"They definitely are not going to support the plan," said Boies, Schiller & Flexner's Nicholas Gravante Jr., about the position of his clients, who hold $6 billion of the debt of Washington Mutual Bank. "We are prepared to oppose it in bankruptcy court and any other forum necessary."

The ITC commissioners overruled an administrative law judge who'd determined that Mitsubishi infringed GE patents. Now Mitsubishi is free to battle GE for dominance of the burgeoning market.

Microsoft certainly has no shortage of IP advisers to choose from, but when the software giant shows up on the left side of the v.--as it does in federal court and ITC complaints filed Friday against Motorola--it's a good bet that Sidley's name is on the signature page. Plus: John Desmarais takes on HTC.

U.S. District Judge Sue Robinson in Delaware adopted an experimental new plan this month to winnow her busy docket of patent cases, many of which were brought by so-called patent trolls.