Category: Nexis Newswire

Protégé uses AI to immediately turn plain-language questions into strategic business insights grounded in trusted data and transparent reasoning

New York, NY – May 13, 2026 – LexisNexis^® Legal & Professional, a leading global provider of AI-powered analytics and decision tools, today announced the launch of Protégé in LexisNexis PatentSight+, a powerful AI assistant that helps professionals quickly analyze data across tens of millions of harmonized and verified patent records to uncover relevant, and actionable business insights within minutes.

LexisNexis Protégé is purpose-built for patent intelligence. It allows professionals to ask plain language questions, without any complex filters or queries, and receive reliable, decision-ready insights. Integrated with PatentSight+ and based on trusted data, analytics, and industry-established metrics, including LexisNexis^® Patent Asset Index methodology, Protégé provides a structured starting point for deeper analysis. It keeps professionals in the driver’s seat by explaining every step of the analysis, displaying the full queries, contextualizing results, and suggesting next steps, with full transparency into how insights are generated so they can be easily understood and validated.

“Protégé fundamentally changes how organizations work with patent data by replacing complicated filters with simple questions, so business leaders can easily get timely, verifiable, and valuable insights to inform their strategic business decisions,” said Andrew Matuch, president for LexisNexis^® Intellectual Property Solutions. “Protégé helps experienced patent professionals do their jobs better and get more done in less time, while expanding access to patent data to key players in other parts of the organization.”

Protégé was developed in close collaboration with hundreds of the world’s leading innovators through the LexisNexis^® AI Insider program. Feedback from PatentSight+ users with early access to the AI tool helped refine its agentic reasoning, and shape Protégé to reflect the best-practice workflows of highly skilled IP analysts. Users also reported that Protégé reduces manual analysis effort by up to 70 to 90 percent and enables them to deliver up to 3x more output while maintaining trustworthy and transparent results.

“What I find most valuable about Protégé is seeing how it reasons through a problem,” said Christopher Hauke, Head of Strategic IP and Innovation, Schott Pharma AG & Co. KGaA. “It makes the analysis transparent and gives me confidence in the results. By bringing together patent data and business context in one place, it’s much easier to connect what’s happening in the market with what I see in the data. It also gives me a clear starting point, instead of figuring out where to begin, I immediately see the key insights and where to dig deeper.”

Protégé also democratizes access to patent intelligence beyond traditional IP teams, so patent data and analytics can be used by other executives to support high-value business decisions such as competitive positioning, R&D strategy, and M&A, partnership or licensing evaluations.

Protégé presents results through clear, presentation-ready visualizations, including charts and graphics that follow common formats for annual reports, strategy documents, corporate communications, and media coverage, so teams across IP, corporate strategy, competitive intelligence, legal and other functions can communicate insights more effectively to the C-suite or other internal and external stakeholders.

With Protégé in PatentSight+, organizations can:

• • Turn business questions into structured analysis instantly
  • Reduce manual effort and accelerate time to insight from hours or days to minutes
  • Identify competitive threats and strategic opportunities faster
  • Generate clear, executive-ready outputs to support decision-making
  • Expand access to patent intelligence beyond technical experts

The launch of Protégé in PatentSight+ reflects growing demand for faster, more transparent ways to turn complex data into actionable business insights. Protégé is available now, both as an add-on for existing customers and as part of the core offering for new subscriptions, enabling organizations to immediately extend their existing workflows with AI-powered patent analytics.

More about Protégé in PatentSight+: https://www.lexisnexisip.com/protege/

About LexisNexis^® Legal & Professional

LexisNexis^® Legal & Professional provides AI-powered legal, regulatory, business information, analytics, and workflows that help customers increase their productivity, improve decision-making, achieve better outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis^® and Nexis^® services. LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 150 countries with 11,900 employees worldwide, is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers.

About LexisNexis^® Intellectual Property Solutions

LexisNexis^® Intellectual Property Solutions brings clarity to innovation for businesses worldwide. We enable innovators to accomplish more by helping them make informed decisions, be more productive, comply with regulations, and ultimately achieve a competitive advantage for their business. Our broad suite of workflow and analytics solutions, including LexisNexis^® PatentSight+ with LexisNexis Protégé, LexisNexis^®Classification, LexisNexis^® TechDiscovery, LexisNexis^® IPlytics, LexisNexis PatentOptimizer^®, LexisNexis PatentAdvisor^®, and LexisNexis TotalPatent One^®, LexisNexis^® IP DataDirect, enables companies to be more efficient and effective at bringing meaningful innovations to our world.
By combining trusted, enriched data, industry-proven metrics, and AI-powered capabilities such as Protégé, we help organizations turn complex intellectual property data into clear, actionable insights that support confident strategic decision-making. We are proud to directly support and serve these innovators in their endeavors to better humankind. 

Media Contact:

Andrew Weinstein 
Andrew.Weinstein@LexisNexis.com

LexisNexis^®  |  Intellectual Property Solutions

Bringing clarity to innovation

New York, NY – April 23, 2026 – In a challenge brought by Prestige Consumer Healthcare, Inc., BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division reviewed advertising claims made by eosera Inc. for its Ear Wax MD product, finding certain establishment and mechanism-of-action claims were supported, while recommending that other comparative superiority and disparaging claims be discontinued or modified.

Prestige markets Debrox, an FDA-approved OTC earwax removal brand. eosera markets Ear Wax MD, a patented dual-action bicarbonate and glycolic acid formulation positioned as a cosmetic formulation under the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act.

At issue for the National Advertising Division (NAD) were express and implied health-related claims featured on the eosera website and Amazon product pages regarding the speed and efficacy of Ear Wax MD compared to formulas such as Debrox.

Comparative Superiority Claims

NAD reviewed claims such as Ear Wax MD “Beats the Competition!” and that in head-to-head studies, it dissolves ear wax in as little as 15 minutes while the wax treated with the leading competitor had “very little, if any, effect.” eosera’s advertising also featured videos, including “The Wicked Witch of the Wax,” comparing Ear Wax MD with a “competitor brand.”

NAD found that the evidence presented provided a reasonable basis for comparative superiority claims against Debrox under specific laboratory test conditions. However, NAD determined that the evidence did not support unqualified claims that the leading competitor is ineffective or has “very little, if any, effect” in real-world use. Therefore, NAD recommended eosera discontinue or modify these claims to avoid conveying unsupported messages that Debrox has little or no effect in real-world use.

Establishment Claims

Eosera made several establishment claims, including that Ear Wax MD is “laboratory-proven” and “clinically proven to dissolve earwax in one dose, often within 15 minutes.”

NAD found eosera provided a reasonable basis for claims that the product is “laboratory-proven” and “clinically proven” based on a peer-reviewed in vitro study and a human clinical trial. However, NAD found that the broad phrasing of results occurring “in one dose” overstated the study findings as the record does not establish that consumers will typically experience meaningful ear canal clearance within 15 minutes, or that dissolution occurs “in one dose.”

Accordingly, NAD recommended that the advertiser discontinue the claims that Ear Wax MD dissolves earwax “in one dose” or “in 15 minutes,” or modify the claims to avoid the unsupported message that all or most consumers will achieve such results in that timeframe.

Performance Claims

At issue for NAD were monadic performance claims that the product’s “Dual-Action Formula” breaks down and dissolves earwax, including whether the use of the term “dissolve” implies chemical solvation.

NAD determined that in the context of over-the-counter earwax removal, the term “dissolve” can reasonably be understood by consumers to mean the breakdown or disintegration of earwax to facilitate its removal. Accordingly, NAD found that eosera provided a reasonable basis for its mechanism-based performance claims.

Lastly, NAD recommended that eosera discontinue or modify claims that appeared in videos on eosera’s website to clearly disclose that the demonstration reflects laboratory testing conditions.

In its advertiser statement, eosera stated it “agrees to comply with NAD’s recommendations.”  

All BBB National Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case decision library. For the full text of NAD, NARB, and CARU decisions, subscribe to the online archive. This press release shall not be used for advertising or promotional purposes.

About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs, a non-profit organization, is the home of U.S. independent industry self-regulation, currently operating more than 20 globally recognized programs that have been helping enhance consumer trust in business for more than 50 years. These programs provide third-party accountability and dispute resolution services that address existing and emerging industry issues, promote fair competition for businesses, and a better experience for consumers. BBB National Programs continues to evolve its work and grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best practices in arenas such as advertising, child-and-teen-directed marketing, data privacy, dispute resolution, automobile warranty, technology, and emerging areas. To learn more, visit bbbprograms.org.

About the National Advertising Division: The National Advertising Division of BBB National Programs provides independent self-regulation and dispute resolution services, guiding the truthfulness of advertising across the U.S. The National Advertising Division reviews national advertising in all media and its decisions set consistent standards for advertising truth and accuracy, delivering meaningful protection to consumers and promoting fair competition for business.

New York, NY – April 23, 2026 – In a reopened BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division challenge, originally brought by S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. (SCJ), PurposeBuilt Brands voluntarily discontinued its Green Gobbler Dissolver “dissolves grease and “liquifies grease” claims.

PurposeBuilt markets and sells Green Gobbler Dissolver, a pour-in drain-opening product designed to chemically act on bathroom and kitchen drain clogs. At issue for the National Advertising Division (NAD) was whether new testing substantiated the grease claims.

In September 2021, competitor SCJ challenged several Dissolver claims regarding its efficacy, chemical composition, safety, and environmental profile. Although NAD found that PurposeBuilt had substantiated claims that Dissolver dissolves hair and certain paper products, it determined that PurposeBuilt’s testing did not support claims that Dissolver “dissolves” or “liquefies” grease and recommended that those claims be discontinued.

PurposeBuilt petitioned NAD to reopen the underlying matter to consider whether new testing substantiated the grease claims.

However, during the proceeding, PurposeBuilt informed NAD that it had permanently discontinued the challenged claims and therefore, NAD did not review the claims on their merits and will treat them, for compliance purposes, as though NAD recommended they be discontinued.

All BBB National Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case decision library. For the full text of NAD, NARB, and CARU decisions, subscribe to the online archive.

About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs, a non-profit organization, is the home of U.S. independent industry self-regulation, currently operating more than 20 globally recognized programs that have been helping enhance consumer trust in business for more than 50 years. These programs provide third-party accountability and dispute resolution services that address existing and emerging industry issues, promote fair competition for businesses, and a better experience for consumers. BBB National Programs continues to evolve its work and grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best practices in arenas such as advertising, child-and-teen-directed marketing, data privacy, dispute resolution, automobile warranty, technology, and emerging areas. To learn more, visit bbbprograms.org.

About the National Advertising Division: The National Advertising Division of BBB National Programs provides independent self-regulation and dispute resolution services, guiding the truthfulness of advertising across the U.S. The National Advertising Division reviews national advertising in all media and its decisions set consistent standards for advertising truth and accuracy, delivering meaningful protection to consumers and promoting fair competition for business.

McLean, VA – April 22, 2026 – BBB National Programs’ Digital Advertising Accountability Program (DAAP) worked with Service Corporation International (SCI) to update its consumer notice practices to bring its websites into compliance with the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) Self-Regulatory Principles for interest-based advertising (IBA).

As part of its periodic monitoring of companies subject to previous DAAP inquiries, DAAP reviewed SCI, a U.S.-based funeral services company, following up on an earlier investigation that was closed in 2022. Following that initial investigation, SCI updated enhanced notice links on SCI websites associated with its different brands and updated its corporate privacy policy to better guide consumers on how data can be used for IBA and how to opt out, if desired.

The scope of this current review also included SCI’s corporate website and affiliated properties, including Dignity Memorial, Neptune Society, Neptune Memorial Reef, Rose Hills, National Cremation, Trident Society, Making Everlasting Memories (MEM), LHT Consulting Group, and the Cremation Society of Virginia.

During the compliance review, DAAP observed data collection by third-party companies known to engage in IBA. While some of SCI’s websites continued to display the DAA AdChoices Icon, DAAP identified several issues indicating that SCI’s current implementations did not consistently satisfy the Transparency Principle requirements of the OBA Principles, such as lack of an enhanced notice link (i.e., a link taking consumers directly to an explanation of IBA practices and an opt-out mechanism).

SCI worked with DAAP to bring its websites back into compliance with the DAA Principles.  

• The SCI websites’ enhanced notice links were updated to direct users to the “Analytics and Advertising Technologies” section of SCI’s privacy policy. This section includes the elements of DAA enhanced notice together, namely a description of third-party IBA practices, including descriptions of web tracking technologies used on SCI’s digital properties, and a link to, and description of, industry-developed IBA opt-out tools, so that consumers can easily opt-out of IBA if they wish.
• SCI updated its branded websites’ footer displays to clearly separate the AdChoices footer icon and link from separate choices such as “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information,” to help ensure consumers can distinguish the link that will take them to choices about IBA versus to state-required information.

In its statement, SCI stated that it “seeks to align with the DAA Principles” and “appreciates that DAAP recognized SCI’s efforts to comply with IBA disclosures and enhanced notice-linking.”

All BBB National Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case decision library. To access all DAAP decisions, visit the DAAP decisions webpage. 

About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs, a non-profit organization, is the home of U.S. independent industry self-regulation, currently operating more than 20 globally recognized programs that have been helping enhance consumer trust in business for more than 50 years. These programs provide third-party accountability and dispute resolution services that address existing and emerging industry issues, create fair competition for businesses, and a better experience for consumers. BBB National Programs continues to evolve its work and grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best practices in arenas such as advertising, child-and-teen-directed marketing, data privacy, dispute resolution, automobile warranty, technology, and emerging areas. To learn more, visit bbbprograms.org.
 
About the Digital Advertising Accountability Program: The Digital Advertising Accountability Program (DAAP), a division of BBB National Programs, was developed by the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) to enforce industry self-regulation principles for data privacy in online and mobile advertising, holding companies accountable to the DAA’s Privacy Principles. DAAP provides guidance to companies looking to comply with industry principles and responds to complaints filed by consumers about online privacy. 
 

Law Firms with 750+ attorneys captured 52% of 2025 matters, dominating high-stakes M&A and Data Privacy at more than $1,000/hour median partner rates

Raleigh, NC, April 22, 2026 — LexisNexis^® Legal & Professional, a global leader in information, analytics and AI-powered legal workflow solutions, today announced release of the LexisNexis CounselLink^® 2026 Trends Report: State of Outside Counsel Fees. The report indicates that law firm billing rates continued to rise in 2025, while the largest law firms further expanded their share of wallet. The findings highlight ongoing challenges for corporate legal departments seeking to manage outside counsel costs.

Average partner rates increased 5.1% in 2025, tying for the second-highest level recorded since CounselLink launched its annual Trends Report in 2013. The largest law firms maintained a significant pricing advantage, with median partner rates 40% higher than those of the next tier, down from 61% in the prior year, reflecting faster rate growth among mid-sized firms.

Law firms with 750+ lawyers continued to lead share of wallet, capturing more than half of total legal spend and a majority of new matters in 2025. This trend signals continued consolidation, particularly in high-value practice areas that command the highest billing rates.

“Legal departments continue to prioritize cost control, but underlying market forces are making that more difficult to achieve,” said Donna McCoy, Senior Director, Services at LexisNexis CounselLink. “Rate increases remain elevated, and more work is flowing to the largest firms. Together, these dynamics are reshaping how legal services are sourced and priced.”

The CounselLink Trends Report draws on the CounselLink Insight Benchmarking Database of more than $75 billion in legal spend across more than 580,000 timekeepers and nearly 2 million matters. The report analyzes eight key metrics, including law firm partner fees by firm size, hourly rates by practice area, firm size and location, and international rate comparisons. Importantly, the report is based on actual invoices paid in 2025 to outside counsel by corporate legal departments over a 12-month period.

Other key findings in the report include:

• High-value practice areas continue to drive rate growth, with Mergers & Acquisitions partner rates increasing 8.8% and Data Privacy rising 8.4%
• Data Privacy emerges as a premium practice, with median partner rates exceeding $1,000 per hour and more than two-thirds of work handled by the largest firms
• Mid-sized firms significantly increased rates, resulting in firms of 501–750 lawyers having a median partner rate 19% higher than the prior year’s median, narrowing the pricing gap with the largest firms
• Alternative fee arrangements remain limited, representing 8.3% of matters and 6.3% of total spend despite ongoing industry discussion
• Staffing mix is increasingly impacting costs, with matter-level rates rising faster than partner rates in many practice areas, suggesting reduced focus on managing costs through timekeeper mix and resource allocation

“Legal departments have long used staffing strategies to manage costs, but this year’s data suggests those approaches may be becoming less effective,” added McCoy. “Organizations will need a more data-driven approach to benchmarking and managing outside counsel relationships.”

The LexisNexis CounselLink 2026 Trends Report: The State of Outside Counsel Fees, now in its 13th year, is available here.

About LexisNexis^® Legal & Professional

LexisNexis^® Legal & Professional provides AI-powered legal, regulatory, business information, analytics, and workflows that help customers increase their productivity, improve decision-making, achieve better outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis^® and Nexis^® services. LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 150 countries with 11,900 employees worldwide, is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers.   

About CounselLink^®

LexisNexis^® CounselLink^® is a leading enterprise legal management and contract lifecycle management solution designed to help corporate legal departments gain visibility into their work, matters, contracts, vendors, and financials. CounselLink+ includes AI-powered tools across the cloud-based platform to help control costs, maximize productivity, and make better decisions, supported by powerful analytics and data that demonstrate legal department value across the enterprise. For nearly 30 years, LexisNexis has delivered innovative solutions informed by industry expertise, thought leadership, and customer feedback.

New York, NY – April 20, 2026 – Following a challenge brought by Alcon, Inc., BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division determined that Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. (JJVC) had a reasonable basis for the claim “MAX comfort. MAX clarity.” for its ACUVUE® Oasys Max 1-Day contact lenses, however, recommended that JJVC discontinue or modify its superiority and “2X” comparative claims.

JJVC and Alcon are competitors in the soft contact lens market and each offers a range of daily disposable (single-use) and reusable lenses designed for different consumer needs.

Alcon challenged advertising claims made by JJVC in connection with the launch and promotion of its Oasys Max lenses. The challenged claims appeared in advertising for Oasys Max directed to consumers and eye care professionals (ECPs), including on the JJVC consumer-facing website and in professional marketing materials such as trade show materials and an ECP brochure.

Superior Comfort Claims

The National Advertising Division (NAD) reviewed the challenged claims that Oasys Max provides superior comfort and superior all-day comfort versus DAILIES TOTAL1® (DT1). NAD found that JJVC’s study was not a good fit for these claims because the study design did not adequately control for factors that could affect subjective comfort assessments.

NAD recommended that the claims be discontinued or modified to avoid conveying the unsupported message that typical users of Oasys Max lenses will notice meaningful and consistently perceivable comfort benefits over DT1 lenses.

“2x More Likely” Claims

NAD reviewed the challenged claims that, versus DT1 wearers, Oasys Max wearers are “2x more likely” to be satisfied with end-of-day comfort and to wear lenses comfortably as long as desired. JJVC based these claims on the same study that NAD found was not a good fit for the challenged comparative comfort claims.

NAD found that JJVC’s odds-ratio analysis did not establish that the proportion of Oasys Max wearers experiencing the stated comfort benefits was twice the proportion of DT1 wearers. Therefore, NAD recommended that the claims be discontinued or modified to avoid conveying the unsupported message that the 2x claims relating to end of day comfort and length of wear were based on actual clinical results.

“MAX comfort. MAX clarity.”

NAD found that the challenged claim “MAX comfort. MAX clarity,” in the context of the ECP brochure, communicated a comparison to Oasys 1-Day, not to DT1 or the broader daily disposable contact lens market. NAD determined that JJVC had a reasonable basis for that claim when used with a disclosure identifying Oasys 1-Day as the comparator.

During the proceeding, JJVC voluntarily discontinued certain challenged claims, including comparative vision claims. NAD did not review those claims on the merits and will treat them, for compliance purposes, as though NAD recommended their discontinuance and JJVC agreed to comply.

In its advertiser statement, JJVC stated that though it “disagrees with certain NAD conclusions,” it “agrees to comply with NAD’s recommendations.”

All BBB National Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case decision library. For the full text of NAD, NARB, and CARU decisions, subscribe to the online archive. This press release shall not be used for advertising or promotional purposes.

About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs, a non-profit organization, is the home of U.S. independent industry self-regulation, currently operating more than 20 globally recognized programs that have been helping enhance consumer trust in business for more than 50 years. These programs provide third-party accountability and dispute resolution services that address existing and emerging industry issues, promote fair competition for businesses, and a better experience for consumers. BBB National Programs continues to evolve its work and grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best practices in arenas such as advertising, child-and-teen-directed marketing, data privacy, dispute resolution, automobile warranty, technology, and emerging areas. To learn more, visit bbbprograms.org.

About the National Advertising Division: The National Advertising Division of BBB National Programs provides independent self-regulation and dispute resolution services, guiding the truthfulness of advertising across the U.S. The National Advertising Division reviews national advertising in all media and its decisions set consistent standards for advertising truth and accuracy, delivering meaningful protection to consumers and promoting fair competition for business.