Telecommunications

  • January 30, 2025

    Telecom Giants Must Face March Trial In 4G LTE Patent Fight

    A Minnesota federal judge on Thursday refused to hand a group of telecommunications companies a summary judgment win in the University of Minnesota's patent suit over wireless communications technology used in 4G LTE network services, determining that the dispute must be decided by a jury in an upcoming March trial.

  • January 30, 2025

    Ex-FCC Member Wants Stiffer Penalties For Broadband Sabotage

    There's a broadband equipment vandalism problem that no one is doing much about, a Republican former Federal Communications Commission member said in a new opinion piece, arguing that "certain criminal elements" view the theft as a path to "fast cash."

  • January 30, 2025

    Sheriffs Raise Concern About New FCC Prison Phone Caps

    A sheriffs' group brought concerns to the Federal Communications Commission about recently adopted caps on prison phone rates, saying the exclusion of certain cost categories would lead to less access to services for the incarcerated.

  • January 30, 2025

    Senate Bill Requiring AM Radio In Cars Is Back Again

    Almost half the Senate has signed on to co-sponsor a bill that would block automakers from removing AM radios from the cars they produce, with the reintroduced AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act already set for a committee hearing early next month.

  • January 30, 2025

    Meta VR Headsets Are Not 'Wireless Telephones,' Judge Says

    A federal judge in the Western District of Texas has decided Meta's Quest brand of virtual reality headsets can't be considered "wireless telephones" in a patent lawsuit just because they come preinstalled with the Messenger app, which can take calls.

  • January 30, 2025

    FCC Hunting For Ads On NPR, PBS Local Stations

    The newly installed head of the Federal Communications Commission says he plans to investigate whether local NPR and PBS stations are using underwriting spots to air commercial advertising.

  • January 30, 2025

    Ligado Creditor Pans 'Exorbitant' Fees For $115M DIP Loan

    Satellite communications company Ligado Networks LLC's largest unsecured creditor asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge to reject the company's proposed $115 million Chapter 11 financing package, saying Ligado's secured lenders were seeking to help themselves to $100 million in fees as part of the deal.

  • January 30, 2025

    Telecom Loses $23M Pa. Tax Case Over Private Line Services

    A telecommunications company is liable for $23 million in gross receipts tax assessed on its services' fees because the private line services it contested were not exempt, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court held.

  • January 30, 2025

    Ex-Charter Communications IT Exec Says Noncompete Is Void

    A former Charter Communications Inc. executive has asked a Connecticut federal judge to throw out the company's trade secrets claims against him or at least transfer the case to Colorado, arguing that his ex-employer has failed to say what secrets he allegedly took to his new job and that his noncompete agreement is void.

  • January 30, 2025

    DOJ Challenges HPE's $14B Deal For Juniper Networks

    The U.S. Department of Justice sued Thursday to block Hewlett Packard Enterprise's planned $14 billion purchase of Juniper Networks Inc. over concerns about competition for local wireless networking technology.

  • January 29, 2025

    Meta To Pay $25M To End Trump's Account Suspension Suit

    Meta Platforms confirmed Wednesday that the company and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, have agreed to pay $25 million to settle the lawsuit that President Donald Trump filed after the social media company suspended his account following the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol over concerns he would incite further attacks.

  • January 29, 2025

    Apple Will Appeal Denial Of Bid To Defend Google Search Deal

    Apple said Wednesday that it will appeal an order refusing to let it intervene in the government's search monopolization case against Google to defend a multibillion-dollar revenue-sharing deal that makes Google the default search engine for the Safari browser.

  • January 29, 2025

    Del. Justices Mull 'Nuanced' T-Mobile Data Breach Claims

    Delaware's chief justice pressed an attorney for T-Mobile Corp. stockholders Wednesday on what the attorney called a "nuanced" derivative claim that the company's board wrongly failed to pursue damages for massive data breaches after its controlling stockholder pressed for adoption of a vulnerable data sharing program.

  • January 29, 2025

    USPTO Backlog 'Unacceptable,' Trump's Commerce Pick Says

    Commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick said at his confirmation hearing Wednesday that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's backlog of unexamined patent applications is "unacceptable," and pledged to work to reduce it so that patents are issued more quickly.

  • January 29, 2025

    GOP Sen. Wants 'New' FCC To Review Soros-Audacy Deal

    Now that the Federal Communications Commission is under Republican leadership, one Republican senator wants the new chair to review the agency's decision to approve Soros Fund Management's acquisition of an ownership interest in radio station owner Audacy.

  • January 29, 2025

    Cell Tower Co. Says Colo. Jury Was Misled Over Dish Lease

    Telecom infrastructure giant Crown Castle is urging the Colorado Court of Appeals to vacate a jury finding in its $32 million suit against Dish Network over allegedly unpaid cell tower site rent, arguing that a judge's pretrial ruling led the jury to incorrectly find that Dish wasn't at fault.

  • January 29, 2025

    4 Questions About Trump's Federal Worker Resignation Policy

    President Donald Trump’s offer of letting federal workers resign with several months of paid administrative leave raises questions about its legality and whether workers will actually get paid, attorneys said. Here, Law360 explores four questions that stem from the policy.

  • January 29, 2025

    Texas-Led States Can Sue Google, Ad Tech Judge Says

    A Texas federal judge refused to toss a state enforcer coalition's lawsuit accusing Google of monopolizing the display advertising placement technology market, rejecting Google assertions that the states lack standing to sue on behalf of their citizens in a case where trial now appears likely to be delayed.

  • January 29, 2025

    9th Circ. Halts Calif. Social Media Addiction Law For Appeal

    The Ninth Circuit stayed a slew of California limitations on social media platforms aimed at curbing addiction among young people, temporarily siding with a tech industry lobbying group arguing that the state law runs afoul of First Amendment speech protections.

  • January 29, 2025

    Tribal Leaders Call Funding Freeze A 'Step In Wrong Direction'

    Native American nonprofit groups and tribal leaders are weighing the effects of the Trump administration's possible federal funding freeze, calling the president's directive, which was revoked on Wednesday, shocking and vowing to bring legal action if necessary to protect Indian Country and the nation's Indigenous citizens.

  • January 29, 2025

    India Asks High Court To Nix $1.3B Telecom Award

    The Republic of India urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a Ninth Circuit order that refused to enforce a $1.3 billion arbitral award against the commercial arm of its space agency, arguing that a lower court had baselessly said that India held control over the division.

  • January 29, 2025

    Trump's Commerce Nominee Backs Maximalist Tariff Approach

    President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Commerce voiced support for an expansive use of tariffs Wednesday, repeatedly telling lawmakers that new levies should be imposed to correct the "disrespect" U.S. businesses face in overseas markets.

  • January 28, 2025

    Trade Groups Dial Up Push For Congress To Pass Privacy Law

    A broad coalition of business trade groups on Tuesday called on the newly installed Congress to enact a national data privacy framework that would preempt state laws, arguing that the move was necessary to promote competition and boost consumer confidence in the current age of rapid technological innovation.

  • January 28, 2025

    Stakeholders Worry Funding Freeze Will Hinder Connectivity

    Advocates for increased broadband access in schools and libraries are sounding the alarm about the Office of Management and Budget memorandum calling on agencies to pause grant and loan disbursements, with broadband access advocates warning that the move would stop all Universal Service reimbursements and threaten coverage for rural and underserved areas.

  • January 28, 2025

    FCC Scraps Reg Plan For Cell Tower Enviro Reviews

    The Federal Communications Commission's new Republican chief said Tuesday the agency was dropping a plan launched during the Biden administration to more rigorously vet cell tower building projects for environmental impacts.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    After Chevron: FCC And Industry Must Prepare For Change

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    The Chevron doctrine was especially significant in the communications sector because of the indeterminacy of federal communications statutes, so the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the doctrine could have big implications for those regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, bringing both opportunities and risks for companies, say Thomas Johnson and Michael Showalter at Wiley.

  • Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice

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    The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

  • Why High Court Social Media Ruling Will Be Hotly Debated

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    In deciding the NetChoice cases that challenged Florida and Texas content moderation laws, what the U.S. Supreme Court justices said about social media platforms — and the First Amendment — will have implications and raise questions for nearly all online operators, say Jacob Canter and Joanna Rosen Forster at Crowell & Moring.

  • In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State

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    On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Expect Limited Changes In USPTO Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling overturning Chevron deference will have limited consequences for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office given the USPTO's unique statutory features, but it is still an important decision for matters of statutory interpretation, especially those involving provisions of the America Invents Act, say Andrei Iancu and Cooper Godfrey at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • How High Court Approached Time Limit On Reg Challenges

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve Board effectively gives new entities their own personal statute of limitations to challenge rules and regulations, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh's concurrence may portend the court's view that those entities do not need to be directly regulated, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

  • How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts

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    As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Roundup

    After Chevron

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    Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard in June, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 37 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Expect Few Changes In ITC Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion overruling the Chevron doctrine will have less impact on the U.S. International Trade Commission than other agencies administering trade statutes, given that the commission exercises its congressionally granted authority in a manner that allows for consistent decision making at both agency and judicial levels, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

  • Series

    Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.

  • Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule

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    Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.

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