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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.

May 15, 2023 - Artificial Intelligence
Generative AI and Copyright: Roundtable Series Recap
By: Justin H. Haan, Joseph C. Gratz, Anthony M. Ramirez, Aaron P. Rubin, Stephanie Lynn Sharron and Roman A. Swoopes
Throughout April, Morrison Foerster sponsored and participated in a series of roundtable discussions hosted by Creative Commons regarding generative AI and copyright. The roundtables—in Boston, New York, and San Francisco—brought together in-house counsel from companies developing generative AI tools, scholars, business leaders, and nonprofit advisors.
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May 03, 2023 - Artificial Intelligence
New York City AI Law: Trials, Tribulations, And Uncertainties
By: Miriam H. Wugmeister, Michael Schulman and Sadé V. Tidwell
New York City (NYC) is the first U.S. jurisdiction to pass an expansive law regulating the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in hiring. Local Law 144 of 2021 (LL144) prohibits employers and employment agencies from using an automated employment decision tool (AEDT) to make
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April 27, 2023 - Artificial Intelligence
FDA Publishes Draft Guidance for Predetermined Change Control Plan for AI/ML-Enabled Device Software Functions
By: Brigid DeCoursey Bondoc and Brandy A. Guarda
On April 3, 2023, FDA released the draft guidance titled “ Marketing Submission Recommendations for a Predetermined Change Control Plan for Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML)-Enabled Device Software Functions ” (hereinafter “draft guidance”) proposing an approach to support iterative improvement through modifications to a machine
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April 26, 2023 - Artificial Intelligence
10 Considerations When Licensing AI For Drug Discovery
By: Stephanie Lynn Sharron, Annalisa Elizabeth Cooper, Wolfgang Schönig and Robert Grohmann
Stephanie Sharron, Annalisa Cooper, and Wolfgang Schoenig, with assistance from Robert Grohmann, authored an article for Law360 explaining the top ten considerations when licensing AI for drug discovery. The ten considerations are: Consider the nature of the services being provided. Be mindful of IP
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April 25, 2023 - Artificial Intelligence
Key Issues in Generative AI Transactions
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Over the past year, we have seen a dramatic increase in the adoption of AI technologies across industries. Because transactions involving AI technologies can resemble those involving traditional software, like SaaS agreements, parties often assume that their expectations from those standard agreements about what
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April 11, 2023 - Artificial Intelligence
Responsible AI as Part of a Company's ESG Framework

By: Susan H. Mac Cormac, Stephanie Lynn Sharron and Oluwabamise A. Onabanjo
Suz Mac Cormac, Stephanie Sharron, and Oluwabamise Onabanjo authored an article for the Daily Journal explaining how Responsible AI (artificial intelligence) practices in combination with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) frameworks can be applied both to mitigate risk and support a corporation's ESG goals.
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March 28, 2023 - Artificial Intelligence
Generative AI and Copyright: Conference Recap
By: Justin H. Haan, Joseph C. Gratz and Allyson R. Bennett
On March 24, thought leaders in the technology and entertainment industries gathered in Los Angeles and virtually for Creative Commons’ Disruption Conference. The daylong event, which was sponsored by Morrison Foerster, focused on how the rights of content creators are being transformed as generative AI
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March 15, 2023 - Artificial Intelligence
GPT-4 Release: Briefing on Model Improvements and Limitations
By: Tessa J. Schwartz, Justin H. Haan and David Fang
On March 14, 2023, OpenAI—a MoFo client—released GPT-4, which quickly garnered broad media coverage. For those assessing the opportunities and risks related to GPT-4, it is useful to consider the extent of the stated technical and safety improvements and the limitations of the release.
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March 06, 2023 - Artificial Intelligence
Copyright Office Denies Claim to Copyright in Generative AI Images
By: Joseph C. Gratz
The U.S. Copyright Office has denied an attempt to register copyright in images created using the Midjourney generative AI tool. The reasoning of its decision sharply limits the potential paths to receiving copyright in images created using generative AI tools, even where that output is generated
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March 01, 2023 - Fintech
ISDA Digital Asset Derivatives Update
By: David H. Kaufman
On 26 January 2023, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. ( ISDA ) published new standard documentation for the trading of digital asset derivatives (the Digital Asset Definitions ), and a whitepaper titled Navigating Bankruptcy in Digital Asset Markets: Netting and Collateral Enforceability (the
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