House Vote Live Tweet Update

The Board dismissed this petition for cancellation of Roman Atwood's registration for the mark SMILE MORE for various goods (stickers, backpacks, shirts) and for retail store service featuring clothing, denying petitioner's claim that the term fails to function as a mark.

Universal Music Group's lawsuit against DistroKid raises a critical question about AI disclosure in consumer markets: when does the use of artificial intelligence become material information that must be disclosed to consumers? The case centers on allegations that DistroKid distributed mass-generated AI music while creating the impression it was created by legitimate human artists, potentially violating existing consumer protection laws even without specific AI disclosure requirements.

On Oct. 7, 2026, at 18:00 UTC, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will publish every new generic top-level domain (gTLD) application proceeding in the 2026 new gTLD Round, including who applied...

The U.S. Copyright Office recently released a report on the human authorship requirement for materials to qualify for copyright protection.

A business decides to file a trademark. Someone on the team searches for a familiar online legal-services brand, clicks the first result, and lands on a site with a similar-sounding name, a polished design, five-star reviews, and a low flat fee. The application gets filed. Months later the business learns the “service” was not who they thought it was, the filing was signed by someone with no authority to sign it, and the USPTO has suspended the application along with hundreds or thousands of others from the same shop.

The U.S. government has filed a Statement of Interest of the United States of America under 28 U.S.C. § 517 in the Southern District of New York multidistrict litigation over OpenAI’s use of copyrighted works to train large language models. The filing appears to be the federal government’s first direct intervention in the wave of artificial intelligence (AI) training copyright cases, and it advises the court to treat model training (separate from use of AI to generate outputs) on copyrighted text standing alone as a highly transformative fair use under current law.

Is this AI-generated, or is it real? As generative AI tools have become increasingly capable of creating realistic images, videos, and audio, they have also made it easier to impersonate real people without their consent. In response, states are increasingly adopting laws that impose civil and criminal liability for certain AI-generated content that replicates an individual’s identity, likeness, voice, or other personal attributes.

There was a significant ruling in the Doe v. Github case involving training of AI code generator models on open source. The United States Court of Appeals for The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court ruling dismissing part of an action brought under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) by programmers against GitHub, Inc., and other defendants. The issues centered on whether defendants removed copyright management information (CMI) from content used to train the AI code generator models.

The Federal Circuit reaffirmed that the 1907 Supreme Court decision in Kessler v. Eldred is binding precedent that controls a preclusion analysis unless and until the Supreme Court overrules it.

In recent video game news, gaming giant Nintendo filed and settled a lawsuit against the developers of the popular Nintendo Switch emulator, Yuzu.

Following the October 27, 2017, indictment of Paul Manafort, legal experts and savvy political actors alike expressed surprise to see charges brought under the Foreign Agents Registration Act...

California Governor Newsom has signed Senate Bill 574 into law, establishing the nation's first statutory framework governing how attorneys and arbitrators use generative AI in their professional practice. The legislation creates specific obligations around confidentiality protection, accuracy verification, and disclosure requirements that take effect January 1, 2027.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is permanently disposing of E-Verify records last updated before December 31, 2016, giving employers until January 8, 2027, to download critical compliance documentation. Companies must act now to preserve historical case data needed for audits, government investigations, and Form I-9 system transitions while ensuring their E-Verify account information remains current and accurate.

The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that Salvadoran Temporary Protected Status beneficiaries remain protected despite the September 9, 2026 expiration date, though no formal announcement has been made regarding the program's future. This development raises critical questions about employer obligations and the potential scenarios that may unfold, including termination with a 60-day notice period or an extension of the designation.

The Department of Homeland Security has proposed imposing fees of $70,000 for initial OPT recommendations and $30,000 for second-year extensions on educational institutions, potentially reshaping how international students, universities, and employers participate in the Optional Practical Training program. While framed as a fraud prevention measure, the proposal raises critical questions about workforce access, cost allocation...

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, the DEA decided to pause its consideration of adult-use marijuana rescheduling.

A federal District Judge in Washington, D.C. has issued a ruling affecting hundreds of thousands of Haitian Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders and the employers who rely on them.

HUD's May 2026 memorandum signals a major shift in how emotional support animals will be treated under the Fair Housing Act, potentially aligning housing requirements more closely with Title III of the ADA.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia has established a new Fraud and Asset Recovery Division specifically targeting False Claims Act matters and federal fund recovery efforts. This organizational shift signals heightened scrutiny of government contractors' compliance practices, particularly regarding certifications, billing accuracy, and representations made to federal agencies.

ICE has updated its Form I-9 inspection guidance for the second time in 2026, introducing a new notice for expired work authorization and clarifying penalty calculations. The update provides critical insight into audit procedures, electronic system requirements, and the stricter enforcement framework that reclassified common Form I-9 errors from technical to substantive violations.