Four defendants have settled in the last two weeks, including all the chipmakers that took the lead in litigating against Wi-LAN's infringement claims. With less than a week to go before trial in East Texas--and with the remaining defendants running scared--we're guessing more licensing deals are in the offing.

We've been pretty down on the prospects for Alien Tort Statute cases lately, but in a pair of recent rulings, there's a ray of hope for plaintiffs.

After a series of setbacks, the Federal Trade Commission and private challengers to deals that keep generic drugs off the market may have finally gotten a big break.