On April 18, 2025, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) ruled in Recentive Analytics Inc. v. Fox Corp. et al. that new uses for established machine learning do not make the claims patent-eligible…
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/ Intellectual Property, Science, Computers, & Technology
It is not uncommon for employers to discover that a departing employee has downloaded information before walking out the door. But the mere fact that an employee downloaded information does not necessarily mean the employee—or…
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/ Intellectual Property, Labor & Employment Law
Social media has been extensively used, and abused, since its inception. For all the beneficial and valid uses of social media, there is a seemingly equal number of improper, illegal, and even criminal uses. Employers have been…
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/ Communications & Media Law, Labor & Employment Law
As we discussed in a previous blog post, the Washington State minimum wage increased to $16.66 per hour on January 1, 2025. This new state wage also impacts the salary levels for the white-collar exemptions from the minimum…
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/ Administrative Law, Labor & Employment Law
A recently passed Washington State House Bill permits agricultural workers to unionize under the supervision of Washington’s Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC). On April 22, 2025, the Governor signed House Bill 1141,…
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/ Agriculture, Labor & Employment Law
As public school districts continue to navigate the relationship between local policies and federal government policy initiatives, they have a new topic to consider arising out of an April 24, 2025, Executive Order—Reinstating…
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/ Administrative Law, Civil Rights, Education Law
On April 9, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO), titled “Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance.” Broadly, the EO aims to increase America’s shipbuilding capability by incentivizing domestic vessel-building,…
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/ International Law & Trade, Maritime Law, Transportation
Following up on our previous article, "To Tariff, or Not to Tariff", the President issued a new Executive Order on April 15 requesting the Secretary of Commerce commence an investigation into the national security risks from US…
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/ International Law & Trade
As a follow-up to our previous article, "To Tariff, or Not to Tariff?", President Trump issued an Executive Order on February 10, 2025, directing the Attorney General to review the current guidelines and enforcement policies…
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/ Administrative Law, International Law & Trade, Securities Law
As many are aware, starting on May 7, 2025, RealIDs will be required for certain activities, including flying domestically and accessing federal buildings that require identification. Although passport books and passport cards…
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/ Administrative Law, Labor & Employment Law
Recent developments at the federal government level have generated increasing questions regarding employer’s requirements to cooperate with law enforcement at the local level. Law enforcement may have a variety of reasons for…
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/ Criminal Law, Labor & Employment Law, Privacy
On April 3, 2025, the United States Department of Education (DOE) announced its intention to require state education agencies (SEAs) and school districts to certify that they are in compliance with Title VI of the 1964 Civil…
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/ Administrative Law, Civil Rights, Education Law
With the Federal Trade Commission’s proposed nationwide ban on noncompetes seemingly dead, states continue to march forward with their own regulation of such agreements. Washington’s current law bans noncompetes for employees…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts, Labor & Employment Law
Summer must be coming, because the courts are starting to heat up with copyright decisions in artificial intelligence (AI) cases. We’ve previously written here, here, and here about Dr. Stephen Thaler’s attempts to register…
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/ Intellectual Property, Science, Computers, & Technology
A recently passed Oregon ballot initiative likely violates federal labor laws—and requires Oregon employers to do the same to comply. In 2024, Oregon voters approved Measure 119, which became effective on December 5, 2024…
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/ Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Labor & Employment Law
