The United States Supreme Court recently ruled that Google’s use of another software company’s code in building its Android platform was permissible under the fair use doctrine. The decision comes after 10 plus years of litigation on the issue. The long-awaited verdict establishes a groundbreaking precedent in the world of coding and intellectual property as a whole. However, certain questions remain unanswered as to how Big Tech may develop competing programs moving forward. Case Background…

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), an independent federal agency and quasi-judicial body handling workplace practices cases, recently reviewed a number of headline Amazon firings. The Board examined the circumstances under which the company dismissed two corporate employees after they voiced workplace safety concerns. The NLRB announced that Amazon’s firings constituted an illegal retaliation in response to the former employees’ public criticisms. It has also made clear that unless Amazon settles with their former employees,…

Participating in a deposition is a common occurrence for expert witnesses. What’s less common is a request for 14 hours of deposing for a single expert. But this is exactly what transpired in a recent case in California’s Northern District. The presiding judge in Epic Games, Inc. v. Apple Inc. granted Apple’s lengthy request to depose one of Epic’s expert witnesses. Given this outcome, attorneys and their expert witnesses will want to think twice before…

Last month, amidst college basketball’s March Madness tournament, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on a lower court ruling regarding college athletes’ earnings. That ruling stipulated that colleges can no longer limit non-cash education-related compensation for student-athletes. This refers to tangible items provided on top of grant-in-aid for educational purposes. The High Court should release its decision in the consolidated case Shawne Alston v. NCAA by the end of June. NCAA Rules Almost a decade…

In the era of COVID-19, nothing has become quite as ubiquitous as cleaning and sanitizing products. As the demand grew for these products, so did the inspection into their efficacy. In one case, a consumer challenged Clorox’s advertising claims concerning the disinfectant ability of one of its products. Although the proposed class action, Gudgel v. Clorox Co., was ultimately dismissed for failure to state a claim, its allegations raise an important point about advertisements…

After providing medical expert testimony in suspected child abuse cases for more than three years, a doctor in Tacoma, Washington has left her hospital post. Dr. Elizabeth Woods’s exit comes after an explosive investigation exposed her lack of credentials in this practice area. As an expert witness, Dr. Woods was tasked with offering medical opinions on whether a child’s injury was the result of abuse. Her testimony in these cases was often the driving factor…

Another Southern California university has settled a massive lawsuit over student sexual abuse allegations against a longtime campus gynecologist. This time, the University of Southern California (USC) announced a record $1.1 billion settlement for mishandling complaints that gynecologist Dr. George Tyndall was sexually abusing students for years. A Trilogy of Settlements The mammoth settlement covers three separate lawsuits filed against the university. The most recent settlement requires USC to pay $852 million to 710 women.…