A federal judge continues to whittle away at summary judgment motions by ruling in favor of digital camera manufacturers accused of infringing two patents owned by Papst Licensing Gmbh & Co., which is being represented by Husch Blackwell.

It's a blue Monday for two firms. Paul Hastings gets no relief from the Federal Circuit, which upheld Rule 11 sanctions against the firm and its client in a California patent infringement case. And Hogan & Hartson is blasted by a client that claims the firm used confidential information to aid one of its rivals.

The case of the allegedly looted $20 million Pissarro painting presents a fascinating question: Does Spain have sovereign immunity from a suit to recover the painting because it wasn't the nation responsible for the work's theft? Seventy years ago, the Nazi government virtually stole the painting from a Jewish family, but Spain argued that because it acquired the painting long after its expropriation, it was entitled to immunity. The Ninth Circuit ruled otherwise.