Dodd-Frank's whistleblower incentive provisions have generated plenty of excitement and teeth-gnashing--even if we're all still waiting for the first award. In the meantime, a trickle of court opinions is offering a preview of years of likely litigation over the extent of whistleblower protection under the law.

In a dispute that provides a case study in patent litigation after the enactment of the America Invents Act, lawyers for a patent holder suing major tech firms are fighting to get cases that were sent to the defendants' home jurisdictions transferred back to the Eastern District of Texas—but this time designated as multidistrict litigation.

Two tech-savvy federal judges are sending different messages on the standard for permanent injunctions in patent cases. While Judge Lucy Koh denied Apple's request for a ban on Samsung sales in Decemer, on Thursday Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal entered a permanent injunction sought by Brocade against rival A10 Networks.

Four law firms that submitted a "grossly inflated" $2.7 million fee request after winning $12,500 for their client should go away empty-handed, a judge has ruled. U.S. District Court Joanna Seybert condemned the fee application submitted by real estate investor Robert Toussie's attorneys, including $2.65 million for Chadbourne & Parke, as "outrageously excessive" and done in "bad faith."