Practice Areas
Industries
Technology
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May 25, 2012
Google Didn't Swipe Search Features: Calif. Appeals Court
A California state appeals court on Friday affirmed a lower court’s ruling that Google Inc. did not develop its search engine using confidential information from a Los Angeles-based Internet directory and search engine startup.
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May 25, 2012
Lawmakers Push Twitter To Reveal Tracking Practices
Two House Republicans prodded Twitter Inc. on Friday to disclose more information about its data collection and tracking practices, citing concerns over the company's implementation of new tailored suggestions despite its recent commitment to the Internet industry's do-not-track initiative.
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May 25, 2012
Twitter, Others Beat Messaging Co.'s Patent Suit
A Delaware federal judge on Friday dismissed Cooper Notification Inc.'s patent infringement claims accusing Twitter Inc., Federal Signal Corp. and Everbridge Inc. of infringing its methods for sending messages to several places at once.
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May 25, 2012
Telefunken Claims Ex-CEO Made Off With $20M
Telefunken Semiconductors International LLC and its American subsidiary launched a suit in Delaware court Friday accusing their former CEO of fraudulently transferring more than $20 million from the two firms to an unrelated company for his own benefit.
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May 25, 2012
FCC General Counsel Schlick To Step Down
Federal Communications Commission general counsel Austin Schlick will step down from the post in mid-June and be replaced by his current deputy, Sean Lev, the regulator said Friday.
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May 25, 2012
Lawmakers Press DOJ To Reopen Google Street View Probe
A pair of House Democrats on Thursday sounded the latest call for the U.S. Department of Justice to reopen its probe into Google Inc.'s collection of private information through its Street View service, following revelations that Google may have misled lawmakers and regulators.
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May 25, 2012
Morgan Lewis Advises Pearson in $90M GlobalEnglish Buy
London-based publishing giant Pearson PLC has acquired California-based software company GlobalEnglish Corp. in a $90 million cash deal to enhance its presence in the market for educational programs geared toward students learning English as a second language, Pearson announced Friday.
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May 25, 2012
AT&T, Motorola, Qualcomm Say Conspiracy Claims Lack Legs
AT&T Inc., Motorola Mobility Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. on Wednesday asked a Mississippi federal court to dismiss allegations that the companies are conspiring to box smaller wireless carriers out of the market, saying a local provider has not shown evidence of a conspiracy.
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May 25, 2012
Bazaarvoice Pays $152M For PowerReviews
Social software and analytics company Bazaarvoice Inc. will expand its client base by picking up PowerReviews Inc., which pioneered a review-centric social platform for small- and mid-sized businesses, in a $152 million handoff from venture capital firm Menlo Ventures, Bazaarvoice said Friday.
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May 24, 2012
Android Patent Win A Boon For Google, Attys Say
Google Inc.'s victory over Oracle Corp.'s patent infringement claims related to the Android mobile device platform may cause rival technology companies to think twice before challenging the search giant in the future, as Google has continued to bolster its already formidable patent portfolio in recent months, attorneys said Thursday.
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May 24, 2012
Judge Tosses Investor Suit Over $1.6B Blackboard Acquisition
A D.C. Superior Court judge on Wednesday dismissed a putative shareholder class action over Providence Equity Partners LLC's $1.64 billion acquisition of Blackboard Inc., ruling that the plaintiffs failed to show the companies breached their duty of loyalty in executing the deal.
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May 24, 2012
Morgan Stanley To Make Facebook Price Adjustments
With lawsuits and controversy over the Facebook Inc. initial public offering increasing, Morgan Stanley reportedly said Thursday that it would adjust prices on thousands of trades made that day and that certain limit orders wouldn't be filled at $43 a share or higher.
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May 24, 2012
Judge To Deny AT&T Store Managers' PAGA Claim In OT Case
A proposed class of AT&T Mobility Services LLC retail store managers who claim they were denied overtime pay won't be able to seek penalties under the Private Attorney General Act because the plaintiffs failed to exhaust their administrative remedies before filing suit, a California federal judge indicated Thursday.
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May 24, 2012
Eversheds Picks Up Dewey IP Leader For Paris Office
U.K.-based Eversheds LLP became the latest firm to pick up a former Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP partner on Thursday, strengthening its Paris office with the addition of a partner specializing in intellectual property, international trade and technology matters.
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May 24, 2012
CEO Retaliation Claims Are Calif.'s Biz, Not Del.'s, Court Says
A California appeals court on Wednesday refused to apply Delaware law to a former semiconductor company CEO's suit, holding that regardless of where a company is incorporated, California law governs a corporate officer's allegations of being ousted for complaining about possible criminal activity.
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May 24, 2012
$4B Takeover Bid Casts Shadow On Cloud Co.'s Success: Suit
An Ariba Inc. shareholder launched a putative class action Thursday in Delaware court aimed at stopping the announced takeover of the cloud computing company by SAP AG, whose $4.3 billion bid the investor claims greatly undervalues a hot company in a hot industry.
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May 24, 2012
DLA Piper Plucks Latham Tech M&A Ace For Silicon Valley
DLA Piper's corporate and finance practice has made its 16th lateral hire of the year with a pickup from Latham & Watkins LLP that gives DLA Piper a technology- and life sciences-focused transactional partner with experience in venture capital and private equity, the firm said Thursday.
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May 24, 2012
Sony Exits Sharp LCD Partnership To Stem TV Biz Losses
Sony Corp. is ending its joint venture with Sharp Corp. to make liquid crystal displays for TVs and will instead buy its panels on the market, the company said Thursday, part of its two-year plan to cut costs at its money-bleeding television business.
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May 24, 2012
Fed. Circ. Upholds Microsoft Win In Search Patent Suit
The Federal Circuit on Thursday upheld a win for Microsoft Corp. in a patent case brought by Walker Digital LLC, finding that the trial court had properly interpreted the claim construction of an Internet search patent held by Walker.
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May 24, 2012
FCC Dedicates Spectrum For Wireless Medical Devices
In a move expected to save money and lives, the Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously Thursday to pull the plug on outdated technology in health care, dedicating spectrum to wireless systems capable of remotely monitoring patients.
Expert Analysis
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Facebook’s Instagram Deal: Why Is The FTC Involved?
Facebook Inc.'s $1 billion Instagram deal is between a social networking firm with 900 million subscribers and a firm that provides a photo-sharing application for mobile phones with some 30 million users — not exactly head-to-head competitors. But there are some possible anti-competitive scenarios that the Federal Trade Commission might consider, say managing directors of consulting firm ARPC.
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Charting A Course For Post-AIA False Marking Litigation
The America Invents Act has defanged false marking profiteers, but it has also imposed significant new burdens on a potential false marking plaintiff or counterclaimant, say Claire Laporte and Catherine Deneke of Foley Hoag LLP.
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The Government’s Burgeoning Brady Problem
As the National Security Agency builds a multibillion-dollar structure that will be the epicenter of its efforts to capture, store and review vast amounts of digital data, it would be wise for the government to begin the process of shaping a fair and comprehensive approach to criminal discovery that accounts for the government’s accumulation of ever-increasing amounts of information, says Matthew Umhofer of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP.
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Case Study: Rosetta Stone V. Google
The Fourth Circuit's highly anticipated ruling in Rosetta Stone Ltd. v. Google Inc. implicitly acknowledges that keyword advertising programs are being used by some advertisers for deceptive purpose, and could renew interest in search engines as potential targets for trademark enforcement actions, say Sheldon Klein and Ashley Ewald of Gray Plant Mooty.
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Best Practices For Corporate Social Responsibility
As with many industries, the legal services industry has adapted to the demand for sustainability practices. An effective Corporate Social Responsibility program will manifest itself in all strategic planning, from best firm employee practices and environmental sustainability to providing legal services, recruiting and retention of employees, business development, marketing and philanthropy, says Howard Dakoff of Levenfeld Pearlstein LLC.
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Finding Jurisdiction Over Foreign Defendants — Online
The advent of the Internet has led plaintiffs, in cases brought before courts in their home states, to attempt to assert jurisdiction over companies operating entirely outside the state based on the contacts constituted by the existence of a website maintained by the defendant. Companies whose Internet activities and presence are not limited solely to advertising are faced with considerable uncertainty as to their exposure, say attorneys with McDermott Will & Emery LLP.
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Case Study: Sandager V. Dell Marketing
In recent years, False Claims Act cases brought by opportunistic qui tam relators who lack any inside information regarding the companies they sue have been dismissed either because they merely mimic the allegations of a previously filed case or do not plead their allegations of fraud with sufficient particularity. A recent example of this trend is U.S. ex rel. Sandager v. Dell Marketing LP, say attorneys with Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP.
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Case Study: In Re Hartford Computer Hardware
In Re Hartford Computer Hardware Inc. provides a window into the distinction between the orders that are available in a plenary case under the Canadian Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act compared with the orders that can be recognized under Part IV of the act. Clearly, Canadian courts are very sensitive to the need for close cooperation with U.S. courts in cross-border insolvency matters, say Steven Golick and Patrick Riesterer of Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP.
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Old-Fashioned Conspiracy In Cutting-Edge Technology
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has announced that the U.S. Department of Justice will continue to pursue litigation against Apple Inc., Macmillan Publishers Ltd. and Penguin Group Inc. for alleged price-fixing of e-books. The irony of this litigation is that it would appear that all the involved defendants were able to keep pace with technology, but not the simple evolution of corporate governance and compliance expectations, says Debra Rade of Rade Law LLC.
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Revitalizing A Dead Patent Family
The Federal Circuit has reversed a decision of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences and held that a continuing reissue application can be filed to add broadening claims after the two-year limit has lapsed. This is a potentially powerful tool for patent owners who seek to protect nonclaimed subject matter of a patent that no longer has any pending applications, says Justine Gozzi of Baker Botts LLP.