Analysis

3 Federal Circuit Clashes To Watch In April

By Ryan Davis

The Federal Circuit argument calendar for this month includes Centripetal Networks' appeal of a decision clearing Cisco of infringing cybersecurity patents after a multibillion-dollar award was thrown out, as well as Ecobee's challenge to an $11.5 million infringement verdict involving smart thermostats.

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Analysis

Justices' Cox Decision Fuels Debate Over DMCA's Relevance

By Ivan Moreno

The U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous decision last week shielding Cox Communications from contributory copyright liability and wiping out a massive piracy verdict against the internet service provider has sparked a debate over how much the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's safe harbor provision still matters.

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7th Circ. Says Ill. BIPA Amendment Applies Retroactively

By Hailey Konnath

The Seventh Circuit held Wednesday that a liability-limiting amendment to Illinois' biometric privacy law applies to every lawsuit pending at the time the amendment took effect, ruling that the amendment is only a procedural change to the law and, therefore, must be applied retroactively.

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Twitter Investors Win Class Cert. In Elon Musk Fraud Suit

By Emilie Ruscoe

Investors in X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, have been granted class certification in litigation alleging tech billionaire Elon Musk secretly amassed a significant stake in the company while its stock traded at artificially depressed prices.

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Ex-FTX Chief Engineer Resolves CFTC Fraud Suit For $3.7M

By Rick Archer

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission Wednesday announced a New York federal court had entered an order resolving fraud charges against the former chief engineer of defunct cryptocurrency investment platform FTX.

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Google Users Seek $147M In Atty Fees After $425M Trial Win

By Bonnie Eslinger

Counsel for Google users who won a $425 million class action trial over claims the company unlawfully collected their information have urged a California federal judge to give them nearly $147 million in legal fees, even as both sides filed motions seeking to unwind aspects of the verdict.

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Collision, Samsung Criticize Government's IP Injunction Take

By Dani Kass

Wireless communication network patent owner Collision Communications and alleged infringer Samsung Electronics both pushed back on the federal government's arguments in its intervention in their $445.5 million Eastern District of Texas litigation, which it used as a forum to encourage the use of injunctions.

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SpaceX Confidentially Files Plans For Blockbuster IPO

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Elon Musk's SpaceX has reportedly filed confidential plans with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a blockbuster initial public offering that could value the private space exploration company at up to $1.75 trillion, setting up the highly anticipated IPO to be one of the largest ever.

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FCC Strives For 'Supremacy' In US Drone Manufacturing

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission's leadership wants the public to weigh in on how regulators can help the U.S. private sector reach global dominance in drone manufacturing and operations.

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USPTO Spurns Nintendo Pokémon Patent After Reexam

By Adam Lidgett

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has found that a patent granted to Nintendo and Pokémon allowing players to summon a character in a video game was not valid in light of prior art, in a case that's raised concerns in the video game industry.

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Feds Pressed On RFK Jr. 's Call To Study Cell Emission Risks

By Nadia Dreid

Environmental Health Trust, a think tank that contends wireless radiation is bad for people's health, asked the FCC to comply with a 2021 D.C. Circuit order directing the agency to examine whether low level radio frequency radiation hurts children or could be harmful over time.

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Brief

Stick With Lowest Ad Rates For Candidates, FCC Warns

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission has reminded broadcasters they must charge the lowest rate available to legally qualified political candidates and their advisory committees.

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4th Circ. Upholds Prior Settlement Bars Clear Touch TM Suit

By Adam Lidgett

The Fourth Circuit on Wednesday ruled that it won't undo a lower court's decision tossing interactive technology products company Clear Touch Interactive Inc.'s federal intellectual property claims against a former reseller, saying the case was blocked by an earlier settlement agreement between the parties.

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Realtek Denied $1.5M In Fees For Semiconductor Patent Suit

By Rae Ann Varona

A Texas federal judge has denied Realtek Semiconductor Corp.'s request for $1.5 million in attorney fees despite it being a prevailing party in a patent infringement suit, saying the accusing company's agreement with a Realtek rival to sue Realtek for $1 million did not make the case "exceptional" enough for the legal fees.

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Facebook Users Lose Cert. Bid In Tax-Data Collection Fight

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge has refused to certify proposed classes of consumers accusing Meta Platforms Inc. of illegally collecting sensitive financial data from tax preparation websites, finding that the currently proposed classes are "significantly" broad and would likely invite statute-of-limitations defenses that would require "extensive individual inquiries" into each class member.

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Law Firm Not Insured By Cyber Policy After $158K Email Scam

By Mark Payne

Two cyber insurers don't owe coverage to a Mississippi law firm after a fraudster used a false identity to hoodwink the firm out of more than $158,000 by procuring legal services to secure an owed debt that turned out to be fake, a federal court has ruled. 

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US Bank Beats 'Highly Offensive' Meta Pixel Tracking Suit

By Sydney Price

U.S. Bancorp escaped a suit calling its use of Meta's Pixel a "highly offensive" intrusion that shares bank website user information with Meta without users' consent, with a Minnesota federal judge ruling the plaintiff does not specify what information he shared with the bank or how it was used.

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Meta Loses Bid To Toss Photo App's Antitrust Case

By Matthew Perlman

A New York federal court has refused to toss a defunct photo-sharing app's antitrust case accusing Meta Platforms Inc. of using its monopoly in personal social networking to drive the app out of business, after the Second Circuit revived the case.

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Amazon Beats NY Warehouse Workers' Screening Time Suit

By MJ Koo

A New York federal court has tossed wage claims brought by Amazon warehouse workers who alleged they were not paid for time spent undergoing mandatory security screenings before and after their shifts, finding the state's labor law mirrors federal standards that exempt such activities from compensation.

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Netflix, Warner Bros. Get Pepperdine's 'Waves' TM Suit Tossed

By Elliot Weld

A California federal judge has thrown out a suit brought by Pepperdine University accusing Netflix and Warner Bros. of infringing trademarks via a fictional basketball team in the TV show "Running Point" that the university said is identical to its Waves team, finding the show doesn't mislead a viewer into thinking Pepperdine was involved in its production.

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Ill. Judge Clears Card Shuffler Antitrust Claims For Trial

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois federal judge largely denied cross motions for summary judgment in a suit alleging a gambling product company used sham patent litigation to shove competitors out of the automatic card shuffler market, and certified a class of casinos and other buyers claiming they suffered antitrust injuries as a result.

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Texas Judge Dismisses Southwest Holiday Outage Claims

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas federal judge dismissed claims brought by Southwest Airlines investors that the airline caused a disastrous 2022 holiday travel season with outdated technology and a unique flight route structure, but left room for the investors to refile.

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Home Depot Narrows, But Can't Sink, Deceptive Pricing Suit

By Kelcey Caulder

Home Depot knocked a Georgia law claim out of a proposed class action accusing the retailer of tricking buyers into purchasing items online by advertising false original prices and discounts that created the illusion of short-lived bargains, but a federal judge ruled the bulk of the suit could proceed. 

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Amazon Shakes Bulk Of Alexa Users' Secret Recordings Suit

By Allison Grande

A Washington federal judge significantly narrowed a lawsuit accusing Amazon of surreptitiously recording Alexa device users' personal conversations, finding that the company had clearly disclosed the possibility of accidental device activations and that only some unregistered users had adequately asserted individual wiretap claims. 

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Quantum Corp. Seeks Exit From Investor Fraud Suit

By Rachel Konieczny

Data storage company Quantum Corp. asked a Colorado federal judge to throw out a proposed class action against it, claiming the investor did not show that the company or its executives acted with actual knowledge of the alleged securities fraud or deliberate recklessness.

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TikToker Challenges Defamation Suit By Immigration Law Firm

By José Luis Martínez

A TikTok creator urged a Texas federal court to toss a defamation suit brought by Houston-based Meneses Law PLLC, arguing that her posts were rhetorical condemnation based on public controversy surrounding the law firm and that the court has no personal jurisdiction over her.

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Perplexity AI Hands User Info To Google And Meta, Suit Says

By Gina Kim

Perplexity shares users of its AI machine's most personal questions and conversational dialogues — which could include mental and physical health issues and legal advice — with Meta and Google, which exploit the information for profit and targeted advertising purposes, alleges a proposed class action filed Monday in California federal court. 

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Nvidia Willfully Infringed 6 Patents With AI Tech, Suit Says

By Bonnie Eslinger

Nvidia Corp. has been sued in Texas federal court by a company that makes multilayer computer chips, claiming the Silicon Valley artificial intelligence giant's technology for AI training and data centers infringes six of its patents.

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Maxell Says LG Infringes TV Patents After Insisting On Talks

By Rae Ann Varona

Maxell Ltd. sued LG Electronics in Texas federal court on Wednesday for allegedly infringing seven of its television-related patents, saying in its suit that the South Korean electronics giant has continued to impermissibly sell products using Maxell's patented technology despite unresolved discussions over the tech's use.

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Robinhood Sues Wash. To Protect Prediction Market Biz

By Rachel Riley

Robinhood has launched a federal lawsuit seeking to shield itself from potential Washington state enforcement action over its prediction market offerings in the wake of Attorney General Nick Brown's Friday announcement that he's going after Kalshi for allegedly breaking Evergreen State gambling laws.

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Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

By Bryan Koenig

The Justice Department allowed Live Nation to keep Ticketmaster while state attorneys general continue to sue, a $14 billion Boston Scientific deal drew Federal Trade Commission scrutiny, state enforcers challenged Nexstar's purchase of Tegna, and a threatened FTC challenge forced the abandonment of a laser eye surgery deal.

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Intel Paying $14.2B To Buy Apollo's Stake In Irish Chip Plant

By Al Barbarino

Intel Corp. said Wednesday that it has agreed to pay $14.2 billion to repurchase from Apollo a 49% equity interest in the companies' joint venture at the Fab 34 chip manufacturing plant in Ireland, in a deal steered by three law firms. 

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Paul Weiss-Led OceanSound Nets $3.4B For 3rd Fund

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP-advised OceanSound Partners on Wednesday revealed that it clinched its third fund and related co-investment vehicles, with $3.4 billion in tow to invest across the aerospace, defense, government and highly regulated enterprise end markets.

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Lidar Co. Luminar Cleared To Exit Ch. 11 After Asset Sales

By Alex Wittenberg

A Texas bankruptcy judge Wednesday signed off on Luminar's bid to wind down its business and make distributions to creditors in Chapter 11, months after the maker of autonomous-vehicle technology sold most of its assets.

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Roku Defeats Some Of Mich. AG's Data Privacy Claims

By Carolyn Muyskens

A federal judge has narrowed a lawsuit over Roku's handling of children's data, finding Michigan lacked standing to litigate several of the claims on behalf of users while allowing others to proceed. 

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SEC Walks Away From Five Crypto Wash Trading Cases

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has voluntarily dismissed cases against five defendants accused of manipulating the cryptocurrency markets through wash trading, telling a Massachusetts federal court it will not pursue monetary remedies against one convicted fraudster who had already consented to an agency settlement.

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Ex-Wilson Sonsini M&A Co-Head Rejoins Goodwin In SF

By Rae Ann Varona

A former partner at Goodwin Procter LLP's Silicon Valley office has rejoined the firm in San Francisco after co-leading Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC's mergers and acquisitions practice for five years, Goodwin announced on Wednesday.

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Key Takeaways From The 2026 ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting

Last week's American Bar Association Spring Meeting revealed an antitrust landscape defined by heightened friction and tension — between federal and state enforcers, domestic and international regimes, competing political visions, and traditional enforcement tools and novel challenges, say attorneys at Skadden.

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Motorola Case Shows Reach Of NLRA Dishonesty Protections

A recent National Labor Relations Board case, involving a Motorola employee who was terminated for lying about discussing wages, illustrates the broad reach of National Labor Relations Act protections for concerted activity, which may take on new significance as the agency shifts toward more restrained enforcement, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

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Bondi Out As Attorney General After Contentious Time At DOJ

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump announced on Thursday Attorney General Pam Bondi will be leaving her post. 

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Goldstein Allowed To Move Out After Marriage Falls Apart

By Jared Foretek

A Maryland federal judge on Thursday allowed SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein to relocate for the duration of his home confinement, after Goldstein's attorneys said his marriage had fallen apart and it no longer "makes sense" for Goldstein and his wife to share a residence.

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Raskin Blasts DOJ Bid To Shield Attys From State Bar Probes

By Courtney Bublé

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said Thursday the U.S. Department of Justice's endeavor to preempt state bar investigations of department attorneys is a "get out of jail free" card.

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DLA Piper, Vax Refuser Reach Deal To End Religious Bias Suit

By Patrick Hoff

DLA Piper has struck a deal to wrap up a Christian former employee's lawsuit claiming he was fired for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine because of his religious beliefs, an Illinois federal judge said Thursday.

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Feds Say Habeas Ruling Could Spur More 'Illegal Orders'

By Jared Foretek

The Trump administration has asked the Fourth Circuit to reverse a district ruling that upheld a standing order from Maryland federal judges barring immediate removal or transfer of immigrant detainees, arguing the ruling sets a dangerous precedent for district court standing orders.

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Schneider Wallace Fights Uphill For Bigger Cut Of $75M Fees

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal magistrate judge appeared skeptical Thursday about Schneider Wallace Cottrell Kim LLP's bid to increase its cut of a $75.4 million fee award for representing plaintiffs in a $228.5 million Sutter Health antitrust deal, saying lead counsel Constantine Cannon LLP's allocation of $1.4 million to Schneider Wallace seems fair.

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Puerto Rico Bankruptcy Stymies Paul Weiss, ACLU Fee Bids

By Carolyn Muyskens

American Civil Liberties Union and Paul Weiss attorneys who successfully eased restrictions on voting by mail in Puerto Rico during the COVID-19 pandemic cannot collect fees for their work because they were discharged in Puerto Rico's bankruptcy proceeding, the First Circuit has ruled.

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Process Server ABC Legal Inks $2.5M Deal Over Cyber Breach

By Ben Adlin

Seattle-based ABC Legal Services LLC, which bills itself as the nation's largest network of legal process servers, would pay $2.5 million under a tentative deal to settle workers' putative class action claiming a 2024 cyberattack exposed their personal information, the plaintiffs told a Washington federal court Wednesday.

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Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen data giant Sportrader face action from software company Altenar over alleged market abuse, Mexican billionaire Ricardo Pliego sue a man who allegedly defrauded him out of $415 million, and Warner Bros. bring a copyright claim against a YouTuber who leaked set footage of the upcoming Harry Potter series. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K. 

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