Author name: Gary

Other International (Taiwan), Trade Secret, Federal

Taiwan v. Chen Li-ming (TSMC Trade Secret Case) — Taiwan Court Sentences Former Engineer to 10 Years for Leaking 2nm Chip Secrets to Tokyo Electron

Taiwan’s Intellectual Property and Commercial Court convicted four engineers and fined Tokyo Electron NT$150 million in the first-ever corporate conviction under Taiwan’s National Security Act, for theft of TSMC’s 2nm semiconductor process technology classified as a national core critical technology.

Section 230, State Courts

Meta Platforms v. Eighth Judicial District Court — Nevada Supreme Court Denies Meta’s Writ Petitions, Holding Section 230 and the First Amendment Do Not Bar State AG’s Addictive-Design Claims

In a consolidated order resolving three writ petitions, the Nevada Supreme Court applied its earlier TikTok and Snap decisions to reject Meta’s challenge to the State’s deceptive-trade-practices, products liability, negligence, and unjust enrichment claims over Messenger, Facebook, and Instagram — holding that personal jurisdiction was properly exercised and that neither Section 230 nor the First Amendment shields Meta from state-law claims aimed at platform design rather than third-party content.

District Courts, Section 230

Taddeo-Waite v. X Corp. — Section 230 Shields Platform from Subscriber’s Claims Over Algorithmic Amplification and Content Moderation

A federal magistrate judge held that Section 230 immunizes X (formerly Twitter) from a premium subscriber’s claims that the platform amplified harmful content via its recommendation algorithm and suppressed the subscriber’s own posts, rejecting the argument that algorithmic curation falls outside Section 230’s protections.

District Courts, Utility Patent

Headwater Research v. Verizon — Judge Gilstrap Wipes Out $175M Patent Verdict With Implied Waiver

Judge Gilstrap finds that Headwater Research LLC — which knew of Verizon’s patent infringement in 2017 but waited six years to file suit in order to maximize its damages window — engaged in conduct so inconsistent with an intent to enforce its rights that equity bars enforcement entirely, wiping out a $175 million jury verdict. The court holds that implied waiver survives the Supreme Court’s SCA Hygiene decision, which abolished laches, because waiver goes to liability rather than damages.

Copyright, District Courts

Moonbug Entertainment v. BabyBus — Court Denies Appellate Fees but Awards $280K for Extraordinary Copyright Enforcement Efforts

After prevailing in a $25.6 million copyright case over CoComelon character infringement, Moonbug sought $933K in additional fees. The court denied appellate fees — finding BabyBus’s curated appeal was objectively reasonable — but awarded $280K for extraordinary judgment enforcement work necessitated by BabyBus’s use of a shell entity to divert funds.

District Courts, Section 230

Jane Doe v. Discord — N.D. Ohio Holds Section 230 Bars “Defective Design” Claims Over Sexual Predation

Judge Donald Nugent dismissed all claims — negligence, strict liability, concealment, and misrepresentation — against Discord brought on behalf of a minor sexually exploited by an adult user, holding that the plaintiff’s “defective design” theory was a repackaged demand that Discord moderate or block third-party communications, which Section 230 forecloses.

District Courts, Tech Law

NetChoice v. Griffin — W.D. Ark. Enjoins Arkansas Act 900 Social Media Restrictions on First Amendment Grounds

Judge Timothy Brooks granted NetChoice’s preliminary-injunction motion against Arkansas Act 900, the General Assembly’s second attempt to regulate minors’ use of social media after the same court enjoined the predecessor Act 689 in 2025. Act 900’s addictive-practices ban, mandatory notification curfew, default privacy settings, and parental dashboard provisions all fall under First Amendment scrutiny.

Copyright, District Courts

Butzer v. HyperSphere Technologies — Developer-Founder’s Copyright Claims Over Quantum Encryption Software Dismissed for Failure to State a Claim

A Georgia federal court dismissed copyright infringement claims by the inventor of “key shadowing” quantum-resistant encryption technology against HyperSphere Technologies, the company to which he had assigned his patent, ruling he failed to adequately state a claim that his separately registered software code was infringed.

Scroll to Top