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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.

March 07, 2018 - Financings, Fintech
E-Money and Electronic Payments: Foreign Investment in the Philippine Financial Technology Sector
The combination of low levels of financial inclusion, a steadily growing GDP and high smart phone usage has resulted in the Philippines becoming a key market in Asia for venture capital and private equity investors, as well as strategic players looking for investment or
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March 02, 2018 - Regulatory, Artificial Intelligence
Personal Delivery Devices (PDD): New Transportation Frontiers Emerge for Autonomous Vehicle Rulemakers
By: Tessa J. Schwartz
When most people think of autonomous vehicles (AVs), expansive highways filled with driverless sports utility vehicles and 18-wheelers likely spring to mind. But there’s another whole category of driverless vehicles in need of regulation: personal delivery devices (PDDs), small autonomous vehicles that mostly use
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March 01, 2018 - Cloud Services + SaaS
In U.S. v. Microsoft, a Decades-Old Law Leaves Few Good Options
When one of the most closely watched technology cases in years, United States v. Microsoft , was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in February, the justices heard arguments for and against allowing the government to require Microsoft to produce emails that the company
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February 28, 2018 - Regulatory, Artificial Intelligence
California Opens the Road to Fully Driverless Cars; Federal Policymaking Slowly Rolls Forward
By: Tessa J. Schwartz
New regulations from California’s Department of Motor Vehicles are the first in the nation to allow permits for the testing—and the post-testing deployment—of automatic vehicles (AVs) without a human driver present in the vehicle. California’s new regulations aren’t without significant requirements, however. Find out
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February 23, 2018 - Blockchain, Financings, Fintech
Understanding the CFTC’s Proposed Interpretation of “Actual Delivery” for Cryptocurrency Retail Commodity Transactions
Subject to certain exceptions, the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) makes it unlawful to enter into a transaction in any commodity with someone who meets the CEA’s definition of a “retail customer.” Nevertheless, many cryptocurrency platforms currently serve retail customers, relying on the CEA’s “actual
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February 09, 2018 - Intellectual Property
End of Year Wrap-Up: 2017's Hottest Patent Decisions
By: Richard S.J. Hung
This year’s notable U.S. Supreme Court patent decisions include opinions that: make it more difficult to file patent cases outside a domestic defendant's state of incorporation; prevent defendants from asserting laches as a defense within the six-year statute of limitations period; hold that supplying
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February 08, 2018 - Regulatory, Blockchain, Fintech
Do You Want to Launch an ICO? Please, Listen to the SEC
By: Spencer D. Klein
The Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Jay Clayton, urged market professionals who in any way participate in initial coin offerings (ICOs) to “act responsibly.” Having once stated that all the ICOs he’s seen have had “a sufficient number of hallmarks
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February 08, 2018 - Regulatory
Can the EU Deliver? The EU Regulation on Cross-border Parcel Delivery
By: Alistair Maughan and Mercedes Samavi
The European Union (EU) has reached a provisional agreement on a proposed new Regulation on EU cross-border parcel delivery services. The European Commission’s aim is to make pricing and tariffs more transparent and give national regulators increased monitoring rights over the cross-border parcel delivery
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February 02, 2018 - Regulatory, Telecommunications
Catching Up? A New Consumer Protection Cooperation Regime for the EU
By: Alistair Maughan, Stephan Kreß and Kristina Ehle
The European Union (“EU”) has long had a focus on consumer protection of EU residents. A new proposed EU regulation is set to improve the cross-border enforcement regime for consumer protection legislation. The new rules will give more teeth to national authorities in EU
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January 23, 2018 - Blockchain, Financings, Fintech
SEC Staff Raises Concerns Related to Cryptocurrency ETFs and Mutual Funds
By: Kelley A. Howes
On January 18, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Investment Management broke its relative silence regarding the recent growth of cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency-related products. While signaling that registration of funds intending to invest substantially in cryptocurrency and related products is not
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