On January 23, 2024, the court in Meta Platforms Inc. v. Bright Data Ltd., Case No. 3:23-cv-00077-EMC (N.D. Cal.), issued a summary judgment ruling with potentially wide-ranging ramifications for the law of scraping and...more
Technology platforms are digital marketplaces where software developers, competing companies, and end users all come to build and buy software tools, store data, or integrate software from different providers to make it...more
10/18/2022
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Application Programming Interface (APIs) ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Digital Marketplace ,
End-Users ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Platforms ,
Social Media ,
Software Developers ,
Technology Sector ,
Webinars
In this Upside episode, we explore fiduciary duty in the venture capital context. Can owners of a venture capital management company act in ways that explicitly disadvantage their business partners? Can they agree to waive...more
Customer relationships are a key asset for companies in the financial advising and wealth management industry. In California, however, the law is making it increasingly difficult to stop departing employees from soliciting...more
5/24/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Customer Information ,
Customer Lists ,
Financial Adviser ,
Former Employee ,
Investment Firms ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Trade Secrets ,
Wealth Management
A recent IPO by InterPrivate IV Infratech Partners, a digital infrastructure-focused special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, raised $250 million. Its impressive fundraising and management team, led by former CyrusOne...more
In the spring of 2021, one of the hottest markets—the market for special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs—has “screeched to a halt,” according to CNN. As the SPAC market grew red hot in the past six months, it seemed...more
5/11/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Due Diligence ,
Financial Sponsors ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investors ,
Leadership ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Rollover Equity ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Target Company
A wide variety of business and consumer platforms host mutually beneficial ecosystems. But these ecosystems are also fraught with antitrust risk that arises when platforms try to terminate or modify the terms of third-party...more
Colleges and universities may be leaving money on the table with under-utilized patent portfolios. The time is right, as the law has shifted in favor of patent owners, both in inter partes review litigation before the Patent...more
6/25/2020
/ Colleges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Downturn ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
IP License ,
Patent Assertion Entities ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Ownership ,
Patent Portfolios ,
Patents ,
Universities
The COVID-19 pandemic and widespread shelter-in-place orders have hit every corner of the country’s economy, including tech companies of all sizes. Many tech companies have traditionally maintained large patent portfolios to...more
6/9/2020
/ Computer-Related Inventions ,
Economic Downturn ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Patent Assertion Entities ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Ownership ,
Patent Portfolios ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Technology Sector
As California begins preparing to ease shelter-in-place restrictions, the state’s technology industry is facing the most challenging economic circumstances in recent memory. The state’s technology companies may place new...more
5/22/2020
/ Attorney-Client Privilege ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Confidential Information ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Federal Rules of Evidence ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Internal Investigations ,
Technology Sector ,
Work-Product Doctrine
On April 14, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom outlined the six “critical indicators” the state will monitor during the next phase of its COVID-19 response as it considers when to modify its statewide shelter-in-place...more
With millions of Americans staying at home during the COVID-19 crisis, news outlets and internet infrastructure companies are all reporting significant increases in internet usage. For example, Cloudflare data from mid-March...more
Commonsense IoT security steps that startups and small business should consider to comply with California’s new law -
California recently enacted a new law, Senate Bill 327, that requires companies that make Internet of...more
6/14/2019
/ Authentication ,
Best Practices ,
Compliance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Entrepreneurs ,
Internet of Things ,
Manufacturer Liability ,
Network Security ,
New Legislation ,
NIST ,
Passwords ,
Popular ,
Risk Management ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Small Business ,
Smart Devices ,
Startups
On November 10, a panel of the Federal Circuit reversed a landmark ITC decision blocking the importation of digital information that infringes a patent. This decision has potential ramifications for a wide-range of companies...more
11/16/2015
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Chevron Deference ,
Copyright ,
Electronic Data Transmissions ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Jurisdiction ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patents ,
Reversal ,
Section 337 ,
U.S. Customs
Parties in patent infringement lawsuits frequently must choose a witness to explain complex or scientific technology behind an invention or an accused product that sits at the heart of a claim or a defense. Often, the parties...more
In a statement likely to be influential with courts, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) on January 9 issued a joint Policy Statement urging limitations on remedies for infringement...more