Retail & E-Commerce

  • February 02, 2026

    Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

    What happened to a GOP donor's $250,000 Swiss watch? Can cigarette warnings show jarring medical images? Will a circuit split of "far-reaching importance" for arbitration get even wider? That's a taste of the oral argument menu we'll help you digest in this preview of February's top appellate action.

  • February 02, 2026

    Netflix Slams HBO Max User's Challenge To Warner Bros. Deal

    Netflix argued that an HBO Max subscriber lacks standing to challenge its plan to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, telling a California federal judge Friday that the subscriber doesn't show how the merger would injure her, as she's never subscribed to Netflix and doesn't say she plans to.

  • February 02, 2026

    5th Circ. Panel Blushes At Starbucks Worker's Snapchat Notes

    A Fifth Circuit panel pressed the National Labor Relations Board to explain why Starbucks lacks the ability to fire a union organizer who used excessively colorful language in private messages to co-workers, saying Monday the language used would "make any of us blush."

  • February 02, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Grapples With AI Patent Eligibility In Amazon Case

    A Federal Circuit panel on Monday expressed skepticism about Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's argument that an artificial intelligence-related patent it sued Amazon over was wrongly invalidated as abstract, though the court seemed wary of issuing a ruling that could render all AI unpatentable.

  • February 02, 2026

    Ill. Distributor Sues Over Axed THC Seltzer Contract

    A Chicago area beer distributor has sued the company behind Wynk THC seltzers in Illinois federal court, claiming it should be made whole after the seltzer company abruptly terminated their exclusive distribution agreement without fairly paying for the distribution network that was essentially built from scratch.

  • February 02, 2026

    First Woman Justice Elected To Wash. High Court To Retire

    Washington State Supreme Court Justice Barbara A. Madsen, the first woman to be voted onto the court and the second-longest serving justice in state history, said Monday she plans to retire this spring after 33 years on the bench.

  • February 02, 2026

    Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

    U.S. enforcers reached three new merger settlements, while the Federal Trade Commission successfully blocked a $945 million heart valve deal and lodged an appeal for its case targeting Meta's past acquisitions.

  • February 02, 2026

    7th Circ. Hands Dead Packaging Worker's 401(k) To Ex-Wife

    The Seventh Circuit awarded the 401(k) account balance of a dead Packaging Corp. of America worker to his ex-wife Monday, concluding that a lower court erred in determining she wasn't entitled to benefits based on a fax requesting a beneficiary designation change that he transmitted after a divorce.

  • February 02, 2026

    Split Fed. Circ. Won't Revive Massager Design Patent Case

    A Maine federal judge properly found Armaid Co. Inc. didn't infringe Range of Motion Products LLC's design patent covering a personal massage device, a divided Federal Circuit held Monday.

  • February 02, 2026

    FTC Says Bezos, Amazon Execs Hid Evidence Via Signal App

    The Federal Trade Commission asked a Washington federal judge to assume Amazon.com Inc. used auto-deleting Signal chats to hide the "anticompetitive nature" of rules that allegedly created an artificial pricing floor across online retail, escalating a long-simmering evidentiary fight that implicates Jeff Bezos and general counsel David Zapolsky.

  • February 02, 2026

    DOJ Opposes Google's Bid For Partial Search Remedy Pause

    The U.S. Department of Justice and state enforcers are opposing Google's bid to pause parts of the remedies imposed after a D.C. federal court found it monopolized the search market, while the tech giant appeals the ruling to the D.C. Circuit.

  • February 02, 2026

    Trump, Modi Say US-India Trade Deal Reached

    President Donald Trump said Monday he reached a trade deal with India following a call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that includes lowering the tariff rate on Indian goods entering the U.S. from 50% to 18%.

  • February 02, 2026

    NFL, Fanatics Bolster Attempt To Toss Fans' Monopoly Suit

    The NFL and Fanatics pushed a New York federal court to toss a fan lawsuit that accused the pair of monopolizing the online retail market for league merchandise, arguing a previously dismissed lawsuit already found the plaintiffs' arguments defective.

  • February 02, 2026

    RI Officials Fight Two Bids To Block Pot Licensing Scheme

    The Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission is pushing back on a pair of motions seeking to block its social equity cannabis licensing program, arguing in both cases that the residency requirement does not run afoul of the U.S. Constitution's dormant commerce clause.

  • February 02, 2026

    Amazon Shoppers' Counsel Admit To AI Errors In Motion

    Lawyers representing Amazon customers in a proposed class action over supplement labeling have apologized to a Seattle federal judge for artificial intelligence hallucinations included in a recent filing, acknowledging "certain miscitations and misquotations" resulted from a Just Food Law PLLC attorney's use of the nascent technology and a failure by Boies Schiller Flexner LLP co-counsel to catch the errors.

  • February 02, 2026

    Vape Sellers Say Texas' China Liquid Ban Is Unconstitutional

    A group of vape distributors and retailers is suing to block enforcement of a new Texas law prohibiting the sale of e-cigarettes using liquid from China and other "adversaries" of the U.S., saying the law is unconstitutional as only Congress can regulate trade with foreign countries.

  • January 30, 2026

    Google Can't Ditch $425M Privacy Verdict, But Won't Owe $2B

    A California federal judge on Friday refused to decertify a class of Google users who scored a $425 million jury verdict in their privacy suit; however, he also shot down the consumers' request that Google shell out an additional $2.36 billion in disgorgement of profits.

  • January 30, 2026

    Kroger, Albertsons Look To Block FTC Testimony Handover

    Grocery giants Albertsons and Kroger asked a California federal judge to protect sensitive expert testimony that helped the Federal Trade Commission torpedo their planned merger in 2024, which a new FTC target said is urgently needed to show that the regulator is creating contradictory market analyses.

  • January 30, 2026

    Brewery Ownership Condition Takes Spotlight In Beer IP Fight

    SweetWater Brewing Co.'s chief executive officer asked a Georgia federal judge for an early win Friday in a copyright suit brought by the creator of the company's trout logo, taking aim at the claim that SweetWater could only use the artwork as long as the CEO remained the brewery's owner.

  • January 30, 2026

    CBD Cos. Say They're Wrong Defendants In Kratom Suit

    Shaman Botanicals LLC and CBD American Shaman LLC are urging a California federal judge to throw out claims that they mislead consumers by failing to warn them that Soma Kratom products are dangerous and addictive, saying they're not affiliated with Soma Kratom in the first place.

  • January 30, 2026

    Creditors Given Weekend To Review Saks Off 5th Closures

    A Texas bankruptcy judge on Friday indicated that he will approve Saks Global's emergency motion to close the majority of its Saks Off 5th retail locations and its remaining Neiman Marcus Last Call stores, but not until Monday at the earliest.

  • January 30, 2026

    Pa. Restaurant Wants Walmart To OK Roof Permit

    A Pennsylvania restaurant claims in a complaint in Pennsylvania state court that its Walmart Inc. landlord has failed to approve a permit for replacing the restaurant's "old and deteriorated" roof.

  • January 30, 2026

    Fanatics, Leagues Want Out Of Card Buyers' Antitrust Suit

    Trading card customers accusing Fanatics of manipulating the market through its exclusive deals with the major sports leagues make premature and implausible conclusions, the collectibles giant told a New York federal judge in its bid to dismiss the suit.

  • January 30, 2026

    Allergan Sued Over 'Preservative Free' Eyedrop Labeling

    AbbVie unit Allergan USA was hit with a proposed false advertising class action Wednesday in Illinois state court by two customers alleging that the company labeled its eyedrops as "preservative free" despite the fact that they contain boric acid. 

  • January 30, 2026

    1st Circ. Revives Ex-Hasbro Workers' Religious Vax Bias Suit

    Two former Hasbro employees who sought religious exemptions from the company's COVID-19 vaccination policy plausibly alleged they were disciplined because of their accommodation requests, the First Circuit ruled, reviving the workers' retaliation and discrimination suit.

Expert Analysis

  • What To Know About Interim Licenses In Global FRAND Cases

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    Recent U.K. court decisions have shaped a framework for interim licenses in global standard-essential patent disputes, under which parties can benefit from operating on temporary terms while a court determines the final fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms — but the future of this developing remedy is in doubt, say attorneys at Fish & Richardson.

  • 5 Crisis Lawyering Skills For An Age Of Uncertainty

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    As attorneys increasingly face unprecedented and pervasive situations — from prosecutions of law enforcement officials to executive orders targeting law firms — they must develop several essential competencies of effective crisis lawyering, says Ray Brescia at Albany Law School.

  • Compliance Tips Amid Rising FTC Scrutiny Of Minors' Privacy

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    The Federal Trade Commission has recently rolled out multiple enforcement actions related to children's privacy, highlighting a renewed focus on federal regulation of minors' personal information and the evolving challenges of establishing effective, privacy-protective age assurance solutions, say attorneys at Nelson Mullins.

  • Opinion

    It's Time For The Judiciary To Fix Its Cybersecurity Problem

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    After recent reports that hackers have once again infiltrated federal courts’ electronic case management systems, the judiciary should strengthen its cybersecurity practices in line with executive branch standards, outlining clear roles and responsibilities for execution, says Ilona Cohen at HackerOne.

  • 7 Lessons From The Tractor Supply CCPA Enforcement Action

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    The California Privacy Protection Agency's recent enforcement action targeting Tractor Supply for alleged violations of the California Consumer Privacy Act provides critical insights into the compliance areas that remain a priority for the California regulator, including businesses with significant consumer interactions, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • Parody Defendants Are Finding Success Post-Jack Daniel's

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    Recent decisions demonstrate that, although the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Jack Daniel's v. VIP Products did benefit trademark plaintiffs by significantly limiting the First Amendment expressive use defense, courts also now appear to be less likely to find a parodic work likely to cause confusion, says Andrew Michaels at University of Houston Law Center.

  • Considering Judicial Treatment Of The 2023 Merger Guidelines

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    Courts have so far primarily cited the 2023 merger guidelines for propositions that do not differ significantly from prior versions of the guidelines, leaving it unclear whether the antitrust agencies will test the guidelines’ more aggressive theories, and how those theories will be treated by federal judges, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Series

    Writing Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Writing my debut novel taught me to appreciate the value of critique and to never give up, no matter how long or tedious the journey, providing me with valuable skills that I now emphasize in my practice, says Daniel Buzzetta at BakerHostetler.

  • Trader Joe's Ruling Highlights Trademark Infringement Trends

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Trader Joe's Co. v. Trader Joe's United explores the legal boundaries between a union's right to advocate for workers and the protection of a brand's intellectual property, and illustrates a growing trend of courts disfavoring early dismissal of trademark infringement claims in the context of expressive speech, say attorneys at Mitchell Silberberg.

  • SEC's No-Action Relief Could Dramatically Alter Retail Voting

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently cleared the way for ExxonMobil to institute a novel change in retail shareholder voting that could greatly increase voter turnout, granting no-action relief that represents an effective and meaningful step toward modernizing the shareholder voting process and the much-needed democratization of retail investors, say attorneys at Cozen.

  • New Mass. 'Junk Fee' Regs Will Be Felt Across Industries

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    The reach of a newly effective regulation prohibiting so-called junk fees and deceptive pricing in Massachusetts will be widespread across industries, which should prompt businesses to take note of new advertising, pricing information and negative option requirements, say attorneys at Hinshaw.

  • SDNY OpenAI Order Clarifies Preservation Standards For AI

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    The Southern District of New York’s recent order in the OpenAI copyright infringement litigation, denying discovery of The New York Times' artificial intelligence technology use, clarifies that traditional preservation benchmarks apply to AI content, relieving organizations from using a “keep everything” approach, says Philip Favro at Favro Law.

  • What 9th Circ.'s Rosenwald Ruling Means For Class Actions

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Rosenwald v. Kimberly-Clark has important implications around the Class Action Fairness Act and traditional diversity jurisdiction — both for plaintiff-side and defense-side class action litigators — and deepens the circuit split concerning the use of judicial notice to establish diversity, says Grace Schmidt at DTO Law.

  • 4 Strategies To Ensure Courts Calculate Restitution Correctly

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    Recent reversals of restitution orders across the federal appeals courts indicate that some lower courts are misapplying fundamental restitution principles, so defense attorneys should consider a few ways to vigilantly press these issues with the sentencing judge, says Wesley Gorman at Comber Miller.

  • Hermes Bags Antitrust Win That Clarifies Luxury Tying Claims

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    A California federal court recently found that absent actual harm to competition in the market for ancillary products, Hermes may make access to the Birkin bag contingent on other purchases, establishing that selective sales tactics and scarcity do not automatically violate U.S. antitrust law, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

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