Many of the copyright cases involving generative AI eventually reach a deceptively simple factual question: Was the plaintiff's copyrighted work used to train this model? Answering that question can require reconstructing a technical process that occurred months or years earlier. An AI developer may acquire enormous collections of data and then subject them to filtering, deduplication, formatting, tokenization, mixing, and other preprocessing before training begins. Different

Being served with a patent infringement complaint can make a business problem feel urgent very quickly. There is a deadline to respond. Relevant documents may need to be preserved. The plaintiff may be seeking damages, an injunction, or both. Insurance, supplier contracts, venue, the assigned judge, and the company's own financial reporting obligations may all affect what happens next. A complaint is an allegation, and the strength of the plaintiff's case may not be apparent

Anthropic, the developer of the Claude artificial intelligence models, has received final approval of a $1.5 billion copyright settlement arising from its acquisition of hundreds of thousands of copyrighted books. The size of the settlement in Bartz v. Anthropic PBC makes the case remarkable. But for businesses developing or using artificial intelligence, the more important issue is why Anthropic faced that liability even after winning a significant ruling that its use of cop

The Ninth Circuit provided a useful reminder to would-be Plaintiffs in trade secret cases: You've got the burden to prove your secrets are not readily ascertainable through proper means. What Manufacturers Should Learn from Comet Technologies v. XP Power Play the long game. In Comet, the record included a recorded recruiting call. Thousands of confidential technical files. Complete competing-product designs delivered in nine days. The trial resulted in a $40 million jury ver

When litigation is filed outside a lawyer’s home jurisdiction, local counsel is often brought in because the rules require it. Someone admitted in the forum may need to sponsor admission, appear on the pleadings, receive court notices, and help ensure compliance with local procedures. That practical role matters. But local counsel can also provide useful perspective beyond the formal requirements of admission and filing. That practical role has become more important in a liti

In recent years, inter partes review, or IPR, has been the best-known Patent Office procedure for challenging issued patent claims. Now, recent developments at the USPTO have made ex parte reexamination worth a closer look. Why the renewed interest? The Patent Office has recently changed how it handles discretionary denial issues in IPR and post-grant review proceedings. In 2025, the USPTO announced an interim process that separates discretionary-denial issues from the merits

Few things are more unsettling than receiving a complaint alleging trade secret misappropriation. Whether you’re a company or an...

You know how to handle the substance of your complex federal litigation matters. But your client has been sued or wants to sue another in federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan or the Western District of Michigan. The local rules require local counsel, and do not permit pro hac vice admission. Expectations Anyone can act as a maildrop. When you are selecting local counsel for your extended team, you may seek attorneys who can provide more value. Such value can come

Your brands distinguish your company from the competition. They are a symbol of your quality and reputation in the marketplace. That’s why they are important. Your most valuable brands can be protected by state, federal, and foreign trademarks. When someone knocks off your marks with inferior products, they harm your reputation and dilute your brand. They cause confusion as to the source of goods and services. That’s when it’s time to enforce. Trademark Enforcement Strategy