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Feb 22 (Reuters) - Images in a graphic novel that were created using the artificial-intelligence system Midjourney should not have been granted copyright protection, the U.S. Copyright Office said in a letter seen by Reuters. The Copyright Office had no comment on the decision. Kashtanova wrote the text of "Zarya of the Dawn," and Midjourney created the book's images based on her prompts. The Copyright Office told Kashtanova in October it would reconsider the book's copyright registration because her application did not disclose Midjourney's role.

U.S. District Judge Paul Diamond's order in Philadelphia federal court granted a request by Unisys to depose Leon Gilbert and Michael McGarvey, former leaders of Unisys' "digital workplace solutions" business unit. Representatives for France-based Atos and lawyers for Gilbert and McGarvey did not immediately respond to messages on Wednesday seeking comment. Unisys in a court filing said that "this case involves the theft of huge quantities of Unisys trade secrets," including technologies and business strategies for digital workplaces. Attorneys for Gilbert and McGarvey disputed the allegation and said "Unisys has not identified a single trade secret." The case is Unisys Corp v. Leon Gilbert and Michael McGarvey, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

WASHINGTON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The foreperson of a Georgia grand jury that investigated former U.S. President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat in the state told media on Tuesday that the panel recommended multiple criminal indictments. The foreperson of the recently concluded Fulton County, Georgia, special grand jury, Emily Kohrs, did not discuss specific charges that the grand jury in interviews with outlets including CNN and the New York Times. The special grand jury did not have the authority to issue indictments. Willis opened the special grand jury investigation shortly after Trump's January 2021 phone call to a state official asking him to "find" more votes to overturn Democratic President Joe Biden's election victory. Trump called Georgia's top election official, Brad Raffensperger on Jan. 2, 2021, and claimed falsely that the election results were fraudulent.

Reuters/Mike SegarFeb 21 (Reuters) - A daughter of Malcolm X, the civil rights activist assassinated 58 years ago to the day on Tuesday, has filed notices that she intends to sue the FBI, the CIA, New York City police and others for his death. Ilyasah Shabazz accused various federal and New York government agencies of fraudulently concealing evidence that they "conspired to and executed their plan to assassinate Malcolm X." "For years, our family has fought for the truth to come to light concerning his murder," Shabazz said at a news conference at the site of her father's assassination, now a memorial to Malcolm X. Malcolm X rose to prominence as the national spokesman of the Nation of Islam, an African-American Muslim group that espoused Black separatism. Soon after, some associates of Malcolm X said they believed various government agencies were aware of the assassination plan and allowed to it happen.

The jury found Garcia Luna guilty on all five counts he faced, which included continuing criminal enterprise and conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Garcia Luna is one of the highest-ranking Mexican officials ever accused of ties to drug trafficking. Garcia Luna, who moved to the United States after leaving office and was arrested in 2019, had pleaded not guilty. Cesar de Castro, a defense lawyer, portrayed Garcia Luna as a hardworking family man and said his accusers had "incredible motives to lie." Guzman was sentenced to life in prison in 2019 following his conviction in Brooklyn on drug trafficking and murder conspiracy charges.

NEW YORK, Feb 21 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge said on Tuesday victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks are not entitled to seize $3.5 billion of assets belonging to Afghanistan's central bank to satisfy court judgments they obtained against the Taliban. U.S. District Judge George Daniels in Manhattan said he was "constitutionally restrained" from finding that the Taliban was Afghanistan's legitimate government, a precursor for attaching assets belonging to Da Afghanistan Bank, or DAB. Daniels said letting victims seize those assets would amount to a ruling that the Taliban are Afghanistan's legitimate government. He said U.S. courts lack power to reach that conclusion, noting that Biden administration does not recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan's government. The case is In re Terrorist Attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

Companies Johnson & Johnson FollowFeb 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday let stand a $302 million judgment against Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) in a lawsuit brought by the state of California accusing the company of concealing the risks of its pelvic mesh products. J&J had argued to the Supreme Court that state consumer protection laws like California's are too vague, exposing companies to unpredictable state lawsuits. The case stemmed from a multistate investigation into J&J subsidiary Ethicon Inc's marketing of pelvic mesh devices, which are surgical implants that were used to treat incontinence and other conditions. J&J, which stopped selling pelvic mesh in 2012, has denied wrongdoing. In 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ordered all pelvic mesh devices off the market.

[1/2] A man is silhouetted near logos of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and Wikipedia in this photo illustration taken in Sarajevo March 11, 2015. REUTERS/Dado RuvicWASHINGTON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear a bid by the operator of the popular Wikipedia internet encyclopedia to resurrect its lawsuit against the National Security Agency challenging mass online surveillance. The NSA, part of the Defense Department, is the agency responsible for U.S. cryptographic and communications intelligence and security. The U.S. government has said the NSA's surveillance targeting is authorized by a 2008 amendment to a federal law called the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Wikimedia compared the interception by the NSA of its communications to the "seizing and searching the patron records of the largest library in the world."

☆ Judge to hear final arguments in trial over Musk's $56 billion Tesla pay
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Tom Hals | Thomson Reuters | Award-Winning Reporter With More Than Two Decades Of Experience In International News | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Tesla vehicles are shown at a Tesla service center in San Diego, California, U.S., January 13, 2023. REUTERS/Mike BlakeCompanies Tesla Inc FollowWILMINGTON, Del, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Lawyers for Elon Musk and a Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) investor will make closing arguments on Tuesday in a trial over his $56 billion pay package and whether it fueled the electric carmaker's growth or improperly subsidized Musk's dream of one day traveling to Mars. The arguments follow a five-day trial in November that featured testimony from the Tesla chief executive about the origins of the 2018 pay package and whether its performance goals were difficult to achieve and accurately described to investors. Musk, who founded rocket company SpaceX, admitted during his testimony that his pay package provided funds he would use to finance interplanetary travel. His lawyers also argued the pay plan benefited shareholders by increasing the value of their stock 10 times.

Circuit Court of Appeals relied on another law, called Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, that protects internet companies from liability for content posted by their users. This case marks the first time the Supreme Court will examine the scope of Section 230. Many websites and social media companies use similar technology to give users relevant content such as job listings, search engine results, songs and movies. Legal experts note that companies could employ other legal defenses if Section 230 protections are eroded. Many conservatives have said voices on the right are censored by social media companies under the guise of content moderation.

The case involves a group of consumers who contend Facebook exploited user data to maintain its market power. Representatives for Quinn Emanuel and Facebook declined to comment, and a spokesperson for Hagens Berman did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Scarlett in recent court filings said Quinn Emanuel was not respecting her view as a leading antitrust attorney based on her gender. Quinn Emanuel denied the claim, saying it has "worked very hard to be cooperative with all counsel on the case, including female counsel." Donato started the appointment process from scratch in January amid quarreling between Seattle-based plaintiffs' firm Hagens Berman and 900-lawyer Quinn Emanuel.

The Supreme Court for the first time in this case is scrutinizing the scope of a much-debated 1996 federal law called Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects internet companies from liability for content posted by their users. "These are not like the nine greatest experts on the internet," liberal Justice Elena Kagan said of the court's members, eliciting laughter in the courtroom. Kagan and conservative colleague Justice Brett Kavanaugh both suggested Congress might be better suited to adjust legal protections for internet companies if warranted. Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts questioned whether Section 230 should apply given that recommendations are provided by YouTube itself. President Joe Biden's administration urged the Supreme Court to revive the lawsuit by Nohemi Gonzalez's family.

[1/2] Tesla vehicles are shown at a Tesla service center in San Diego, California, U.S., January 13, 2023. At Tuesday's closing arguments in a Delaware court, a judge pressed lawyers representing Tesla directors and the investor challenging Musk's pay over whether the company's explosive growth outweighed misleading disclosures about the pay plan in 2018. The pay package contributed to Musk's fortune, the world's second-largest, and has no comparison in the world of executive pay. Tesla investor Richard Tornetta sued Musk and the board in 2018, arguing it unjustly enriched Musk and should be voided. Attorneys for the Tesla directors argued that Tornetta never challenged the main details of the proxy that described the plan, such as the goals Musk had to meet.

Feb 21 (Reuters) - A Texas federal judge on Tuesday refused to set an accelerated trial schedule for a lawsuit by anti-abortion groups seeking to end U.S. sales of the abortion pill mifepristone, in a case that could severely disrupt access to medication abortion nationwide. Mifepristone is approved for medication abortion in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy in combination with another drug, misoprostol. Medication abortion accounts for more than half of U.S. abortions. Medication abortion has drawn increasing attention since the U.S. Supreme Court last year reversed its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which had guaranteed abortion rights nationwide. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, directed federal agencies to expand access to medication abortion in response to the decision, which has allowed more than a dozen Republican-led states to adopt new abortion bans.

Feb 21 (Reuters) - Societe Generale SA (SOGN.PA) agreed to pay $157 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the French bank and several other banks of contributing to imprisoned Ponzi schemer Allen Stanford's estimated $7.2 billion fraud. The payout was disclosed on Tuesday in a filing in Houston federal court, and requires a judge's approval. Societe Generale denied wrongdoing, and settled to avoid the burden, "very substantial expense" and risk of litigation, settlement papers show. The banks have denied wrongdoing, saying they provided routine services to Stanford's bank and did not know about his fraud. Another bank, Mississippi-based Trustmark Corp (TRMK.O), reached a $100 million settlement of similar claims.

The lawsuit argued that YouTube's actions provided "material support" to Islamic State. Critics including Democratic President Joe Biden and his Republican predecessor Donald Trump have said Section 230 needs reform in light of the actions of social media companies in the decades since its enactment. Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, a lawyer representing the Gonzalez family, said social media companies, through automated and human means, can prevent militant groups from using their services. "There should be zero tolerance for terrorism on social media. Terror organizations are using social media as a tool that they never had before - and cannot do without."

Feb 17 (Reuters) - Insurance brokerage firm PCF Insurance said on Friday it had secured a $500 million investment at a valuation of $4.7 billion in a fundraising led by private equity firms Carlyle Global Credit and minority shareholder HGGC. Minority investors Crescent Capital and Owl Rock, a unit of alternative asset manager Blue Owl, also took part in the funding round, PCF said. HGGC, which was previously the owner of PCF, sold the company in 2021 to the insurance firm's management and Owl Rock, in a deal that had valued it at $2.2 billion. The brokerage connects its more than 415,000 clients to insurance agencies in its network, providing advisory services with its risk management programs. Reporting by Niket Nishant and Anirban Chakroborti in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 frees platforms from legal responsibility for content posted online by their users. In a major case to be argued at the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, the nine justices will address the scope of Section 230 for the first time. A ruling against the company could create a "litigation minefield," Google told the justices in a brief. Some have targeted the way platforms monetize content, place advertisements or moderate content by removing or not removing certain material. A California appeals court dismissed the lawsuit, citing Section 230, because it sought to hold Twitter liable for content Murphy created.

Feb 17 (Reuters) - Home security provider Vivint Smart Home Inc (VVNT.N) owes rival CPI Security Systems Inc $189.7 million for tricking its customers into moving to Vivint's service, a North Carolina jury decided Friday. The federal jury in Charlotte found Vivint sales representatives unlawfully deceived CPI customers into signing contracts with Vivint by falsely claiming that Vivint had bought the company. CPI said its customers would then unknowingly sign "high-priced, multi-year" contracts that Vivint made "impossible for customers to cancel." It told the court it competed fairly with CPI and that CPI customers had switched to Vivint for legitimate reasons. The case is CPI Security Systems Inc v. Vivint Smart Home Inc, U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, No.

Feb 15 (Reuters) - The founder of WallStreetBets, which has been credited with helping ignite investors' frenzy into "meme" stocks, sued Reddit Inc on Wednesday, accusing it of wrongly banning him from moderating the community and undermining his trademark rights. According to the complaint filed in federal court in Oakland, California, Rogozinski applied to trademark "WallStreetBets" in March 2020, one month before his ouster, when the community reached 1 million subscribers. "Jamie was removed as a moderator of r/WallStreetBets by Reddit and banned by the community moderators for attempting to enrich himself. Meme stocks typically gain popularity through discussions, often among inexperienced investors, in online forums such as WallStreetBets and Twitter. The case is Rogozinski v Reddit Inc, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No.

NEW YORK, Feb 16 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Thursday is set to weigh tighter restrictions on Sam Bankman-Fried's internet use, after prosecutors said the indicted FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder may be trying to hide some of his online activity. On Tuesday, Kaplan banned Bankman-Fried from using VPNs which can disguise an internet user's physical location. Bankman-Fried's lawyers said his attempts to contact FTX's current chief executive and general counsel were efforts to help, not interfere. They proposed letting him communicate by phone, email, SMS text messaging and Twitter direct messaging, while disabling iMessage from his phone. Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The Justice Department, in a Feb. 7 filing, told the Supreme Court: "The anticipated end of the public health emergency on May 11, and the resulting expiration of the operative Title 42 order, would render this case moot." The Supreme Court in December left in place the Title 42 policy, granting in a 5-4 vote the request by Republican state attorneys general to put on hold U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan's November decision invalidating the emergency public health order. Title 42 was first implemented in March 2020 under Trump, a Republican, when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Biden, a Democrat, kept Title 42 in place after taking office in January 2021 despite fierce criticism from within his own party. Biden's administration sought to lift the policy after U.S. health authorities said last year it was no longer needed to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/IllustrationFeb 16 (Reuters) - GSK Plc (GSK.L) is expected to urge a California judge on Thursday to limit what expert testimony jurors can hear in the first trial over claims that the company's heartburn drug Zantac caused cancer. The trial, scheduled to begin Feb. 27 before Alameda County Superior Court Judge Evelio Grillo, will offer the first test of how Zantac cancer claims may fare in state courts. The plaintiff in the upcoming trial, James Goetz, says he developed bladder cancer from taking Zantac sold by British drugmaker GSK. Lawsuits began piling up soon after the recalls began from people who said they developed cancer after taking Zantac. Cases have been filed linking Zantac to at least 10 types of cancer.

The Biden administration rule would protect wetlands and seasonal streams, not just permanent waterways like the rivers and lakes they feed into. Those smaller waterways were largely eliminated from protections by a Trump administration rule. The Biden administration signaled its intent to replace that rule in June 2021. The Trump-era rule had been vacated by an Arizona federal court in August 2021, which restored previous standards while the Biden administration worked on its changes. For the states: West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, Solicitor General Lindsay See and Senior Deputy Solicitor General Michael WilliamsFor the EPA: Counsel not immediately availableOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

“From the top down, Fox knew ‘the dominion stuff’ was ‘total bs,’” Dominion wrote in its filing for summary judgment in its favor. Dominion must prove that the network either knew the statements it aired were false or recklessly disregarded their accuracy. Dominion said in its brief that Murdoch internally described the election claims as “really crazy” and “damaging,” but declined to wield his editorial power to stop them. In its summary judgment filing, Fox argued that Trump’s claims about the election were “undeniably newsworthy” and that viewers understood they were merely being reported as allegations. Fox also argued that Dominion’s suit advances overbroad interpretations of defamation law, takes quotes from its coverage out of context and ignores its reporting of Dominion’s rebuttals to the false claims.

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