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May 17, 2024
Tech Co. Can Force Solo Arbitration In 401(k) Forfeiture Suit
A former Tetra Tech Inc. employee must individually arbitrate her suit alleging the company misused forfeited 401(k) contributions, a California federal judge said Friday, ruling federal benefits law doesn't override the arbitration agreement's bar on planwide reimbursement.
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May 17, 2024
DC Circ. Affirms Ex-HUD Official's Conviction For False Docs
The D.C. Circuit on Friday upheld the documents falsification conviction of a former high-ranking staffer within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of the Inspector General, rejecting his arguments that prosecutors had diverged at trial from the charges laid out in an indictment.
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May 17, 2024
Broadband Advocates Decry Delays On Senate Spectrum Bill
Broadband advocates who work on fixing the "digital divide" said they are dismayed the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee again delayed a markup Thursday to advance legislation renewing the soon-to-expire Affordable Connectivity Program.
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May 17, 2024
Royalty Suit Aims To Make Spotify Nix 'Bundled' Subscription
In a lawsuit against Spotify, the nonprofit the U.S. Copyright Offices uses to distribute royalties alleged Thursday that the audio streaming service's new premium subscription package could cause illegal underreporting of royalties and cost songwriters and music publishers "hundreds of millions of dollars."
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May 17, 2024
Koch-Tied Group Says Transparency Law Offends Federalism
The Corporate Transparency Act is unconstitutional because it does not regulate interstate commerce yet mandates that state-registered entities disclose personal information, a conservative group affiliated with the billionaire Koch brothers told the Eleventh Circuit on Friday.
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May 17, 2024
Dolce & Gabbana Sued Over 'Worthless' Digital Outfit NFTs
Luxury fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana has been hit with a shareholder class action in New York federal court, alleging it sold consumers "essentially worthless" non-fungible tokens that it misrepresented as high-value and abandoned the project while retaining over $25 million that was used to fund it.
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May 17, 2024
'Wolfman' Blasts Paramount's Bid To Toss 'Top Gun' IP Suit
The actor who played Henry "Wolfman" Ruth in the original "Top Gun" movie has urged a California federal court not to dismiss his right-of-publicity complaint against Paramount Pictures for using his image in the 2022 blockbuster sequel, saying the film studio is incorrect to argue the First Amendment shields it from the suit.
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May 17, 2024
Utilities Need More Airwaves To Drive Growth, FCC Hears
Utilities need more spectrum to keep their networks running smoothly as they move toward digitizing the electric grid, which is already under significant strain, a wireless service provider has told the Federal Communications Commission.
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May 17, 2024
Judge Won't Bar Thermo Fisher Exec's Jump To Repligen
A Massachusetts judge won't block a former Thermo Fisher Scientific executive from jumping to smaller rival Repligen, calling a noncompete agreement signed by the employee overbroad and suggesting that it was really aimed at stifling competition in a ruling released Friday.
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May 17, 2024
PTAB Denies Institution Of Review Of Mel NavIP Patent
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has said it wouldn't be reviewing an automotive navigation device patent, handing a win to Hyundai Motor Co. in the patent dispute.
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May 17, 2024
Ga. OB-GYN Office Says Data Breach Class Action Falls Flat
An Atlanta OB-GYN practice has urged a Georgia federal judge to dismiss a proposed class suit over a data breach that allegedly impacted the personal and protected health information of tens of thousands of patients, arguing the lead plaintiff has failed to meet the requirements of the Class Action Fairness Act.
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May 17, 2024
Google Says Payment Means No Need For DOJ Ad Tech Jury
Google is arguing in Virginia federal court the government has no right to a jury trial in a case accusing the company of monopolizing key digital advertising technology, especially after Google issued a check for the money enforcers could be awarded if they won.
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May 17, 2024
Industry Emboldened After Justices Galvanize Agency Attacks
In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court said "extraordinary" and "far-reaching" attacks on administrative enforcers can skip agency tribunals and go straight to federal district court, ambitious challenges to regulatory powers are rapidly gaining traction, and the high court is poised to put them on an even firmer footing.
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May 17, 2024
Calif. Jury Finds Samsung Breached Contract With Netlist
A Los Angeles federal jury found on Friday that Samsung materially breached a contract with chipmaker Netlist by cutting off its supply of crucial memory products, delivering a significant win for Netlist in its multi-jurisdictional patent fight with Samsung even though no monetary damages were at stake.
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May 17, 2024
Calif. Man Who Cooperated In $5M Insider Case Avoids Prison
A Manhattan federal judge on Friday allowed a California information technology pro to avoid prison for his role in a $5 million insider-trading ring involving laser company Lumentum Holdings Inc.'s secret merger plans, citing his extensive cooperation with prosecutors.
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May 17, 2024
McDermott Adds Dechert Blockchain Ace In Calif. Offices
McDermott Will & Emery LLP is growing its transactions team, announcing Friday it is bringing in a Dechert LLP blockchain and digital assets expert as a partner in its Orange County and Silicon Valley offices.
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May 17, 2024
Winston & Strawn Leads Asia-Focused SPAC $100M IPO
Shares of RF Acquisition II, a special-purpose acquisition company targeting the technology sector in Asia, began trading publicly on Friday following the company's $100 million initial public offering.
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May 17, 2024
Blackstone Leads $7.5B Financing For AI-Focused CoreWeave
Artificial intelligence-focused infrastructure provider CoreWeave said Friday it had secured an agreement for a $7.5 billion debt financing facility provided by Blackstone with strategic participation from hedge fund Magnetar Capital, the co-lead investor, and tech investor Coatue.
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May 16, 2024
9th Circ. Won't Let Alexa Users Revive Voice Data Privacy Row
The Ninth Circuit on Thursday refused to reinstate a proposed class action alleging Amazon's Alexa software illegally collects voice data to target users with advertisements, agreeing with the lower court that the e-commerce giant had clearly disclosed the practice and the plaintiffs hadn't shown they were harmed.
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May 16, 2024
Voice Actors Say Lovo Stole Their Voices For AI Tech
Artificial intelligence startup Lovo has been stealing actors' voices for its AI-driven voice-over software, voice actors Paul Lehrman and Linnea Sage alleged in a proposed class action Thursday after they unexpectedly heard Lehrman's voice used in a podcast about the potential dangers of AI technology.
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May 16, 2024
$2B Default Recommended For Making Fair Trial 'Impossible'
Years of lies should put a pair of Chinese electronics companies on the hook for over $2 billion in default judgment, a special master told a California federal judge, adding that their yearslong no-show and disregard of U.S. counsel advice to retain documents have rendered a fair trial "impossible."
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May 16, 2024
Hunter Biden's Suit May Turn On If A Hard Drive Is A Computer
A California federal judge overseeing Hunter Biden's lawsuit against a former Trump White House aide for accessing data allegedly taken from a copy of Biden's laptop said Thursday that case may hinge on if a hard drive copy qualifies as a "computer" under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
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May 16, 2024
Klobuchar Reintroduces Sweeping Antitrust Reform Bill
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., reintroduced sweeping legislation Thursday aimed at restoring competition by strengthening antitrust laws to help enforcers better deal with harmful conduct and mergers, garnering support from the American Antitrust Institute, Consumer Reports and others.
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May 16, 2024
FCC Told Rural Aid Can't Lean Too Much On Broadband Maps
Wireless providers are calling out flaws in the Federal Communications Commission's national broadband map, telling the agency to require more certification from providers to verify that they can actually serve areas they say they can before allocating broadband deployment funding.
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May 16, 2024
Internet Archive Must Face Record Labels' Copyright Suit
A California federal judge on Wednesday ruled that the Internet Archive and the foundation that helps fund it must face a suit from record labels accusing the archive of copyright infringement by willfully copying and distributing thousands of protected recordings for free, saying the archive failed to show that the complaint was untimely.
Expert Analysis
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Cos. Should Mind Website Tech As CIPA Suits Keep Piling Up
Businesses should continue evaluating their use of website technologies and other data-gathering software and review the disclosures in their privacy policies, amid an increase so far in 2024 of class actions alleging violations of the California Invasion of Privacy Act's pen register and trap-and-trace provisions, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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3 Tech Sourcing Best Practices That Are Relevant For AI
It might be tempting to think that sourcing artificial intelligence tools requires a completely new set of skills, but the best practices that lead to a good deal are much the same as traditional technology procurement, says Mia Rendar at Pillsbury.
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The Pros And Cons Of NIST's Proposed March-In Framework
Recent comments for and against the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s proposed guidance on march-in rights — which permit the government to seize federally funded patents — highlight how the framework may promote competition, but could also pose a risk to contractors and universities, say Nick Lee and Paul Ragusa at Baker Botts.
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Comparing Corporate Law In Delaware, Texas And Nevada
With Elon Musk's recent decision to reincorporate his companies outside of Delaware, and with more businesses increasingly considering Nevada and Texas as corporate homes, attorneys at Baker Botts look at each jurisdiction's foundation of corporate law, and how the differences can make each more or less appealing based on a corporation's needs.
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Opinion
Federal MDL Rule Benefits From Public Comments
The new Federal Rule of Civil Procedure concerning multidistrict litigation that was approved this week by the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules incorporates ideas from public comments that will aid both plaintiffs and defense attorneys — and if ultimately adopted, the rule should promote efficient, merits-driven MDL case management, say Robert Johnston and Gary Feldon at Hollingsworth.
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Tips For Orgs Defending Against Daniel's Law Claims
With Daniel's Law recently amended to require courts to award statutorily defined damages to aggrieved parties, organizations should identify whether they are subject to the law and ensure they have implemented a comprehensive compliance program to better avoid litigation costs and reputational harm, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.
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Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease
This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Adam Siegler at Greenberg Traurig discusses his experience working as a lawyer with Parkinson’s disease, sharing both lessons on how to cope with a diagnosis and advice for supporting colleagues who live with the disease.
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When Trade Secret Protection And Nat'l Security Converge
The Trump administration's anti-espionage program focused on China is over, but federal enforcement efforts to protect trade secrets and U.S. national security continue, and companies doing business in high-risk jurisdictions need to maintain their compliance programs to avoid the risk of being caught in the crosshairs of an investigation, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.
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Cos. Should Prepare For Foreign Data Transfer Regulations
A new regulatory regime designed to protect U.S. sensitive data from countries of concern may complicate an already intricate geopolitical landscape and affect even companies beyond the data industry, but with careful preparation, such companies can endeavor to minimize the effect on their business operations and ensure compliance, say David Plotinsky and Jiazhen Guo at Morgan Lewis.
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Why Incorporating By Reference Is Rarely Good Practice
The Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in Promptu Systems v. Comcast serves as a reminder that while incorporating by reference may seem efficient, it is generally prohibited by courts and can lead to sanctions when used to bypass a word count limit, says Cullen Seltzer at Sands Anderson.
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Series
Playing Hockey Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Nearly a lifetime of playing hockey taught me the importance of avoiding burnout in all aspects of life, and the game ultimately ended up providing me with the balance I needed to maintain success in my legal career, says John Riccione at Taft.
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A Closer Look At Antitrust Agencies' Chat Platforms Guidance
Following the U.S. antitrust agencies' clarification that companies' preservation obligations extend through applications that automatically delete communications, firms should look at new compliance measures, including keeping control over retention settings, say John Ingrassia and Tim Burroughs at Proskauer.
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Ruling Signals Wave Of CIPA Litigation May Soon End
A California state court's recent ruling in Licea v. Hickory Farms, which rejects the argument that IP address tracking violates the California Invasion of Privacy Act's pen register provision, is likely to reduce or stop the slew of new cases filed against businesses for similar alleged violations, says Patricia Brum at Snell & Wilmer.
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Opinion
High Court Should Settle Circuit Split On Risk Disclosures
The U.S. Supreme Court should grant the petition for writ of certiorari in the Facebook case to resolve a growing circuit split concerning when risk disclosures can be misleading under federal securities laws, and its decision should align with the intent of Congress and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, says Richard Zelichov at DLA Piper.
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For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill
A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.