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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 27, 2018 - Internet of Things
CPSC Will Sharpen Its Focus on IoT in Upcoming Public Hearing About Internet-Connected Devices
By: Erin M. Bosman and Julie Y. Park
The extent and stringency of the legal requirements that the U.S. government should impose on companies that produce internet-connected products will be the subject of a public hearing that Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is holding on May 16, 2018. Informed by data from
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March 26, 2018 - Privacy + Data Security, Cloud Services + SaaS
CLOUD Act: New Legislation Will Overhaul U.S. Laws for Obtaining Data Stored Overseas
By: Robert S. Litt
May the U.S. government compel a company operating in the United States to produce data that it stores outside the country? A new law called the CLOUD Act makes clear that, in the case of legal process served under the Stored Communications Act (SCA),
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March 19, 2018 - Regulatory, Blockchain, Financings, Fintech
8 Key Items You Need to Consider Before Staging Your ICO
By: Spencer D. Klein
With over $8.8B raised via Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) since 2014, and over 1,200 tokens in circulation with a combined market capitalization of over $300B, it’s not surprising that ICOs are an increasingly popular fundraising tool. In this post, we discuss eight key items
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March 19, 2018 - Regulatory, Financings
European E-Commerce Markets: Competition Initiatives for 2018
By: Andreas Grünwald
As part of the EU’s Digital Single Market initiative, the European Commission has been working to identify potential competition concerns affecting European e-commerce markets. The Commission suspects that companies have created artificial barriers to trade which impede the development of the e-commerce industry in
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March 19, 2018 - Blockchain, Financings, Fintech
Cryptocurrency Compensation: A Primer on Token-Based Awards
By: Alfredo B. D. Silva
These days more and more companies are using virtual tokens to compensate and incentivize founders, directors, employees, and other service providers. For the most part, these token-based awards emulate traditional equity-based awards, but they differ from those awards in some important ways, particularly when
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March 08, 2018 - Regulatory, Telecommunications
EU Regulation Reform - Unjustified Geo-Blocking To Be Phased Out By End Of 2018
By: Alistair Maughan and Kristina Ehle
Geo-blocking is the practice of preventing internet users in one jurisdiction from accessing services elsewhere based on the user’s geographic location. The European Commission wants to eliminate geo-blocking within the EU – and has taken a significant step forward in its plans to do
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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 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 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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