Jay-Z Can't Undo Buzbee's Win In Rapper's Defamation Suit

By Y. Peter Kang

A California state appeals court has refused to revive claims that Texas attorney Tony Buzbee defamed and extorted music superstar Jay-Z by roping him into a sexual abuse suit against Sean "Diddy" Combs, saying the case was properly thrown out under California's free speech statute.

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Thomson Reuters Says DOJ AI Stance Doesn't Back Ross

By Rae Ann Varona

Thomson Reuters told the Third Circuit Thursday in defunct legal tech startup Ross Intelligence's interlocutory appeal of a summary judgment ruling that it infringed Westlaw headnotes that a statement by the U.S. Department of Justice flagged by Ross does not support its fair-use defense.

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Zuckerberg Testifies List Of Kid-Glove Users Not A Problem

By Cara Salvatore

Mark Zuckerberg strenuously disputed in testimony seen Thursday by a New Mexico jury that Facebook's internal list of parties whose content receives special treatment undercuts the company's public declarations that policy-violating content must be taken down without exception.

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Calif. Enacts Laws To Curb Addictive Feeds, AI Risks For Kids

By Dorothy Atkins

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed more than a dozen kids online safety bills into law Thursday, expanding student data privacy laws while barring social media companies from offering teens personalized accounts with addictive features and requiring artificial intelligence companies to implement guardrails to prevent teen suicide and self-harm.

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Squires Grants 10 Patent Reviews, Rejects None

By Dani Kass

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has instituted 10 more Patent Trial and Appeal Board petitions, largely in the pharmaceutical space.

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Huawei Ripped Off Amazon Cloud Platform IP, Jury Hears

By Stewart Bishop

A former engineer for a U.S. subsidiary of Huawei on Thursday testified that she was shocked and upset after a colleague boasted of co-opting patented code used in Amazon's cloud computing platform, the first of several Huawei employees that are expected to take the stand in the Chinese telecommunications company's RICO trial in New York federal court. 

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Cellspin Media Patent Suit Should Proceed, Judge Says

By Adam Lidgett

A Texas federal magistrate judge said Wednesday the court should not throw out Cellspin Soft Inc.'s patent lawsuit against Fossil Stores I Inc. over systems that can automatically publish social media content, years after a similar case was tossed in California.

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11th Circ. Urged To Undo Trial Loss For Hospital Ratings Org

By Gianna Ferrarin

A Florida federal court order requiring hospital ratings nonprofit Leapfrog to revoke poor safety grades it issued to five hospitals owned by Tenet Healthcare Corp. violated the First Amendment, Leapfrog told the Eleventh Circuit in a Thursday opening brief challenging its bench trial loss.

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Apple Data Delay Stalling High 5 Casino App Deal, Player Says

By Rachel Riley

Apple is refusing to hand over data needed to notify class members and tally damages in a multimillion-dollar class action settlement to resolve allegations that High 5 Games harmed players by operating illegal casino-style mobile apps, the lead plaintiff told a Washington federal judge Wednesday.

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DOJ Wants To Quash Apple's Look At Fed Phone-Buying

By Matthew Perlman

The U.S. Department of Justice is asking a New Jersey federal court to overrule an order in the government's monopolization case giving Apple a look at how the Pentagon, CIA, U.S. Department of State and other agencies purchase smartphones and smartwatches.

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Fox Must Produce Carriage Deals In Newsmax Antitrust Suit

By Carolina Bolado

Fox News has to produce its top carriage agreements with cable and streaming providers in Newsmax's antitrust suit accusing Fox of pressuring providers not to carry the rival right-leaning broadcaster, a Florida federal magistrate judge ruled Thursday.

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US Asks 1st Circ. To Back $3.3M Tax Bill For 'Survivor' Winner

By Zak Kostro

A Rhode Island federal court correctly entered a $3.3 million tax judgment against the first "Survivor" winner, the government told the First Circuit, saying the former contestant failed to refute the tax assessments and had agreed to a U.S. Tax Court decision that determined his liability and penalties.

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FCC Ordered To Answer Petition In Discounted Ads Fight

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

The Fourth Circuit has ordered the Federal Communications Commission to answer a petition from a group of Democratic candidates seeking to block an agency action that extended discounted television and radio advertising rates to committees that buy spots in coordination with political candidates.

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FCC Looks At Modernizing Rules For Ultra-Wideband Devices

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission could soon modernize its decades-old rules governing ultra-wideband devices, which are used in a wide range of applications including key fobs and ground-penetrating radars in construction work.

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Network Group Worries FCC Regs Could Hinder AI Growth

By Christopher Cole

A group advocating for networks that power artificial intelligence has voiced concern that the Federal Communications Commission's latest push to restrict foreign equipment could hinder AI's growth.

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Nielsen Tells 2nd Circ. Court Altered Terms Of Cumulus Order

By Nadia Dreid

Nielsen is headed back to the Second Circuit after a New York federal court changed the terms of a preliminary injunction that the appellate court had already upheld, the company said, requiring Nielsen to not only unbundle its national radio ratings data from its local offerings but also to provide that data on specific terms.

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Brief

Senate Panel To Consider Nominee For 3rd FCC Republican

By Christopher Cole

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, announced Thursday that a hearing will be held Sept. 17 for the nomination of Danielle Thumann Severs to the Federal Communications Commission.

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Series

Juggling And Unicycling Make Me A Better Lawyer

Because I juggle (sometimes with fire) and ride the unicycle, friends and family used to joke that I should join the circus, but I pursued the practice of law instead and learned that my hobbies benefit my profession in several important ways, says Morgan Eddy at Smith Currie.

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ABA Study Shows 20% Of Attys Under Severe Mental Distress

By Tracey Read

About one-fifth of attorneys across the country meet moderate-to-extremely severe symptom thresholds for depression, anxiety and stress, according to the largest-ever study of mental health and well-being in the legal profession.

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Mass. Judge Sanctioned Over Handling Of ICE At Courthouse

By Julie Manganis

Massachusetts' highest court on Thursday sanctioned a judge over her handling of a case involving a defendant wanted by immigration agents in 2018, an incident that led to federal charges that were dismissed after the judge agreed to a disciplinary process.

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Ed Martin Reprimanded Over Unauthorized FBI Contacts

By Courtney Bublé

Last summer, when Ed Martin was still head of the weaponization working group at the U.S. Department of Justice, he was reprimanded after his team communicated with the FBI without authorization, according to recently released emails.

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2 At DOJ Sued Over Conn. Immigration Court Record Access

By Christine DeRosa

The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Connecticut has filed suit in Connecticut federal court challenging the Hartford Immigration Court's refusal to provide access to immigration court records.

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JPMorgan Aided Ex-Atty Kossoff's $18.5M Theft, Trustee Says

By Hailey Konnath

The Chapter 7 trustee representing bankrupt firm Kossoff PLLC on Wednesday sued JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, claiming the bank helped the firm's principal steal at least $18.5 million from clients, and it "should be made to account."

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Analysis

Executive Privilege Questions Cloud Congressional Probe Prep

By Phillip Bantz

As corporate leaders brace for the possibility of Democrats retaking control of Congress and launching aggressive investigations into the Trump administration's dealings with a vast array of companies, attorneys say a U.S. Justice Department opinion on executive privilege could complicate the probes.

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DOJ Urges High Court To Revisit 9th Circ.'s Bar Of Nev. US Atty

By Madison Arnold

The Justice Department has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit a recent Ninth Circuit ruling disqualifying the Trump administration's top federal prosecutor in Nevada, calling it a decision that imposes "ongoing confusion" in the executive branch.

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