Technology

April 01, 2024
Chilean Telecom Operator WOM Hits Ch. 11 With $1B In Debt

WOM SA, one of the largest phone and internet providers in Chile, and five affiliates sought Chapter 11 protection in Delaware on Monday, listing over $1 billion in debt and saying credit downgrades, delays in a 5G network project and creditor liquidation attempts led it to bankruptcy.
April 01, 2024
5G Co. Airspan Hits Ch. 11 With $205M Debt, Reorg Plan

5G hardware and software maker Airspan Networks filed for Chapter 11 protection Monday in a Delaware bankruptcy court with plans to trade its more than $205 million in funded debt for equity and raise up to $95 million in new equity financing.
March 29, 2024
DC Circ. Rejects Meta's Bid To Delay FTC Privacy Tweaks

A D.C. Circuit panel on Friday refused Meta Platforms Inc.'s bid to delay the Federal Trade Commission from pursuing changes to a $5 billion privacy settlement, saying the social media giant failed to show why it's entitled to an emergency injunction while it's challenging the FTC's structure.
March 29, 2024
PayPal Gets CFPB's Fee Disclosure Rule Cut Down Again

A Washington, D.C., federal judge on Friday again sided with payment-processing giant PayPal in striking down attempts by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to hold digital wallets to certain disclosure and waiting-period rules that apply to physical prepaid payment cards.
March 29, 2024
Silicon Valley Co. Planning New City Can Sue Landowners

A California federal judge has refused to throw out a suit claiming that landowners conspired to drive up the cost of land in Solano County near Sacramento as a mysterious entity backed by Silicon Valley bigwigs attempted to buy up land to build a brand new, sustainable city.
March 29, 2024
Intel License Defense Tossed In Calif. VLSI Patent Case

A California federal judge on Friday threw out Intel's counterclaim arguing that it has a license to VLSI's microchip patents in a multibillion-dollar dispute, indicating that it can be raised in a separate case.
March 29, 2024
SentinelOne Execs Face Derivative Suit Over Accounting Error

Cybersecurity company SentinelOne was hit with a shareholder derivative suit in California federal court Friday over a 35% stock price drop that the plaintiff claimed was the result of the company's disclosure about its internal controls and subsequent inflation of its annualized recurring revenue.
March 29, 2024
X Corp. Still Must Face Breach Suit Over 200M Users

A California federal judge on Friday trimmed a proposed class action alleging X Corp., the former Twitter Inc., failed to protect the data of 200 million users whose information was exposed in a data breach, allowing the users to amend some allegations while permanently tossing a California Consumers Legal Remedies Act claim.
March 29, 2024
BitTorrent Owner Says SEC Is Overreaching Its Authority

The owner of file sharing platform BitTorrent asked a Manhattan federal judge to toss the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's lawsuit alleging the fraudulent and unregistered sale of a pair of crypto tokens, saying the agency is trying to extend U.S. securities laws to foreign entities.
March 29, 2024
Rural Carriers Worry FCC Broadband Maps 'Vastly' Inaccurate

Rural wireless carriers are concerned Federal Communications Commission maps do not accurately depict where mobile broadband service is available, putting federal support funds at risk.
March 29, 2024
4th Circ. Revives Data Breach Suit Against Medical Center

The Fourth Circuit on Friday revived a proposed class action alleging that Sandhills Medical Foundation Inc. failed to protect the personal information of patients whose data was leaked following a cyberattack, saying the health care provider is not shielded under federal immunity and that the government cannot be substituted as a defendant.
March 29, 2024
Blackbaud Defeats 7 Insurers' Claims For Data Breach Costs

Complaints by seven insurers seeking reimbursement for $2.1 million in expenses paid to insureds following a ransomware attack on software company Blackbaud Inc. were torn apart by a Delaware state judge, who called the insurers' allegations "conclusory," tossing the two cases.
March 29, 2024
Judge Won't Stop Immigration Fee Hikes From Taking Effect

A Colorado federal judge refused Friday to temporarily halt upcoming immigration fee hikes, saying the $5,775 increase the EB-5 investor will pay is a drop in the bucket compared to the plaintiff's $500,000 capital investment.
March 29, 2024
In Pandora Win, Fed. Circ. Won't Revive Playlist Patents

The Federal Circuit on Friday declined to revive a collection of patents on generating playlists that were issued to an early, erstwhile executive at Amazon and were asserted in a failed lawsuit against music streaming website Pandora.
March 29, 2024
L3Harris Accuses Moog Of Delays In Subdeals Worth $77.9M

L3Harris Technologies Inc. has hauled fellow defense contractor Moog Inc. into Florida federal court, alleging that Moog failed to timely deliver critical satellite parts under several subcontracts worth $77.9 million, despite the U.S. government requiring expedited delivery for national defense purposes.
March 29, 2024
NTIA Issues $811M In State Digital Equity Funding

The Biden administration is releasing the allocation of the first $811 million of the $1.25 billion in digital equity funding it plans on providing states, territories and tribes to ensure everyone within their borders has the ability and skill to access all the internet has to offer.
March 29, 2024
Innoviz's $1.4B SPAC Deal 'Abysmal,' Investor Tells Chancery

A former stockholder of the special purpose acquisition company that took autonomous vehicle software provider Innoviz public has sued the architects behind the $1.4 billion merger in Delaware's Court of Chancery, accusing them of unjust enrichment and breaches of fiduciary duty and calling the transaction "abysmal" for investors.
March 29, 2024
Nikola Says Convicted Ex-CEO Plotting Illegal Board Takeover

Electric truck manufacturer Nikola Corp. sued its former CEO and convicted felon Trevor Milton in Arizona federal court Friday, accusing him of scheming with unqualified loyalists to regain control of the company by flouting securities laws, infringing Nikola's trademarks and breaching agreements.
March 29, 2024
Vidal Tells PTAB To Better Explain Nokia Challenge Denials

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal has vacated the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's refusal to hear three patent challenges by Nokia, telling the board to more fully explain its holding that the patent office had already considered the invalidity arguments.
March 29, 2024
FCC Looks To Stamp Out Call Routing Security Breaches

The protocols that mobile telecom operators use to talk to each other leave their customers particularly vulnerable to location tracking, according to the Federal Communications Commission, which says it's time to take a closer look at the matter.
March 29, 2024
Trojan Battery Co. Gets $2.6M Win In TM Row

A Texas federal judge has sided with Trojan Battery Co. in its trademark infringement and unfair competition case against Trojan EV LLC and Golf Carts of Cypress LLC, ordering a permanent injunction and an award of millions of dollars.
March 29, 2024
Vidal Offers 'Peace Of Mind' For MDL Rivals Heading To PTAB

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal has set new boundaries on interpreting the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's discretionary denial precedent for follow-on petitions, making clear that defendants can work together in multidistrict litigation without giving up the right to file separate patent challenges.
March 29, 2024
Attys Dodge Sanctions Over Microsoft Word Error, Judge Rules

An error in an attorney's Microsoft Word settings made sanctions against two firms for filing oversized briefs while representing High 5 Games in a consumer protection class action unnecessary, a Washington federal judge ruled Thursday.
March 29, 2024
Gambling Co. To Face Most Card Shuffle Tech Antitrust Claims

An Illinois federal judge largely refused to let Scientific Games Corp. duck monopolization claims over its automatic card shufflers dominance, finding that with the exception of two out of six asserted patents, a would-be rival has adequately alleged the company tricked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office into granting those patents.
March 29, 2024
US Trade Report Excludes Barriers With 'Legitimate' Purposes

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative left out foreign trade barriers that the Biden administration believes serve "legitimate public purposes" from this year's National Trade Estimate report Friday, rejecting pressure from domestic industry associations.

Expert Analysis

Top 10 Employer Resolutions For 2024

From technological leaps to sea changes in labor policy to literal sea changes, 2024 provides opportunities for employers to face big-picture questions that will shape their business for years to come, say Allegra Lawrence-Hardy and Lisa Haldar at Lawrence & Bundy.
Legal Practice In The AI Era: The Top Guest Articles Of 2023

Guest columnists explored the possibilities and challenges for the legal profession amid the rise of generative artificial intelligence, including privilege complications, demands for new types of legal skills, and the ethics of a ChatGPT-authored motion.
AI In Employment Law: The Top Guest Articles Of 2023

This year, the most popular employment law topics related to artificial intelligence in Law360's Expert Analysis section included ChatGPT, new AI legislation, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
AI In Health Law: The Top Guest Articles Of 2023

As the use of artificial intelligence accelerated this year, Expert Analysis writers examined AI's significant impact on the healthcare sector, ranging from key compliance considerations for companies utilizing AI tools to regulators' efforts to keep up with rapidly evolving technologies.
AI In IP Law: The Top Guest Articles Of 2023

Keeping up with generative artificial intelligence was the name of the game for intellectual property lawyers in 2023 as the government worked to determine whether AI-generated output is protectable under the law and guest writers assessed the technology's risks and rewards.
Managing AI Risks: The Top Guest Articles Of 2023

Amid the rapidly developing legal landscape around artificial intelligence, Law360 Expert Analysis writers tackled a range of compliance and litigation challenges, providing insights on privacy in the age of AI, the role of class actions in AI risk mitigation, and the creation of corporate AI policies.
The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

A range of legal industry topics drew readers' attention in Law360's Expert Analysis section this year, from associate retention strategies to ethical billing practices.
Artificial Intelligence Is In Need Of Regulation — But How?

Since most of the artificial intelligence-related laws in 2023 were part of more extensive consumer privacy law, the U.S. still has a lot of work to do to build consensus on how to oversee AI, and even who should do the regulating, before moving forward on specific and reasonable guidelines as AI's capabilities grow, say Nick Toufexis and Paul Saputo at Saputo Toufexis.
Trends Shaping The 2024 Consumer Packaged Goods Industry

The better-for-you segment within the consumer packaged goods industry is poised for a significant evolution in 2024, and industry players must remain agile and adaptive through M&A activities, legal considerations, sustainability initiatives and changing technology, says Christopher Cain at Foley & Lardner.
Attorneys' Busiest Times Can Be Business Opportunities

Attorneys who resolve to grow their revenue and client base in 2024 should be careful not to abandon their goals when they get too busy with client work, because these periods of zero bandwidth can actually be a catalyst for future growth, says Amy Drysdale at Alchemy Consulting.
Reviewing 2023's Global AI Landscape Across Practice Areas

2023 stands out as a landmark year for artificial intelligence, both domestically and internationally, so legal professionals should brace for an increasingly complex future shaped by AI's integration into a multitude of sectors, including intellectual property, data privacy and cybersecurity, and ethics, say Fran Faircloth and May Yang at Ropes & Gray.
2024 Trends To Watch As AI And IP Litigation Intersect

Just as generative artificial intelligence tools have proven unpredictable, the resulting legal disputes may also hold a few surprises in store for 2024, as intellectual property litigation related to AI inputs, outputs and the tools themselves takes shape, say Philip Warrick and Chengming Liu at Irell & Manella.
In The World Of Legal Ethics, 10 Trends To Note From 2023

Lucian Pera at Adams and Reese and Trisha Rich at Holland & Knight identify the top legal ethics trends from 2023 — including issues related to hot documents, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — that lawyers should be aware of to put their best foot forward.
Opinion

Why Challenges To FTC Authority Are Needed

In spite of skepticism from courts, the Federal Trade Commission continues to advance novel legal theories — and Meta's recent federal suit against the agency over its alleged "structurally unconstitutional" administrative proceedings is arguably an expression of backlash to regulatory overreach, says Daniel Gilman at the International Center for Law & Economics.
Del. Dispatch: The 2023 Corporate Cases You Need To Know

Corporate and mergers and acquisitions litigation has continued at a fevered pace this year, with the Delaware courts addressing numerous novel issues with important practical implications, including officer exculpation and buyer aiding-and-abetting liability, say attorneys at Fried Frank.