Telecommunications

  • July 29, 2024

    Pole Owners Must Pay Half Of Upgrades, Advocacy Org. Says

    School and library advocates are calling for the Federal Communications Commission to follow Canada's lead in mandating that utility pole owners cover half the cost of upgrades for broadband equipment, saying that because both pole owners and broadband equipment attachers benefit from upgrades, they should share in the costs.

  • July 29, 2024

    Charter Pays $15M To End FCC's Network Outage Probe

    Charter has agreed to shell out $15 million and create a novel cybersecurity program meant to resolve issues raised during a Federal Communications Commission probe of major network outages affecting 911 service, the FCC said Monday.

  • July 29, 2024

    DirecTV Calls Bundled Service Exemption For Fee Regs Unfair

    If the Federal Communication Commission decides to exclude bundled services from new rules it plans to put in place banning cable and satellite providers from charging early termination fees, satellite providers will be the only ones actually bound by the rules, DirecTV has told the agency.

  • July 29, 2024

    Tenn. Republican Seeks To Block Net Neutrality In Senate

    Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn is trying to gut the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules, mirroring an ongoing effort by House Republicans.

  • July 29, 2024

    Senate To Vote On Bills To Protect Kids Online

    The Senate is poised to vote on Tuesday on a package of two major bipartisan bills to protect children online that could represent a watershed moment in technology regulation.

  • July 29, 2024

    Ga. Auto Salvage Chain Hit With Suit Over Harassing Texts

    Pull-A-Part LLC on Friday was slapped with a proposed class action in Georgia federal court that accuses the Atlanta-based junkyard and auto salvage chain of sending unsolicited promotional text messages to consumers even after they asked to stop receiving them in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

  • July 29, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Litigation linked to Elon Musk sparked several filings in Delaware's Court of Chancery last week, including a call for sanctions and hand-wringing about a proposed multibillion-dollar attorney fee. Here, Law360 looks at this and other highlights from last week in Delaware's Chancery Court.

  • July 29, 2024

    5th Circ. Takedown Prompts Call To Reform Universal Service

    A major telecom trade association is telling Congress to get started reforming the Universal Service Fund quickly, saying that the Fifth Circuit's recent holding that the program's current setup is unconstitutional should bring an urgency to restructuring efforts.

  • July 26, 2024

    DOJ Whistleblower Pilot On Deck As Cos. Boost Compliance

    Corporations are making their compliance programs more proactive amid an ongoing push from the Biden administration for firms to come forward with information as the U.S. Department of Justice prepares to roll out a pilot program to reward whistleblowers who alert prosecutors to significant corporate misconduct.

  • July 26, 2024

    Off The Bench: NBA Signs Mega Deals, Jerry Jones Settles

    In this week's Off The Bench, the NBA signed $77 billion worth of telecast and streaming deals while longtime league broadcaster TNT challenged the decision, Jerry Jones' suit against his alleged daughter settled while jurors were at lunch, and Pennsylvania's high court agreed to hear an appeal relating to Pittsburgh's jock tax, a fee applied to nonresident professional athletes.

  • July 26, 2024

    ESPN, Fox, Hulu Oppose Bid To Block Sports Streaming JV

    Streaming service Fubo has told a New York federal court that ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery are teaming up with others to knock down its "sports-first streaming business," but what Fubo calls anticompetitive behavior, the trio of companies on the other side of a lawsuit call fair competition.

  • July 26, 2024

    More Airwaves Needed To Support Drones, FCC Told

    Several utility companies have come together to tell the Federal Communications Commission that they need more room in the 5 gigahertz and 4.9 GHz bands for drone operations, which they say make their employees' jobs safer and easier.

  • July 26, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Upholds PTAB Estoppel Rule, But Limits Its Reach

    The Federal Circuit on Friday upheld a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rule that can lead to Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions rendering patent claims invalid in later office proceedings, but found in a case involving Apple and Motorola that the rule doesn't apply to issued claims.

  • July 26, 2024

    Calif. Community Org Opposes FCC Bulk Billing Clampdown

    A technology-focused community group in California has joined a chorus of advocates calling for the Federal Communications Commission to hit the brakes on a proposal to tighten rules for bulk billing in multitenant environments.

  • July 26, 2024

    FCC Kicks Off Rapid Response Team To Zap Pole Disputes

    The Federal Communications Commission has launched a rapid response team to clear up disputes between utility pole owners and internet service providers over the cost of upgrading or replacing poles to allow for new broadband equipment.

  • July 26, 2024

    'Worthless' Insurance Scam Gets Telemarketing CEO 25 Years

    An Illinois federal judge has sentenced the owner of a telemarketing company to 25 years in federal prison for scheming with another former executive to sell consumers health insurance plans with low coverage caps.

  • July 26, 2024

    Data Co. Told To Turn Over Contracts In Kochava Case

    A D.C. federal judge plans to order TargetSmart to turn over supplier contracts to the Federal Trade Commission in the agency's case against TargetSmart client Kochava on Friday, after TargetSmart's attorney said she was "99% sure that there was no due diligence done by Kochava" regarding the data's provenance.

  • July 26, 2024

    Taxation With Representation: Wachtell, Polsinelli, Kirkland

    In this week's Taxation With Representation, T-Mobile partners with KKR to acquire Metronet, Exclusive Networks gets a takeover offer, KKR buys Instructure Holdings Inc., and Bally's Corp. merges with The Queen Casino & Entertainment Inc.

  • July 26, 2024

    HP Calls Dolby, Philips, Mitsubishi Patent Fees A 'Money Grab'

    Computer maker HP Inc. has claimed Dolby Laboratories, Mitsubishi and Philips are attempting a "money grab" by attempting to overcharge on licensing fees for ultra-high-definition streaming patents, according to a complaint filed in Massachusetts state court.

  • July 26, 2024

    Telecom Worker Data Breach Deal Gets Final Approval

    A North Carolina federal judge gave his final sign-off on a class action settlement between telecommunications provider CommScope and its current and former employees who said it failed to protect their personal information and then took months to tell them about a data breach.

  • July 26, 2024

    Illinois Cases To Watch In 2024: Midyear Report

    Illinois attorneys say they are considering the path forward for Springfield corruption prosecutions following a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, as well as paying attention to what comes next in Motorola Solutions' trade secret contempt fight and potential new guidelines for music copyright cases. Here are the cases to watch in Illinois for the rest of 2024.

  • July 25, 2024

    Meta, Snap Can't Ignore Murder Case Subpoenas, Court Says

    Social media companies' ability to access and use their customers' information means they fall outside the scope of the Stored Communications Act, a California appellate court has ruled, rejecting Meta Platforms Inc. and Snap Inc.'s argument that the SCA's disclosure limitations mean they can't comply with subpoenas in a murder case.

  • July 25, 2024

    Google Wants To Keep 'Monopolistic Status Quo,' Epic Says

    Epic Games assailed Google on Wednesday for overcomplicating and overpricing changes to the Play Store required by the gaming giant's antitrust jury win, arguing that what Google says are needed security and maintenance protocols are just the latest effort to relitigate the case and "weaken the remedy."

  • July 25, 2024

    Feds Unseal Indictment Against Fla. IT Worker in Spying Case

    The U.S. Department of Justice has unsealed an indictment charging a Chinese-born American citizen with conspiring to act as an agent of the People's Republic of China, saying the PRC used the Florida information technology worker as a "cooperative contact" to support its intelligence goals.

  • July 25, 2024

    FCC Keeps Chin Up, But Chevron Woes Won't Soon Fade

    After the U.S. Supreme Court term stampeded over long-established elements of administrative law this summer, the future of several major Federal Communications Commission initiatives was cast into doubt, but the agency says it's still optimistic it can navigate the new challenges.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea

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    A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.

  • 4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best

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    As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.

  • Decoding The FTC's Latest Location Data Crackdown

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    Following the Federal Trade Commission's groundbreaking settlements in its recent enforcement actions against X-Mode Social and InMarket Media for deceptive and unfair practices with regards to consumer location data, companies should implement policies with three crucial elements for regulatory compliance and maintaining consumer trust, says Hannah Ji-Otto at Baker Donelson.

  • Series

    Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • Fears About The End Of Chevron Deference Are Overblown

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    While some are concerned about repercussions if the U.S. Supreme Court brings an end to Chevron deference in the Loper and Relentless cases this term, agencies and attorneys would survive just fine under the doctrines that have already begun to replace it, say Daniel Wolff and Henry Leung at Crowell & Moring.

  • Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs

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    Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.

  • Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent

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    Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.

  • Antitrust Ruling Shows Limits Of US Law's Global Reach

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    Antitrust plaintiffs often cite the legislative history of the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act to support application of U.S. antitrust law to alleged injuries abroad, but as a California federal court recognized recently in Figaro v. Apple, the cited history does no such thing, say Daniel Swanson and Eli Lazarus at Gibson Dunn.

  • The Fed. Circ. In February: A Reminder On Procedure Rule 28

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    Because the Federal Circuit does not often issue a sua sponte precedential order emphasizing an important rule of practice, it is useful to look at how the court applied the restrictions of appellate procedure Rule 28 in Promptu v. Comcast last month, and in cases that preceded it, say Jeremiah Helm and Sean Murray at Knobbe Martens.

  • Series

    Spray Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experiences as an abstract spray paint artist have made me a better litigator, demonstrating — in more ways than one — how fluidity and flexibility are necessary parts of a successful legal practice, says Erick Sandlin at Bracewell.

  • Examining The Arbitration Clause Landscape Amid Risks

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    Amid a new wave of mass arbitrations, recent developments in the courts and from the American Arbitration Association suggest that companies should improve arbitration clause drafting to protect themselves against big-ticket settlements and avoid major potential liability, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • How Activision Ruling Favors M&A Formalities Over Practice

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    The Delaware Chancery Court’s recent nod to a proposed class action, alleging shareholder notice violations in Activision Blizzard’s sale to Microsoft, puts practitioners on notice that customary merger and acquisition market practices do not offer protection from potential liability, say John Stigi and Eugene Choi at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Takeaways From The 2023 DOJ Fraud Section Report

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    Attorneys at Wiley discuss notable trends from the U.S. Department of Justice's recently reported Fraud Section activity last year and highlight areas of enforcement to watch for in the future, including healthcare fraud and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations.

  • How Policymakers Can Preserve The Promise Of Global Trade

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    Global trade faces increasing challenges but could experience a resurgence if long-held approaches adjust and the U.S. accounts for factors that undermine free trade's continuing viability, such as regional trading blocs and the increasing speed of technological advancement, says David Jividen at White & Case.

  • Meta Data Scraping Case Has Lessons For Platforms, AI Cos.

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    The California federal court ruling that artificial intelligence company Bright Data's scraping of public data from Meta social media sites does not constitute a breach of contract signals that platforms should review their terms of service and AI companies could face broad implications for their training of algorithms, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

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