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Welcome to the MoFo Tech Blog

MoFo Tech brings together legal insights and in-depth analyses on trends and complex issues shaping the global technology industry, covering fields such as blockchain and distributed ledger, cloud and SaaS technologies, driverless cars, drones, FinTech, computer hardware and software, the IoT, semiconductors, and telecommunications.

February 14, 2019 - Blockchain, Financings, Fintech
Tokenization + the SEC – Part 1
Dario de Martino discusses the real possibilities and opportunities around security tokens, from a business standpoint, the legal perspective, and from a retail investor point of view. Topics include: What are the advantages of tokenizing securities? How do Securities laws work generally in the
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February 11, 2019 - Privacy + Data Security, European Union
Privacy Shield-Certified Organizations: Key Takeaways from the Privacy Shield Annual Review
By: Cynthia J. Rich
The EU regulators’ recent report on the second annual review of the EU-US Privacy Shield provides some valuable compliance reminders for organizations that have certified or intend to certify to the Privacy Shield program. The report, which mainly focuses on the EU regulators’ ongoing
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February 06, 2019 - Blockchain, Fintech
Transforming the U.S. Healthcare Industry with Blockchain Technology
By: Spencer D. Klein, Julie O'Neill, Lee Adam Nisson and Mary Race
Patients accumulate vast quantities of healthcare data over the course of their lives. Those data are generally housed in centralized servers operated by various unrelated industry participants, including government regulators and payors, insurance carriers, hospitals, doctors, pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies. Unfortunately, those repositories rely
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January 24, 2019 - European Union, Telecommunications
Time to Hit Pause: Copyright Infringement on User Generated Platforms – When Is the Platform Provider Liable for Damages?
By: Kristina Ehle and Stephan Kreß
Content uploaded on to the Internet by users (e.g., music, videos, literature, photos, streaming of live events such as gaming and concerts – so-called “user-generated content”) has spawned a series of legal cases in Europe. In 2019, decisions of the European Court of Justice (CJEU)
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January 22, 2019 - Privacy + Data Security
C’est It Ain’t So: French DPA Issues Google Largest GDPR Fine to Date
By: Alex van der Wolk
The Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés (CNIL), France’s data protection authority (DPA), has levied a €50 million fine against Google for allegedly violating the GDPR’s transparency, information, and consent requirements in deploying targeted advertisements. The fine—the largest fine under GDPR to date and
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January 16, 2019 - Privacy + Data Security, Mergers + Acquisitions
Key M&A Trends for 2019
By: Michael G. O'Bryan, Lauren C. Bellerjeau, Anthony J. Carbone, Patrick D. Huard, Mike Krigbaum and Bernie J. Pistillo
Despite increasing political tensions and evolving trade policies, the U.S. M&A market in 2018 enjoyed its second-best total deal value ever, according to Mergermarket. Activity through the first three quarters appeared poised for a new record, before slowing in the final quarter as stock
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January 10, 2019 - Privacy + Data Security
DOJ Indictment Alleges Theft of Hundreds of Gigabytes of Corporate and Government Data in Attacks Targeting Managed Service Providers
In a new stunning example of the scale and sophistication of online cybercrime, just before the holidays, DOJ charged two hackers with stealing hundreds of gigabytes of data—including sensitive intellectual property, confidential business data, and personal information from companies and government agencies around the world—as part
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January 09, 2019 - Privacy + Data Security, European Union
Attention EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Participants: What You Need to Do to Get Ready for the UK Withdrawal from the EU
By: Cynthia J. Rich
All Privacy Shield participants should be prepared — possibly as soon as March 30, 2019 — to update their Privacy Shield commitments in order to receive personal data from the UK in reliance on the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework The timing of this required
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January 08, 2019 - Intellectual Property, Software
A New Year's Gift for Patent Applicants?
By: Jonathan Bockman, Christopher Gloria and Karen G Potter Ph.D.
The USPTO rang in the new year by releasing new Examiner Guidance that could potentially benefit patent applicants who have previously encountered difficulty acquiring patents under the Office’s procedures for determining patent subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Supreme Court decisions regarding
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December 18, 2018 - European Union, Telecommunications
Hot off the press: The European Electronic Communications Code
By: Andreas Grünwald and Christoph Nüßing
Yesterday, after a legislative procedure lasting more than two years, the European Union has finally published its new “European Electronic Communications Code” (EECC). It provides updated rules for providers of traditional mobile and fixed telecoms services, establishes regulations for new online communications services and
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