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Sonos alleges Google infringed two of its patents related to multi-room wireless audio. Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said the case relates to "some very specific features that are not commonly used," and that Sonos "mischaracterized our partnership and technology." Sonos first sued Google for patent infringement in Los Angeles and at the U.S. International Trade Commission in 2020, accusing the tech giant of copying its technology during their collaboration. Sonos won a limited import ban on some Google devices from the ITC last year, which Google has appealed. Google has countered with its own patent lawsuits in California and at the ITC.

of revealing secret information about a settlement agreement between them, including how much Apple paid, during Arendi's separate infringement trial against Alphabet's Google LLC (GOOGL.O). Apple asked a Delaware federal judge to impose monetary sanctions against Arendi and its law firm Susman Godfrey one day after Google defeated Arendi's $45.5 million lawsuit at the trial, which did not involve Apple. Arendi's attorneys and representatives for Apple and Susman Godfrey did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday. Apple's Wednesday filing said it attended the Google trial because it feared Arendi would misuse its confidential business information during the proceedings. Susman Godfrey previously represented Arendi in other patent lawsuits against companies including Apple, Samsung and LG.

CompaniesCompanies Law Firms Google Inc FollowAlphabet Inc Follow(Reuters) - Alphabet's Google LLC won a jury trial on Tuesday in a long-running patent lawsuit in Delaware federal court over features in Google's smartphones and apps. The jury decided that Luxembourg-based patent owner Arendi SARL's patent was invalid and that Google did not infringe it, according to the verdict made public on Wednesday. Google spokesperson José Castañeda said the company was pleased with the decision and appreciated the jury's "careful attention to the extensive evidence presented in this case." Norwegian inventor Atle Hedloy's Arendi sued Google in 2013 over the patent, which relates to retrieving information like names and addresses from a database and entering it into word processors and spreadsheets. It asked the court for $45.5 million in damages, according to a spokesperson for Google's law firm Paul Hastings.

[1/2] The Thomson Reuters logo is seen on the company building in Times Square, New York, U.S., January 30, 2018. Total revenue rose 4% in the quarter to $1.738 billion, beating expectations, according to estimates from Refinitiv. Thomson Reuters plans to spend $100 million on an annual run rate basis to invest in artificial intelligence, Hasker said. AI features will be incorporated in most major business divisions -- legal, tax and accounting, and in the news business. As of April 30, it owned 47.4 million shares of LSEG, worth $5 billion.

REUTERS/Robert GalbraithCompanies Novartis AG FollowAmgen Inc Follow(Reuters) - Amgen Inc sued Novartis AG's Sandoz in New Jersey federal court Monday, accusing Sandoz's proposed versions of its multibillion-dollar bone-strengthening drugs Prolia and Xgeva of infringing several patents. Amgen asked the court to block Sandoz's biosimilars of the drugs until its patents expire. Thousand Oaks, California-based Amgen sold $3.6 billion worth of Prolia and $2 billion worth of Xgeva last year, according to a company report. The FDA accepted Sandoz's application for biosimilar versions of the Amgen biologic drugs — which are derived from living cells, unlike traditional small-molecule drugs — in February. Amgen said the proposed biosimilars infringe 21 patents covering Prolia and Xgeva.

Foster City, California-based Gilead collaborated with the CDC in the mid-2000s to test if Truvada could prevent HIV as well as treat it. The government received four patents for HIV prevention drug regimens that CDC researchers invented. Its lawsuit claims the patents also cover Gilead's pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drug regimen for lowering HIV infection risk. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Gilead's Truvada for HIV prevention in 2012 and approved its related drug Descovy for the same purpose in 2019. Descovy, which earned Gilead over $1.8 billion last year, is its fourth-best selling drug behind the HIV drugs Biktarvy and Genvoya and COVID-19 treatment Veklury.

CompaniesCompanies Law FirmsLaw Firms Related documents VMware Inc FollowMay 2 (Reuters) - VMware Inc (VMW.N) must pay $84.5 million for infringing two patents belonging to rival software company Densify, a Delaware federal jury said on Monday. The verdict, made public Tuesday, said VMware willfully violated Densify's patent rights with its software for optimizing "virtual machines" used in cloud computing. Densify CEO Gerry Smith said the company was "grateful" for the verdict, which "validated the hard work of our inventors." Canada-based Densify won a verdict worth nearly $237 million against VMware in the same case in 2020. The lawsuit alleged that VMware used Densify's technology as a "blueprint" for its own.

☆ GC Agenda: May 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Practical Law The Journal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +23 min

Clawback Listing StandardsPublic companies should be aware that proposed NYSE and Nasdaq clawback listing standards may be in place earlier than expected. Organizations may use biometric data in a variety of ways, including when:tracking employee time; restricting access to physical and digital assets; monitoring consumer shopping behavior; and integrating biometric data into consumer products and services. Consider whether the organization’s current policies and procedures meet applicable biometric data handling requirements, including notice, consent, retention, storage, and security obligations. Review applicable laws and obligations when contracting with service providers that handle biometric data and continuously monitor their performance. In February 2023, the NYSE and Nasdaq filed proposed new listing standards, which contemplated that they could become effective as early as April 27, 2023.

☆ Future-Proofing the Board of Directors
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +29 min

Governance structures and practices should position the board to provide objective judgment and active oversight supported by board leadership, which is separate from and independent of company management. The board should design governance structures and practices that support it in determining board priorities, agendas, and information needs. The board should create governance structures and practices that ensure that directors are competent, committed, and diverse and that board and committee composition align with the company’s changing needs. Developing and supporting a positive and ethical corporate culture (see Corporate and Board Culture below). Corporate and Board CultureA strong board and corporate culture is imperative for a company’s success.

☆ Monitoring Financial Institution Compliance
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +41 min

Compliance MonitorshipsA compliance monitor (also called an independent examiner or independent compliance consultant) is an impartial party appointed by the government to detect the root causes of the institution’s compliance failures. The purpose of a compliance monitor is not to address a particular compliance failure or punish the institution. Responded to compliance issues, in a timely manner and in a way that demonstrates that the institution takes compliance issues seriously. Compliance Department EmployeesThe monitor must evaluate the adequacy of compliance department employees, including the number of compliance employees, their experience, and their expertise. Assess the Compliance SystemsThe monitor typically engages compliance technology experts, who have specific knowledge of coding and compliance technology software, to test and evaluate the institution’s compliance systems.

☆ Negotiating Financing Provisions in Mergers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +47 min

(For the complete version of this resource, which includes initial considerations and questions counsel should ask when drafting and negotiating financing provisions in merger agreements, see Drafting and Negotiating Financing Provisions in Mergers on Practical Law.) For a private placement under Rule 144A, the financing parties may offer some flexibility regarding the required financing statements. The term refers collectively to provisions that benefit debt financing parties by limiting their liability in an acquisition financing, including provisions that provide for:No recourse to the financing parties. The target company has no recourse against the financing parties and cannot pursue litigation against the financing parties directly. The financing parties are third-party beneficiaries of the Xerox provisions to permit the financing parties to enforce their rights under the merger agreement.

☆ ChatGPT, Generative AI, and LLMs for Litigators
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +23 min

What are the basics litigators should know about how generative AI and LLMs work? Generative AI is a type of AI that generates new content or data in response to a prompt, or question, by a user. LLMs are an advanced form of generative AI that are the basis for generative pre-trained transformer (GPT) platforms, such as ChatGPT. What are the primary ethical pitfalls of using generative AI and LLMs, and how can litigators avoid them? What types of procedural and substantive issues are likely to arise in litigation stemming from the use of generative AI and LLMs?

☆ Employee Monitoring and Surveillance
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +50 min

Ensuring Employee Safety and Systems SecurityEmployers may use electronic workplace monitoring and surveillance to protect their:Worksites. Potential Liability for Electronic Workplace Monitoring and SurveillanceEmployers that engage in electronic workplace monitoring and surveillance must comply with various federal and state laws, including:The Wiretap Act. Best Practices for Electronic Workplace Monitoring and SurveillanceTo avoid violating relevant state and federal laws, before conducting workplace monitoring and surveillance, employers should:Consider the purpose and appropriate scope of their monitoring and surveillance activities and what methods will help them achieve their objectives. Determine the Purpose of Workplace Monitoring and SurveillanceBefore conducting any workplace monitoring or surveillance, best practice is for employers to identify the purpose and goals of these activities to:Ensure that there is a legitimate business purpose for the planned monitoring and surveillance activities. Determine the scope of monitoring and surveillance necessary to accomplish the business purpose, and conduct only the minimum monitoring and surveillance necessary to meet that business need.

☆ Health Plan Coverage of Abortion and Related Services
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Practical Law Employee Benefits | Executive Compensation | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +36 min

The Dobbs ruling, which returned the regulation of abortion to the individual states, has led to legislation that restricts abortion, including medication abortion, in many states. In response to the rapidly changing post-Dobbs legal landscape, this article addresses health plan coverage of abortion, medication abortion coverage and litigation, abortion-related travel benefits, and related Practical Law resources concerning these topics. The insurer in a fully insured health plan, health maintenance organization (HMO), or similar arrangement:Assumes the risk of providing health coverage for insured events by paying medical costs for eligible claims incurred under the plan. Self-Funded Health PlansBy contrast, employers with self-funded arrangements may have more discretion in providing coverage for abortion and related services. Changes to plan coverage of medication abortion will likely require plan administrators to:(For more on coverage of medication abortion, see Newly Launched, ReproductiveRights.gov Website Addresses Access to Medication Abortion (Mifepristone) Using Telehealth on Practical Law.)

☆ Increasing Law Department Diversity
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Michelle Graham | Practical Law | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +17 min

Create a law department DEI committee consisting of diverse law department employees to:evaluate the law department’s DEI status; develop a plan and a budget to increase or maintain law department diversity; and monitor and promote the success of the law department’s DEI initiatives. Incentivize law department employees to refer diverse candidates for job openings by paying them a referral bonus if the law department hires those candidates. Retaining Diverse Law Department EmployeesWhile recruiting and hiring diverse employees for the law department requires continuous effort, retaining them once hired presents another challenge. Discuss initiatives the law department has taken to increase and maintain DEI in the law department, such as creating a DEI hiring committee. (For more on how law departments can improve DEI at their outside law firms, see Increasing Law Firm Diversity and Increasing Law Firm Diversity: Presentation Materials on Practical Law; for general guidance on working with outside counsel, see Working Effectively with Outside Counsel Checklist on Practical Law.)

Chief Judge Colm Connolly's ruling for Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc (ALNY.O) came just over a month after a different judge in Delaware rejected Moderna's similar motion in another vaccine patent lawsuit. Representatives for Moderna and Alnylam did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Moderna made the same argument in a motion to dismiss part of another patent lawsuit brought by Arbutus Biopharma Corp (ABUS.O) and Genevant Sciences GmbH. U.S. District Judge Mitchell Goldberg rejected Moderna's motion in that case last year and said it had not yet proven the government was more than an "incidental beneficiary" of the shots. Goldberg denied the motion for a second time last month after the federal government backed Moderna's position.

CompaniesCompanies Related documents Hermes International SCA FollowSkechers USA Inc FollowApril 26 (Reuters) - French luxury fashion house Hermès International SCA (HRMS.PA) has settled a lawsuit brought by Skechers USA Inc (SKX.N) that claimed Hermès sneakers infringed Skechers' patent rights, according to a Wednesday filing in Manhattan federal court. Representatives for the companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment and additional details. Manhattan Beach, California-based Skechers sued Hermès last year, alleging its Eclair and Envol sneakers infringe two Skechers design patents covering the undulating "Massage Fit" soles in its "Go Walk" walking shoes. Skechers said the soles of Hermès' shoes were "substantially the same" as its soles and requested an unspecified amount of money damages. Skechers has also sued Fila, Reebok, Steve Madden and other shoemakers in the past for infringing "Go Walk" design patents, in cases that later settled.

WASHINGTON, April 24(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge by computer scientist Stephen Thaler to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's refusal to issue patents for inventions his artificial intelligence system created. According to Thaler, his DABUS system, short for Device for the Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Sentience, created unique prototypes for a beverage holder and emergency light beacon entirely on its own. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and a federal judge in Virginia rejected his patent applications for the inventions on the grounds that DABUS is not a person. Thaler has also applied for DABUS patents in other countries including the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia and Saudi Arabia with limited success. The UK's Supreme Court heard Thaler's appeal of his loss there in March.

April 21 (Reuters) - Computer-memory company Netlist Inc (NLST.PK) convinced a federal jury in Texas on Friday to award it more than $303 million for Samsung Electronics Co's (005930.KS) infringement of several patents related to improvements in data processing. Irvine, California-based Netlist sued Samsung in 2021, alleging Samsung memory products used in cloud-computing servers and other data-intensive technology infringe its patents. A Netlist attorney told the jury that Samsung took its patented module technology after the companies had collaborated on another project, according to a court transcript. Samsung had argued that the patents were invalid and that its technology worked in a different way than Netlist's inventions. The case is Netlist Inc v. Samsung Electronics Co, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, No.

Heirs of songwriter Ed Townsend sued Sheeran, his label Warner Music Group and music publisher Sony Music Publishing for allegedly ripping off Gaye's classic, which Townsend co-wrote. Townsend's heirs sued Sheeran for copyright infringement in 2017, claiming "Thinking Out Loud" copied the "heart" of Gaye's song including its melody, harmony and rhythm. The heirs said in a court filing that they received 22% of the writer's share of Gaye's song from Townsend. Sheeran won a trial in London last year in a separate copyright case over his hit "Shape of You." Gaye's heirs won a landmark verdict in 2015 over claims that the Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams song "Blurred Lines" copied Gaye's "Got to Give It Up."

Companies Tesla Inc FollowApril 19 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) has settled a lawsuit against one of its former engineer, Alexander Yatskov, whom it accused of stealing trade secrets related to its AI-training supercomputer Dojo, according to a filing on Wednesday in San Francisco federal court. The joint filing said the terms of the settlement were confidential but Yatskov would make a monetary payment to the company. Yatskov was a thermal engineer working on Dojo, a supercomputer that Tesla said in its lawsuit would "help solve difficult engineering problems, such as vehicle autonomy." Tesla sued Yatskov that month for allegedly keeping confidential information about Dojo on his personal computer. The lawsuit also alleged Yatskov had provided a "dummy" computer for Tesla to investigate to "cover his tracks."

The ruling blocks proposed Otezla generics until 2028. A spokesperson for Sandoz said Wednesday that the company was pleased with the decision allowing for Otezla generics in 2028 instead of 2034. Celgene sued several drugmakers over their proposed Otezla generics starting in 2018, and 17 of the 19 lawsuits have been settled since. U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp said in 2021 that Switzerland-based Sandoz and India-based Zydus' generics would infringe three Amgen patents. The case is Amgen Inc v. Sandoz Inc, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Nos.

SummarySummary Companies Artists' accused companies of misusing works to train AI systemsCompanies said artists failed to identify infringement(Reuters) - Stability AI, Midjourney, and DeviantArt fired back Tuesday at a group of artists who accused them of committing mass copyright infringement by using the artists' work in generative AI systems. The companies asked a San Francisco federal court to dismiss the artists' proposed class action lawsuit, arguing that the AI-created images are not similar to the artists' work and that the lawsuit did not note specific images that were allegedly misused. Representatives for Stability, DeviantArt and the artists did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday. Midjourney's motion said that the lawsuit also does not "identify a single work by any plaintiff" that it "supposedly used as training data." The case is Andersen v. Stability AI Ltd, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No.

spray really isn't butter, U.S. appeals court says9th Circuit ruling affirms dismissal of false advertising class actionApril 18 (Reuters) - Unilever's (ULVR.L) "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!" A split 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected claims that Unilever based its zero-fat, zero-calorie advertising for the spray on artificially low serving sizes. Representatives for Unilever and Upfield, the Unilever spinoff that now sells "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" products, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The court said the FDA properly classified the product as a spray, and that if the plaintiffs "believe that Butter! The case is Pardini v. Unilever United States Inc, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, No.

April 18 (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google LLC (GOOGL.O) on Tuesday convinced a U.S. appeals court to cancel three anti-malware patents at the heart of a Texas jury's $20 million infringement verdict against the company. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said that Alfonso Cioffi and Allen Rozman's patents were invalid because they contained inventions that were not included in an earlier version of the patent. But the Federal Circuit said Tuesday that all of the patents were invalid. The appeals court said the new patents outlined technology specific to web browsers that the first patent did not mention. The case is Cioffi v. Google LLC, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No.

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