Expert Analysis

• Handling Customer Complaints In Bank-Fintech Partnerships

  

  As regulators mine consumer complaint databases for their next investigative targets, it is critical that fintech and bank partners adopt a well-defined and monitored process for ensuring proper complaint handling, including by demonstrating proficiency and following interagency guidance, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

• Timing Is Key For Noninfringing Alternatives In Patent Cases

  

  A Texas district court’s recent ruling in Smart Path Connections v. Nokia may affect the timing of expert disclosures and opinion regarding noninfringing alternatives in patent infringement litigation, for both defendants and plaintiffs, says Alexander Clemons at Ocean Tomo.

• Breaking Down The Latest National Security Tech Regulations

  

  Companies all along the semiconductor value chain, across all industries and all geographies, should be mindful of the nature and extent of the highly complex, sweeping U.S. export controls, and how they can impact research and development, investment, production, and sales, say Brendan Saslow and Anthony Rapa at Blank Rome.

• Opinion

  Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea

  

  A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.

• Film Plagiarism Claims May Foreshadow AI Copyright Issues

  

  The contentious plagiarism dispute over the Oscar-nominated screenplay for "The Holdovers" may portend the challenges screenwriters will face when attempting to prove copyright infringement against scripts generated by artificial intelligence technology, says Craig Smith at Lando & Anastasi.

• 4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best

  

  As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.

• Decoding The FTC's Latest Location Data Crackdown

  

  Following the Federal Trade Commission's groundbreaking settlements in its recent enforcement actions against X-Mode Social and InMarket Media for deceptive and unfair practices with regards to consumer location data, companies should implement policies with three crucial elements for regulatory compliance and maintaining consumer trust, says Hannah Ji-Otto at Baker Donelson.

• The Tricky Implications Of New Calif. Noncompete Laws

  

  Two new California noncompete laws that ban certain out-of-state agreements and require employers to notify certain workers raise novel issues related to mergers and acquisitions, and pose particular challenges for technology companies, says John Viola at Thompson Coburn.

• Defense Attys Must Prep For Imminent AI Crime Enforcement

  

  Given recent statements by U.S. Department of Justice officials, white collar practitioners should expect to encounter artificial intelligence in federal criminal enforcement in the near term, even in pending cases, say Jarrod Schaeffer and Scott Glicksman at Abell Eskew.

• Patent Ownership Issues In Light Of USPTO AI Guidance

  

  Recently published guidance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office establishes that inventions created using artificial intelligence may be patentable if a human also significantly contributes, but ownership and legal rights in these types of patents are different issues that require further assessment, says Karl Gross at Leydig Voit.

• Contract Negotiation Prep Checklist For In-House Ad Lawyers

  

  Barriers for in-house lawyers and procurement professionals persist in media and ad tech contract negotiations — but a pre-negotiation checklist can help counsel navigate nuances and other industry issues that need to be considered before landing a deal, including supplier services, business use cases and data retrieval, says Keri Bruce at Reed Smith.

• 5 Takeaways From SAP's Foreign Bribery Resolutions

  

  German software company SAP’s recent settlements with the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, resolving allegations of foreign bribery, provide insights into government enforcement priorities, and how corporations should structure their compliance programs to reduce liability, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

• Series

  Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

• How Suit Over An AI George Carlin May Lead To Legislation

  

  George Carlin’s estate recently sued a company over an artificial intelligence-generated podcast allegedly impersonating the late comedian, highlighting the importance of much-needed state and federal protection against unauthorized representations of an individual’s image in the time of AI, say Anna Chauvet and Maxime Jarquin at Finnegan.

• 10 Ransomware Issues GCs Should Have On Their Radar

  

  As the ransomware threat landscape rapidly evolves, in-house counsel should expect to face a number of challenging dynamics, including the need to justify any ransom payments both to internal and external stakeholders, and data extortion demands that are bypassing the encryption stage, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.