Thomson Reuters Cyberattack Hits North American Courts

By Bonnie Eslinger

A recent cyberattack on Thomson Reuters' court management software affected files associated with court systems in 11 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada, and may have exposed sealed documents and individuals' personal information, according to a Wednesday announcement from the technology and information services company.

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Analysis

Online Embedders May Like 5th Circ.'s Pivot On Server Test

By Ivan Moreno

The Fifth Circuit last week rejected a 2007 copyright test that publishers have long criticized, but attorneys say the court's replacement may still leave news aggregators and apps that embed third-party content in a strong position while putting more pressure on rights holders to restrict content they don't want embedded elsewhere.

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DOJ Backs OpenAI, Microsoft Fair Use Defense In NYT IP Case

By Bonnie Eslinger

The federal government is weighing in on the sprawling copyright litigation against OpenAI Inc. and Microsoft Corp. in New York federal court brought by The New York Times and others, telling the judge that using copyrighted texts to train generative tools shouldn't expose developers to broad infringement liability.

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Reggaeton Suit Fails To ID Copyrighted Work, Judge Says

By Elliot Weld

A California federal judge has reconsidered an earlier ruling on the copyrighted elements of asserted works in a case dealing with the origins of reggaeton music, finding two musicians did not clearly identify what copyrighted work contains allegedly protectable elements.

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Carmen Electra, Models Get $340K In Strip Club Images Fight

By Hayley Fowler

A North Carolina strip club will pay a group of international models, former Playboy Playmates and a "Baywatch" star $340,000 to resolve claims it misused their images in advertisements, avoiding a trial that was slated to start in August.

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Alanis Morissette Accuses 'Terrible' Tour Manager Of Extortion

By Ben Adlin

Rock star Alanis Morissette sued her former tour manager in California federal court Tuesday over claims she was the victim of a "calculated blackmail campaign" in which the manager threatened to falsely report her for drug trafficking unless she paid "massive compensation" and agreed to employ the worker as a tour director for 15 years.

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Analysis

FCC Staff Are Making Big Decisions, But The Tactic Isn't New

By Christopher Cole

When an arm of the Federal Communications Commission that deals with broadcast competition waived one of the country's signature media ownership rules without a full FCC vote this year, it wasn't the first time agency staff had been entrusted with a major decision by the FCC's politically appointed chair.

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Agency Says Mich. Is Proper Forum For NCAA Poaching Suit

By Melanie Dorsey

An Arkansas sports agency has urged a Michigan federal judge to reject a North Carolina rival's bid to dismiss or transfer a lawsuit accusing it of using acquisition talks to obtain confidential information and poach a college basketball player, arguing the rival deliberately conducted name, image and likeness, or NIL, business in Michigan and agreed that Michigan law would govern the parties' nondisclosure agreement. 

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DOJ Ad Tech Judge Won't Break Up Google's Biz

By Bryan Koenig

A Virginia federal judge on Wednesday refused to break up Google's advertising placement technology business, opting instead to grant the U.S. Department of Justice a litany of behavioral fixes aimed at limiting the search giant's ability to boost itself and the ads running through its own servers over ads from rival ad tech providers.

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YouTube Ducks Music Co.'s Song Monetization Monopoly Suit

By Rae Ann Varona

A New York federal judge has tossed a content-creation music label's lawsuit accusing YouTube LLC of cornering an automated monetization services market for sound recordings, saying the label filed suit too late and otherwise failed to state a legally sufficient monopolization claim.

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Brief

9th Circ. Denies Funko's Bid To Revisit Investor Dispute

By Jessica Corso

The Ninth Circuit said Wednesday it would not reconsider its decision to revive a proposed class action accusing Funko Inc. of failing to warn investors about tens of millions of dollars' worth of excess toys the company eventually wrote off.

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FCC Backs Alaska Telecom GCI's Plan To Serve 10K More

By Nadia Dreid

Improvements in broadband infrastructure mean that Alaskan telecom GCI Holdings will be able to provide hybrid fiber-cellular service to 10,000 more people in the state, the telecom has told the Federal Communications Commission.

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GAO Says FCC Needs To Ease Broadband Map Issues

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

A U.S. Government Accountability Office report to congressional committees is recommending that the Federal Communications Commission work with smaller communities and providers in completing the challenge process to determine the accuracy of its mapping data.

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Wireless Provider Claims Utility Slowing Idaho Projects

By Christopher Cole

A wireless services provider claims a Washington-based public utility is slowing down its Idaho broadband deployments and charging excessive fees, asking the Federal Communications Commission to step in.

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Calif. Bill Regulating Atty AI Use Heads To Newsom's Desk

By Emily Sawicki

A bill regulating attorneys' and arbitrators' use of generative artificial intelligence has unanimously passed the California State Legislature and is headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk.

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'Astonished' Homebuyer Says Atty Email Lapse Caused Hack

By Pete Brush

A New York City law firm has been ordered to provide internet security and login information to a homebuyer who claims she was left in "shock" when an impostor with access to her lawyer's email tricked her into wiring away over $730,000.

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House Rejects Amendment To Fix Court At 9 Justices

By Courtney Bublé

The House failed to pass a proposed constitutional amendment on Wednesday that would keep the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices at nine.

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Dems Call Subpoenas' Secrecy Request 'Abuse Of Authority'

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

Democratic lawmakers Sen. Ron Wyden, Ore., and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Wash., have called for an investigation into subpoenas issued from federal law enforcement to private companies that contain nondisclosure provisions and carry threats of legal consequences for noncompliance.

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Tyson's Price-Fixing Deal Merits $27.5M Atty Fees, Buyers Say

By Dorothy Atkins

Beef direct purchasers asked a Minnesota federal judge Tuesday to award class counsel $27.5 million in fees, or one-third of Tyson's $82.5 million price-fixing settlement, arguing that the deal was reached after six years of hard-fought antitrust litigation and adds to another settlement, bringing the total recovery to $135 million.

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JPMorgan Seeks Stay Of $20M Javice, Amar Fee Order

By Jarek Rutz

JPMorgan Chase & Co. urged the Delaware Chancery Court on Wednesday to pause enforcement of an order requiring it to advance more than $20 million in disputed legal fees to convicted Frank founder Charlie Javice and former executive Olivier Amar, arguing the bank could permanently lose the money before it gets a chance to challenge the ruling.

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ABA Outlines Attys' Duties To Clients With Intellectual Limits

By Jack Karp

Attorneys have the same obligations to clients with decision-making limitations, should abide by those clients' decisions regarding their representation and must work to maintain an ordinary client-lawyer relationship as much as possible, the American Bar Association said in an opinion released Wednesday.

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