Technology

  • August 22, 2025

    Chicago Schools, Tech Firm Can't Shake Student Privacy Suit

    An Illinois federal judge has refused to release the Chicago Board of Education and one of its technology providers from a proposed class action accusing them of invading students' privacy by surreptitiously monitoring their communications through a higher education preparedness platform, allowing federal wiretap and other allegations to proceed while tossing a constitutional rights claim.

  • August 22, 2025

    9th Circ. Blocks Meta's MDL Discovery Against State Agencies

    The Ninth Circuit blocked an order requiring California's attorney general and third-party state agencies to respond to Meta's discovery demands in multidistrict litigation concerning the company's allegedly addictive designs, ruling Friday the attorney general isn't deemed to possess or control the state agencies' records and Meta must obtain them through subpoenas.

  • August 22, 2025

    USPTO Allows Discretionary Denials For 3-Year-Old Patents

    A top Patent Trial and Appeal Board judge Friday rejected challenges to GenghisComm Holdings LLC patents issued as recently as 2022, as part of the three discretionary review decisions issued over the last week. 

  • August 22, 2025

    Groups Say T-Mobile-UScellular Deal Needed Full FCC Vote

    Three telecom groups are not pleased with the FCC's decision to delegate to an agency bureau the responsibility of approving the license transfers T-Mobile needed to complete its $4.4 billion acquisition of UScellular wireless operations, calling it an "error of law."

  • August 22, 2025

    Startup Accelerator Backs Epic In Apple Case At 9th Circ.

    Startup accelerator Y Combinator is backing Epic Games as Apple asks the Ninth Circuit to nix an order blocking it from charging commissions on app purchases made outside its payment system, telling the appeals court Apple "blatantly violated" a previous order.

  • August 22, 2025

    Tech Co. Strikes $1.6M Deal To End 401(k) Fee Suit

    Financial technology company Jack Henry & Associates has agreed to pay $1.6 million to resolve a proposed class action claiming it cost workers millions in retirement savings by failing to rein in expensive management fees and neglecting to dump a risky investment fund, according to a filing in Missouri federal court.

  • August 22, 2025

    BJ's, Five Guys Ripped Off Digital Ordering Patent, Suits Say

    Five Guys, BJ's and other chain restaurants have been sued in Texas federal court by Smart Order LLC, which alleges that the eateries are infringing its patent covering online customer purchasing systems available through mobile apps or in-store kiosks for curbside pickup or scheduled preorders that help cut down on waiting times.

  • August 22, 2025

    New York City Clears Waymo To Test Self-Driving Cars

    Waymo LLC received the green light to begin testing its self-driving cars in New York City after scoring a permit Friday that could pave the way for autonomous vehicles to roll out in one of the nation's most heavily congested cities.

  • August 22, 2025

    Apple Users' Attys Near OK On $28.5M Fees For Privacy Deal

    A California federal judge indicated Friday he'll grant final approval to Apple's $95 million settlement with tens of millions of users who claimed its voice-activated software Siri eavesdropped on their conversations without consent, and called the plaintiffs' attorneys' request for a 30% cut amounting to $28.5 million "legally appropriate."

  • August 22, 2025

    CFPB Inks Synapse Deal That Opens Door To Consumer Relief

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has reached a settlement with the bankruptcy trustee for Synapse Financial Technologies Inc. that could unlock millions of dollars in relief for consumers whose funds were stranded in the middleware provider's collapse.

  • August 22, 2025

    J&J Settles BIPA Suit Over Neutrogena Skin360 App

    A former Johnson & Johnson subsidiary has settled a potential class action claiming it unlawfully stored and collected facial scans of people who used its Neutrogena Skin360 tool in violation of Illinois' biometric privacy statute, prompting a New Jersey federal judge to order the case be terminated in 60 days.

  • August 22, 2025

    Newsmax Says FCC Can't Ditch TV Ownership Cap

    Right-wing media outlet Newsmax Media said the only thing the Federal Communications Commission will get if it removes the national television ownership cap "is a permanent injunction," as it "lacks authority and a compelling reason to change the rule."

  • August 22, 2025

    Under Trump, White Collar Crypto Defense Gets New Playbook

    White collar lawyers are crafting new blueprints for crypto-related civil and criminal defense amid the Trump administration's embrace of the industry and the financial world’s growing acceptance of cryptocurrency as a legitimate asset.

  • August 22, 2025

    OpenAI Wants $10M In Atty Fees After Win In Trademark Case

    After winning a trademark case last month, OpenAI has asked a California federal judge to order a company with a similar name to pay almost $10 million in attorney fees, saying the other litigant had "extraordinarily weak positions" and used unreasonable legal tactics.

  • August 22, 2025

    FTC Can't Pause Order Blocking Media Matters Probe

    A D.C. federal court refused on Friday to pause an order blocking the Federal Trade Commission's investigation into left-leaning watchdog Media Matters for America, saying the group is likely to show the probe over potential collusion in the ad industry was retaliatory.

  • August 22, 2025

    DLA Piper Boosts VC Practice With Goodwin Atty In NY

    DLA Piper has added a longtime Goodwin Procter LLP partner to its emerging growth and venture capital practice in New York, the firm announced.

  • August 22, 2025

    General Atlantic Plugs $115M Into Brazilian Software Biz

    Brazilian software provider Starian on Friday revealed that it has secured more than $115 million in strategic funding from investing giant General Atlantic.

  • August 22, 2025

    Coinbase Users' Biometric Privacy Suit Paused Amid Appeal

    Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase can pause claims it's facing under Illinois' Biometric Privacy Act as the Seventh Circuit weighs questions about the state law's financial institution exemption provision, a Chicago federal judge has decided.

  • August 22, 2025

    Shopify, Sales Workers End Commission, OT Suit

    A California federal judge agreed to conclude a suit accusing e-commerce company Shopify of a slew of California Labor Code violations, including misclassifying sales employees as overtime-exempt and having an illegal commissions plan.

  • August 22, 2025

    Motorola Wins Contempt Order Over Hytera Subsidiary Sale

    An Illinois federal judge issued a contempt order against Hytera Communications on Friday, granting Motorola's request after its Chinese rival sold a subsidiary for €75.5 million while owing Motorola $489 million for a trade secrets theft judgment and under a court-ordered prohibition on transferring assets.

  • August 22, 2025

    Real Estate AI Co. Can't Dodge $100M Share Deal Breach Suit

    A New York federal judge has mostly denied reAlpha Tech Corp.'s bid to toss a Luxembourg-based investment firm's suit seeking to enforce a $100 million share purchase agreement, rejecting reAlpha's arguments seeking to toss the suit's breach of contract and damages claims but dismissing the plaintiff's declaratory judgment claim.

  • August 22, 2025

    Taxation With Representation: Kirkland, Weil, Fried Frank

    In this week's Taxation With Representation, private equity firm Thoma Bravo buys human resources software provider Dayforce Inc. in a take-private deal, Lowe's buys Foundation Building Materials, Nexstar Media Group Inc. acquires fellow media company Tegna Inc., and Soho House & Co. Inc. inks a take-private deal with hotel operator MCR.

  • August 21, 2025

    Cannabis Cos. Face $2.9M IT Judgment After Unable To Pay Attys

    Subsidiaries of Canadian cannabis company Halo Collective Inc. were hit with a nearly $2.9 million judgment over claims that they infringed on a Colorado-based firm's patents, losing the litigation after their attorneys withdrew because they could "no longer pay."

  • August 21, 2025

    9th Circ. Dissenters Rip Judge's 'Weaponization Of Sanctions'

    A half-dozen Ninth Circuit judges Thursday denounced six-figure sanctions against attorneys for prominent politicians challenging Arizona election procedures, accusing a lower court of "twisting and contorting" allegations in order to punish lawyers "based on the nature of the complaint and the clients that they represented."

  • August 21, 2025

    Google Got App Data Profits After Pledging Privacy, Jury Told

    A computer scientist testifying in a multibillion-dollar privacy lawsuit alleging Google LLC illegally collected data from 98 million cellphone users who had opted out of tracking told a California federal jury Thursday that the tech giant stores information about their app use in a "shadow account" and uses it to sell ads.

Expert Analysis

  • 5 Ways Lawyers Can Earn Back The Public's Trust

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    Amid salacious headlines about lawyers behaving badly and recent polls showing the public’s increasingly unfavorable view of attorneys, we must make meaningful changes to our culture to rebuild trust in the legal system, says Carl Taylor at Carl Taylor Law.

  • USPTO's AI Tool Redefines Design Patent Landscape

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's newly introduced DesignVision tool for artificial intelligence-powered image searching represents a dramatic shift in how design patent applications are examined, necessitating new strategies for patent practitioners, says Matthew Epstein at Dinsmore.

  • Series

    Hiking Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    On the trail, I have thought often about the parallels between hiking and high-stakes patent litigation, and why strategizing, preparation, perseverance and joy are important skills for success in both endeavors, says Barbara Fiacco at Foley Hoag.

  • 6 Tips On Drafting Machine Learning Patents Post-Recentive

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    While the Federal Circuit's decision in Recentive v. Fox narrows the scope of patent-eligible machine learning applications, there are several drafting and prosecution strategies that may help practitioners navigate Section 101 challenges, say attorneys at BCLP.

  • Regulating Online Activity After Porn Site Age Check Ruling

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    A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding an age verification requirement for accessing online adult sexual content applied a lenient rational basis standard, raising questions for how state and federal courts will determine what kinds of laws regulating online activity will satisfy this standard going forward, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

  • DC Circ. Ruling Augurs More Scrutiny Of Blanket Gag Orders

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    The D.C. Circuit’s recent ruling in In re: Sealed Case, finding that an omnibus nondisclosure order was too sweeping, should serve as a wake-up call to prosecutors and provide a road map for private parties to push back on overbroad secrecy demands, says Gregory Rosen at Rogers Joseph.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Negotiation Skills

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    I took one negotiation course in law school, but most of the techniques I rely on today I learned in practice, where I've discovered that the process is less about tricks or tactics, and more about clarity, preparation and communication, says Grant Schrantz at Haug Barron.

  • What EU GPAI Compliance Code Will Mean For Developers

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    The European Union recently released a code of practice to guide compliance for general purpose artificial intelligence models, offering early adopters regulatory deference, but posing timing concerns and significant costs burdens that may discourage smaller developers, say lawyers at Perkins Coie.

  • Taxpayers Face Tough Choices Under NJ's New Nexus Rules

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    Though New Jersey’s new rules expanding the commercial nexus that triggers state taxation are likely to be challenged, businesses still need to carefully consider whether it’s best to minimize potential tax by reducing online customer support services or maintain their current instate services and begin paying tax, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • AG Watch: Texas Embraces The MAHA Movement

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    Attorneys at Kelley Drye examine Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's actions related to the federal Make America Healthy Again movement, and how these actions hinge on representations or omissions by the target companies as opposed to specific analyses of the potential health risks.

  • Opinion

    Bar Exam Reform Must Expand Beyond A Single Updated Test

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    Recently released information about the National Conference of Bar Examiners’ new NextGen Uniform Bar Exam highlights why a single test is not ideal for measuring newly licensed lawyers’ competency, demonstrating the need for collaborative development, implementation and reform processes, says Gregory Bordelon at Suffolk University.

  • The Patent Eligibility Eras Tour: 11 Years Of Post-Alice Tumult

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    A survey of recent twists and turns in patent eligibility law highlights the confusion created by the U.S. Supreme Court's 2014 Alice decision and reveals that the continually shifting standards have begun to diverge in fundamental ways between the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, says Michael Shepherd at Fish & Richardson.

  • Export Misconduct Resolutions Emphasize BIS, DOJ Priorities

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's and Bureau of Industry and Security's recently resolved parallel enforcement actions against semiconductor technology company Cadence Design demonstrate the agencies' prioritization of penalties for export control violations involving China, as well as the importance of voluntary self-disclosure, say attorneys at Fenwick.

  • Disney Art Suit Will Test Recent AI Fair Use Boundaries

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    While the first U.S. rulings to address the issue recently held that it's fair use for generative artificial intelligence models to train on certain copyrighted books without permission, Disney v. Midjourney, filed in June, will test the limits of the fair use framework in a visual art context, says Rob Rosenberg at Moses & Singer.

  • Location Data And Online Tracking Trends To Watch

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    Regulators and class action plaintiffs are increasingly targeting companies' use of online tracking technologies and geolocation data in both privacy enforcement and litigation, so organizations should view compliance as a dynamic, cross-functional responsibility as scrutiny becomes increasingly aggressive and multifaceted, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

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