California

  • December 16, 2025

    The Top Copyright Decisions Of 2025

    In watershed moments for copyright law and artificial intelligence, two California federal judges delivered the first rulings on whether AI developers' reliance on copyrighted works to train their models qualifies as fair use, providing initial guidance on contentious battles between content creators and tech companies. Here are Law360's picks for the top copyright rulings of 2025.

  • December 16, 2025

    $1.4M Deal In Workers' 401(k) Fee Suit Gets Initial OK

    A California federal judge gave initial approval to a $1.4 million settlement that would end claims that security firm Allied Universal levied excessive fees on its workers' retirement accounts.

  • December 16, 2025

    Property Management Co. Faces AI Platform Antitrust Suit

    Artificial intelligence-driven insurance compliance service provider Beagle Labs Inc. has hit AppFolio with antitrust claims in federal court, alleging the property management software company told customers Beagle created cybersecurity risks in order to drive them toward AppFolio's in-house products.

  • December 16, 2025

    PVC Pipe Buyers Defend Price-Fix Conspiracy Claims

    Polyvinyl chloride pipe purchasers say they've alleged more than enough to show a Chicago federal judge that certain manufacturers participated in a plausible and illegal price-fixing conspiracy, urging the court to let their consolidated action proceed to discovery.

  • December 16, 2025

    Full 9th Circ. To Review Union Work Dispute Precedent

    The full Ninth Circuit is set to rethink precedent on the National Labor Relations Board's power to vet competing claims for work after taking up two challenges Tuesday to a June decision that revived a rival union's pursuit of jobs held by International Association of Machinists members.

  • December 16, 2025

    Disney, Cameron Face Copyright Suit Over 1st 'Avatar' Sequel

    Film director James Cameron, his production company and Disney were hit with another copyright infringement lawsuit on Monday from the writer who previously alleged the first "Avatar" movie ripped off his idea, who says in California federal court that the second one is a "blatant" ripoff of his work.

  • December 16, 2025

    Hinge, Tinder Sued Over Matching Women With Serial Rapist

    A group of six women sued Hinge, Tinder and their parent company in Colorado state court Tuesday, saying they matched them with a serial rapist despite claiming to have banned him from their apps.

  • December 16, 2025

    AI Biz Databricks Valued At $134B With Latest Funding Plans

    Databricks, led by Fenwick & West LLP, on Tuesday revealed that it is raising around $4 billion in a Series L round that would value the data and artificial intelligence company at $134 billion.

  • December 16, 2025

    PTAB Cuts X-Ray Patent Claims After Fed. Circ. Remand

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has found that three claims that Sigray Inc. challenged in a Carl Zeiss X-Ray Microscopy Inc. X-ray imaging patent were invalid after the Federal Circuit told it to take another look at the claims.

  • December 16, 2025

    Ex-Doc Avoids Prison For Dealing Ketamine To Matthew Perry

    A former physician who supplied Matthew Perry with ketamine before the "Friends" actor's overdose death avoided a prison sentence Tuesday and received eight months of home confinement from a California federal judge. 

  • December 16, 2025

    B. Riley Must Face Investor Suit Over Alleged Fraud Losses

    A California federal judge has allowed to move forward a proposed investor class action accusing B. Riley Financial Inc. of failing to disclose risks related to its dealings with Brian Kahn, an investment manager who recently pled guilty to securities fraud, though some company executives were allowed to escape the suit.

  • December 16, 2025

    Judge Trims Ziff Davis Copyright Claims In OpenAI MDL

    A Manhattan federal judge has dismissed part of a suit from digital media publisher Ziff Davis Inc. against OpenAI alleging that its chatbot ChatGPT was trained on copyrighted content scraped from the internet and gives re-creations of those works when prompted.

  • December 16, 2025

    'Choking Challenge' Suit Against YouTube, TikTok Is Tossed

    A California federal judge has dismissed without leave to amend a suit by parents and an advocacy group alleging YouTube and TikTok's reporting and moderating tools are defective and fail to take down dangerous videos, saying the complaint suffers from the same deficiencies that got a previous version dismissed.

  • December 16, 2025

    Bullivant Houser Files For Ch. 11 After November Closure

    The now-shuttered Bullivant Houser Bailey PC has filed for Chapter 11 protection in California, with its chief dissolution officer saying the bankruptcy was filed so the firm can liquidate its assets as it continues "an orderly wind-down" of its operations.

  • December 16, 2025

    Hagens Berman Sanctioned For Bot Errors In OnlyFans Case

    A California federal judge sanctioned Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP for submitting four briefs that contained errors blamed on ChatGPT while representing OnlyFans users pursuing proposed class fraud claims against the online platform, tossing the suit but allowing the users a chance to refile.

  • December 16, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Stunned By 'Numerous' Flaws In Patent Appeal

    The Federal Circuit refused Tuesday to revive a patent licensing company's infringement lawsuit over a software patent, finding there were so many issues with the appeal that they "are almost too numerous to count."

  • December 16, 2025

    Jury Says Magnolia Medical Is Owed $1.6M After Patent Trial

    A Delaware federal jury on Tuesday morning found that Magnolia Medical Technologies Inc. is entitled to nearly $1.6 million after Kurin Inc. infringed its patents tied to devices meant for drawing blood.

  • December 15, 2025

    'Hardworking' 9th Circ. Senior Judge Sandra Ikuta Dies At 71

    Senior U.S. Circuit Judge Sandra Segal Ikuta of the Ninth Circuit, who has been semi-retired since early November, died on Dec. 7 at the age of 71, exactly one month after assuming senior status, according to the Federal Judicial Center.

  • December 15, 2025

    LA Angels Did Nothing To Prevent Pitcher's Death, Jury Told

    The Los Angeles Angels "did absolutely nothing" to stop its employee from distributing illicit drugs to Tyler Skaggs, plaintiffs' counsel told California jurors Monday during closing arguments in his family's wrongful death lawsuit, while an Angels attorney argued that the pitcher was responsible for his own overdose death. 

  • December 15, 2025

    Racial 'X-Acto Knife' Used For Prop 50 Map, Calif. Panel Told

    A three-day hearing before three federal judges kicked off Monday in Los Angeles over challenges brought by California Republicans and the U.S. Department of Justice to the state's Proposition 50 voter-approved congressional districts, with a RealClearPolitics election analyst testifying that one district was created using a racial "X-Acto knife" rather than a political one.

  • December 15, 2025

    DC Judge Won't Block Calif. Tribe's Recognition Status

    Three California residents and a nonprofit cannot have an emergency order blocking a decision by the U.S. Interior Department to give federal recognition to California's Ione Band of Miwok Indians, a D.C. federal judge ruled, saying the plaintiffs didn't comply with federal rules governing such requests.

  • December 15, 2025

    Smartwatch Giants Sued Over Fall Detection Patents

    A company that makes medical alert watches for the elderly has sued Apple, Samsung, Google and Garmin in federal court and the U.S. International Trade Commission, alleging that the fall detection features in their smartwatches infringe two patents.

  • December 15, 2025

    Social Media MDL Judge Warns Attys Against Flooding Docket

    A California federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation over claims that social media is addictive warned counsel for the plaintiffs Monday that she'd sanction them if their 17,000 pages of exhibits they plan to submit in response to defendants' summary judgment motions "[litter] the docket with irrelevant documents."

  • December 15, 2025

    Microsoft Seeks To Exit ChatGPT Users' OpenAI Antitrust Suit

    Microsoft has slammed a proposed class action accusing the company of bullying OpenAI into a cloud computing deal as devoid of fact and economic sense in two motions filed in California federal court, saying the plaintiffs, ChatGPT subscribers, are trying to dodge an arbitration clause in the chatbot developer's user terms.

  • December 15, 2025

    States Fight Sandoz Bid To Argue Duplication In Generics Row

    Multiple attorneys general have told a Connecticut federal court that Sandoz Inc. and Fougera Pharmaceuticals Inc. can't claim the states' grievances over allegations of price fixing are duplicative of claims that were already settled, since there are some claims and forms of relief that only state plaintiffs can seek.

Expert Analysis

  • Compliance Tips Amid Rising FTC Scrutiny Of Minors' Privacy

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    The Federal Trade Commission has recently rolled out multiple enforcement actions related to children's privacy, highlighting a renewed focus on federal regulation of minors' personal information and the evolving challenges of establishing effective, privacy-protective age assurance solutions, say attorneys at Nelson Mullins.

  • Insights From Recent Cases On Navigating Snap Removal

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    Snap removal, which allows defendants to transfer state court cases to federal court before a forum defendant is properly joined and served, is viewed differently across federal circuits — but keys to making it work can be drawn from recent decisions critiquing the practice, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • Opinion

    It's Time For The Judiciary To Fix Its Cybersecurity Problem

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    After recent reports that hackers have once again infiltrated federal courts’ electronic case management systems, the judiciary should strengthen its cybersecurity practices in line with executive branch standards, outlining clear roles and responsibilities for execution, says Ilona Cohen at HackerOne.

  • Workday Case Shows Auditing AI Hiring Tools Is Crucial

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    Following a California federal court's recent decisions in Mobley v. Workday signaling that both employers and vendors could be held liable for discriminatory outcomes from artificial intelligence hiring tools, companies should consider two rigorous auditing methods to detect and mitigate bias, says Hossein Borhani at Charles River Associates.

  • Tips For Cos. Crafting Enforceable Online Arbitration Clauses

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    Recent rulings from the Ninth Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California indicate that courts are carefully examining the enforceability of online arbitration clauses, so businesses should review the design of their websites and consider specific language next to the "purchase" button, say attorneys at DTO Law.

  • 7 Lessons From The Tractor Supply CCPA Enforcement Action

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    The California Privacy Protection Agency's recent enforcement action targeting Tractor Supply for alleged violations of the California Consumer Privacy Act provides critical insights into the compliance areas that remain a priority for the California regulator, including businesses with significant consumer interactions, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • Parody Defendants Are Finding Success Post-Jack Daniel's

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    Recent decisions demonstrate that, although the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Jack Daniel's v. VIP Products did benefit trademark plaintiffs by significantly limiting the First Amendment expressive use defense, courts also now appear to be less likely to find a parodic work likely to cause confusion, says Andrew Michaels at University of Houston Law Center.

  • Series

    Writing Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Writing my debut novel taught me to appreciate the value of critique and to never give up, no matter how long or tedious the journey, providing me with valuable skills that I now emphasize in my practice, says Daniel Buzzetta at BakerHostetler.

  • Trader Joe's Ruling Highlights Trademark Infringement Trends

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Trader Joe's Co. v. Trader Joe's United explores the legal boundaries between a union's right to advocate for workers and the protection of a brand's intellectual property, and illustrates a growing trend of courts disfavoring early dismissal of trademark infringement claims in the context of expressive speech, say attorneys at Mitchell Silberberg.

  • SDNY OpenAI Order Clarifies Preservation Standards For AI

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    The Southern District of New York’s recent order in the OpenAI copyright infringement litigation, denying discovery of The New York Times' artificial intelligence technology use, clarifies that traditional preservation benchmarks apply to AI content, relieving organizations from using a “keep everything” approach, says Philip Favro at Favro Law.

  • What 9th Circ.'s Rosenwald Ruling Means For Class Actions

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Rosenwald v. Kimberly-Clark has important implications around the Class Action Fairness Act and traditional diversity jurisdiction — both for plaintiff-side and defense-side class action litigators — and deepens the circuit split concerning the use of judicial notice to establish diversity, says Grace Schmidt at DTO Law.

  • Compliance Steps To Take As FCRA Enforcement Widens

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    As the Fair Credit Reporting Act receives renewed focus from both federal and state enforcers, regulatory and litigation risk is most acute in several core areas, which companies can address by implementing purpose processes and quick remediation of consumer complaints, among other steps, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • How Calif. Law Cracks Down On Algorithmic Price-Fixing

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    Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two laws this month significantly expanding state antitrust enforcement and civil and criminal penalties for the use or distribution of shared pricing algorithms, as the U.S. Department of Justice has recently wielded the Sherman Act to challenge algorithmic pricing, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Opinion

    Expert Reports Can't Replace Facts In Securities Fraud Cases

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    The Ninth Circuit's 2023 decision in Nvidia v. Ohman Fonder — and the U.S. Supreme Court's punt on the case in 2024 — could invite the meritless securities litigation the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act was designed to prevent by substituting expert opinions for facts to substantiate complaint assertions, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.

  • Hermes Bags Antitrust Win That Clarifies Luxury Tying Claims

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    A California federal court recently found that absent actual harm to competition in the market for ancillary products, Hermes may make access to the Birkin bag contingent on other purchases, establishing that selective sales tactics and scarcity do not automatically violate U.S. antitrust law, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

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