Fed. Circ. Says Crocs' Appeal Of Split ITC Loss Came Too Late

By Theresa Schliep

The Federal Circuit on Thursday rebuffed Crocs Inc.'s efforts to save its request for an import ban against companies it accused of importing footwear infringing its trademarks, finding the company was too late in challenging the mixed ITC ruling that generated two appeal deadlines.

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Fed. Circ. Backs Trade Court's Rejection Of Cheaper Duty Bid

By Jack McLoone

A Federal Circuit panel Thursday affirmed a U.S. Court of International Trade judge's determination that a Christmas ornament seller imported its Chinese-made goods to Canada with the intention of selling them in the U.S. and therefore isn't entitled to a cheaper duty rate.

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9th Circ. Vacates Seagate Loss In Hard Drive Price-Fixing Case

By Hailey Konnath

The Ninth Circuit on Thursday resurrected a number of Seagate Technologies' antitrust claims against Japanese manufacturer NHK Spring in a fight over hard drive components, finding that U.S. antitrust laws could indeed apply to the alleged conspiracy in this case even though foreign entities executed transactions abroad.

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ITC To Investigate Smartwatch Giants Over Fall Detection IP

By Dani Kass

The U.S. International Trade Commission on Thursday said it will review whether Apple, Google, Garmin and Samsung are infringing UnaliWear Inc.'s patents with their smartwatch imports.

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Odebrecht To Pay Investors $17.3M To End Bribe-Scheme Suit

By Katryna Perera

An investment firm and its affiliated trusts will receive over $17 million from Brazilian engineering conglomerate Odebrecht SA and two subsidiaries to resolve, before a scheduled trial this month, a suit over an alleged far-reaching bribery scheme, with a New York federal judge ordering final judgment in the suit Thursday.

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Comscore Ducks Antitrust But Not Unfairness Claims, For Now

By Bryan Koenig

Comscore won a partial reprieve from claims that it undermined a would-be box office data rival, with a California federal judge dismissing federal antitrust claims while preserving accusations of unfair competition, false advertising and business interference.

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Vape Companies Say ALJ Was Wrongly Appointed

By Elliot Weld

Vaping product companies NJOY LLC and Altria Group Inc. asked a Virginia federal judge to grant them a win in a suit brought against the U.S. International Trade Commission, saying an administrative law judge was improperly appointed in proceedings seeking to prevent them from importing certain e-vapor products and devices.

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NY Judge Backs Windfarm Award Against Vietnam Bank

By Joyce Hanson

A New York federal judge has granted an arbitral award petition favoring a Chinese company against a Vietnamese bank following a dispute over a crane lease for a windfarm project, rejecting arguments that the court lacked jurisdiction and the dispute belonged elsewhere.

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4 Firms Steer Coincheck's $111M Acquisition Of Crypto Firm

By Emilie Ruscoe

The Netherlands-based holding company of Japanese digital asset exchange Coincheck Group NV has inked an agreement to become the beneficial owner of nearly all shares of Canadian alternative digital asset manager 3iQ Corp. in a deal valued at $111 million. It's guided by Dutch firm De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in the U.S. and Canadian firms Stikeman Elliott and Wildeboer Dellelce LLP.

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Morgan Lewis Adds Ropes & Gray IP Expert In DC

By Jack Rodgers

Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP has hired a top intellectual property attorney from Ropes & Gray LLP, who led that firm's Section 337 International Trade Commission practice and spent about 12.5 years there, Morgan Lewis announced Thursday.

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Series

Muay Thai Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Muay Thai kickboxing has taught me that in order to win, one must stick to one's game plan and adapt under pressure, just as when facing challenges by opposing counsel or judges, says Mark Schork at Feldman Shepherd.

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Key Trends For Life Sciences Cos. To Watch In 2026

Following a year of drastic change at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, two themes are likely to drive the coming year — a commitment to lowering the cost of drugs and an inherent tension between the priorities of the health agencies and the broader administration, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

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Targeted Action, Rule Tweaks Reflect 2025 AML Priority Shifts

Though 2025’s anti-money-laundering landscape was characterized not by volume of penalties but by the strategic recalibration of how illicit finance risk is handled, a series of targeted enforcement actions signaled that regulators aren't easing off the accelerator, even as they refine the rules of the road, say attorneys at MoFo.

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How Chinese Utility Models Fit Into Global IP Strategies

Recent guidelines from the China National Intellectual Property Administration put the spotlight on the value of Chinese utility models — especially for device-focused innovations — and the interplay between utility models and conventional Chinese patents, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

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New Assistant AG For Fraud Will Report To White House

By Courtney Bublé

Vice President JD Vance announced on Thursday the creation of a new assistant attorney general role for fraud, which will be overseen by him and the president.

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US Atty In NY Northern District Serving Unlawfully, Judge Says

By Stewart Bishop

A Manhattan federal judge on Thursday held that the acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York is unlawfully serving in his position, the latest in a string of rulings disqualifying prosecutors appointed by President Donald Trump.

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Calif. Judge Will Resign, Cop To Workers' Comp Fraud

By Lauren Berg

A California state judge has agreed to resign and plead guilty to a felony fraud charge after prosecutors alleged he knowingly hired a physician previously convicted of healthcare fraud to prepare medical reports to submit to the state's workers' compensation program, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday.

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Alito Recuses From Chevron, Exxon Coastal Pollution Case

By Keith Goldberg

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Thursday recused himself from considering Chevron and ExxonMobil's effort to place Louisiana pollution lawsuits stemming from the companies' World War II-era production in federal court, just days before the justices hear oral arguments in the case.

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Brief

House OKs $540M For Imperiled Legal Services Corp.

By Emily Sawicki

The "minibus" appropriations bill that the U.S. House of Representatives passed on Thursday includes a lifeline $540 million allocated toward the nonprofit Legal Services Corp. — representing a reduction of $10 million, or 3.6%, compared to fiscal year 2025's budget — whose funding the White House previously suggested should be slashed.

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La. Judge Is Senate's 1st Judicial Confirmation Of 2026

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 53-40 on Thursday to confirm former acting U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook to be a district judge in the Western District of Louisiana.

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