Analysis

Where Apple And Masimo's Watch Patent Fight Stands Now

By Theresa Schliep

The high-octane fight between Apple and Masimo over smartwatch patents escalated again last week, when a California federal jury hit Apple with a $634 million infringement verdict and the U.S. International Trade Commission agreed to assess whether its redesigned products infringe Masimo's patents.

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Thomson Reuters Balks At AI Co.'s Fair Use Appeal

By Adam Lidgett

Thomson Reuters wants the Third Circuit to back a district court's decision that an artificial intelligence-powered legal search engine's use of Westlaw headnotes did not constitute fair use, saying the AI company "pilfered" copyrightable content to make a competing business.

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Fed. Circ. Shoots Down Bot Patent Claim In Google Challenge

By Adam Lidgett

The Federal Circuit on Thursday reversed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's finding that upheld one of the claims in a Nobots LLC's bot-detecting patent challenged by Google, finding that the PTAB incorrectly interpreted the claim.

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Ramey Ordered To Pay $95K For Sharing Netflix Info

By Elliot Weld

A California federal judge has ordered patent firm Ramey LLP and its founder to pay Netflix $95,000 in attorney fees for violating a court protective order by sharing confidential documents with a third-party litigation funder.

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New Trial Bid Denied After $57M Coal Emissions IP Verdict

By Adam Lidgett

A Delaware federal magistrate judge won't order a new trial after a jury found in 2024 that companies affiliated with CERT Operations owed Midwest Energy Emissions Corp. more than $57 million for infringing patents on technology for refining coal to reduce mercury in emissions from power plants.

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Turning Point Loses Fee Bid In Trump Campaign Music Suit

By Kelcey Caulder

A Georgia federal judge refused to grant Turning Point Action's request for attorney fees after it beat copyright claims tied to music played at President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign events, finding the lawsuit wasn't frivolous or filed in bad faith.

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Warner Music, Udio Settle AI Music Copyright Suit

By Elliot Weld

Warner Music Group and artificial intelligence music generator Udio said they settled claims that Udio had used copyrighted music to train its AI models and announced a collaboration to create a licensed AI music service.

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Trump Admin Defends Ending Patent, Weather Unions' Rights

By Theresa Schliep

The Trump administration has implored a D.C. federal judge to reject an effort by unions representing workers at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the National Weather Service to halt an executive order ending their collective bargaining rights, emphasizing the action is within the president's authority.

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MVP: Latham's Mike Morin

By Adam Lidgett

Mike Morin of Latham & Watkins LLP guided Sarepta Therapeutics to winning a $115 million judgment in a patent dispute with Nippon Shinyaku Co. Ltd., and led an Abbott Laboratories unit to a victory in a patent suit against Dexcom Inc., earning him a spot as one of the 2025 Law360 Intellectual Property MVPs.

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USPTO Decries Instacart's 'Road Mapping' Claim At Fed. Circ.

By Dani Kass

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is urging the Federal Circuit to turn away Instacart's challenge to the agency's relatively new procedures for discretionarily denying Patent Trial and Appeal Board petitions, noting the court recently rejected three similar bids.

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Invisalign Buyers Get OK On Sweetened $32M Antitrust Deal

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge who previously rejected Invisalign-maker Align Technologies's $27.5 million antitrust deal with buyers because it included a coupon program said Thursday he will approve a revised deal, which provides for an all-cash $31.75 million payout.

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PTAB Upholds Corteva's Patent For Insect-Repellent Corn

By Dani Kass

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has upheld the entirety of a Corteva Agriscience LLC unit's patent directed to an insect-repellent corn plant, following a challenge from Inari Agriculture Inc.

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1st Circ. Tosses Challenge To Maine Lobster Boat Tracking

By Elliot Weld

The First Circuit has declined to revive a case brought by several Maine lobstermen who said their privacy rights were violated by the state's tracking of their vessels, ruling that the tracking devices were part of administrative searches of a closely regulated industry and do not violate the Fourth Amendment.

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Analysis

State Of NIL Play Where Pay Is Still Banned At High Schools

By David Steele

An Ohio state judge's temporary halt of a policy barring name, image and likeness compensation for high school athletes may have the domino effect of wiping out the ban in the handful of states that still have it. Here, Law360 takes a look at the holdout states and the legislative and bylaw changes they are contemplating to lift the ban.

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How Store Brand Evolution May Influence IP Cases

A consumer shift toward private-label grocery products has spurred a recent crop of lawsuits, like Smuckers v. Trader Joe's, and parties must be prepared to carefully analyze consumer confusion in the grocery retailing context, as well as expectations and behavior, say Justin LaTorraca, Elizabeth Milsark and Laura O’Laughlin at Analysis Group.

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IP Ownership Risk Grows In Booming Cancer Drug Market

The ownership of intellectual property has become strategically decisive in deals involving valuable cancer therapeutics known as ADCs, as highlighted by the recent Takeda-Innovent deal, with the commercial value of a license resting on the integrity and defensibility of the underlying technology, say attorneys at Loeb & Loeb.

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8th Circ. Decision Shipwrecks IRS On Shoals Of Loper Bright

The Eighth Circuit’s recent decision invalidating transfer pricing regulations in 3M Co. v. Commissioner may be the most significant tax case implementing Loper Bright's rejection of agency deference as a judicial tool in statutory construction, says Edward Froelich at McDermott.

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Rule Amendments Pave Path For A Privilege Claim 'Offensive'

Litigators should consider leveraging forthcoming amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which will require early negotiations of privilege-related discovery claims, by taking an offensive posture toward privilege logs at the outset of discovery, says David Ben-Meir at Ben-Meir Law.

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Series

My Miniature Livestock Farm Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Raising miniature livestock on my farm, where I am fully present with the animals, is an almost meditative time that allows me to return to work invigorated, ready to juggle numerous responsibilities and motivated to tackle hard issues in new ways, says Ted Kobus at BakerHostetler.

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Bonus Spotlight

Law Firms Begin Upping The Ante For Associate Bonuses

By Tracey Read

Trial boutique Wilkinson Stekloff LLP is exceeding the year-end associate bonus scale set by Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP, announcing bonuses late Wednesday that are 150% of market.

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CFPB Will Shift Remaining Lawsuits Over To DOJ

By Jon Hill

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be handing off its enforcement lawsuits and other litigation to the U.S. Department of Justice as the Trump administration prepares for the consumer agency to run out of money, Law360 has learned.

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Analysis

Trump's Epstein Directive Puts SDNY Prosecutor In A 'Pickle'

By Phillip Bantz

Manhattan chief federal prosecutor Jay Clayton appears to have been backed into a "horrible" corner with a "no-win" outcome as a result of a directive from President Donald Trump and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Jeffrey Epstein's ties to prominent Democrats, experts say.

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Comey Says DOJ's Conduct 'Shocks The Conscience'

By Hailey Konnath

James Comey on Thursday reiterated his request that the U.S. Department of Justice be forced to disclose all grand jury materials related to his indictment, noting the government has conceded that the grand jury never saw the operative indictment and saying the purported misconduct "shocks the conscience."

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NJ Panel Expands Scope Of Ex-Reed Smith Atty's Bias Claims

By Rose Krebs

A New Jersey appellate panel on Thursday ruled that a former Reed Smith LLP attorney is entitled to pursue more damages and obtain expanded wage data in her gender discrimination suit against the firm, saying a trial court incorrectly applied certain statutes when it limited the damages and data she could seek.

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X Corp. Ends $90M Fee Suit Against Wachtell

By James Mills

X Corp. has ended its California state lawsuit against Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz over $90 million in legal fees tied to the fight over Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter, according to a court filing.

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Analysis

Meta Loss Shows Time Not On Enforcers' Side In Tech Cases

By Bryan Koenig

Meta's triumph over a Federal Trade Commission antitrust case Tuesday hinged on a D.C. federal judge's finding that the company lacks a monopoly in the present day, highlighting some of the challenges of using slow-moving litigation to challenge fast-moving markets.

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Senate Panel OKs Miss. Judge, US Atty Nominees After Delay

By Courtney Bublé

After weeks of holdup, nominees for Mississippi federal courts and U.S. attorneys were voted out of committee on Thursday, following an impasse between Republican senators.

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Brief

Senate Passes Bill To Protect State Judges From Threats

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a bipartisan bill to beef up security for state and local judges.

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DOJ Antitrust Chief Says Agriculture A 'Top Priority'

By Matthew Perlman

The U.S. Department of Justice's top antitrust official said enforcers have already opened several investigations in the agriculture sector, including into meatpackers at the direction of President Donald Trump, and called the industry a "top priority" for the agency.

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