Only a relatively small chunk of the direct purchaser market for LCD panels is included in Tuesday's price-fixing settlement, which doesn't exactly bode well for the defendants' remaining civil liabilities.

A judge in San Francisco narrowed the SEC's case against a former Charles Schwab executive related to the marketing of the ill-fated YieldPlus short bond fund. But the ruling clears the way for a big chunk of the SEC's case against Kimon Daifotis, the former chief investment officer for fixed income at Schwab's investment management unit, to proceed to trial next month.

A year ago, when the Alabama Supreme Court wiped out $250 million in verdicts against pharmaceutical companies, defense lawyers predicted that the ruling would chill other states' cases accusing big pharma of deliberately overcharging for drugs by manipulating average wholesale price reports. Looks like they were wrong.

Latham's John Wilson pointed to an obscure 140-year-old statute that could control the issue of transfer of insurance policies that he says the California Supreme Court overlooked when it decided Henkel just nine years ago.

The IPXI has signed on 18 founding members, including Hewlett-Packard and Sony, which have committed to list patents on the exchange. It also features a roster of law firms, including DLA Piper and Sullivan & Cromwell, which are eligible for committee membership and have access to offering information.