Technology

  • January 13, 2026

    OpenAI Chatbot Coached Man To Suicide, Calif. Suit Claims

    A Colorado man who confided in ChatGPT about his mental health struggles died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after the chatbot turned into a "frighteningly effective suicide coach" and even composed a "suicide lullaby" for him shortly before his death, according to a lawsuit filed in California state court Monday.

  • January 13, 2026

    Meta Fights Authors', Entrepreneur Mag's Copyright Claims

    Meta Platforms has filed responses in two California cases where it is accused of unlawfully using copyrighted material to train its artificial intelligence models, asking a court to reject an attempt from authors to update their pleadings and urging the same court to dismiss most of a separate complaint from Entrepreneur magazine.

  • January 13, 2026

    Microsoft Loses Bid To Delay AI Supercomputer Patent Trial

    A German company's patent lawsuit against Microsoft Corp. over artificial intelligence supercomputer technology is headed toward a June trial in the Eastern District of Texas after a magistrate judge rejected Microsoft's bid to postpone it by at least two months.

  • January 13, 2026

    NC Tech Exec Urges 4th Circ. To Delay Sentence Amid Appeal

    A North Carolina software executive convicted of failing to pay employment taxes has asked the Fourth Circuit to delay the start of his 366-day prison sentence while his appeal is pending before the court.

  • January 13, 2026

    USPTO Launches New Pilot For SEP Development

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said Tuesday it has created a new pilot program encouraging the development of standard-essential patents by smaller entities.

  • January 13, 2026

    CEO Of Auto Mat Maker WeatherTech Tapped For FTC Spot

    The founder and CEO of automobile accessories-maker WeatherTech, David MacNeil, was nominated to a seat on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission by President Donald Trump, the White House announced Tuesday. 

  • January 13, 2026

    Epic Systems Alleges Data Cos. Stole Records To Sell To Attys

    Epic Systems, the nation's largest electronic health records company, told a California federal court on Tuesday that a health information network and a group of "bad actors" stole over 300,000 confidential patient records from health information exchange frameworks to illegally sell to third parties, including personal injury lawyers.

  • January 13, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Backs PTAB's Axing Of UV Disinfectant Patent

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday issued a one-word order affirming a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision invalidating claims in a patent covering technology for using UV light for sanitation, declining to take on the inventor's challenge to the board's obviousness determinations.

  • January 13, 2026

    Senate Backs Bill Giving Deepfake Porn Victims Right To Sue

    The U.S. Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed bipartisan legislation that would allow individuals depicted in nonconsensual, artificial intelligence-generated, sexually explicit content to sue and recover damages, backing the bill once again after it stalled in the House in 2024.

  • January 13, 2026

    Comcast Decries Circuit Split After $177M IP Case Is Revived

    The Federal Circuit split from several other circuits when reviving WhereverTV Inc.'s $177 million infringement suit against Comcast based on waived arguments, the telecommunications giant has warned the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • January 13, 2026

    US Patent Applications Plunge After Years Of Growth

    The number of patent applications filed in the U.S. dropped 9% in 2025 to the lowest level since 2019 after seven years of growth, and the number of granted applications also declined slightly, according to a report released Tuesday.

  • January 13, 2026

    Squires Institutes 8 Patent Reviews, Rebuffs 47 Petitions

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has denied 47 requests for America Invents Act patent reviews and granted eight other petitions, continuing his practice of spurning most patent challenges that reach his desk since he took over the handling of institution decisions.

  • January 13, 2026

    Astronomers Seek Upper C-Band Coordination With Wireless

    As the U.S. government moves toward an auction of upper C-band airwaves to wireless carriers, the nation's radio astronomers said the carriers should be required to coordinate with observatories to keep mobile services from disrupting their observations in space.

  • January 13, 2026

    PharMerica's Deal To Pay Ransomware Victims Over $5M OK'd

    A Kentucky federal judge on Monday granted preliminary approval of a nearly $5.3 million settlement between PharMerica Inc. and a proposed class of patients and employees who alleged the company failed to implement industry standard data security practices to protect their personal information from being leaked after a cyberattack.

  • January 13, 2026

    State Street Owes NC Investor $650K In Crypto Refund Suit

    A North Carolina federal judge ruled that investment management firm State Street Global Advisors wrongfully withheld $650,000 from an investor who transferred cryptocurrency to a digital wallet, awarding him damages for his unjust enrichment and conversion claims, but not fees for his attorneys.

  • January 13, 2026

    Google's $30M Kids' Data Deal OK'd As Class Attys Get $9M

    The California federal judge overseeing a long-running class action accusing Google and YouTube of illegally collecting children's data for targeted advertising granted final approval Tuesday to the tech giant's $30 million settlement, including $9 million in fees for class counsel, despite her concerns that millions of apparently fraudulent settlement claims have been submitted.

  • January 13, 2026

    AI Infrastructure Firm Exascale To Go Public Via $500M Deal

    Exascale Labs Inc., an artificial intelligence computing infrastructure platform, has announced plans to go public through a $500 million merger with special purpose acquisition company D. Boral ARC Acquisition I Corp.

  • January 13, 2026

    Voice AI Co. Valued At $1.3B After $130M Series C Round

    Speech-to-text API platform Deepgram on Tuesday announced that it reached a $1.3 billion valuation after closing its latest funding round with $130 million in tow.

  • January 13, 2026

    Thompson Hine Lands Jones Day Finance Deals Pro In Atlanta

    Thompson Hine LLP has brought on a Jones Day counsel to its Atlanta office, strengthening its commercial and public finance practice with an experienced commercial finance transactional lawyer.

  • January 13, 2026

    FCC Told It Lacks Legal Authority For Jail Cellphone Jamming

    The Federal Communications Commission does not have the statutory power to authorize cellphone signal jamming in jails and prisons, a consumer interest group says.

  • January 13, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Gives Apple New Shot At Axing Smart Mobile Patent

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday revived Apple's challenge at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to a technology patent that Smart Mobile Technologies LLC accuses it of infringing.

  • January 13, 2026

    J&J Wins Partial Reversal Of $1B Merger Milestone Loss

    Delaware's Supreme Court has partially reversed a vice chancellor's September 2024 ruling that Johnson & Johnson owes more than $1 billion for failing to prioritize regulatory approvals linked to "earnout" payments for robotic surgical device technology that J&J acquired from a developer.

  • January 13, 2026

    2 Firms Guide IPO Valuing Construction Rental Co. At $6.4B

    Columbia, Missouri-based construction equipment rental company EquipmentShare on Tuesday said it was seeking a valuation of up to $6.4 billion in an upcoming initial public offering guided by Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and Latham & Watkins LLP.

  • January 13, 2026

    Wilson Sonsini Guides Polygon Labs On $250M Crypto Deals

    Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC-advised Polygon Labs said Tuesday it has agreed to acquire crypto payments company Coinme and crypto infrastructure provider Sequence for more than $250 million, as it seeks to build a regulated stablecoin payments platform in the U.S.

  • January 12, 2026

    Viamedia Seeks Late Addition To Ad Market Witness List

    Viamedia Inc. asked an Illinois federal judge to allow a post-discovery witness addition to an upcoming trial against Comcast over competition in the cable ad sales market, saying it discovered the man's relevant knowledge after he joined Viamedia's board.

Expert Analysis

  • State Child Privacy Laws May Put More Cos. In FTC's Reach

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    Starting with Texas in January, several new state laws requiring app stores to share user age-related information with developers will likely subject significantly more companies to the Federal Trade Commission’s child privacy rules, altering their compliance obligations, say attorneys at Womble Bond.

  • Why Appellees Should Write Their Answering Brief First

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    Though counterintuitive, appellees should consider writing their answering briefs before they’ve ever seen their opponent’s opening brief, as this practice confers numerous benefits related to argument structure, time pressures and workflow, says Joshua Sohn at the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • Questions To Ask Your Client When Fraud Taints Financing

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    As elevated risk levels yield fertile conditions for fraud in financing transactions, asking corporate clients the right investigative questions can help create an action plan, bring parties together and help clients successfully survive any scam, says Mark Kirsons at Morgan Lewis.

  • How CGL Policies May Respond To Novel AI Psychosis Claims

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    As courts and regulators begin to confront the realities of mental and physical injuries allegedly induced by artificial intelligence chatbots, commercial general liability insurers will need to reevaluate policy language, underwriting practices and claims handling protocols to address this emerging risk landscape, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Federal Acquisition Rules Get Measured Makeover

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    The Trump administration's promised overhaul of the Federal Acquisition Regulation is not a revolution in rules, but a meaningful recalibration of procurement practice that gives contracting officers more space to think, to tailor and to try, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • Series

    Mindfulness Meditation Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Mindful meditation enables me to drop the ego, and in helping me to keep sight of what’s important, permits me to learn from the other side and become a reliable counselor, says Roy Wyman at Bass Berry.

  • Growth, Harmonization In Focus As Hague System Turns 100

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    One hundred years after its establishment, the Hague System has grown into an important pillar of international design protection, offering a promising path toward even greater harmonization in design law as its geographic reach continues to expand, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.

  • AI Litigation Tools Can Enhance Case Assessment, Strategy

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    Civil litigators can use artificial intelligence tools to strengthen case assessment and aid in early strategy development, as long as they address the risks and ethical considerations that accompany these uses, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Post-Genius Landscape Reveals Technical Stablecoin Hurdles

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    The Genius Act's implementation has revealed challenges for mass stablecoin adoption, but there are several factors that stablecoin issuers can use to differentiate themselves and secure market share, including interest rate, liquidity, and safety and security, say attorneys at Olshan Frome.

  • The Emerging Issues Shaping Real Estate Project Insurance

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    As real estate faces increasingly complex considerations — such as climate losses, "nuclear verdicts" and regulatory changes — insurance is evolving into a strategic function that should be discussed early in the planning stages of a project, says Jason Adams at Cox Castle.

  • How Employers Should Reshape AI Use As Laws Evolve

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    As laws and regulations on the use of artificial intelligence in employment evolve, organizations can maximize the innovative benefits of workplace AI tools and mitigate their risks by following a few key strategies, including designing tools for auditability and piloting them in states with flexible rules, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • How '24 Statements Show FTC's Direction On Political Speech

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    Two top Federal Trade Commission officials made concurring statements in 2024 that detailed a potential push to protect political speech, which have served as a preview of the commission's potential new focus on investigating social media and financial services firms to secure changes in those companies' internal business practices, says Benjamin Goldman at Montgomery McCracken.

  • Attys Beware: Generative AI Can Also Hallucinate Metadata

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    In addition to the well-known problem of AI-generated hallucinations in legal documents, AI tools can also hallucinate metadata — threatening the integrity of discovery, the reliability of evidence and the ability to definitively identify the provenance of electronic documents, say attorneys at Law & Forensics.

  • Navigating Int'l Laws To Protect Children In The Digital World

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    The European Commission’s recent request to online platforms for information on their measures to protect minors using their services is part of an intensifying focus on safeguarding children, and with an ever-growing worldwide maze of regulations, digital businesses should conduct a holistic assessment to minimize risks, says Anna Morgan at Bird & Bird.

  • Lessons From Fed. Circ. On Expert Testimony In Patent Cases

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    Several recent decisions from the Federal Circuit are notable for their treatment of expert testimony, with relevance to the three pillars of every patent case — infringement, invalidity and damages — and offer lessons on ensuring that expert testimony is both admissible and sufficient to support the jury's verdict, say attorneys at Honigman.

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