En Banc 9th Circ. Mulls Copyright Test Change In Tattoo Case

By Craig Clough

Counsel for a photographer who lost at trial over claims that a Kat Von D tattoo infringed his copyrighted photo of Miles Daves urged an en banc Ninth Circuit panel Tuesday to end the circuit's use of a subjective "intrinsic" test for juries to determine substantial similarity. 

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3rd Circ. Affirms Thomson Reuters' Westlaw AI Copyright Win

By Ivan Moreno

The Third Circuit on Tuesday upheld Thomson Reuters' victory against Ross Intelligence Inc. in the first U.S. appellate ruling to address whether artificial intelligence training can be fair use of copyrighted material, upholding a Delaware federal court's decision that the startup infringed Westlaw headnotes by using material derived from them to develop an AI-powered legal search tool.

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11th Circ. Urged To Undo School's Ban On Penguins Book

By David Minsky

Book authors urged the Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday to overturn a Florida school's ban on a children's novel about two male penguins that partnered to raise a chick, arguing that the lower court unlawfully created a new exception for governments to regulate private speech. 

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Article Had 'No Good Reason' To Use Playboy Pic, Judge Says

By Elliot Weld

A New York federal judge has denied business-to-business publisher Haymarket Media Inc.'s bid to escape a suit brought by Playboy over use of one of the magazine's photographs, saying that there "was no good reason" for Haymarket to use the photo in an article about Playboy's choice to bring nudity back to its magazine.

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CNN Wants Preliminary Injunction In White House Ban Case

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

News outlets CNN, Politico and MS Now have asked for a preliminary injunction in their suit against the Trump administration over its ban on their journalists from entering the White House.

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OpenAI Knew AI Was Rogue Before Hugging Face, Suit Says

By Dorothy Atkins

A public interest law nonprofit sued OpenAI in California state court Tuesday, seeking to hold the ChatGPT maker liable for a July cyberattack on Hugging Face, arguing OpenAI "straightforwardly violated California law" by failing to rein in hundreds of rogue AI agents that OpenAI knew were running amok without proper safeguards.

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NJ Atty Can Pursue Defamation Suit Over Social Media Posts

By Emily Johnson

A New Jersey federal judge denied a Texas-based social media personality's request that she rethink her decision to allow a New Jersey attorney's defamation suit to continue.

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Hearst Must Face TM Suit Over 'First Warning' Weather Marks

By Ivan Moreno

A New York federal judge has largely rejected Hearst's attempt to dismiss Gray Local Media's trademark complaint over "First Warning Weather" and "First Warning Traffic," finding the phrases sufficiently similar to Gray's "First Alert" marks to support a plausible claim of consumer confusion.

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Google Beats Suit Over 'Pig Butchering' App Scams, For Now

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge tossed with leave to amend Monday a proposed class action alleging Google falsely advertised its Google Play Store as safe despite allowing swarms of "pig butchering" crypto-scam apps, finding that the claims are barred by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

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Social Media Cos., Teens Spar Over Evidence Ahead Of Trials

By Rae Ann Varona

Social media companies and teens who allege the companies harmed their mental health sparred in California state court Tuesday over what evidence jurors will hear in an upcoming round of bellwether trials, including whether jurors should hear purported instances of domestic violence in the teens' home lives.

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Live Nation Can't Ditch FTC's Ticket Scalping Case

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge refused Monday to toss the Federal Trade Commission's claims Live Nation ignored ticket scalpers and failed to disclose significant Ticketmaster fees upfront, finding the suit plausibly alleges Ticketmaster didn't enforce its own resale policies and duped consumers with "ambiguous and vague" disclosures.

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Md. Judge Tosses Vivid Seats 'Drip Pricing' Suit

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

A Maryland federal judge has tossed a proposed class action brought by a customer accusing Vivid Seats of "drip pricing" — in which the total cost is revealed only at the end of the buying process — saying that even if added fees included at checkout made the total price more expensive than what was originally displayed, the ticket was still purchased.

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Brief

Disney's Antitrust Case Against InterDigital Paused

By Nadia Dreid

InterDigital has convinced a Delaware federal judge to press pause on a lawsuit brought by Disney accusing the technology development company of refusing to offer reasonable licenses on patents for video streaming.

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Public Citizen Files 2 Complaints Over Trump Ads

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

Nonprofit advocacy group Public Citizen has filed two complaints following the appearance of an ad boosting the image of President Donald Trump that was paid for by government funds.

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FCC Looking To Duck Mandamus In 2021 RF Exposure Order

By Nadia Dreid

Five years after the D.C. Circuit told the FCC it needed to provide more in-depth reasoning for why it believes cellphones and other wireless devices don't pose a risk to humans, the agency is arguing it needs more time to sort out a response.

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FCC Can Step Into Idaho Pole Dispute With Utility, ISP Says

By Christopher Cole

An internet service provider insisted the Federal Communications Commission has jurisdiction in its fight with a utility over pole upgrades for broadband gear in Idaho, saying state regulators lacked authority over the issue when the dispute first occurred.

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DOJ Says Trump Name Is Key To Kennedy Center Survival

By Jared Foretek

The U.S. Department of Justice told the D.C. Circuit the Kennedy Center's donors will flee if his name isn't put back on the building, arguing in its opening brief to the appeals court that the institution faces "financial ruin" without "appropriate recognition" for Trump.

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11th Circ. Won't Pause Sanctions Against Trump In IRS Case

By Jack McLoone

An Eleventh Circuit panel refused Tuesday to pause a district court's sanctions order barring President Donald Trump and others from citing the agreement he made to settle his $10 billion suit against the Internal Revenue Service while they appeal the order.

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DC Circ. Weighs Limits On Boasberg's Contempt Inquiry

By Jared Foretek

A top Justice Department official told an en banc D.C. Circuit panel that a district judge should refer former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for contempt over the 2025 deportation flights to El Salvador and move on, saying the judge had no authority to wrap others into his inquiry.

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Jack Smith Says He Won't Be Intimidated By Trump Threats

By Courtney Bublé

Former special counsel Jack Smith testified on Tuesday he "will not be silenced" by threats of prosecution by the president or others.

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Baker Botts Atty Disputes Inventor's Claim Of Defamation Deal

By Madison Arnold

A Baker Botts LLP patent attorney is pushing back on an inventor's claim that they reached a settlement agreement in the inventor's defamation suit in Florida federal court.

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Richards Layton Atty's Chancery Nomination Advanced

By Rose Krebs

A Delaware senate committee Tuesday advanced the nomination for a Richards Layton & Finger PA director to serve as a vice chancellor on the nationally important Chancery Court, with him vowing to continue the court's esteemed legacy for corporate law jurisprudence.

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