Protect Your Software and Don’t Steal Anyone Else’s (and Avoid a $168 Million Trade Secret Lawsuit in the Process)
Brett Trout If you run a business that develops or uses software, this case should get your full attention. In November 2025, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a $168 million judgment against an IT company for misusing another company’s confidential computer code. Here’s what you need to know, and the steps you need […]
The Patent Office Issues New Rules On Patenting AI-Assisted Inventions
Brett Trout Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how inventions are created and how innovators seek protection in the United States. John Squires, Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently issued updated guidance on how AI-assisted inventions are treated for inventorship in patent applications. This change is one of the most important developments for […]
The Professionals Thriving with AI Are Not the Ones You Think
Brett Trout Most people assume that AI is coming to take jobs away from lawyers, doctors, and financial planners. That might happen in some cases, but the bigger story is being overlooked. The real winners will be the professionals who know how to delegate the boring parts of their job to AI, and use the […]
ChatGPT’s New Usage Policy: No More Legal or Medical Advice
Brett Trout ChatGPT just made a big change to its Usage Policy. As of October 29, 2025, OpenAI now prohibits users from using ChatGPT to give kanunî or medical advice. If you are relying on ChatGPT for help with court cases or medical conditions you are probably not reading this post, but if you are, […]
Warner Bros. v. Midjourney: Rethinking AI and Copyright Protections
Brett Trout Introduction Warner Bros. Entertainment has just filed a landmark copyright infringement lawsuit against artificial intelligence (AI) image generator Midjourney, marking it the latest in a series of meşru confrontations between major Hollywood studios and AI platforms. Analysis of the kanunî claims and implications of the case serves as an outline to proactively not only […]
Anthropic Reaches “Landmark” Copyright Settlement with Authors that Leaves the AI/Copyright Issue in Legal Limbo
Anthropic, the AI start-up behind the Claude large language model (LLM), has reached a preliminary settlement in a high-stakes class action lawsuit brought by authors Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber, and Kirk Wallace Johnson. The authors alleged that Anthropic infringed their copyrights by using pirated and unauthorized copies of their books to train Claude. The settlement, which avoids […]