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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Qualcomm Presses High Court To Ignore FedEx RPI Dispute

By Adam Lidgett

Qualcomm wants the U.S. Supreme Court to skip a bid from FedEx to examine the Federal Circuit's refusal to review whether the technology company complied with real-party-in-interest requirements in a patent challenge, arguing the same type of dispute won't likely come up again.

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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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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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Nvidia Sued Over 5 Data Center Networking Patents

By Elliot Weld

Nvidia is facing a suit filed Tuesday in Texas federal court over claims that its data centers were infringing a set of networking patents once held by technology company Avaya Inc.

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Analysis

DC Circ. Anthropic Ruling Could Chill Contractor Speech

By Madeline Lyskawa

The D.C. Circuit's decision backing the U.S. Department of Defense's removal of Anthropic from its supply chain was based on a broad reading of the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act, which could lead contractors to be more careful about publicizing disputes with the department.

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Analysis

NHTSA Fuel Economy Regs Overhaul Crushes EV Ambitions

By Linda Chiem

The elimination of strict federal mandates for higher fuel efficiency in new cars crushes momentum for the U.S. auto industry to pivot toward alternative-powered vehicles, ensuring that manufacturers will again be caught in litigation limbo as environmental groups prepare challenges to seemingly inconsequential standards with no penalties, experts say.

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USPTO Details Best Practices For Subject Matter Declarations

By Adam Lidgett

Patent applicants submitting declarations explaining why their patents are eligible under Section 101 of the Patent Act should hand in those statements separately from other evidence and also send them in sooner rather than later, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires recommended on Tuesday.

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EB-5 Visa Fees More Than Double For Individual Investors

By Elaine Briseño

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced increased filing fees Tuesday for the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program — more than double for individual investors — saying the higher price tag is needed to close a $48.4 million annual funding gap.

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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 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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Surgical Robot Co. Says 9th Circ. 'Expands' Antitrust Law

By Bryan Koenig

Intuitive Surgical asked the full Ninth Circuit to reconsider a decision reviving a surgical repair company's claims that it blocked third parties from refurbishing components for its popular da Vinci surgery robot, arguing the panel created a whole new pathway to alleging monopolization of secondary markets.

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Tech Giants Tell Fed. Circ. To Spurn Squires Remand Bid

By Adam Lidgett

Google, Meta and other tech giants that challenged an Express Mobile website building patent have asked the Federal Circuit to reject the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's bid to remand the case to the patent office for further proceedings, after a panel of top Patent Trial and Appeal Board judges upheld the patent.

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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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Geico Call Class Sunk After Plaintiff Tosses Phone In River

By Allison Grande

A Maryland federal judge has refused to certify a class of thousands of insurance claimants who received allegedly unauthorized prerecorded medical appointment reminders from a scheduling vendor retained by Geico, finding that factors such as the plaintiff's decision to throw his cellphone into the Mississippi River made him an inadequate class representative.

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RealPage Wins Injunction Against NY Rent Software Law

By Bonnie Eslinger

A federal judge in Manhattan granted RealPage's request for a preliminary injunction blocking a New York law banning building owners from using the property management platform to set residential rents, saying the company is "marginally" likely to prevail on its claim the statute regulates speech protected by the First Amendment.

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Zillow Must Face Realtors' Antitrust Suit Over Referral Terms

By Rachel Riley

A Washington federal judge Monday refused to throw out a proposed class action accusing Zillow of bullying realtors into buying its software and steering clients toward its home loan services, saying the plaintiff agents have adequately alleged they had "no choice" but to play along to get homebuyer referrals.  

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Software Co. UiPath Beats Investor Suit Over Sales For Good

By Sydney Price

A New York federal judge dismissed a proposed shareholder class action accusing automation software firm UiPath Inc. of falsely promoting the success of a new development strategy, saying the latest version of the suit failed to address previous deficiencies and does not show the defendants intentionally inflated shares.

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Agtech Biz Founder Loses Chancery Judge Recusal Bid

By Rose Krebs

A Delaware Chancery Court magistrate has denied a motion from HerdDogg Inc.'s founder to recuse himself from presiding over litigation she brought seeking to place the agricultural technology company into receivership, saying "unequivocally" that the founder had not shown disqualification would be appropriate.

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Del. Chancery Rejects Saama Founder's $68M Earnout Bid

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court has rejected a bid from Saama Technologies founder Suresh Katta for a $67.5 million earnout tied to Carlyle Group's 2021 investment in the clinical data company and ordered him to pay Saama about $7.3 million, finding that he acted in bad faith by pushing contracts that damaged the business to maximize the payout.

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Del. Chancery Freezes 32.1M Talkdesk Shares In Viking Fight

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court on Tuesday temporarily barred Talkdesk Inc. from disposing of roughly 32.1 million shares it received through a disputed foreclosure involving founder and CEO Tiago Paiva, while ordering expedited proceedings on a claim from investors of Viking Global that the deal violated their contractual consent rights.

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Cloud Fails To Upend Revvity's $4.5M Fee, Contract Win

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts intermediate appellate court on Tuesday affirmed a lower court's finding that Cloud Software Group LLC wrongly used a "sham audit" to justify terminating a long-term partnership with another software company in order to poach its customers.

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Call Center Claims No Ties To NC In ADT Wrong-Number Suit

By Hayley Fowler

The operator of a third-party call center asked Tuesday for an early exit from ADT Security Corp.'s lawsuit alleging the operator helped facilitate a predatory telemarketing scheme, saying it lacks sufficient ties to be dragged into court in North Carolina.

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X Corp. Says Crypto Gambling Company Bribed X Employees

By Spencer Brewer

X Corp. told a Texas federal court that a company behind two controversial crypto gambling websites, which allegedly bribed X employees, cannot arbitrate claims that X unfairly removed their access to its website.

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Zillow Tells DC Court To Toss Junk Fees Suit

By Isaac Monterose

Zillow Group Inc. has urged a Washington, D.C., federal court to toss a "meritless" proposed junk fees class action, arguing that the challenged rent payment fees are disclosed to residential tenants, and it offers a fee-free payment option.

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Fired Teacher Says AI Tainted Review And Arbitration

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts kindergarten teacher is suing to redo arbitration over her firing, saying the arbitrator who affirmed the school's decision used artificial intelligence to vet her claims that the principal relied on AI to prepare her final, negative performance evaluation.

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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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Latham, Wilson Sonsini Guide AMD's $8.2B World Labs Buy

By Al Barbarino

AMD has agreed to buy AI model developer and research lab World Labs in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $8.2 billion, acquiring a team that the chipmaker said will help bolster its efforts to develop AI infrastructure for emerging models and applications.

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Oura Cites Market 'Uncertainty' In Delaying Estimated $2B IPO

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Fitness-tracking ring maker Oura on Tuesday revealed that it is delaying its planned initial public offering, citing "uncertainty in the IPO market," just a week after the company told U.S. regulators that it hoped to raise $2.1 billion in the public debut.

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Brief

Kirkland, Cooley Steer Transom's SoundThinking Take-Private

By Al Barbarino

California middle-market private equity firm Transom Capital Group has agreed to acquire SoundThinking Inc. for up to approximately $159 million, the public safety technology company said Tuesday. 

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Dish DBS Gets OK To Cut $4.75B In Debt Under Ch. 11 Plan

By Alex Wittenberg

Pay-TV provider Dish DBS Corp. secured a Texas bankruptcy judge's approval Tuesday to eliminate $4.75 billion of its debt under the company's Chapter 11 plan, letting the EchoStar unit complete a deal ending long-running litigation with a majority of creditors holding almost $10 billion in debt.

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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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Reed Smith Adds AI, Data And Cyber Partner In Chicago

By James Boyle

Reed Smith LLP announced Tuesday that an attorney specializing in cybersecurity and data privacy matters has moved her practice to the firm's Chicago office after more than two years with Neal Gerber & Eisenberg LLP.

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Baker McKenzie Alum Launches Arbitrator Practice

By Joyce Hanson

Longtime Baker McKenzie partner David Zaslowsky has announced that he will retire from the law firm Wednesday to launch an independent arbitrator practice, saying that he has been at the firm since 1984 and is ready to start a new chapter in his life as a lawyer.

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How Restitution Became Del. Chancery Court's Middle Ground

Though monetary relief is the Delaware Court of Chancery's favored form of compensating shareholders injured by a breached transaction, Ramadurgam v. Destiny XYZ illustrates how restitution, rather than rescission, can also be a viable option for squeezed-out shareholders to present to the court, says Ashwini Jayaratnam at DarrowEverett.

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Roundup

Hub Hires: Mintz, Foley Hoag, Barclay Damon

By Chris Villani

Boston saw several significant moves across its legal landscape as the summer wound down, with Foley Hoag adding an experienced debt finance attorney from Goodwin Procter, a boutique white collar firm snagging a longtime federal prosecutor, and Mintz getting new leadership for the first time in nearly two decades.

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Armstrong Teasdale Builds Chicago M&A Team With 2 Hires

By Tracey Read

Armstrong Teasdale LLP has expanded its corporate services group's Chicago presence with a new partner from Polsinelli PC and a counsel from McDonald Hopkins LLC, the firm announced Wednesday.

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Interim U. Of Fla. Law Dean Named To Permanent Role

By Madison Arnold

The University of Florida has selected its interim dean for the Levin College of Law, a former King & Spalding LLP attorney, to serve in the role on a permanent basis.

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Texas AG Says ABA Stifling Law School Competition

By Spencer Brewer

The Texas Attorney General announced an investigation into the American Bar Association relating to alleged anticompetitive conduct in the association's accreditation of law schools, claiming Wednesday that the ABA "weaponized its accreditation authority" to push "unconstitutional racial and gender preference requirements."

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DOJ Atty Picked For Judgeship Probed On Fulton County Raid

By Courtney Bublé

A top U.S. Department of Justice official tapped for a federal judgeship faced questions from Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday about the department's investigation's in Fulton County, Georgia, over Trump's allegations of fraud in the 2020 election.

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DOJ Accuses Judges Of Ethics Violations With Press Remarks

By Jack Karp

Several Minnesota federal judges ran afoul of their ethical obligations when they commented on President Donald Trump's immigration policies in a recent news article, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a judicial misconduct complaint filed Wednesday.

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Leaders Of Smaller Firms Say Talent, Not Tech, Is Top Issue

By Daniel Connolly

Leaders of small to midsized law firms are expressing more concern about a longstanding problem, the cost of hiring and retaining talented attorneys, than they are about a new issue, the cost of AI and other technology, according to a survey released Wednesday.

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Blank Rome Seeks Time To Exit LIV Golf's Fla. Office

By Ben Zigterman

Blank Rome LLP on Wednesday filed a limited objection to LIV Golf's motion to reject its sublease at an office building in West Palm Beach, Florida, saying it didn't receive any advance notice and would like until the end of October to transition to a new office.

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The Law360 Pulse Prestige Leaders: A Look At The Top Firms

Today's most prestigious firms attract top talent and marquee clients while posting record profits. Here's a look at the top 10 firms in this year's Law360 Pulse Prestige Leaders, a ranking of the firms that stand out for their prominence, power and distinction.

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3rd Circ. Calls Westlaw AI Fight 'Ordinary Copyright Case'

By Ivan Moreno

The Third Circuit said the first appellate fight over artificial intelligence training and fair use ultimately came down to an "ordinary copyright case," affirming that Ross Intelligence infringed Thomson Reuters' Westlaw headnotes when it used them to train a competing legal research platform.

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