Washington Stirs As India Undermines Patents

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

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.

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.

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.

The USPTO has released its latest economic impact report on IP-intensive industries, announced a new community engagement office in North Carolina, and issued several administrative updates including relief for Japanese applicants affected by a severe earthquake. The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has also designated new precedential and informative decisions addressing obviousness-type double patenting and Markush groupings.

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

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Ono Pharmaceutical have filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Amgen over its proposed nivolumab biosimilar ABP 206, asserting seven patents related to OPDIVO. The complaint follows earlier inter partes review challenges and patent dance negotiations that narrowed the dispute to specific claims covering the antibody sequence, cancer treatment methods, and dosing regimens.

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.

There have been reports of law firms receiving a wave of fraudulent emails impersonating the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). These emails target trademark applicants with urgent demands...

AI-powered call transcription tools like Otter.ai are facing class action lawsuits under Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) for allegedly collecting voiceprints without proper consent. A federal court recently allowed claims to proceed, signaling potential legal risks for companies that provide or utilize these increasingly common meeting recording services.

The USPTO has released its latest economic impact report on IP-intensive industries, announced a new community engagement office in North Carolina, and issued several administrative updates including relief for Japanese applicants affected by a severe earthquake. The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has also designated new precedential and informative decisions addressing obviousness-type double patenting and Markush groupings.

California's Air Resources Board has released significant modifications to its greenhouse gas emissions reporting regulation, deferring the first reporting deadline to November 10, 2026, and clarifying key requirements for companies doing business in California with over $1 billion in annual revenue. The updates provide additional flexibility for 2026 reporting while enforcement of the Climate-Related Financial Risk Act remains paused pending federal litigation.

The U.S. Department of Justice has announced three major settlements totaling over $558 million against healthcare providers partnering with Medicare Advantage plans for allegedly submitting false diagnosis codes. These enforcement actions reveal DOJ's intensified scrutiny of risk-sharing payment arrangements between Medicare Advantage plans and healthcare providers, while demonstrating the significant benefits that self-disclosure and cooperation can provide to companies facing potential False Claims Act l

The US International Trade Commission has opened a rare public comment period on how it should fulfill its data collection and reporting obligations under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, a long-dormant authority recently invoked by the Trump Administration to impose restrictions on Canadian imports. This presents a unique opportunity for companies and stakeholders to shape from the ground up how the Commission interprets discriminatory foreign trade practices, evaluates allegations, and reports findi

As investment in data center infrastructure accelerates globally, disputes are emerging from contractual and investment-related risks that commonly accompany large-scale infrastructure projects. This analysis examines the growing wave of contractual claims among owners, contractors, and subcontractors, as well as investment treaty claims that may arise when governmental actions impact overseas data center developments.

As discussed in previous client alerts, the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and digital services has dramatically increased demand for data centers.

The sports and gaming industries are evolving faster than existing legal frameworks can accommodate, creating unprecedented jurisdictional battles, regulatory shifts, and commercial opportunities. From the escalating fight over prediction markets between federal regulators and states to the emergence of responsible gaming as a standalone policy priority, the first half of 2026 has reshaped the legal landscape governing these sectors while raising fundamental questions about innovation, consumer protection

The English Court of Appeal has endorsed arbitration as an acceptable means of dispute resolution for resolving global (F)RAND disputes when proposed by standard-essential patent owners. This controversial decision effectively compels SEP licensees to arbitrate against their will, based on the principle that where multiple RAND approaches exist, the SEP owner's choice is determinative, creating an inherent asymmetry in the licensing framework.

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown released the state's first Data Privacy Report, examining how the modern data economy incentivizes personal information collection and retention. The report catalogs resulting harms and recommends that lawmakers strengthen privacy protections, enforcement, and public education while highlighting Washington's continued lack of a comprehensive consumer privacy statute despite inspiring other states' privacy laws.

Artificial intelligence is transforming corporate governance, requiring directors to navigate complex oversight challenges as AI systems become embedded across business operations. This article examines how established UK directors' duties apply in the context of AI adoption, exploring the practical implications for board-level decision-making and risk management. Directors must balance AI's strategic opportunities against emerging risks while maintaining effective human oversight and independent judgment.