Ex-Copyright Leaders, Media Groups Back Cox Piracy Liability

By Ivan Moreno

Media industry groups, former lawmakers and copyright officials are among the parties supporting music companies fighting an appeal from Cox Communications in the U.S. Supreme Court and urging the justices in nearly a dozen amicus briefs to hold internet service providers accountable for their customers' online piracy.

11 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

OpenAI Reduced Suicide Safety Before Teen Died, Parents Say

By Hailey Konnath

OpenAI decided to remove some longstanding suicide prevention protocols and cut short its safety testing in the months before a California teenager died by suicide, according to an updated version of the wrongful death suit filed by the teen's parents in San Francisco County Superior Court.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

$5M Lindell Arbitration Fight Submitted For High Court Review

By Caroline Simson

A software developer trying to revive his $5 million arbitral award against MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has brought the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, where he is urging the justices to finally resolve whether manifest disregard of the law is a valid basis on which arbitral awards may be vacated.

Petition attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Adidas Hid Ye's Hate Speech From Investors, 9th Circ. Told

By Dorothy Atkins

Adidas investors urged the Ninth Circuit on Thursday to revive allegations that the sportswear giant failed to disclose the risks of relying on the rapper Ye for a multibillion-dollar fashion partnership, arguing that executives hid evidence of his "raging" antisemitism, like his proposal for a swastika shoe design.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Conn. Panel Doubts Ex-Alex Jones Atty Can Skirt Suspension

By Brian Steele

Connecticut appellate judges expressed skepticism Thursday that an attorney who previously represented conspiracy theorist Alex Jones can avoid serving the remainder of a two-week suspension, voicing doubt that a lower court abused its discretion in crafting the sanction for violating a confidentiality order.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Court Won't Rethink 'Survivor' Winner's $3M Tax Bill

By Anna Scott Farrell

A Rhode Island federal judge won't reconsider his opinion that the first winner of reality show "Survivor" must pay $3.3 million in taxes, maintaining that it is unclear whether the federal government can take his sister's property to pay down the debt.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

CAA Says It's Not Liable In 'Sex Slave' Suit Against Star Agent

By Elaine Briseño

Creative Artists Agency asked a California federal court to toss the lawsuit of an anonymous woman who accused one of its star agents of keeping her as a sex slave while the company ignored "obvious red flags" of abuse, arguing the allegations have nothing to do with the business.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Google Rips $425M Privacy Verdict As Users Seek $2.4B More

By Lauren Berg

A class of some 98 million cellphone users who won a $425 million jury verdict finding that Google unlawfully collected their information asked a California federal judge to make the tech giant disgorge another $2.36 billion, while Google asked the court to dismantle the class and vacate the verdict.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Warner Bros. Rejects $60B Paramount Bid, And More Rumors

By Al Barbarino

Warner Bros. Discovery's board reportedly rejected a nearly $60 billion offer from Paramount Skydance, but a deal could still materialize after Warner Bros.' board launched a formal review of strategic alternatives. Among other recent reports, Anthropic and Google are said to be in talks for a potential multibillion-dollar cloud deal, and the private equity owner of Octus is preparing for a sale that could value the financial news company at more than $4 billion.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

High Court Urged To Review Police Use Of Geofencing Data

By Parker Quinlan

A Texas man has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to consider whether law enforcement violated his rights when police used anonymized bulk Google data they obtained through a warrant in an attempt to locate him and whether that constitutes an illegal search.

Petition attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Texas Dials Up Exposure With App Store, Telemarketing Laws

By Allison Grande

A new Texas age verification law and sweeping revisions to the state's telemarketing statute are poised to saddle the broad universe of companies that support mobile apps and disseminate marketing texts with new obligations that will open them up to more lawsuits and other legal risks, unless opponents find success with fledgling constitutional challenges.

4 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Split DC Circ. Won't Lift Block On FTC's Media Matters Probe

By Bryan Koenig

A divided D.C. Circuit panel refused Thursday to let the Federal Trade Commission subpoena Media Matters for America while the agency appeals an order blocking that probe, crediting district courts' findings of "seemingly unusual and unprecedented" facts suggesting the investigation is retaliation for reporting about Nazi content on X.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Yelp's Tying Claim Against Google Can Move Ahead

By Matthew Perlman

A California federal court has refused to trim Yelp's claim that Google ties its general search results to its local search listings in a case accusing Google of monopolizing the local search market, after finding the latest version of the claim fixed the problems previously identified.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Linebacker Suing NCAA Seeks 5th Year Of Competitive Play

By Ben Adlin

University of Washington linebacker Jacob Manu is asking a Seattle federal judge to temporarily halt the NCAA's enforcement of rules limiting athletes to just four seasons of competitive play over a five-year period, alleging that the restrictions violate state and federal antitrust laws.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Musk Can't Lean On Atty Defense In Twitter Investor Dispute

By Jessica Corso

A New York federal judge on Thursday blocked Elon Musk from asserting that he relied on his attorneys' advice in deciding when to disclose that he had taken an ownership interest in Twitter, saying it wouldn't be fair to the platform's former shareholders to allow him to move forward with that defense.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Neb. Republican Says Fiber Critical To Broadband Effort

By Christopher Cole

A Republican U.S. senator said Thursday she's concerned that rural areas will not receive enough funding for fiber-optic connectivity in the latest round of the government's multibillion-dollar effort to build out broadband to underserved areas.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

FCC's Carr Sees Ongoing Consumer Harm From Shutdown

By Christopher Cole

The head of the Federal Communications Commission warned Thursday that new device and license applications are "just sitting there," creating an FCC backlog, and that other day-to-day but important work remains on hold during the government shutdown.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Tech Org. Calls Next-Gen TV Tuner Mandate Bad Idea

By Nadia Dreid

As the Federal Communications Commission solicits opinions on how to usher the industry into the next generation of television broadcasting, a consumer technology trade group is reiterating its argument that the agency should not rush the process and let companies do what they will.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Senate Clears Bill For FCC List Of Foreign Authorizations

By Christopher Cole

The U.S. Senate Thursday passed a bill requiring the Federal Communications Commission to publish a list of companies with ties to certain foreign countries that hold FCC authorizations.

Bill attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Canadian Law Doesn't Block Gambling Sites' Arbitration Terms

By Elaine Briseño

An Illinois federal judge has sent a dispute between the operators of several online casino games and consumers to arbitration, ruling that the plaintiffs' reliance on Canadian law is misplaced as it still permits the arbitration that they agreed to when they accepted the sites' terms and conditions.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Davis Wright Welcomes IP Team From Dechert

By Andrea Keckley

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP announced that it has added two New York lawyers from Dechert LLP to its intellectual property and branding group, which the firm says has welcomed seven lateral partners in the past 18 months.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Considering Judicial Treatment Of The 2023 Merger Guidelines

Courts have so far primarily cited the 2023 merger guidelines for propositions that do not differ significantly from prior versions of the guidelines, leaving it unclear whether the antitrust agencies will test the guidelines’ more aggressive theories, and how those theories will be treated by federal judges, say attorneys at Covington.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Series

Writing Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Columbia-Based Advocate Sues For Law Firms' DEI Details

By Grace Elletson

A free speech institute at Columbia University told a New York federal court Thursday that President Donald Trump's administration effectively denied its requests for information related to the government's demands that law firms supply details about their diversity, equity and inclusion practices.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judges Admit AI Missteps After Grassley's Oversight Push

By Courtney Bublé

Federal judges in New Jersey and Mississippi admitted their staff used artificial intelligence in faulty orders they had to redo over the summer, according to correspondence released Thursday by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who is investigating the matter.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Sanctions Threats Mount For Atty Who Ignored Citation Order

By Emily Sawicki

An attorney who ignored a show cause order earlier this summer after his co-counsel included a fake case citation in a filing for their then-client, a former in-house attorney for Workday Inc., told a San Francisco federal judge Thursday that his failure to respond was a "mistake," in response to a renewed show cause order.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

5th Circ. Vacates Lewis Brisbois' $1.5M Trademark Award

By Elliot Weld

The Fifth Circuit vacated a $1.5 million damages award Thursday that Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP won against three attorneys who registered a business with the same name, saying the Texas federal judge who granted the award had not explained his reasoning under the relevant statutes.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Baldwin Opposes 7th Circ. Pick For Her State

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., on Thursday officially opposed the nomination to the Seventh Circuit of Rebecca Taibleson, a federal prosecutor in Wisconsin, who would serve in her state.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judge Dings Law Profs In Judge-Shopping Sanctions Case

By Ryan Boysen

The federal judge behind a controversial sanctions order accusing three attorneys of judge shopping while challenging an Alabama gender care law is pushing back on claims that he lacked jurisdiction, as the ruling is on appeal in the Eleventh Circuit.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Derailment Counsel Fee Provision 'Troubles' 6th Circ. Judge

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A three-judge Sixth Circuit panel on Thursday seemed skeptical that counsel representing victims of the fiery 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, was blindsided by a "quick-pay" provision in the attorney fee agreement that saw class lawyers get paid before their clients.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

'Civility' A Concern As IP Atty Asks To Depose Party Suing Her

By Lauren Berg

A Florida federal magistrate judge overseeing discovery in a patent licensing company executive's defamation suit against a Baker Botts LLP intellectual property litigator told the parties Thursday that she's inclined to appoint a special master to oversee depositions in the case to ensure "the appropriate decorum and civility."

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Quinn Emanuel Loses Bid To Get $1.7M Bill From Sheriff Case

By Rae Ann Varona

A California state appeals court Thursday shot down Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP's effort to recover a more than $1.7 million bill for representing a former Los Angeles County sheriff in a suit county supervisors lodged, finding that the sheriff lacked authority to retain the firm.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Squire Patton Boggs Partner Confirmed To Kentucky Bench

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 48-45, along party lines, on Thursday to confirm former Kentucky Solicitor General and Squire Patton Boggs LLP partner Chad Meredith to the Eastern District of Kentucky.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

McGuireWoods Asks NC Justices To Stay Defamation Case

By Andrea Keckley

McGuireWoods LLP and a former partner are asking North Carolina's highest court to halt a defamation case over statements made in connection with an investigation into the former CEO of a managed care organization, saying they risk permanently losing their immunity defense if the suit is allowed to move forward.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ky. Rep. Revives Attempt To Abolish PTAB, Expand Eligibility

By Dani Kass

U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., said Thursday he's again attempting to overhaul the patent system, including abolishing the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, normalizing injunctions and broadening what can be patented.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »