Epic Fights Apple's Bid For High Court Sanctions Review

By Bryan Koenig

Epic Games told the U.S. Supreme Court there's no need for high court review of a California federal court's contempt order against Apple for violating a ban on company policies that barred app developers from steering users to outside payment options.

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Trump Signs Memo To Speed Up AI Use For National Security

By Madeline Lyskawa

President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on Friday aimed at accelerating the development and use of artificial intelligence for national security applications and barring companies from preventing the U.S. military from using their AI systems unless they get approval to.

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Fed. Circ. OKs Google, Microsoft Win Over Device Locator IP

By Adam Lidgett

The Federal Circuit on Friday rejected an inventor's attempt to revive claims in her computer-locating patents challenged by Google and Microsoft, backing the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's decisions that they were invalid.

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Fed. Circ. Unsure Where State 'Bad Faith' Patent Cases Belong

By Ryan Davis

At arguments Friday in a dispute between Micron Technology Inc. and Netlist Inc., a Federal Circuit panel appeared uncertain whether suits under state laws against "bad faith" patent infringement claims belong in state or federal courts, analyzing the impact on patent law of each approach.

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DLA Piper Urges 2nd Circ. To End 'Vexatious' Malpractice Suit

By Emily Sawicki

The Second Circuit should uphold the dismissal of a Chinese software company's legal malpractice suit and $635,000 in sanctions against it and its lawyers, DLA Piper has argued, citing previous favorable rulings in the matter by a federal magistrate judge, district court judge, state justice and five-judge panel of the New York state appeals court.

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IRhythm Inks $45M Deal With Investors In Heart Device Suit

By Gina Kim

IRhythm Technologies Inc. investors asked a California federal judge to preliminarily greenlight a $45 million settlement resolving allegations the digital healthcare company inflated stock prices with misrepresentations about its heart-event monitoring device, noting the deal is a favorable result that warrants approval, given the possibility of no recovery. 

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Judge Slams Gov't For 'Pretextual' Immigration Filing Pause

By Britain Eakin

A Rhode Island federal judge ruled on Friday that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' indefinite hold on processing immigration applications for individuals from the 39 countries on President Donald Trump's travel ban list is unlawful.

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GOP Lawmakers Target China With 2 Patent Bills

By Adam Lidgett

Republican lawmakers are floating a pair of bills that would block anyone who is considered a national security threat from gaining a U.S. patent and require anyone with connections to "foreign adversaries" to list the association on an application.

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Top Groups Lobbying The FCC

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission heard from lobbyists more than 100 times in May on issues ranging from 5G wireless in the C-band airwaves to a new foreign-made router ban, satellite spectrum, efforts to cut the volume on TV ads, next-gen 911 and more.

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FCC's Trusty Says Network Vandalism Is Getting Worse

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

Infrastructure vandalism damaging high-speed networks is getting worse despite warnings about the problem, a member of the Federal Communications Commission, Commissioner Olivia Trusty, said during remarks addressing critical communications infrastructure.

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NY Bill To Ban Surveillance Pricing Heads To Gov.'s Desk

By Allison Grande

New York is on the brink of becoming the third state to prohibit companies from using consumer data to set individualized prices for certain products and services, as policymakers across the country continue to ramp up scrutiny on the increasingly prevalent practice known as surveillance pricing. 

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Analysis

4 Argument Sessions For Benefits Attys To Watch In June

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Ninth Circuit will hear from a benefits administrator that claims federal law preempts state-law data breach claims, and Amazon will defend its win in a military leave bias suit at the Second Circuit. Here, Law360 looks at cases being argued in June that benefits attorneys should have on their radar.

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4th Circ. Upholds Sanctions For Late Copyright Damages Info

By Ivan Moreno

The Fourth Circuit affirmed a ruling that excluded a software company's damages evidence and granted summary judgment to its competitor, saying in a published opinion Friday that the plaintiff's repeated failure to disclose its damages calculation justified sanctions that effectively doomed its copyright, false advertising and contract claims.

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Fed. Circ. Thinking About EcoFactor In TP-Link's $38M Appeal

By Theresa Schliep

A Federal Circuit panel on Friday seemed skeptical of a challenge by a pair of wireless networking device companies to the damages calculation supporting a $37.5 million patent infringement verdict against them, with one judge wondering if the court's EcoFactor decision did not "clean up" the issue of damages experts.

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Fed. Circ. Asks If Co. Argued Capability Equals Infringement

By Nadia Dreid

The Federal Circuit appeared to have doubts Friday morning about patent-licensing outfit PACT XPP Schweiz's position it had argued below that an Intel product could violate its patent even if it never performed an infringing action but was capable of doing so.

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Credit Check Co. Will Pay $17.5M To Settle Data Breach Suits

By Susan Smiley

A Michigan federal judge has granted preliminary approval to a $17.5 million settlement for consumers who sued a loan credit check company following a data breach that potentially exposed the personal and financial information of some 5.8 million people.

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Streamer's 'Lazy Reaction' Video May Be Fair Use, Judge Says

By Ivan Moreno

A California federal judge said Friday he is inclined to toss a YouTube creator's copyright suit over a Twitch user's livestreamed response to a documentary, finding that what the plaintiff characterized as "lazy reaction" content that siphoned views from the original work is covered by fair use because of the defendant's real-time criticism, commentary and mockery.

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Judge Wants A Look At OnePlus-Pantech Deal In 5G SEP Suit

By Elliot Weld

A Texas federal judge told Chinese phone company OnePlus and its South Korean competitor Pantech Corp. to provide the court with the settlement agreement under which they want a case between them dismissed, after a jury awarded Pantech $1 million for patent infringement.

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Ill. Class Gets Cert. In Apple Photos Biometric Privacy Suit

By Mike Curley

An Illinois federal judge on Friday granted certification to a class of Illinois iPhone users who sued Apple Inc. over alleged violations of the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act, finding the class had sufficiently shown that whether Apple committed these violations could be determined on a classwide basis.

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Zillow Can't Force Compass To Turn Over MLS Conversations

By Isaac Monterose

An Illinois federal judge rejected Zillow's attempt to force Compass and a Midwest multiple listing service to disclose their communications with each other, finding the request was "unduly burdensome."

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Microchip Co. Can't Dismantle Severance Suit Class Action

By Patrick Hoff

A microchip manufacturer can't decertify a class action alleging it unlawfully revoked its severance program after a merger, with a California federal judge rejecting the company's assertion that a Ninth Circuit decision meant the court had to individually assess workers' decisions.

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CoStar Gets Antitrust Suit Paused Pending Transfers

By Isaac Monterose

A Virginia federal judge granted commercial real estate information company CoStar's request to pause a brokerage's proposed antitrust class action due to pending transfer motions.

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Texas Justices To Hear AI-Aided Deposition Transcript Fight

By José Luis Martínez

The Texas Supreme Court has agreed to hear a dispute over whether a nonstenographic deposition transcript generated using artificial intelligence-driven voice recognition technology can be used in litigation after a court struck the transcript and barred future depositions using the same method.

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Paramount Criticizes Consumers' Antitrust Suit As Unserious

By Bonnie Eslinger

Paramount Skydance has asked a California federal judge to toss a consumer antitrust challenge to its pending $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, saying the lawsuit lacks essential elements to state a claim and criticizing the opposition for treating the litigation like a "sport" rather than a "serious matter."

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Klarna Says 'Buy Now, Pay Later' Users Agreed To Arbitration

By Celeste Bott

Klarna is fighting to send to arbitration a proposed class action that alleges its "buy now, pay later" service targets financially vulnerable people without screening out unaffordable lending, saying the lead plaintiffs have agreed multiple times to arbitrate disputes over Klarna's products and services.

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Ex-F5 Director Claims Gender Bias By 'Biggest Tech Bro' Boss

By Ben Adlin

A former product management director at technology firm F5 Inc. accused the company of "deliberate sex discrimination," claiming in a Washington state lawsuit that she was wrongfully fired after raising concerns about demeaning treatment from a supervisor described as the "biggest tech bro."

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Musicians Say UMG, Warner Stiffed Them On AI Licensing

By Lauren Berg

The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada claims Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group violated its members' collective bargaining agreement by licensing sound recordings to two artificial intelligence companies without compensating the musicians involved, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in New York federal court.

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Nortek Accuses Rival Of Stealing Data Center Cooling Secrets

By Elliot Weld

Ventilation company Nortek has hit a rival with allegations that, in response to the rising demand for cooling technology in data centers as a result of the artificial intelligence boom, it "raided" Nortek's employees and misappropriated trade secrets related to such technology.

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Spotify Lawsuit Says Algorithms Squeeze Small Artists

By Aaron Keller

Spotify USA Inc. has been accused of unfairly reducing payments to small creators by implementing a 1,000-stream royalty threshold and changing the way it counts streams, saves and other engagement metrics, according to a lawsuit alleging violations of Connecticut trade laws.

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Activist Warns SpaceX Investors Over Valuation, Governance

By Al Barbarino

SOC Investment Group is cautioning potential investors in SpaceX's upcoming initial public offering about perceived financial risks, saying it has an inflated valuation and issues over transparency and governance.

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Defense Tech Biz Valued At $2.2B After $200M Funding Round

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Precision robotics company Allen Control Systems on Friday announced that it has reached a $2.2 billion post-money valuation after closing its latest funding round with $200 million in tow.

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Ex-CFO Faces $35M Restitution With No Crypto Offset

By Aislinn Keely

A Washington federal judge has ordered Fabric Inc.'s former chief financial officer to pay $35 million in restitution after he embezzled the sum from the software firm to invest in crypto tokens that later collapsed, rejecting his arguments that he shouldn't be on the hook for losses that occurred after he gave the tokens to the firm.

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Texas Justices Say Cities Sued Wrong Party In Telecom Row

By José Luis Martínez

The Texas Supreme Court on Friday tossed a group of cities' challenge to state laws limiting what they can charge telecommunications companies to use public rights-of-way, finding the cities sued the wrong defendant and leaving the constitutional fight unresolved.

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FCC Grants Amazon Leo's Waiver For Deployment Milestones

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

The Federal Communications Commission has granted Amazon some leniency in meeting the deployment milestones of its Leo satellite system, which is meant to provide high-speed internet.

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Tips For Protecting Privilege On Multinational IP Teams

As recent court rulings illustrate how fact-specific privilege determinations have become in modern legal workflows, corporations with multinational intellectual property teams must take steps to deliberately preserve attorney-client privillege through clear roles, confidentiality controls and disciplined communication practices, say Taylor Stemler and Grace Neumann at Merchant & Gould.

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Series

The Biz Court Digest: Shoring Up Corporate Law In Maryland

Launched more than 20 years ago to improve complex corporate adjudication, Maryland's Business and Technology Case Management Program has been a solid success in some areas, but there always is room for improvement, says Bill Krulak at Miles & Stockbridge.

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Gibson Dunn, PE Firm Pay Charity $1M For Knicks VIP Seats

By Dorothy Atkins

Gibson Dunn and private equity firm Veritas Capital split the $1 million winning bid for two "Celebrity Row" seats in a Knicks fundraiser ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs, the team's parent company announced Monday.

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Groom Law Joins Firms Matching New Milbank Associate Pay

By Tracey Read

Washington, D.C.-based Groom Law Group is the latest firm to match a new pay scale for associates that was set earlier this month by Milbank LLP, according to media reports Monday.

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9th Circ. Judge Faces Inquiry, Charges After Idaho Altercation

By Lauren Berg

The Ninth Circuit on Monday identified a judicial misconduct complaint against U.S. Circuit Judge Ryan D. Nelson after he was charged with misdemeanor battery stemming from an argument in an Idaho Falls parking lot that ended with him allegedly stomping a man's eyeglasses on the asphalt.

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Analysis

How A Texas Pastor Beat Mark Zuckerberg In Landmark Trial

By Craig Clough

Jurors who reached a landmark $6 million verdict in March finding Meta Platforms Inc. and Google liable for harming a teen's mental health didn't find Mark Zuckerberg credible, an impression that the plaintiff's attorney Mark Lanier credited to putting the well-prepared executive off his guard.

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King & Spalding May Be Sanctioned In $300M Fraud Lawsuit

By Aaron Keller

Two King & Spalding LLP partners face a sanctions hearing in a $300 million fraud lawsuit to determine whether they violated a rule requiring candor to the tribunal by falsely claiming attorneys for other parties were copied on letters to two Connecticut jurists, according to two state court orders.

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Another Lawmaker Joins Impeachment Push For Ga. Judge

By Courtney Bublé

A Republican House member on Monday introduced articles of impeachment for U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross of the Northern District of Georgia after she was reprimanded for having sex with a police officer in her chambers within earshot of staff.

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Colorado Gov. Signs Bill Banning Fee Sharing With Non-Attys

By Emma Cueto

Colorado has enacted a ban on lawyers sharing fees with nonlawyer-owned firms, such as alternative businesses in Arizona, as well as a prohibition on deals with managed services organizations that involve paying a percentage of firm income.

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Brief

Todd Blanche Officially Nominated To Be AG

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump on Monday officially nominated Todd Blanche to be attorney general.

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Trump Taps DC Appeals Court Picks To Fill Final Vacancies

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump has announced two picks for the D.C. Court of Appeals, which will fill the remaining vacancies on the District of Columbia's top court.

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Mich. Dems Back Trump Judicial Pick After Blue-Slip Review

By Courtney Bublé

Michigan's Democratic U.S. senators, Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin, announced on Monday they've returned their blue slips for the nomination of Michael Martin, a veteran career prosecutor, to be a judge in the Eastern District of Michigan.

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Chapman Law School Dean Says He Was Fired For Being Gay

By Hailey Konnath

The former dean of Chapman University's Dale E. Fowler School of Law says the university unlawfully fired him because he's gay and married to a man, according to a complaint filed in California state court.

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NJ Senators Advance Litigation Funding Disclosure Bill

By Carla Baranauckas

New Jersey state senators on Monday advanced legislation that would require disclosure of third-party litigation funding agreements over the objections of trial lawyers and litigation finance representatives, who warned that the bill could discourage funding for plaintiffs involved in costly cases.

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Law Student's Kirk Comment Discipline Stays During Appeal

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas federal judge on Monday kept intact a reprimand against a law student who allegedly celebrated following the death of Charlie Kirk during an appeal, saying that the student "again seeks the wrong remedy" in her request.

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100+ Ex-Prosecutors Question Chicago US Atty's Leadership

By Celeste Bott

More than 100 former Illinois federal prosecutors issued a statement Monday saying there's been a "failure of leadership" in the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago and that "once-forbidden political considerations are infecting prosecutorial decisions" in the wake of an Illinois federal judge accusing the office of mishandling grand jury proceedings in a case against six immigration activists.

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SCOTUSblog Founder Goldstein's Sentencing Delayed To July

By Jared Foretek

A Maryland federal judge has agreed to push SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein's sentencing to July, after federal prosecutors speculated that his defense attorneys might come to the previously scheduled June hearing and declare that they aren't ready to proceed.

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Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Lieff Cabraser's Elizabeth Cabraser

By Emily Field

When Elizabeth Cabraser began working with Robert Lieff as a clerk at his small practice in Northern California in the late 1970s, fresh out of law school, her job was to help him dispose of his remaining cases so he could retire early and become a winemaker.

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