The Valley Current®: Musk on a (Texas) Mission?

The Valley Current®: What the PTO Does, the Courts Undo?

A government-issued patent is supposed to be a shield for innovation. But in today's AI economy, it may be more like a temporary passport into a legal war zone. In this episode of The Valley Current®, host Jack Russo unpacks the growing divide between the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the federal courts. While the PTO is rolling out a more founder-friendly approach to AI and software patents, judges continue striking many of those same patents down as abstract ideas. The result is a fractured two-track system where patents are easier to win but harder to defend. For startups, investors, and tech builders racing to secure an edge in artificial intelligence, the stakes could not be higher. Is America fueling the next wave of innovation or issuing paper assets destined for courtroom collapse? Jack Russo Managing Partner Jrusso@computerlaw.com [Jrusso@computerlaw.com] www.computerlaw.com [https://www.computerlaw.com] https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackrusso [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackrusso] "Every Entrepreneur Imagines a Better World"®️

The Valley Current®: Do Former Presidents Have Privacy Rights?

What happens when deleted memories are no longer truly gone? In this episode of The Valley Current®, host Jack Russo examines a high-stakes 2026 legal showdown involving former President Biden, recovered memoir recordings, and a government effort to release deeply personal audio to the public. This is not just a political story, it's a warning about the collapse of digital privacy itself. As courts grapple with forensic recovery, FOIA battles, and allegations of shifting government justifications, a larger question emerges: if even a former president must race to court to stop private recordings from becoming public, who is protecting the rest of us? From "practical obscurity" to the legal limits of transparency, this episode explores whether privacy rights can survive in an age where delete may no longer mean delete. Jack Russo Managing Partner Jrusso@computerlaw.com [Jrusso@computerlaw.com] www.computerlaw.com [https://www.computerlaw.com] https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackrusso [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackrusso] "Every Entrepreneur Imagines a Better World"®️

The Valley Current®: Is Public Domain Expanding?

The rules of ownership may be changing faster than technology itself. In this episode of The Valley Current®, Jack Russo examines a growing judicial shift that is quietly expanding the public domain across copyright, patent, trademark, and trade-secret law. As AI systems, software platforms, and humanoid robots become increasingly functional, courts are treating more of their core methods and designs as shared building blocks rather than exclusive property. For founders, investors, and creators, the stakes are enormous. If software, AI models, and robotic forms are becoming harder to own, how do companies build defensible moats? From AI training disputes and collapsing software patents to the rise of contracts as the new legal shield, this episode explores a provocative question: as billion-dollar technologies collide with centuries-old legal doctrines, are the courts redrawing the boundaries of ownership itself? Jack Russo Managing Partner Jrusso@computerlaw.com [Jrusso@computerlaw.com] www.computerlaw.com [https://www.computerlaw.com] https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackrusso [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackrusso] "Every Entrepreneur Imagines a Better World"®️

The Valley Current®: Will Google's Antitrust Appeal Succeed?

Google pays more than $26 billion a year to remain the default search engine, and now that strategy sits at the center of one of the biggest antitrust battles in modern history. In this episode of The Valley Current®, Jack Russo unpacks Google's high stakes appeal after a federal judge ruled the company illegally maintained monopoly power in search. But this battle is about far more than search bars. It is a fight over whether billion dollar deals reflect fair competition or a locked marketplace designed to keep rivals out. Judge Amit Mehta rejected calls to break up Google while imposing remedies meant to curb its dominance, as the DOJ pushes for even tougher action, including a possible Chrome divestiture. At the same time, AI challengers are rapidly reshaping how people find information. Is Google defending innovation, or fighting to preserve control of the internet's front door? Jack Russo Managing Partner Jrusso@computerlaw.com [Jrusso@computerlaw.com] www.computerlaw.com [https://www.computerlaw.com] https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackrusso [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackrusso] "Every Entrepreneur Imagines a Better World"®️

The Valley Current®: Are the Federal Courts Increasing the Type & Magnitude of Sanctions Against Attorneys Who Violate Ethical Rules?

What happens when the people arguing the rules become the ones accused of breaking them? In this episode of The Valley Current®, Jack Russo examines a growing crackdown inside America's federal courts, where even elite law firms may no longer be safe. A stunning $3.09 million sanction against Quinn Emanuel highlights a new era of tougher penalties, personal liability, and public judicial rebukes. But the disruption does not stop there. As AI-generated hallucinations and verification failures spread through the legal profession, courts are increasingly punishing attorneys whose filings cross ethical lines. The consequences now reach beyond embarrassment to damaged cases, threatened careers, and potentially uninsurable losses. Are federal courts restoring accountability, or rewriting the rules of legal warfare? Jack Russo Managing Partner Jrusso@computerlaw.com [Jrusso@computerlaw.com] www.computerlaw.com [https://www.computerlaw.com] https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackrusso [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackrusso] "Every Entrepreneur Imagines a Better World"®️