Telecommunications
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January 15, 2019
Prof Calls Qualcomm Royalties 'Naked Tax,' Invokes Microsoft
A University of California, Berkeley economics professor testified for the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday that Qualcomm's standard-essential patent royalties serve as a competition-killing "naked tax" on its modem chips, comparing the practice to software bundling that got Microsoft in trouble with the feds 20 years ago.
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January 15, 2019
1st Amendment Protects NY Public Access TV, Justices Told
The U.S. Supreme Court should stand behind a Second Circuit ruling classifying public access television networks as state actors who should be held accountable for upholding First Amendment rights, the documentarian whose firing prompted the litigation that resulted in the ruling said.
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January 15, 2019
Telecom Dispute Claim Too Vague To Review, Says 10th Circ.
The Tenth Circuit on Monday reversed and remanded an internet provider's claim that federal law preempts part of Santa Fe, New Mexico's telecommunications-franchise ordinance, saying it was too vague for the appellate court to review it.
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January 15, 2019
Ericsson Fights HTC's Bid To Delay Trial Over Patent Royalties
Ericsson has urged a Texas federal court not to delay a trial scheduled for next month on HTC Corp.'s accusation that Ericsson overcharges for royalties on cellular and wireless standard-essential patents, arguing there's no need to wait until after an arbitrator decides if some issues should be arbitrated.
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January 15, 2019
India Space Unit Says Due Process Dooms $563M Award
The marketing arm of India’s space program has doubled down on its bid to dismiss a telecommunications company’s suit seeking to confirm an award of more than $562.5 million stemming from a canceled satellite-leasing deal, contending in Washington federal court that exercising jurisdiction over the action would flout the state-owned company’s due process.
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January 15, 2019
Fed. Circ. Upholds Apple’s $440M Loss In VirnetX Patent Case
The Federal Circuit on Tuesday upheld a $440 million Eastern District of Texas judgment that Apple Inc. infringed four VirnetX Inc. network security patents, although it put off ruling on whether to affirm Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions invalidating the patents.
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January 15, 2019
Tower Infrastructure Co. Nabs $300M PE Investment
North Carolina-based telecommunications tower provider TowerCo LLC on Tuesday unveiled a partnership with Peppertree Capital Management Inc., under which the private equity firm will pour in $300 million in new capital.
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January 15, 2019
LBI Noteholders Say Co. Cheated Them Out Of $129M
A group of second-lien noteholders of Spanish language broadcaster LBI Media Inc. accused the company in Delaware bankruptcy court Tuesday of costing them $129.5 million by cutting a bad restructuring deal with a first-lien noteholder.
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January 15, 2019
FCC Member Urges Incentive Auction For Education Spectrum
A Democratic member of the Federal Communications Commission made a case Tuesday for consolidating and auctioning off dormant spectrum licenses held by educational institutions, saying the revenue generated by a sale could fund projects to increase broadband access in students’ schools and homes.
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January 15, 2019
PTAB To Review Patent At Center Of Qualcomm, Apple Fight
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board agreed Tuesday to review a Qualcomm Inc. patent related to cellular technology that some Apple Inc. iPhones were previously found to infringe, saying parts of the patent are likely invalid.
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January 14, 2019
Kirkland Paid AG Nominee Barr $1.2M Over Two Years
U.S. attorney general nominee William Barr earned almost $1.2 million from Kirkland & Ellis over the past two years and has multiple investments in several major companies, including in AT&T from its acquisition of Time Warner, that could lead to his potential recusal in Justice Department investigations, financial disclosures show.
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January 14, 2019
Comcast Sued Again Over DVR Tech In TiVo IP Battle
A TiVo Corp. unit filed new patent infringement allegations Monday in California federal court over the digital video recording technology in Comcast Corp.'s set-top boxes, despite the Patent Trial and Appeal Board finding related patents to be invalid.
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January 14, 2019
Tribes, Enviros Ask DC Circ. To Can FCC Small-Cell Order
Tribal and environmental groups are urging the D.C. Circuit to vacate a Federal Communication Commission order designed to speed up 5G infrastructure rollout by exempting small cell fixtures from certain historical and environmental regulatory reviews.
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January 14, 2019
Businesses Want To Utilize User Data To Fight Cyber Threats
A group of U.S. technology companies pushed Monday for the National Institute for Standards in Technology to embrace the collection and sharing of user data to fend off cyber threats as the agency continues to develop what is expected to be an influential set of privacy guidelines.
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January 14, 2019
Mueller Probe To Dominate Barr Confirmation Hearing
The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to start grilling President Donald Trump's attorney general nominee William Barr Tuesday, and the biggest item on the menu is undoubtedly his supervision of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
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January 14, 2019
FCC Denies House Dem's Call For Mobile Tracking Briefing
The Federal Communications Commission on Monday rejected a Democratic congressman's push for an emergency briefing to explain why the agency hasn't stopped wireless carriers from selling consumers' location data, with agency staff saying the matter isn't a priority amid the government shutdown, according to a press release from the lawmaker.
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January 14, 2019
Court Entered $48M Fee Judgment Too Soon, Verizon Says
An Illinois federal judge incorrectly ordered Verizon to pay telecommunications carrier Peerless Network Inc. $48.5 million for withholding certain call termination fee payments while issues central to their case are still pending before the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, the Seventh Circuit heard Monday.
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January 14, 2019
Fed. Circ. Upholds Alice Win By Mobile Giants Against IV
The Federal Circuit on Monday handed a win to T-Mobile, Sprint and others in their efforts to invalidate a number of patents held by Intellectual Ventures I LLC, upholding a lower court decision that the patents were invalid under the U.S. Supreme Court's Alice decision.
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January 14, 2019
Contractor Wants IBM's Falcons Stadium Suit Trimmed
Atlanta Falcons stadium project subcontractor Corning Optical Communications on Friday urged a Georgia federal court to dismiss negligence and tort claims against it in IBM's suit accusing it of botching the design and installation of a state-of-the-art cell network.
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January 14, 2019
Getting Up To Speed On Apple, Qualcomm's Legal Battle
The two-year legal war between Apple Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. over patents, licensing practices and trade secrets is barreling ahead, with a series of notable legal developments in recent months. Here is everything you need to know to get up to speed.
Expert Analysis
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Why AFAs Are Key To The Future Of Legal Practice
Alternative fee agreements can help align law firm and client interests, increase efficiency and eliminate corporate extortion, among other benefits. They are the best thing to happen to the practice of law in decades, says Kelly Eisenlohr-Moul at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP.
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Series
Judging A Book: Barron Reviews 'The Clamor Of Lawyers'
Can lawyers lead a revolution? According to "The Clamor of Lawyers: The American Revolution and Crisis in the Legal Profession" — a slim but elegant volume by Peter Charles Hoffer and Williamjames Hull Hoffer — they can and they did, says First Circuit Judge David Barron.
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Handling Corporate Congressional Probes In The Trump Era
President Donald Trump’s approach to crisis communications has changed the game enough to demand companies' consideration of a whole new set of options. John Hellerman of Hellerman Communications and Bill Pittard of KaiserDillon PLLC discuss whether corporations can successfully use similar tactics.
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Opinion
The Case For Lawyer-Directed Litigation Funding In NY: Part 2
Lawyer-directed nonrecourse litigation funding is more likely to protect a lawyer's exercise of independent professional judgment than traditional means of litigation finance, and furthermore enables worthwhile cases that otherwise could not be funded, say Peter Jarvis and Trisha Thompson of Holland & Knight LLP.
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Shutdown's Messy Impact On Consumer Protection Activities
As it appears the federal government shutdown could continue for some time, attorneys with Troutman Sanders LLP discuss its effect on the regulatory and litigation docket for consumer-facing companies.
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Opinion
The Case For Lawyer-Directed Litigation Funding In NY: Part 1
Contrary to what the New York City Bar Association concluded in an ethics opinion last year, lawyer-directed nonrecourse commercial litigation funding does not violate New York rules on sharing fees with nonlawyers, say Peter Jarvis and Trisha Thompson of Holland & Knight LLP.
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4 Takeaways From Sprint's $330M Tax FCA Settlement
Recently Sprint agreed to pay New York state $330 million, the largest ever settlement of a suit brought under any state's false claims act. Randall Fox, former chief of the New York attorney general's Taxpayer Protection Bureau and a partner at Kirby McInerney LLP, discusses what other states, potential defendants and would-be whistleblowers can learn from the case.
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Highlights From FCC's Reassigned Number Database Order
Last month, the Federal Communications Commission approved the establishment of a database of mobile numbers that would allow callers to determine whether numbers have been reassigned. This order represents an important first step toward reasonable Telephone Consumer Protection Act rules, say attorneys at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.
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7 Questions To Add To Your Lateral Partner Questionnaire
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Law firms should redesign the vetting process for lateral candidates so it directly addresses sexual harassment and assault issues, says Howard Rosenberg of Decipher.
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Q&A
A Chat With Reed Smith Chief Marketing Officer Sadie Baron
In this monthly series, Amanda Brady of Major Lindsey & Africa interviews management from top law firms about the increasingly competitive business environment. Here we feature Sadie Baron, chief marketing officer at Reed Smith LLP.