News Orgs Fight OpenAI, Microsoft's Fair Use Arguments

By Elliot Weld

News organizations locked in a sweeping fight with OpenAI and Microsoft over whether artificial intelligence developers should be able to legally use news content to train AI asked a New York federal judge Friday not to rule that doing so is fair use, arguing the tech companies see a world where they can freely copy entire articles.

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Analysis

Copyright Ruling Leaves Worldwide Rights In Legal Limbo

By Ivan Moreno

The U.S. Supreme Court left music publishers, creators and catalog buyers facing potentially different rules for worldwide copyright termination after an unusual quorum failure ended the entertainment industry's bid to overturn a Fifth Circuit ruling allowing authors to recapture foreign rights included in worldwide grants.

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NetChoice Seeks To Halt Calif. Social Media Warning Law

By Allison Grande

Tech trade group NetChoice is pressing a California federal court to strike down a state law that will soon require social media platforms to display mental health warning labels, arguing that the mandate violates the "bedrock" constitutional prohibition on forcing services to "act as a mouthpiece" for the government.

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Rhode Island AG Says Meta Profited From Scam Ads

By Craig Clough

Rhode Island sued Meta on Thursday for allegedly allowing fake or scam advertisements promoting everything from cryptocurrency schemes and purported miracle Alzheimer's cures featuring deepfakes of Meryl Streep to nudification apps to proliferate on its platforms while generating billions of dollars in revenue from them.

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Don't Miss It: Kirkland, Latham Steer Latest Hot Deals

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

A lot can happen in the world of mergers and acquisitions and equity fundraising over the course of a couple of weeks, and it's difficult to keep up with all the deals.

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Google Avoids Wiretap Claims Over AI Customer Service Calls

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge has tossed proposed class claims alleging Google violated the California Invasion of Privacy Act by training its artificial intelligence tools through the customer service software it provided to Home Depot, and the judge required pursuing arbitration for plaintiffs who called customer service for Verizon, Uber and Discover.

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Fla. AG Proposes Kid Safety Chatbot, Social Media Law

By Emily Field

The Florida attorney general on Thursday proposed legislation aimed at protecting children on social media that would require age verification and parental consent for apps, block AI chatbots from creating sexual content or feigning companionship, and put in place protective features on social media for teenagers.

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Lawmaker Report Targets 'Pay-To-Play' Antitrust Enforcement

By Matthew Perlman

A new report from Democratic lawmakers found that influence from the White House appears to be resulting in lax antitrust enforcement and higher consumer prices, citing a number of recent settlements, case dismissals and merger decisions.

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Del. Chancery OKs $250M Activision Settlement, $60M Fees

By Jarek Rutz

Microsoft Corp.'s $250 million settlement of stockholder claims stemming from its $75.4 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc. won Delaware Chancery Court approval Friday, as the chancellor rejected an investment fund's attempt to preserve a separate federal securities suit and awarded $60 million in attorney fees.

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Lone FCC Democrat Calls E-Rate Sunset Proposal 'Misguided'

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

The lone Democrat on the Federal Communications Commission has issued her support for extending The E-Rate Program to provide discounts on eligible connectivity services for schools and libraries during a visit to a New Hampshire school district.

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FCC's Gomez Urges More NAB Engagement On 'Censorship'

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission's only Democrat wants the broadcast lobby to pull more weight in defying what she described as an FCC campaign of "censorship and control" over the media.

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FCC Nat'l Security Clampdown Draws Rare Industry Rebukes

By Christopher Cole

Industry leaders see the Federal Communications Commission hitting for a high batting average during President Donald Trump's second term, pushing deregulation they have sought for years. But when it comes to putting the squeeze on device imports from foreign adversaries, business groups are less than bowled over — and they're letting the FCC know it.

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Leave 2.5 GHz Band Out Of Satellite Plan, T-Mobile Says

By Nadia Dreid

T-Mobile says the Federal Communications Commission's plan to expand the coverage that satellites provide from space is a good one, but the agency should refrain from auctioning off the 2.5 gigahertz band for that purpose, arguing it should be reserved for operations on the ground.

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Brief

FCC Grants Intel's Automatic Vehicle Waiver For 1 Year

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission has granted Intel Corp. a one-year waiver from rules that could otherwise subject the automated vehicles used in its chipmaking plants to security restrictions.

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Papaya Must Freeze US Funds Amid Israeli Case, Judge Rules

By Alex Wittenberg

A Delaware bankruptcy judge Friday agreed to grant Chapter 15 recognition of Papaya Gaming Ltd.'s insolvency proceeding in Israel but ordered the debtor to freeze funds in its U.S. bank accounts in light of an earlier, more than $70 million transfer that the judge said "clearly prejudiced" creditor Skillz Platform.

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Weil PE Pro Declines Executive Partner Seat Amid Turmoil

By Marialuisa Taddia

Ramona Y. Nee has decided not to become executive partner at Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, days after merger talks with Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP ended and amid departures on both sides of the Atlantic, sources close to the firm told Law360 Monday.

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Former Willkie Partner, Wife Owe $14.5M Tax Debt, Gov't Says

By Zak Kostro

A former Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP partner and his wife owe the U.S. more than $14.5 million in unpaid taxes, penalties and interest, according to a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court that seeks to enforce federal tax liens against their New York home to settle the debt.

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Morgan & Morgan Can't Pursue Ad Ban Suit, Fla. Bar Says

By Madison Arnold

The Florida Bar has pushed back against Morgan & Morgan PA's lawsuit alleging that a rule banning the use of a celebrity's voice or image in lawyer advertising violates the First Amendment, arguing that the personal injury giant lacks standing to bring the case.

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Burns & Levinson Malpractice Claims Revived On Appeal

By Julie Manganis

Massachusetts' intermediate-level appeals court Monday reinstated legal malpractice claims brought by a youth soccer league against defunct Boston law firm Burns & Levinson LLP alleging a firm partner failed to provide a heads-up about a federal visa fraud investigation.

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Trump Plans To Nominate SC Governor's Counsel To Bench

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump plans to nominate William Grayson Lambert, chief legal counsel for South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, for a judgeship on the District of South Carolina.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court last week approved a $250 million settlement of litigation over Microsoft Corp.'s acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc., while Albertsons Cos. Inc. accused Kroger Co. of rejecting changes that could have saved their $24.6 billion merger, and the Delaware Supreme Court ordered Verisk Analytics Inc. to keep pursuing a $2.35 billion acquisition.

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Ex-Prosecutors Start Group Targeting Corruption, ICE Abuses

By Ryan Boysen

A new group led by former federal prosecutors claims the rule of law "is on life support" because the Trump administration's U.S. Department of Justice has fallen down on the job, and says it will investigate alleged political corruption to build the cases the DOJ "would have brought in ordinary times."

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2nd Circ. EFAA Ruling Shifts Employer Litigation Strategy

In Diaz-Roa v. Hermes Law, the Second Circuit recently held that, under the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, employers can't carve out nonharassment claims and send them to arbitration, which has implications for discovery, litigation costs and resolution strategy in EFAA-covered disputes, say attorneys at Krevolin Horst.

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Empery Faces Limited Restrictions In ATG Proxy Fight

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court ruled Monday that Empery Digital Inc. must provide activist investor ATG Capital Opportunities Fund LP five business days' notice before taking certain major corporate actions while the parties fight over a disputed board seat, rejecting broader restrictions that could give ATG outsized influence over the company's operations.

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Analysis

Whistleblower 'Gold Rush' Might Strain DOJ, Experts Warn

By Phillip Bantz

A new federal program offering cash for tips that result in criminal fraud charges is poised to set off a whistleblower "gold rush" that could uncover more fraudsters, but might also invite a high number of low-quality claims that burden businesses and strain limited U.S. Department of Justice resources, experts say.

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Feature

Dugout Divided: Foley & Lardner Clients Clash In World Series

By Chris Villani

The World Series matchup between Foley & Lardner LLP clients, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays, has pitted partners against one another as the firm enjoys a good-natured intrasquad rivalry during the Fall Classic.

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Detroit Sued For $10M Over Ex-Cop's Alleged Serial Rapes

By Melanie Dorsey

A woman who says a former Detroit police officer kidnapped and raped her at gunpoint in 2005 has filed a proposed class action seeking more than $10 million from the city, alleging officials ignored warnings about the officer and allowed nearly 12,000 sexual assault evidence kits to go untested, concealing his identity for two decades.

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