Now more than ever, technology is influencing the way we do business, communicate, move through and around the world, access and manage our homes, receive and administer healthcare, make purchases, secure information, and protect our most valuable property. Morrison Foerster keeps pace with this rapidly evolving landscape across our internationally recognized corporate, finance, intellectual property, and litigation practices. MoFo Tech brings together our insights relating to fields such as blockchain and distributed ledger, cloud and as-a-service technologies, driverless cars, drones, fintech, computer hardware and software, the Internet of Things, semiconductors, and telecommunications. The MoFo Tech blog offers real-time, in-depth analyses of the trends and complex issues shaping the global technology industry.<h2>ABOUT MORRISON FOERSTER</h2>Morrison Foerster is a leading global law firm that transforms complexity into advantage for its clients. Our clients include some of the largest financial institutions, banks, consulting and accounting firms, and Fortune 100, technology, and life sciences companies. Highlighting the firm’s commitment to client service, leadership in market-changing deals and impact litigation, and values-based culture, Morrison Foerster has been repeatedly recognized as one of the top 10 firms on The American Lawyer’s A-List. Year after year, the firm receives significant recognition from Chambers and The Legal 500 across their various guides, including Global, USA, Asia‑Pacific, Europe, UK, Latin America, and FinTech Legal. Our lawyers passionately care about delivering legal excellence while living our values. Morrison Foerster has a long-standing commitment to creating a culture that respects and celebrates differences, while providing an inclusive environment. The firm has achieved Mansfield Certification Plus since 2018 as a result of successfully reaching at least 30 percent women, communities of color, and LGBTQ+ lawyer representation in a notable number of current leadership roles and committees. The firm also has a long history of commitment to the community and society through providing pro bono legal services, including litigating for civil rights and civil liberties, improving public education and fostering the wellbeing of children, advocating for veterans, promoting international human rights, enforcing the right to asylum, and safeguarding the environment.

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Scott Llewellyn’s practice focuses on complex litigation in federal and state courts around the country, with an emphasis on patent and trade secret disputes. Over the past decade, he has worked on some of the most significant, high–profile IP cases involving technology for televisions, smartphones, and self–driving cars, relying on 40 years of experience with computer hardware and software. Scott also has significant experience with business divorce cases before courts and arbitrators, involving a mix of trade secret, patent, tort, and contract claims relating to technology development and implementation.Scott also has successfully tried general commercial arbitration and agency matters, briefed and argued various appeals in federal appellate court, and tried more than 20 cases for the Denver City Attorney’s office, most of them jury trials.Scott also has an active pro bono practice, having worked on a variety of criminal and immigration appeals, and having represented Colorado criminal defense and mental health organizations in high–profile suits against the state of Colorado for violations of the constitutional rights of defendants.At MoFo, Scott serves on the board of the Morrison & Foerster Foundation. In the broader legal community, he serves on the boards of the Colorado Lawyers Committee and Drop in the Bucket (a charity that builds wells and sanitation systems in sub–Saharan Africa).After law school, Scott clerked for the Honorable Clarence A. Brimmer, District of Wyoming, and the Honorable Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain, Ninth Circuit. He was also previously an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center.

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Partner

Scott Llewellyn’s practice involves complex litigation before state and federal courts around the country, with an emphasis on patent and trade secret disputes for high-tech companies, to which he brings more than 35 years of experience with computer hardware and software, in particular relating to the processing and transmission of audio, video, voice, and other types of data. Mr. Llewellyn has also tried commercial arbitration and agency matters; briefed and argued various appeals in federal appellate court; and tried more than 20 cases for the Denver city attorney’s office, most of them jury trials.

Scott F. Llewellyn

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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.

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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.

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Japan’s Approach to AI Regulation in 2025

Federal Circuit Clarifies Requirements for Prior Art Under Pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. § 102(e)

AI Agent as a Service in Medtech - Key Considerations for Commercial Contracts

D.C. Circuit Holds that Works Created Solely by AI are Not Copyrightable

Navigating Inventorship in the Era of AI-Assisted Drug Discovery

The United Kingdom is set to leave the European Union on 29 March 2019 (“Exit Date”).  With Brexit fast approaching, on 25 November 2018 the EU and the UK announced their consensus on a withdrawal agreement that sets out the terms of the UK's exit. But the withdrawal agreement is subject to approval by the UK Parliament ­ which is likely to be controversial.The post-Brexit treatment of intellectual property (IP) is one of the issues addressed in the withdrawal agreement. For months leading up to the announcement of this agreement, the UK government has also been preparing contingency plans for what might happen if an agreement either couldn’t be reached or was agreed but then rejected by Parliament (the so-called “no-deal” scenario).In this article, we summarise what IP owners can expect in relation to the various categories of IP when the UK leaves the EU on 29 March 2019. We also set out recommended actions that can be taken to address IP risk – especially in a potential no-deal scenario.

Autodesk

HM Revenue and Customs

Home Office, Department for Communities and Local Government, Department of Health

Intel

ITworx

lastminute.com

NYSE-listed health tech company

One of UK's largest public EV charging networks

Phoenix Group

Telenor

UK Border Agency

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Senior Counsel

Alistair Maughan co-leads Morrison & Foerster's European Technology & Commercial Practice.

Alistair Maughan

Alistair advises on the deployment of new technology platforms involving, for example, the internet of things, AI and machine-learning, and blockchain and distributed ledger technology.

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Wolfgang advises clients on contentious and non-contentious matters involving their most valuable intellectual property assets in the digital, high-tech, life sciences, and pharmaceutical industries.

Wolfgang Schönig

Wolfgang Schönig is a partner of Morrison Foerster (International) LLP based in our German office in Berlin. His practice specialty is advising on IP aspects relative to transactions in, among others, the life sciences, AgTech and pharmaceuticals industry, as well as legal representation in IP disputes. Wolfgang is specialized in research and development collaborations, complex licensing agreements, technology acquisitions, know-how protection strategies, and employee invention law.

One of UK’s largest public EV charging networks

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Associate

Sana Ashcroft is an associate based in the London office of Morrison & Foerster and is a member of the Technology Transactions Group.
Sana advises on a wide range of domestic and cross-border commerci

Sana Ashcroft

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Counsel

Robert advises companies from the technology and life sciences sectors on a wide range of commercial, intellectual property (IP) and regulatory matters. His clients range from multinational corporations to startups and scaleups.

Robert Grohmann

Robert Grohmann is counsel at Morrison Foerster’s German office in Berlin. As a member of the technology transactions group, he focuses on advising domestic and foreign companies and startups in all areas of technology and IP law, including patent and software licensing, employee inventions law, as well as know-how protection. Moreover, Mr. Grohmann’s expertise encompasses the judicial and extra-judicial representation in matters of trademark law, design law, and competition law.

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IP Protection Post-Brexit: A Right-by-Right Analysis

Supreme Court Restricts the Extraterritorial Reach of U.S. Patent Law for Exported Goods

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The United Kingdom is set to leave the European Union on 29 March 2019 (“Exit Date”).  With Brexit fast approaching, on 25 November 2018 the EU and the UK annou

IP Protection Post-Brexit: A Right-by-Right Analysis

The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM or the “Notice”) on November 19, 2018, concerning the list of “emerging and foundational technologies” that BIS was tasked to identify under the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (ECRA). The concept of “emerging and foundational technologies” is central not only to ECRA, under which such technologies may be subject to new or additional export licensing requirements, but it is also central to recent reforms to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), under which foreign investments in such technologies may be subject to enhanced requirements.Read our <a href="https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/vBuuCmZM8kiyWk58UBOyDS">client alert</a>.

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Senior Advisor, National Security

Joseph Benkert is a senior advisor  in Morrison & Foerster’s National Security practice group. He advises  clients on critical national security matters pertaining to the Committee on  Foreign Investm

Joseph Benkert

Joseph A. Benkert

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Of Counsel

Bob Litt, former General Counsel for the Director of National Intelligence, is of counsel and co-chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Global Risk and Crisis Management group. He advises industry-leading org

Robert S. Litt

Robert Litt

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Charles Capito is a partner in both Morrison Foerster’s National Security and Government Contracts + Public Procurement practices.
In the National Security space, he has significant experience couns

Charles L. Capito

Charles Capito

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Opportunity to Comment on Emerging Technologies Subject to Future Export and Investment Restrictions

Biometric Information as Personal Information In A Brave New World of Regulatory Compliance

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The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM or the “Notice”) on November 19, 2018,

Opportunity to Comment on Emerging Technologies Subject to Future Export and Investment Restrictions

Since the advent of artificial intelligence technology, there have been countless instances of machine learning algorithms yielding discriminatory outcomes. For instance, crime prediction tools frequently assign disproportionately higher risk scores to ethnic minorities. This is not because of an error in the algorithm, but because the historical data used to train the algorithm are “biased” (as the police stopped and searched more ethnic minorities, this group, by extension, also shows more convictions). To solve this, group indicators such as race, gender, and religion are often removed from the training data. The idea is that if the algorithm cannot “see” these elements, the outcome will not be discriminatory.      In her op-ed for IAPP Privacy Perspectives, Morrison & Foerster Senior Of Counsel <a href="https://www.mofo.com/people/lokke-moerel.html">Lokke Moerel</a> explains why this approach is ineffective in combatting algorithmic bias. She argues that only if we know which data subjects belong to vulnerable groups can biases in the historical data be made transparent and algorithms trained properly. The taboo against collecting such sensitive group indicators must be broken if we ever hope to eliminate future discrimination.Read Lokke's <a href="https://iapp.org/news/a/algorithms-can-reduce-discrimination-but-only-with-proper-data/">op-ed</a>.

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Senior Of Counsel

Among the world’s best-known privacy and cybersecurity advisers, Lokke Moerel is regularly called upon by some of the most sophisticated multinational organizations to confront their global privacy and ethical challenges. Lokke routinely offers guidance to clients when implementing new technologies and digital business models and assists them with their global cybersecurity incident response and regulatory investigations.

Lokke Moerel

Lokke Moerel is among the world’s best-known privacy lawyers. She advises companies on their global information handling governance, strategy, and compliance. “An authority on data protection matters” (Chambers 2014), Lokke is consistently ranked as a leader in data protection law in Chambers Global and Legal 500. She is also professor of global ICT law at Tilburg University, member of the Cyber Security Council of the Netherlands, the advisory body of the Dutch cabinet, and member of the Board of Trustees of WWF International.What do you like best about your work? I enjoy thinking about the data privacy issues and ethical dilemma’s presented by the new technologies, and helping companies decide on how to tune them and implement on a global basis, in an emerging regulatory environment.What do you enjoy doing in your free time? Travel with my husband and three children, the modern arts, but most of all, a good book!What individual most inspired you, and why? In my former EU-based firm, there were no female role- models (I was the first female partner with children) and partners step out at age 55. After moving to MoFo, I met women years older than me and fully at the forefront of their field. What an inspiration! I still have a whole career in front of me.

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Algorithms can reduce discrimination, but only with proper data

Don’t Get Caught by the Phisherman’s Hook This Tax Season

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Since the advent of artificial intelligence technology, there have been countless instances of machine learning algorithms yielding discriminatory outcomes. For

Algorithms can reduce discrimination, but only with proper data

In a bid to keep English law up to date with technological advances, the Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Bill 2018 has passed the committee stage at the House of Lords.  The proposed legislation is intended to allow enhanced judicial cooperation to tackle serious crime. However, it adds an additional layer of complexity to the compliance regulations to be followed by each business; it’s also lacking in adequate protections for individual rights, in particular in relation to data protection. In this alert, we will discuss the proposed mechanics of the overseas production order and analyse the implications it may have on companies’ data retention policies and reporting obligations. This alert will be of particular interest to technology and communication companies.Read our <a href="https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/taZDCPN5gGSzKBVVF15sEn">client alert</a>.

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Managing Partner, London

Annabel is a partner at Morrison Foerster and co-Managing Partner of the London office.

Annabel Gillham

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Updating Evidence Laws for the Digital Space: Overseas Production Orders

The Madden Saga Continues: On Remand, Madden Survives Summary Judgment and District Court Certifies Class

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In a bid to keep English law up to date with technological advances, the Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Bill 2018 has passed the committee stage at the Hous

Updating Evidence Laws for the Digital Space: Overseas Production Orders

Until yesterday, the enforcement actions of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the digital token space have primarily focused on the primary issuances of tokens. However, on November 8, 2018, the SEC announced in an order (the “Order”) that it had settled charges against Zachary Coburn, the founder of the digital token exchange EtherDelta, marking the first time that the SEC has brought an enforcement action against an online digital token platform for operating as an unregistered national securities exchange.Read our <a href="https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/alqKC1wBEMsXVD0ghpmCdI">client alert</a>.

Marrone Bio Innovations' Acquisition by Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp

Alfredo B. D. Silva

First SEC Enforcement Action Against Unregistered Digital Token Exchange