Groombridge, Wu, Baughman & Stone, a U.S. patent litigation boutique firm, has announced the opening of its inaugural international office in Tokyo. The firm, which was founded last year by four previous Paul, Weiss partners, made the strategic move by bringing on board partner Maxwell Fox from McDermott, Will & Emery. This addition to their…
Indian law firm JSA announced a recent merger with Chennai-based boutique firm, Commercial Law Advisors (CLA). The fusion of the two entities is slated to be official as of October 1, 2023. This consolidation revives JSA’s Chennai office, fulfilling a gap left empty by the defection of corporate lawyers, led by a former partner Aarthi…
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon and a group of seasoned writers have cast the spotlight on artificial intelligence (AI) and intellectual property rights, initiating a proposed class action against AI entity OpenAI Inc. over copyright infringement allegations. The suit filed in California federal court implies that OpenAI misused their copyrighted works. These authors claim that…
MGA Entertainment, a prominent toy maker, is asking a California federal judge to reconsider a tentative order that would instigate a third trial in a $100 million intellectual property case brought on by rapper T.I. The company argues that the United States Supreme Court’s decision in the Jack Daniel’s trademark case, which is a focused…
Alabama is once again under the spotlight of the Supreme Court. The state is contesting that it does not need to create two majority-Black congressional districts to comply with the Voting Rights Act. This issue arose after the rejection of the state’s second map and subsequent instruction by the lower court for experts to redraft…
On July 28, 2023, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued Order No. 2023, which mandated sweeping reforms to its generator interconnection agreements and procedures. Specifically, these changes are designed to alleviate the substantial backlog of both generation and storage projects that are currently pending in interconnection queues across the country. These changes come at…
The FY24 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), legislation authorizing policy and funding for U.S. military operations and programs, is set to significantly boost opportunities for research, development, and contracting in the sphere of artificial intelligence (AI). This development is part of an ongoing bipartisan effort to secure the United States’ global technological advantage. According to…
In a significant development on August 25, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) promulgated two key pro-labor decisions aiming to streamline the process for unions to organize and integrate previously non-union employees. As reported by Bressler, Amery & Ross, P.C. on JD Supra, these resolutions are slated to have a substantial effect on the…
The city of Rockford, Illinois, is exerting pressure on two prominent law firms, Latham & Watkins and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. Both firms represent the pharmacy benefits manager, Express Scripts, and drug manufacturer, Mallinckrodt PLC. Their representation is in the context of antitrust litigation and a linked bankruptcy proceeding. The city of Rockford is…
A Washington state judge has recently been officially rebuked by a judicial oversight body. The action came as a result of the judge personally seeking endorsements for his 2022 judicial campaign from an underling court staffer, during office hours and within a non-public area of the county courthouse. The commission expressed its concerns, indicating that…
A New York federal judge has adjusted a copyright infringement case that involves the reputed appropriation artist Richard Prince and Gagosian Gallery. It was alleged that they used a photographer’s work in Prince’s Instagram-inspired artwork without appropriate permissions. However, the recent ruling announced that the photographer could not claim indirect or prospective profits from hypothetical…
On September 11, 2023, the DeFi Education Fund, a crypto advocacy group, formally requested the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to review a patent currently held by an unnamed company. The DeFi Education group argues that this company is utilizing the patent to “troll” decentralized finance organizations by initiating legal proceedings over a blockchain system….
The e-discovery company CS Disco announced that its co-founder, Kiwi Camara, is stepping down from his roles as CEO and board member. The firm, also known as DISCO, has appointed Scott Hill as interim CEO while the board of directors look for a permanent successor. Hill has been serving DISCO’s board since June 2021 and…
The presidents of Chile and Mexico commemorated the 50th anniversary of the 1973 Chilean coup in a notable joint press conference on Sunday. This high-profile observance comes amid notable social unrest, as a previously peaceful march devolved into unexpected clashes between civilians and police. The 1973 coup, instigated by General Augusto Pinochet and allegedly backed…
In a recent legal skirmish, Bloomberg reported that IBM has been unsuccessful in its attempt to halt a North Dakota-based computer firm from asserting its “common law” privilege to employ a brand name that IBM seeks to register for one of its software products. The decision was made by a trademark administrative tribunal, which is…
Recent experiences, such as the Hong Kong Law Fair, a screening of the film "Philadelphia," and a conversation with a concerned partner, prompted me to reflect upon young lawyers’ qualities, or lack thereof, in today’s challenging legal climate. The participating firms were seeking talented law graduates at the Hong Kong Law Fair, providing a notable…
An ongoing legal dispute involving a former attorney from Littler Mendelson PC takes a new twist, as she alleges the firm violated permissible legal boundaries to uncover and potentially annihilate evidence she supposedly possesses against it. The ex-attorney, still unnamed due to confidentiality reasons, accuses the firm of illegally accumulating five years’ worth of her…
The Federal Circuit recently overturned a part of a lower court’s decision that dismissed Netflix’s battle over a patent on a method of creating a multimedia file. The ruling was made on the basis that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board was excessively rigorous in its approach. This opens another chapter in the ongoing saga…
The dynamics of court cases involving the United States government and the False Claims Act (FCA) continue to evolve, as highlighted by a recent ruling. After a hefty jury verdict following an extended trial, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit refused to dismiss the government’s intervening complaint as a punishiment for…
In a recent development, Dartmouth College is seeking the review of the U.S. Supreme Court over the Federal Circuit’s decision not to renew a vitamin B3 patent. The college had originally defended this patent against Elysium Health in a preliminary Delaware federal lawsuit. Elysium Health, known for its dietary supplement production, appears to be in…
The United States Supreme Court has recently made the decision to grant certiorari in the case, Moore v. United States. This hearsay will provide a review of the judgment made by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on the application of the “transition tax”, instated under Section 965. The transition tax originated as part of…
Last week marked significant progress in health care legislation with the release of the draft Health Bill named “Lower Cost, More Transparency Act”. The objective of this bill, revealed by Alston & Bird’s health care week in review, is to ensure a more streamlined, efficient and transparent health care system. This draft bill addresses critical…
U.K legal firm Osborne Clarke has inaugurated its third US office in Miami, expanding its presence from New York and San Francisco. This move, however, does not signal the firm’s intention to pursue U.S law, as they currently do not practice in this jurisdiction. The Miami office will be under the leadership of Javier Fernández-Samaniego,…
Last week, Delaware’s Court of Chancery experienced quite the litigious whirlwind. One particularly striking result was the approval of an “extraordinary” settlement to the tune of $167.5 million. However, two other proposed settlements did not share the same fate and have been sent back for further deliberation. Meanwhile, a damage request of an almost-astonishing $480.7…
Even amidst the backdrop of litigation and legislative scrutiny, diversity among intellectual property litigators remains a strategic priority for firms and clients alike, with many barristers maintaining that fostering diversity can enhance outcomes. This sentiment came to the forefront of a legal conference on Monday. Efforts to enhance representation and inclusiveness have held strong, with…