California anti-SLAPP law

Databricks argues its lawsuit against Acacia Research Group over patent royalties should not be dismissed under California's anti-SLAPP law, claiming the case benefits users of Apache-licensed software. The dispute centers on a patent (U.S. Patent No. 8,190,610) originally filed by Yahoo and later acquired by R2 Solutions, a subsidiary of Acacia. Judge Harold Kahn suggested the claims might fall under protected activity, emphasizing the public interest exception is critical to Databricks' defense.

Hunter Biden's ex-lawyer Kevin Morris was ordered to pay $50,000 to former Trump aide Garrett Ziegler and his nonprofit Marco Polo after harassment claims failed to prove Ziegler impersonated a Democratic strategist during a 2022 phone call. The case, which lasted three years, collapsed due to Morris's inability to link Ziegler to the alleged misconduct, leading Ziegler's attorney to seek Supreme Court review of California's anti-SLAPP law.