James Arkin

Washington, D.C.

Editor, Privacy News at Bloomberg Law

Editor of IP/Privacy News @BLaw. Past work: Law360/Politico/RCP. 2X @medillschool alum. 90s music enthusiast. Sitcom aficionado. Avid moviegoer. Proud Ohioan

Articles

Patent Lawyer Facing Sanctions for Sharing Secret Netflix Data

6 days ago | perkinscoie.com | Michael W. Shapiro |Lauren Castle |Kartikay Mehrotra |James Arkin

A federal judge in Oakland signaled he’ll likely force a prolific patent attorney and his firm to pay fees as a sanction for violating a protective order by sharing Netflix Inc.'s source code and financial information with a litigation funder. Judge Jon S.
Judge Tosses ‘Yellowjackets’ Suit, Finding Show Didn’t Copy Film

2 weeks ago | news.bloombergtax.com | Aruni Soni |James Arkin

A federal judge dismissed a copyright suit filed against the makers of the TV show “Yellowjackets,” finding the series isn’t substantially similar to a 2015 film “Eden” despite both works revolving around a soccer team stranded in the wilderness after a plane crash. “Yellowjackets,” which is set in two timelines, didn’t copy the “survival” plotline from Eden Film Production LLC’s movie “Eden,” Judge Dean D.
Superman IP Fight Turns on Newly Questioned Foreign Rights Canon

3 weeks ago | news.bloombergtax.com | Kyle Jahner |James Arkin |Kartikay Mehrotra

A Superman co-creator’s estate’s bid to reclaim foreign copyrights and block the new superhero film’s release comes months after a federal judge upended legal consensus around limitations of US copyright termination. Mark Warren Peary, executor of Superman co-creator Joe Shuster’s estate, sued in January to block DC Comics, Warner Bros., and Discovery Inc. from releasing the movie in the U.K., Canada, Australia, and Ireland.
Sanctioned Texas Attorney Petitions Supreme Court for Relief

3 weeks ago | news.bloombergtax.com | Kartikay Mehrotra |James Arkin

Prolific patent attorney Bill Ramey on Tuesday said he petitioned the US Supreme Court to halt “potentially career ending” sanctions a day before he’s scheduled to appear before a San Francisco federal judge on the matter. Ramey, Susan Kalra, Jeffrey Kubiak and their client Koji IP filed an emergency application to Justice Elena Kagan requesting a stay of sanctions that require them self-report to state bar associations and courts by April 26.
MLB Players Union Urges Judge to Deny DraftKings NIL Appeal Bid

3 weeks ago | news.bloombergtax.com | Kyle Jahner |James Arkin

Major League Baseball’s players union urged a federal judge to reject betting site DraftKings Inc.‘s request to appeal her denial of their bid to dismiss the union’s publicity rights suit. MLB Players Inc. derided DraftKings’ effort as “hoping that if it throws enough against a wall, something will stick” in a Thursday filing in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Tribunal Axing of Xerox Mobile Device Patent Affirmed on Appeal

3 weeks ago | news.bloomberglaw.com | James Arkin

US Law WeekEmailApril 17, 2025, 7:56 PM UTCThe Federal Circuit affirmed a tribunal decision finding invalid a mobile device patent that was among a handful asserted by Xerox Corp. against social media giants X, Facebook, and Snapchat.
AI Licensing Startups Bloom in Wake of Copyright Legal Battles

1 month ago | news.bloomberglaw.com | Aruni Soni |Adam Taylor |James Arkin

A new startup industry says it can feed generative AI’s insatiable need for training data while still offering artists and creators control and compensation for the use of their works. The startup rights collectives are emerging as lawsuits from writers, artists, and news outlets accuse Big Tech players such as OpenAI Inc., Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google of violating their copyrights by training large language models on their works without permission.
OpenAI Copyright Suit Consolidation Portends Consistency, Risk

1 month ago | news.bloombergtax.com | Annelise Levy |Kyle Jahner |James Arkin |Adam Taylor

OpenAI Inc.'s tactical win consolidating a dozen copyright suits against it nevertheless carries risks for the company, as the matters proceed before a judge who’s already ruled against the company in key decisions.
Examples Boosted News Outlets' OpenAI Claims, Judge Says (1)

1 month ago | news.bloomberglaw.com | James Arkin

News outlets accusing OpenAI Inc. of copyright violations provided enough examples of infringing outputs, combined with their allegations of “widely publicized” instances of copyright infringement by AI users, to advance certain claims against the company, a federal judge ruled. The examples of users’ infringement include hundreds of pages provided by New York Times Co. and dozens of examples from Daily News LP.
Beer Battle Lays Bare Ambiguity in 'Stolen' Cuban Trademark Law

1 month ago | news.bloombergtax.com | Kyle Jahner |Adam Taylor |James Arkin

Months after a law governing Cuba-confiscated trademarks was enacted to address a dispute over an iconic rum brand, a fight over a beer trademark exposed uncertainty a federal judge is being pressed to clarify. The No Stolen Trademarks Honored in America Act, enacted in December, bars enforcement of any trademarks of companies taken over by the communist government after the 1959 revolution unless the original owner or a successor approves.