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14 Ex-Lawmakers Tell USPTO Proposed Rules Violate The Law

By Ryan Davis

A group of 14 former members of Congress, including America Invents Act sponsor Patrick Leahy, has told the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that the agency's proposal to restrict many patent challenges "violates foundational American legal principles and the AIA."

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Squires Institutes First PTAB Challenges Since Taking Over

By Dani Kass

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has instituted four inter partes reviews and two post-grant reviews, the first Patent Trial and Appeal Board challenges to get his sign-off since he took over the institution review process.

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Fed. Circ. Erases $41.8M Verdict Over Seagen Cancer Drug IP

By Adam Lidgett

The Federal Circuit in a precedential opinion Tuesday reversed a $41.8 million verdict against Daiichi Sankyo for infringing a Seagen breast cancer treatment patent, saying a lower court should have found that the patent didn't adequately describe the claimed invention or enable a skilled person to use it.

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Tesla Joins Fight At Fed. Circ. Against PTAB Policy Changes

By Adam Lidgett

Tesla has become the latest company to head to the Federal Circuit to challenge U.S. Patent and Trademark Office changes to the institution process at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, saying the office is putting up "arbitrary roadblocks."

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Approach The Bench: Judge Robart On Living Under Threats

By Cara Bayles and Steven Trader

It's been nearly nine years since U.S. District Judge James Robart blocked President Donald Trump's 2017 executive order barring travel from seven Muslim-majority countries, and though the judge has had a long career — including groundbreaking patent and securities decisions — he still occasionally gets recognized as that "so-called judge."

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Citadel Securities Can't Duck Microchip Patent Claims

By Elliot Weld

An Illinois federal judge has denied Citadel Securities' attempt to escape a software company's patent infringement claims related to computer microchips, saying she was not convinced that the patents at issue were too abstract to be valid.

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Lyft Gets Albright To Invalidate Some Ride-Hailing Patents

By Adam Lidgett

A Texas federal judge has found that three of Quartz Auto Technologies' patents Lyft Inc. has been accused of infringing are not patentable, after the ride-hailing giant said they were ineligible for patent protection under the U.S. Supreme Court's Alice standard.

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Startup's Accent Translation Trade Secrets Suit Can Proceed

By Elliot Weld

A California federal judge has denied a technology company's attempt to escape a suit alleging it stole trade secrets related to an accent translation technology from an artificial intelligence startup, saying the tech company's insistence that its rival did not make enough of an effort to defend the secrets does not make for grounds to dismiss the case at this time.

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Cher Wins $187K In Royalties In Sonny Bono Estate Dispute

By Elliot Weld

Actress and singer Cher was granted about $187,000 in royalties by a California federal judge who ruled that the money had been incorrectly retained by her late ex-husband and one-time musical collaborator Sonny Bono's estate.

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Miss America Sanctions Bid Must Be Axed, Fla. Court Told

By Madison Arnold

The plaintiffs in a Florida federal court battle over the ownership of the Miss America pageant have pushed back against a sanctions bid against their attorneys, saying the court should reject it because it's "wholly meritless."

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Navigating 2025's Post-Grant Proceeding Shakeups

Extensive changes to the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board's post-grant proceedings this year, including the new settled expectations factor and revitalization of Fintiv factors, require petitioners and patent owners alike to be mindful when selecting patents to assert and challenge, say attorneys at Quinn Emanuel.

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Bonus Spotlight

Sheppard Mullin To Offer Larger Bonuses To Busy Associates

By Kevin Penton

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP associates who labored past 2,000 hours in 2025 can expect to see a little extra in their upcoming bonus checks, according to an internal memo obtained by Law360.

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Hagens Berman Referred To DOJ For Alleged Misconduct

By Emma Cueto

A Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday recommended to the U.S. Department of Justice that it investigate powerhouse plaintiffs firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP's conduct in connection with several since-dropped product liability cases that a special master found to be filed in bad faith.

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King & Spalding Atty Dies In Mountain Climbing Accident

By Kelcey Caulder

People at King & Spalding LLP are mourning after an appellate attorney from the firm and a mountain guide fell to their deaths climbing New Zealand's tallest mountain.

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Twitter Investors Lose Bid To DQ Musk Counsel Spiro

By Katryna Perera

A California federal judge has denied an attempt by Twitter investors to have Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP partner Alex Spiro disqualified from serving as both lead counsel for Elon Musk and a witness in a trial over claims that Musk tried to tank Twitter's stock.

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Dentons Sees Ex-Partner's Appeal Nixed In California

By Caroline Simson

California's highest court has quietly tossed litigation filed by a former Dentons partner who was fired over a $34 million contingency fee due from a Chinese client following an arbitration matter, several months after advising the parties to prepare for oral arguments.

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The Top In-House Hires Of November

By Sue Reisinger

Elon Musk's xAI has a new but familiar general counsel, while several sports groups — including the New York Mets, PGA of America and the SEC college athletic conference — also brought on new legal leaders in November.

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SDNY Head Backs Good Deals For Quick Cooperation By Cos.

By Stewart Bishop

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton on Tuesday said he's prepared to offer "real benefits" to corporations facing criminal investigations if they quickly agree to cooperate and compensate victims, ideally in the form of comprehensive, government-wide resolutions.

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Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

By Matthew Perlman

The FTC urged a D.C. court to block a deal involving a new heart valve treatment, and courts rejected the commission's monopolization case over Meta's past acquisitions and the agency's challenge of a medical device coatings deal. Here, Law360 looks at the major merger review developments from November.

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2 New Judges Confirmed To NC Federal Court

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate confirmed two federal judges for North Carolina on Tuesday.

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