'Is It Kafka?' Judge Presses Pentagon On Press Restrictions

By Jared Foretek

A D.C. federal judge requested additional briefing Monday from the Trump administration before deciding whether to toss the U.S. Department of Defense's revised rules restricting journalists' access to the Pentagon but said some new allegations from reporters read like the revisions came from a Franz Kafka novel.

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Justices Reject 'Tiger King' Appeal Over Witness Recantations

By Cara Salvatore

The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to review Joseph "Tiger King" Maldonado's murder-for-hire conviction on the basis of the Netflix documentary star's claim that a judge failed to properly examine several witnesses' post-trial recantations.

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X Corp. Invokes Cox Ruling To Challenge Music Copyright Suit

By Elliot Weld

X Corp. has argued that a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court last week that an internet service provider couldn't be held liable for its customers pirating music should allow it to escape copyright infringement claims in Tennessee federal court from a group of music publishers.

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Cardi B, Atlantic Defeat IP Lawsuit Over Hit Single 'Enough'

By Rae Ann Varona

A Texas federal judge Monday freed Cardi B from a copyright infringement lawsuit claiming she ripped off two music producers' beats to make her 2024 hit "Enough (Miami)," saying the court lacked personal jurisdiction over the rapper, even if she performed many times in the Lone Star State.

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Match, OkCupid Settle FTC Suit Over Info Sharing With AI Co.

By Gina Kim

Match and its dating platform subsidiary OkCupid settled a civil suit Monday by the Federal Trade Commission alleging they shared millions of users' photos and other data with an artificial intelligence company specializing in facial recognition technology, known as Clarifai Inc., without giving users the chance to opt out.

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Taylor Swift Stole 'Showgirl' TM From OG Showgirl, Suit Says

By Hailey Konnath

A Las Vegas performer on Monday accused Taylor Swift of infringing her long-held "Confessions of a Showgirl" trademark, claiming in California federal court that Swift's "The Life of a Showgirl" album has caused "textbook reverse confusion" and is threatening to erase the performer "from her very own brand."

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Newsom Tightens AI Contract Rules Over Safety Fears

By Rae Ann Varona

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday ordered state agencies to strengthen guardrails for all contracts connected to generative AI tools, highlighting what he sees as risks to free speech, voting rights and mass surveillance, and at the same time encouraging statewide adoption of safe forms of the technology. 

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court's docket this past week featured disputes involving globally recognized companies, high-dollar contract fights, revived claims from the state's high court and the resolution of a closely watched de-SPAC case.

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X Gets Backup In Fed. Circ. Fight Against $175M Patent Loss

By Adam Lidgett

Patent quality advocacy group Askeladden LLC has backed X Corp.'s Federal Circuit challenge to a loss of more than $175 million that it saw in a patent infringement suit, saying the patented claims at issue should have been found invalid to begin with.

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Sanofi Claims IP Life Extension Needed For Double Patenting

By Dani Kass

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board rightly found a Sanofi patent application shouldn't be rejected for obviousness-type double patenting, as it doesn't improperly extend patent life, the French drugmaker and its allies have told U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires.

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Hunter S. Thompson Whiskey Brand Sued Over IG Photos

By Zach Dupont

The owner of the copyright to pictures taken by Hunter S. Thompson's personal photographer claimed in Colorado federal court Monday that the whiskey brand owned by Thompson's estate violated copyright law by posting some of the photos on their social media.

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Tilray Accused Of Dodging $11M In Bob Marley Royalties

By Sam Reisman

Multistate cannabis giant Tilray owes more than $11 million in royalty payments for using Bob Marley's brand in connection with marijuana products, according to a new lawsuit filed in Delaware Chancery Court.

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US Judge Duo Urge Simplicity In Complex AI, Privacy Fights

By Allison Grande

A pair of U.S. district judges Monday implored litigants to take more time to walk those deciding their disputes through the complex data privacy, artificial intelligence and other technological issues underpinning claims, cautioning that acting otherwise is likely to result in bored juries and discarded legal briefs.

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FTC's Meador Eyeing Platform Design In Kids' Safety Reviews

By Allison Grande

While the Federal Trade Commission isn't interested in "telling companies how to run their businesses," the agency will continue to police online hazards facing children and adults, including those that may be caused by the way that websites are designed, and could impose more "extreme" remedies when necessary, Republican Commissioner Mark Meador said Monday.

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Verizon Gets T-Mobile Ads Promising $1K In Savings Blocked

By Hailey Konnath

A New York federal judge Monday issued an injunction blocking T-Mobile from running advertisements stating that consumers could save more than $1,000 a year by switching to the carrier, agreeing with Verizon that T-Mobile is pushing a false message and an "apples-to-oranges comparison."

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Investment Firm Fined For Ads Pitching Copycat Portfolios

By Julie Manganis

An online investment advisory firm that offered clients the chance to copy the trading activity of well-known business and political figures will pay a $500,000 administrative fine and restitution to resolve a complaint that Massachusetts securities regulators brought alleging misleading social media ads.

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ESPN Moves To Join WWE In Subscriber 'Bait And Switch' Suit

By Carla Baranauckas

ESPN moved to intervene in a proposed class action accusing World Wrestling Entertainment of a "bait and switch" streaming scheme, telling a Connecticut federal court the case cannot proceed because subscribers agreed to arbitrate their claims and waived any right to sue as a class.

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HPE Seeks Fix After States Expose Confidential Bidding Info

By Ben Adlin

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. urged a California federal judge to order a dozen states and Washington, D.C., to take corrective measures after they publicly filed thousands of pages of confidential documents related to the company's planned $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks Inc.

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Warner Bros. Beats Investor Suit Over Failed NBA Deal

By Dorothy Atkins

A New York federal judge on Monday tossed a putative securities class action accusing Warner Bros. Discovery and its top brass of misleading investors about its negotiations over NBA broadcast rights, finding the company's statements were either true, inactionable or made obvious by widespread media coverage.

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Crypto Hacker Stole $53M For Pokemon Cards, DOJ Says

By Gina Kim

A Maryland man was charged with hacking cryptocurrency exchange Uranium Finance and taking $53 million, and using the money to buy rare Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering trading cards, as well as a piece of the Wright brothers' original plane that Neil Armstrong took to the moon.

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Calif. Judge Puts Nexstar-Tegna Merger On Ice During Review

By Christopher Cole

A California federal judge has blocked broadcast giants Nexstar and Tegna from combining operations in their $6.2 billion merger while a legal challenge from DirecTV moves forward, saying the satellite TV company showed irreparable harm could occur from the deal.

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Digital Equity Suit May Be Delayed During Climate Case

By Christopher Cole

A D.C. federal judge will consider delaying arguments in a suit against the Trump administration for gutting the Digital Equity Act while a D.C. Circuit challenge to cuts to environmental grant programs plays out.

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Colo. Justices Order Disclosure Of Child Abuse Hotline Data

By Rachel Konieczny

The Colorado Department of Human Services must disclose aggregate child-abuse hotline statistics from each of three residential child care facilities over a three-year period to two news organizations that requested the information, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled Monday.

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How A High Court Music Piracy Ruling Shrinks ISP Liability

The U.S. Supreme Court's recent opinion in Cox Communications Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment, which concerned the boundaries of contributory copyright infringement for internet service providers, dramatically lessens both the risk that an ISP will be held contributorily liable and, relatedly, the incentives an ISP may have to help combat online copyright infringement, say attorneys at Debevoise.

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Proposed Oracle Act Tests NY's Prediction Markets Clout

New York's proposed Oracle Act could if passed force a high-stakes showdown over event contracts in the prediction markets as well as state gambling laws, and legal practitioners should closely monitor litigation, parallel developments in other states, Commodity Futures Trading Commission rulemaking and congressional action, says Linda Goldstein at CM Law.

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Considering The Risks That Arise When IP Outlives Its Owner

Federal and state court decisions show that the statutory regime for each category of intellectual property promises continuity after the owner's death, but the law does not provide a succession framework for how those rights are to be exercised, says Erin Daly at Daly Law & Strategy.

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Opinion

AI Presents A Make-Or-Break Moment For Outside Counsel

The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence by corporate legal departments is forcing a long-overdue reset of the relationship between inside and outside counsel, and introducing a significant opportunity to shed frustrating inefficiencies and strengthen collaboration for firms willing to embrace the shift, says Intel Chief Legal Officer April Miller Boise.

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Getting The Most Out Of Learning And Development Programs

Junior associates can better develop the legal, business and interpersonal skills they need for long-term success by approaching their firms’ learning and development programs armed with five tips for getting the most out of these resources, says Lauren Hakala at Reed Smith.

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Lack Of Harm Dooms Ex-Estate Firm Partner's Bid For Notices

By Abigail Harrison

The founding partner of a trusts and estates law firm lost his bid to have the North Carolina Business Court order the firm to notify thousands of clients of his departure and hand over their contact information, with the judge ruling the lawyer failed to show he suffered irreparable harm.

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Nixon Peabody Hires Hometown Litigator In Rhode Island

By Tracey Read

Nixon Peabody LLP has added a civil and criminal business litigation and trial attorney from Godfrey & Kahn SC to its complex disputes practice as a partner in Providence, Rhode Island.

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