A Georgia federal judge refused to free President Donald Trump from a copyright infringement claim levied against him over his election campaign's use of artist Isaac Hayes' song "Hold On, I'm Coming" at rallies.
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 2025 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

Trump Must Face Copyright Claim Over Isaac Hayes Song Use

By Kelcey Caulder

A Georgia federal judge refused to free President Donald Trump from a copyright infringement claim levied against him over his election campaign's use of artist Isaac Hayes' song "Hold On, I'm Coming" at rallies.

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High Court Declines Review Of 'Server Test' In Copyright Suit

By Ivan Moreno

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a challenge to the Ninth Circuit's criteria for determining copyright liability when photos are embedded online, denying a photographer's appeal in a case where he is suing Canadian media company Valnet Inc.

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Judge 'Commandeered' VOA, DC Circ. Told

By Ali Sullivan

The Trump administration is urging the D.C. Circuit to narrow an injunction preserving the agency that oversees Voice of America while the administration appeals a ruling that halted the broadcasting service's dismantling, saying a trial court judge ruled too broadly by reinstating grant agreements and employees.

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NJ Atty Loses Social Media Defamation Case For Now

By Jake Maher

A New Jersey attorney lost a federal court ruling dismissing without prejudice his defamation lawsuit against a social media personality — who advocates for alleged victims of revenge porn — with the judge granting permission to refile with more specific claims.

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'Top Gun: Maverick' Writer's Cousin Says He Co-Piloted Script

By Craig Clough

The cousin of a "Top Gun: Maverick" screenwriter has sued Paramount Pictures in New York federal court, alleging he penned many of the film's key scenes but never received any credit or compensation for his purported contribution to the 2022 blockbuster.

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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

PTAB Axes 3 Gaming Patents, Trims Another In Playrix Fight

By Andrew Karpan

Administrative patent judges have agreed to wipe out three mobile video game software patents asserted against game developer Playrix but split on prior art arguments challenging two claims in a related fourth patent.

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PRIVACY & CONSUMER PROTECTION

Meta Gets Jury In Damages Trial Over NSO's WhatsApp Hack

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge empaneled eight jurors Monday to decide how much Israeli spyware-maker NSO Group owes Meta Platforms for hacking into 1,400 WhatsApp users' devices, selecting from a pool of dozens of San Francisco Bay Area residents, many of whom criticized Meta, its CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the Israeli government.

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FTC Requires Co. To Cease Inaccurate AI Detection Claims

By Allison Grande

The Federal Trade Commission on Monday took aim at the marketer of a tool that's designed to detect whether online content has been developed using generative artificial intelligence technology, issuing a directive for the company to stop advertising the accuracy of its product without sufficient evidence. 

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COMPETITION

DOJ's Slater Outlines 'America First Antitrust' Priorities

By Matthew Perlman

The head of the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division said Monday that robust antitrust enforcement meshes with conservative principles, and the agency's priorities will be on pocketbook issues and protecting individual liberty online.

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DOJ Wants Live Nation Case Split Between Liability, Damages

By Matthew Perlman

The U.S. Department of Justice asked a New York federal court on Monday to split the case accusing Live Nation of quashing competition in the live entertainment industry by having a jury decide if the company violated antitrust law and the judge decide what remedies to impose.

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Exec 'Can't Believe' X Offers Itself As Place For Friends

By Bryan Koenig

The Federal Trade Commission pressed executives and former leaders from X Corp., Strava, Pinterest and Reddit on Monday for all the things that distinguish their services from Meta Platforms Inc., painting Facebook and Instagram in D.C. federal court as effectively the only place to really connect with friends and family to show the social media giant's alleged monopoly.

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Brief

9th Circ. Nixes COVID-19 App Suit Appeal Against Apple

By Jared Foretek

The Ninth Circuit has once again shut the door on a doctor's suit accusing Apple of illegally refusing to distribute his COVID-19 tracking app through its app store, affirming a lower court ruling from October 2024 that denied his motion to reopen.

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SECURITIES & WHITE COLLAR

Chancery OKs Shortcut For Derivative Fox Suit

By Jeff Montgomery

A Delaware vice chancellor late Monday approved an unprecedented Fox Corp. call for a targeted summary judgment proceeding focused on a single Fox director's independence after a different jurist rejected, in November, dismissal of the suit, which seeks hundreds of millions of dollars in defamation damages in connection with broadcasts of bogus 2020 election claims.

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS

FCC Tells Courts 5th Circ. Wrong To Kill $57M AT&T Fine

By Ali Sullivan

The Federal Communications Commission defended multimillion-dollar fines against T-Mobile and Verizon in letters to the D.C. Circuit and Second Circuit, urging the appeals courts not to heed the Fifth Circuit's toss of a related $57 million privacy fine against AT&T.

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FCC Eyes New Power Limits For NGSO Satellites

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission on Monday floated new power limits for nongeostationary orbit satellites in a move the feds say could boost the availability of broadband service beamed from space, and that was requested by SpaceX.

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REAL ESTATE

Miami Developer Sues To Find Source Of Smear Campaign

By Carolina Bolado

Prominent Miami developer Michael Stern filed suit Friday in Florida state court against a John Doe who he claims is engaging in a coordinated smear campaign, spreading false information about Stern and his development company.

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PERSONAL INJURY & MEDICAL MALPRACTICE

Dallas Strip Clubs' Args Give Fed. Judge 'Déjà Vu All Over Again'

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas federal judge told a group of Dallas adult entertainment businesses they were retreading old ground in a bid to get a city ordinance forcing them to close during early morning hours thrown out, saying during a Monday hearing that the Fifth Circuit already rejected their arguments.

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BANKRUPTCY

'Chicken Soup' Parent, Investor Settle Mismanagement Suit

By Ben Zigterman

Chicken Soup for the Soul Holdings LLC has reached a settlement with a corporate investor that accused the Redbox owner and publisher of self-help books of mismanagement prior to a subsidiary's Chapter 7 liquidation.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

The 2025 Lawyer Satisfaction Survey

Law firms and the legal profession are facing new uncertainties, shifting the stress levels, economic pressures, and overall contentment of lawyers in private practice, according to the 2025 Law360 Pulse Lawyer Satisfaction Survey.

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'The Court Is Not A Cartoon': Judge Rips Dragon Watermark

By Hailey Konnath

A Michigan federal magistrate judge Monday ordered an East Lansing, Michigan, firm called Dragon Lawyers PC to stop plastering its pleadings with a large, suit-clad purple cartoon dragon watermark on each page, saying it's not only "distracting, it's juvenile and impertinent."

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Analysis

Feds Have Strong Hand On Judge Charged With Blocking ICE

By Danielle Ferguson and Carolyn Muyskens

A Wisconsin state judge faces an uphill battle in defending against federal criminal allegations that she helped a man evade immigration officials at a Wisconsin courthouse, but she may be able to stake out a defense in arguing the government can't prove intent, experts told Law360. 

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California Judge Loses Pay After Conviction For Murdering Wife

By Gina Kim

The California Commission on Judicial Performance formally suspended a California judge without pay after a state jury found him guilty of second-degree murder last week for shooting his wife to death in their Anaheim Hills home on Aug. 3, 2023, following a heated argument. 

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Q&A

Sullivan M&A Chief Sees Opportunities Amid Tariff Turmoil

By Al Barbarino

After a rocky start to 2025, the mergers and acquisitions landscape is grappling with economic volatility, shifting trade policies and a complex regulatory environment. But even in a "choppy" market, there are always deals to be made, says Melissa Sawyer, global head of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP's M&A group and co-head of its corporate governance practice.

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NJ Judge Apologizes Through Waylon Jennings Lyrics

By George Woolston

Clark Township, New Jersey, Municipal Judge Antonio Inacio said Tuesday that he isn't proud of all the things that led him to appear before a Garden State judiciary disciplinary committee, but he can say that he never intentionally hurt anyone by his conduct.

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$10M Brown Rudnick Deal With Guo Trustee Gets Judge's OK

By Aaron Keller

A Connecticut bankruptcy judge on Tuesday approved a $10 million deal between Miles Guo's Chapter 11 trustee and the Chinese exile's onetime attorneys at Brown Rudnick LLP, and greenlighted 10 lesser settlements with other firms and luxury retailer Versace.

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Analysis

GOP Plan To Shutter Audit Watchdog Could Strain SEC

By Jessica Corso

Congressional Republicans are renewing the push to get rid of a financial regulator that conservatives have complained is costly and lacks proper oversight, but some former staffers at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board wonder whether the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has the manpower or expertise to take over the board's duties.

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Federal Defenders Of NY Staff Announce Union Drive

By Andrea Keckley

Staff members at the Federal Defenders of New York have announced their plans to join their attorney colleagues as members of the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys.

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Justices Scoff At Feds' Defenses In Mistaken FBI Raid Case

By Chart Riggall

Supreme Court justices Tuesday appeared flummoxed by the government's "ridiculous" arguments it should be immune to a Georgia resident's lawsuit over a mistaken FBI raid on her house, but seemed unlikely to issue a blanket ruling on when an officer's discretion trumps their liability for injuries caused by their actions.

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Alex Jones Wants High Court Look At $1.3B Sandy Hook Case

By Brian Steele

Bankrupt Infowars host Alex Jones will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate a mammoth libel judgment that families of Sandy Hook shooting victims secured against him and his company over his conspiratorial broadcasts calling the massacre a hoax, he told a Connecticut appellate court in seeking to extend a pause on the payout.

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Breyer To Talk Pragmatism At NJ Bar Association Convention

By Carla Baranauckas

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will bring his pragmatic legal philosophy to center stage when he appears at the New Jersey State Bar Association Convention on May 16 in Atlantic City.

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COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

AT&T Inc.

Amazon.com Inc.

American Federation of Government Employees

American Federation of State County & Municipal Employees

American Foreign Service Association

Apple Inc.

Democracy Forward Foundation

EchoStar Corp.

Epic Games Inc.

FTI Consulting Inc.

Fox Corp.

Google LLC

Government Accountability Project

Instagram Inc.

Institute for Justice

International Association of Privacy Professionals

JDS Development Group

LinkedIn Corp.

Live Nation Entertainment Inc.

Meta Platforms Inc.

Middle East Broadcast Corp.

Namecheap Inc.

National Rifle Association of America

New Jersey State Bar Association

Paramount Global

Paramount Pictures Corp.

Pegasus

Pinterest Inc.

Public Co. Accounting Oversight Board

Redbox Automated Retail LLC

Reddit Inc.

Snap Inc.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

State Bar of Michigan

T-Mobile US Inc.

TikTok Inc.

Twitter Inc.

Verizon Communications Inc.

Viasat Inc.

Walmart Inc.

Warner/Chappell Music Inc.

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

ArentFox Schiff LLP

Baker & Hostetler

Berkman Gordon

Broocks Law Firm

Brown Rudnick

Clare Locke

Clement & Murphy

Cohen Milstein

Cohn Birnbaum

Cravath Swaine

Cutolo Barros

Davis Polk

Emery Celli

Faegre Drinker

Friedlander & Gorris

GPS Legal

Gibson Dunn

Graubard Miller

Hall Booth

Halloran & Sage

Hodgson Russ

J. Walker & Associates

Kellogg Hansen

Kilpatrick Townsend

King & Spalding

Kirkland & Ellis

Koskoff Koskoff

Latham & Watkins

Lieff Cabraser

Lowenstein Sandler

McManimon Scotland

Meritz Reddy

Mitchell Silberberg

NachtLaw

Nelson Mullins

Neubert Pepe

Quinn Emanuel

Randazza Legal Group

Richards Layton

Sheils Winnubst

Spero Law LLC

Stearns Weaver

Sullivan & Cromwell

Toberoff & Associates

Wachtell Lipton

WilmerHale

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

California Commission on Judicial Performance

City of Dallas, Texas

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Delaware Court of Chancery

European Union

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Communications Commission

Federal Trade Commission

National Labor Relations Board

New Jersey Supreme Court

Oregon Attorney General's Office

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District & Bankruptcy Courts of Southern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut