Oracle Corp. has reached a settlement with patent-holding company Round Rock Research in a Texas patent infringement suit. The company also negotiated a licensing agreement as part of the settlement.

What was billed as a possible Supreme Court showdown over the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act instead turned into a narrower debate Monday over how the redistricting of Texas legislative districts should proceed.

AT&T has agreed to pay TiVo $215 million to settle two patent infringement suits over digital video recording technology after the companies entered into a patent licensing arrangement. A trial over TiVo’s infringement claims was scheduled to begin in the Eastern District of Texas on Jan. 9.

A review of federal judges’ financial disclosure reports for 2010 shows that 18 of 58 active and senior U.S. district judges on federal benches in Texas held energy-related investments last year. Three of those judges held — or still hold — stock in BP, which operated the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig.

A review of federal judges’ financial disclosure reports for 2010 shows that 18 of 58 active and senior U.S. district judges on federal benches in Texas held energy-related investments last year. Three of those judges held — or still hold — stock in BP, which operated the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig.