'House Of Cards' Loss Not Tied To Spacey Illness, Jury Finds

By Craig Clough

A California jury has found that actor Kevin Spacey's absence from the final season of "House of Cards" was not due to a sex addiction sickness he was being treated for, a verdict that denies claims by the production companies behind the show that its insurers owed them around $100 million when he failed to return for the hit Netflix series' swan song.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Netflix Beats Infringement Claims In Video Patent Trial

By Elliot Weld

A California federal jury has cleared Netflix of allegations that it infringed a set of patents held by DivX covering video compression technology.

Verdict attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Boies Schiller Knocked By Judge In Meta Copyright Fight

By Adam Lidgett

A California federal judge has criticized attorneys from law firms including Boies Schiller Flexner LLP that are representing authors accusing Meta of unlawfully using copyrighted material to train its artificial intelligence models, while still allowing the authors to amend their case again.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ketamine, WilmerHale Probe Off Limits In Musk-OpenAI Trial

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge has placed evidentiary guardrails on an April jury trial over Elon Musk's claims OpenAI duped him, excluding evidence on Musk's ketamine use and WilmerHale's investigation into Sam Altman's dismissal, but allowing evidence on Musk's rival startup, his romance with an ex-OpenAI boardmember and his Burning Man trip.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Elon Musk Slams Twitter Stock Verdict Over Jury's $4.20 'Joke'

By Lauren Berg

Elon Musk did not get a fair trial over claims he defrauded Twitter investors before acquiring the social media platform, the tech billionaire's lawyer told a California federal judge Thursday, saying the jury rolled a marijuana "joke" into the verdict form to mock Musk and the trial process.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Miley Cyrus' 'Flowers' IP Feud Should Advance, Court Told

By Elliot Weld

An entity that owns shares of the copyright to the Bruno Mars song "When I Was Your Man" has asked a California federal judge to let it proceed with its suit claiming the Miley Cyrus song "Flowers" was a rip-off, saying many listeners have observed similarities between the two songs.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Artist Says Tech Cos. Cut Attribution From Work Used For AI

By Zak Kostro

A Los Angeles 3D artist and visual effects creator accused four tech giants of failing to protect rights on millions of works by artists and designers that were used to train large-scale generative artificial intelligence systems, according to proposed class actions filed in California and Washington federal courts Thursday.

4 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

FKA Twigs Says LaBeouf Continues 'Abuse' With Illegal NDA

By Lauren Berg

English musician FKA twigs says actor Shia LaBeouf has tried to silence her with an illegal nondisclosure agreement that was included in the settlement the former couple entered to resolve her sexual battery claims, according to a new lawsuit filed in California state court.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Attys In 'Cop City' Suit 'Better Learn' Filing Rules, Judge Says

By Chart Riggall

A Georgia federal judge castigated attorneys on both sides of a lawsuit by a documentarian who said he was prevented from filming at the controversial Atlanta "Cop City" project, striking their "inconsistent, incomplete and at times incoherent" filings and ordering them into his courtroom to explain themselves.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judge Voids Copyright Office's Publisher Demand

By Jared Foretek

A D.C. federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Copyright Office's 2018 demand letter requiring an independent Richmond, Virginia-based publisher to surrender hundreds of its books to the Library of Congress was unconstitutional, but that the company couldn't seek an injunction against any future enforcement actions from the office.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Court Won't Block DraftKings' Use Of NCAA TMs, For Now

By Theresa Schliep

An Indiana federal judge Thursday denied the National Collegiate Athletic Association's request for a temporary order prohibiting sports gambling company DraftKings Inc. from using terms like "March Madness" to describe the basketball tournament, despite concluding that the NCAA is likely to prevail on its trademark claims.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Sony, USC Settle Fight Over Music Used In Social Media Ads

By Gina Kim

Sony Music has settled its copyright infringement suit accusing the University of Southern California of infringing more than 170 of its songs to advertise the school's sports program on social media, according to an order signed off by a New York federal judge Thursday.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Acxiom Beats Consumers' Suit Over Data Sales, For Good

By Gina Kim

A Virginia federal judge tossed a complaint alleging data analytics company Acxiom gathers and sells individuals' personal information like their addresses, birth dates and other identifiers to its clients, ruling Wednesday the laws alleged to have been violated only protect a person's name, portrait, or picture, "not any of this other data."

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Live Nation Kicks Off Defense Case In Antitrust Trial

By Stewart Bishop

A coalition of state attorneys general on Thursday mostly concluded their antitrust case against Live Nation and its Ticketmaster subsidiary, following weeks of a trial that was nearly derailed after the U.S. Department of Justice dropped out, and Live Nation kicked off its defense case with a company executive who pushed back against claims of anticompetitive conduct.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

X Corp.'s Lack Of Antitrust Injury Dooms Ad Boycott Suit

By Rae Ann Varona

A Texas federal judge Thursday dismissed X Corp.'s sprawling antitrust suit that accused several advertisers of unlawfully boycotting the Elon Musk-owned social media company by substantially cutting back on or stopping ad purchases, saying X didn't suffer any antitrust injury.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

States Will Fill DOJ, FTC's Antitrust Void, Ill. AG Atty Says

By Bryan Koenig

The top antitrust attorney at the Illinois attorney general's office predicted Thursday that state enforcers will continue to pick up the pace as the Federal Trade Commission and especially the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division "become less transparent and less active."

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Dems Talk Nexstar-Tegna Merger At Telecom Act Hearing

By Nadia Dreid

Lawmakers touched on a lot of topics during the nearly three hours Thursday they spent dissecting the Telecommunications Act, which turns 30 this year, but the one that Democrats kept dragging the hearing back to was the FCC's recent approval of the $6.2 billion broadcast merger between Nexstar and Tegna.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

FCC Advances IP Networks, But Consumer Worries Persist

By Christopher Cole

Federal regulators pushed ahead Thursday on the national transition to all internet-based phone networks although concerns remain among public advocates that parts of the U.S. population that still rely on copper wires could eventually be left stranded.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

FCC Floats Caps For Offshore Telecom Call Center Work

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission Thursday floated new rules to encourage the onshoring of customer call centers in the telecom industry.

5 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

FCC Defends Waiver Power In Nexstar-Tegna Merger Fight

By Jared Foretek

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday defended its authority to waive the television station ownership cap and approve the transfers at the heart of Nexstar's $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna, telling the D.C. Circuit that the cap, as an agency rule, can be dispensed with for good cause.

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Investor Sues Music Catalog Firm Over Default Risks

By Jarek Rutz

A member of a music catalog investment group has sued in the Delaware Chancery Court to force the company to turn over financial records, alleging signs of mismanagement, missed payments and potential default risks tied to high-value music deals.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOJ Says SeaWorld Co.'s Walker Ban Violates ADA

By David Minsky

The U.S. government sued the owner of SeaWorld and other theme parks for alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act in Florida federal court, claiming in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday that the venues ban people who use mobility devices. 

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fed. Circ. In February: When Grammar Trumps Patent Specs

The Federal Circuit's decision in Netflix v. DivX last month highlights the challenge of interpreting potentially misplaced modifiers in complicated technological patents, and the potential for grammatical rules to provide a default interpretation for unclear claim language, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

BigLaw Races To Capture Expanding Fund Finance Market

By Kevin Penton

Debt financing work at the fund level has long been dominated on the lender side by attorneys from Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP, Haynes Boone and Mayer Brown LLP, but other firms are increasingly crafting formal practices and poaching fund finance stars from the more established players.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

The Lanier Law Firm, Kiesel Law LLP, Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP, Wagstaff & Cartmell LLP and Beasley Allen Law Firm lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a California state jury in a bellwether trial found Meta and Google liable for harming the mental health of a woman who says she became addicted to their social media platforms as a child.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NJ Federal Judge DQs Beasley Allen In J&J Talc MDL

By Emily Sawicki

A New Jersey federal judge has disqualified the Beasley Allen Law Firm from representing hundreds of plaintiffs in sprawling multidistrict litigation over Johnson & Johnson's talc-based baby powder, holding that the firm violated ethics rules by collaborating with former outside counsel for J&J, a ruling the law firm has vowed to appeal.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Atty Sanctioned For AI Hallucinations In Workers' Comp Row

By Gianna Ferrarin

A New Jersey appellate court on Friday ordered an attorney to pay $1,000 in sanctions for failing to rectify AI-hallucinated case citations pointed out to him in an appeal concerning reimbursement sought by a workers' compensation carrier.

4 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

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

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen Apple hit back at a tech company's wireless charging patent claim, a flurry of businesses bring COVID-19 pandemic insurance claims as a key deadline draws closer and Ipulse Partners LLP file a claim against a luxury yacht company it represented in a trademark dispute. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Polsinelli Hires Practice Head From McDermott In NY

By Andrea Keckley

Polsinelli PC said Thursday that it has hired a longtime McDermott Will & Schulte LLP attorney to co-lead its special situations and alternative investment practice, saying the move "further advanc[es] the firm's strategic focus on private credit, distressed investing, and complex restructuring matters."

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Apollo, BlackRock Deny Asking Kirkland To Abandon Optimum

By Tracey Read

Apollo, Ares, BlackRock and other major financial companies have denied Optimum Communications' claims accusing them of "bullying" Kirkland & Ellis LLP into withdrawing as the telecommunications company's transaction counsel to get revenge for a collusion lawsuit filed in New York federal court.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

A federal judge has stopped the Pentagon from dropping AI giant Anthropic from the government's supply chain, and Latham & Watkins ranked first in a survey of in-house legal leaders on which law firms are most helpful in developing business, followed by King & Spalding, Jones Day and Ropes & Gray.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Firms Targeted By Trump Urge DC Circ. To Uphold EO Rulings

By Alison Knezevich

Four law firms targeted last year by President Donald Trump urged the D.C. Circuit on Friday to affirm lower court rulings that struck down executive orders restricting their ability to practice law, saying the directives blatantly violate the Constitution.

4 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Amazon Swaps MoFo In, Perkins Coie Out In Cooker Suit

By Ben Adlin

Amazon.com LLP switched counsel Friday in a customer's product defect suit accusing the retail giant of selling a faulty pressure cooker that allegedly malfunctioned and caused her severe burns, substituting two Morrison Foerster LLP attorneys in place of an outgoing Perkins Coie LLP lawyer.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Mich. Judge Signals No Stay If Attys Exit Retaliation Suit

By Melanie Dorsey

A Michigan federal judge said Friday she is not inclined to pause a long-running sexual harassment suit again if counsel for an attorney who is suing her ex-mentor and former firm are allowed to withdraw, telling the parties, "We've been here. We've done this," as she heard arguments over a motion to exit the case.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judiciary Nixes Amicus Disclosure Reform Over Potential Chill

By Emily Sawicki

The federal judiciary has been asked not to move forward with a plan to add to amicus brief disclosure requirements designed to curb "dark money" groups from bankrolling amicus briefs, after rules committee chairs pulled the recommendation over concerns of a possible chilling effect.

Memorandum attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Williams & Connolly Clerk Accused Of Posting Client Info

By Hailey Konnath

A former Williams & Connolly LLP clerk has been posting confidential firm information — including client information and work email exchanges — and he's threatening to "keep leaking" the materials, which he called "a fun read," according to a suit filed in District of Columbia Superior Court.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Mayer Brown's $21M Fee Bid In RI Truck Tolls Suit Rebuffed

By Linda Chiem

A Rhode Island federal judge on Friday rebuffed Mayer Brown LLP's bid for $21 million in attorney fees for representing the commercial trucking industry's lead trade group in long-running litigation over the state's truck tolling program, saying the American Trucking Associations ultimately was not the "prevailing party."

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

FCC Told It Can't Make Foreign Call Centers Speak English

By Nadia Dreid

The National Creditors Bar Association is not pleased with the Federal Communications Commission's plans to pass new rules that would require companies to make sure their foreign call center operators speak "American Standard English," saying the agency has no power over foreign employees.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »