Goldstein Assails 'Radical' DOJ Case, Probe Of 'Sexual Habits'

By Jeff Overley

In his most forceful attack on tax evasion charges that have roiled the U.S. Supreme Court bar, indicted appellate icon Thomas C. Goldstein is accusing the U.S. Department of Justice of embracing "breathtaking" legal theories and revealing prurient information about him "to bias the grand jury."

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Analysis

Copyright Law's Nuances Pose Challenges To AI Music Suits

By Ivan Moreno

The rise of music created by artificial intelligence is introducing new challenges to copyright law, especially when AI-generated songs can sound strikingly similar to the works the technology is trained on.

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Justices OK Tossing Copyright Case Against Ta-Nehisi Coates

By Adam Lidgett

A man who says author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates copied his work without permission lost his case at the U.S. Supreme Court after a majority of the justices recused themselves from the dispute.

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5th Circ. Tosses FCC Workplace Diversity Reporting Rule

By Christopher Cole

The Fifth Circuit on Monday threw out a Federal Communications Commission rule that required TV and radio broadcasters to disclose employment diversity data to the FCC.

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9th Circ. Weighs 'WallStreetBets' Ownership In Reddit TM Suit

By Ivan Moreno

The Ninth Circuit on Monday wrestled with whether the founder of Reddit Inc.'s WallStreetBets forum owns the name or if it belongs to the platform, with a judge at one point wondering whether the parties could find a way to coexist.

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Epic Beats $32.5M Infringement Claim Over Fortnite Concerts

By Rachel Riley

A Seattle federal jury said on Monday that Epic Games did not commit patent infringement by staging interactive concerts for players in the Fortnite virtual world starring pop artist Ariana Grande and rapper Travis Scott, rejecting an intellectual property firm's $32.5 million damages request following a weeklong trial.

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OpenAI Escapes Defamation Suit In Ga. Over ChatGPT Output

By Emily Johnson

A Georgia state court on Monday dismissed a radio show host's defamation suit against ChatGPT developer OpenAI LLC, finding that the challenged ChatGPT output is not defamatory because it doesn't communicate actual facts.

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Ex-OneTaste Staffer Says Sexual Labor Was Part Of The Job

By Stewart Bishop

A former OneTaste sales employee and "coach" testified Monday in the trial of two former executives, saying she was directed to engage in sexual activity while working a grueling schedule for the sex-themed wellness company, one of multiple ex-staffers to say they suffered psychological harm from their time at OneTaste.

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Avenatti Rips 'Draconian' Bid To Add 13 Years To Sentence

By Elliot Weld

Former high-profile attorney Michael Avenatti asked a California federal judge to reject the government's request to tack on more than 13 years to his prison term, saying such a "draconian" result would conflict with a Ninth Circuit ruling wiping out a previous sentence in the fraud case.

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Mass. Atty Sues Town Official For Blocking Him On Facebook

By Julie Manganis

A partner and litigation chair at a Massachusetts boutique firm said an official in his town blocked him from viewing her Facebook posts, including posts about official town business.

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Trump Signs Anti-Revenge Porn Bill Into Law

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump on Monday signed into law a bipartisan bill to combat deep fake revenge porn, a major priority for first lady Melania Trump that has been met with criticism from some technology groups over security and constitutional concerns.

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Let's Talk About Rights: Salt-N-Pepa Sue UMG To Reclaim IP

By Gina Kim

Hip-hop duo Salt-N-Pepa sued UMG in New York federal court on Monday, saying the music company refused to return the copyrights for several of their hits, including "Push It" and "Let's Talk About Sex," and for punishing their attempt to assert their rights by removing songs from streaming platforms and distribution channels.

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House Urged To Ax Proposed 10-Year Ban On State AI Laws

By Allison Grande

More than 140 civil rights and consumer advocacy groups on Monday became the latest to oppose a sweeping provision in the U.S. House of Representatives' budget proposal that would place a 10-year moratorium on states enacting or enforcing laws to regulate emerging artificial intelligence systems, joining a bipartisan coalition of state enforcers that issued a similar call last week.

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Apple's Refusal To Put Fortnite On App Store Prompts Hearing

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge issued an order Monday requiring Apple to show why she should not find that the company has violated her recent injunction requiring changes to its App Store policies, after Epic Games complained that the tech giant is refusing to put Fortnite back on its U.S. online storefront.

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Comscore Accused Of Monopoly Over Movie Box Office Data

By Bonnie Eslinger

Media analytics giant Comscore Inc. wields a monopoly over U.S. theatrical box office data and has used it to squeeze out a company that provides competing software for film distribution planning and booking, according to a new antitrust suit filed Monday in California federal court.

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X Failed To Pay Promised Severance, Ex-Workers Say

By Emmy Freedman

X, the company formerly known as Twitter, illegally reneged on its promise to keep in place its policy to provide certain severance payments to terminated employees after Elon Musk took over the social media company, a lawsuit filed in Washington federal court said.

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Ex-CEO Accuses Omnicom Of Gender, Age Bias In Pay Suit

By Irene Spezzamonte

Omnicom paid the CEO of one of its agencies less than her male counterparts and fired her under the pretext of a restructuring when she complained, the former executive told a Texas federal court, alleging the marketing and communications firm discriminated against her because she's a woman in her 60s.

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FCC's Carr Claims Victory Versus DEI In Verizon-Frontier OK

By Christopher Cole

Verizon took a leap toward closing its $20 billion bid for Frontier Communications by gaining the Federal Communications Commission's approval after ditching its diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the behest of FCC Chair Brendan Carr.

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FCC Examines Revisions To Alaska Broadband Measurements

By Jared Foretek

The Federal Communications Commission is seeking input on a proposal to change how final milestone commitments are evaluated for the so-called Alaska Plan, with a telecom in Alaska suggesting the commission's "Fabric" dataset offers a more accurate representation of where people actually live within census blocks than the current distribution model does.

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Conservative Groups Push Media Ownership Deregulation

By Christopher Cole

Nearly two dozen right-leaning groups and activists made a pitch for media ownership deregulation, telling the Federal Communications Commission that outdated restrictions are stifling local broadcasters at a time of rapid change in the media sector.

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'50 Cent' Liquor Biz Eyes Ex-Boss's Conn. Home For $7M Debt

By Ryan Harroff

Famed rapper Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson's liquor company asked a Connecticut bankruptcy court to let the business enforce its lien on its former brand manager Mitchell Green's $1 million home in Westport to help satisfy a $7 million fraud judgment, arguing that the lien will not disrupt Green's Chapter 7 proceedings.

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Feds To Use FCA To Go After Antisemitism, DEI Policies

By Lauren Berg

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday that it will use the False Claims Act to go after any recipients of federal funds that the agency determines promote diversity, equity and inclusion policies, and allow antisemitism to thrive.

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Posner Wins Ex-Staffer's $170K Wage Suit

By Emily Sawicki

A former executive at retired Seventh Circuit Judge Richard Posner's short-lived pro bono legal services organization lost his bid for $170,000 in back pay he claimed to be owed on Monday when an Indiana federal court found claims to be untimely.

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Ex-Litigator Settles Disability Bias Suit Against Wilson Elser

By Emily Sawicki

A former Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP litigator on Monday agreed to permanently drop his federal disability bias suit against the firm, after the sides came to a confidential resolution.

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Justices Allow End Of Temporary Protections For Venezuelans

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that the Trump administration may rescind temporary protected status for Venezuelans, lifting a California federal judge's order requiring the government to keep Biden-era removal protections and work authorizations in place during a legal battle over a policy change.

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Split DC Circ. Pauses Halt On Trump's Union Rights Order

By Beverly Banks

A divided D.C. Circuit panel greenlighted President Donald Trump's request to pause a lower court decision that blocked the implementation of an executive order aimed at ending collective bargaining rights for federal employees, concluding the injunction ruling "ties the government's hands."

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Kirkland Guides Blackstone's $11.5B Deal For TXNM Energy

By Al Barbarino

Blackstone Infrastructure has agreed to acquire regulated utility holding company TXNM Energy in an all-cash transaction valued at $11.5 billion, including net debt and preferred stock, TXNM said in a Monday announcement.

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