, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.

  • Patent Owner Estoppel Questions In The Wake Of SoftView

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's seldom-litigated Rule 42.73(d)(3) on Patent Trial and Appeal Board estoppel was recently brought to the forefront in the Federal Circuit's SoftView v. Apple decision, highlighting uncertainties in this aspect of patent practice, say David Haars and Richard Crudo at Sterne Kessler.

  • Opinion

    A Fuzzy Label With Bite: FTC Must Define Surveillance Pricing

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    The Federal Trade Commission recently issued orders to eight companies — including Mastercard, McKinsey and Chase — seeking information on "surveillance pricing," but the order doesn't explain the term or make the distinction between legal and illegal practices, leaving any company that uses personalized pricing in the dark, says Chris Wlach at Huge.

  • Nuclear Waste Storage Questions Justices May Soon Address

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    The petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to review U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas stands out for a number of reasons — including a deepening circuit split regarding the NRC's nuclear waste storage authority under the Atomic Energy Act, and broader administrative law implications, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

  • 3 Patent Considerations For America's New Quantum Hub

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    Recent developments signal an incredibly bright future for Chicago as the new home of quantum computing, and it is crucial that these innovators — whose technology has the potential to transform many industries — prioritize intellectual property strategy, says Andrew Velzen at McDonnell Boehnen.

  • A Preview Of AI Priorities Under The Next President

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    For the first time in a presidential election, both of the leading candidates and their parties have been vocal about artificial intelligence policy, offering clues on the future of regulation as AI continues to advance and congressional action continues to stall, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • DOJ Must Overcome Hurdles In RealPage Antitrust Case

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent claims that RealPage's pricing software violates the Sherman Act mark a creative, and apparently contradictory, shift in the agency's approach to algorithmic price-fixing that will face several key challenges, say attorneys at Clifford Chance.

  • How Companies Are Approaching Insider Trading Policies

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    An analysis of insider trading policies recently disclosed by 49 S&P 500 companies under a new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rule reveals that while specific provisions vary from company to company, certain common themes are emerging, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • 11 Patent Cases To Watch At Fed. Circ. And High Court

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    As we head into fall, there are 11 patent cases to monitor, touching on a range of issues that could affect patent strategy, such as biotech innovation, administrative rulemaking and patent eligibility, say Edward Lanquist and Wesley Barbee at Baker Donelson.

  • Why India May Become A Major Patent Litigation Forum

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    India is reinventing itself with the goal of becoming a global hot spot for patent litigation, with recent developments at the Delhi High Court creating incentives for plaintiffs to assert patent rights in India, say Ranganath Sudarshan at Covington and IP litigator Udit Sood.

  • How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations

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    Textualists at the U.S. Supreme Court are increasingly considering new methods such as corpus linguistics and surveys to evaluate what a statute's text communicates to an ordinary reader, while lower courts even mull large language models like ChatGPT as supplements, says Kevin Tobia at Georgetown Law.

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