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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.

November 17, 2017 - Privacy + Data Security, Software
The Cost of Ransomware Attacks
A form of economic extortion, ransomware attacks rose by 250% last year, and the United States was harder hit than any other country. Learn just how much this plague on the cybersecurity landscape is costing companies. Take a look at our ransomware infographic.
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September 20, 2017 - Blockchain, Financings, Fintech
Why The Delaware Blockchain Initiative Matters To All Dealmakers
By: Geoffrey R. Peck and Mark S. Wojciechowski
Delaware, the state where more than half of all U.S. publicly traded companies are incorporated, has taken steps to facilitate a favorable legal and regulatory environment for the development of blockchain technology. The state’s initiatives are designed to, among other things, enable companies to
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September 19, 2017 - Artificial Intelligence
USDOT Issues New Policy on Development and Deployment of Automated Vehicle Technologies
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) in September 2016 released a policy that affects stakeholders in the autonomous-vehicle-technology (AV technology) industry. The policy, among other things: Requires entities that are planning to develop AV technology to submit to the USDOT a detailed report enabling
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June 06, 2017 - Intellectual Property
ECJ Strengthens Position of Media Industry in Fight Against Piracy
By: Christoph Wagner and Patricia C. Ernst
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued the Filmspeler judgement on April 26, 2017, favorable to the media industry, on the liability of sellers of set-top boxes with pre-installed add-ons enabling illegal access to motion pictures, Pay-TV, and SvoD platforms (“loaded Kodi boxes”). This
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May 23, 2017 - Artificial Intelligence
A Simple Case of Statutory Interpretation: The FAA Lacks Authority to Require Model Aircraft Operators to Register
On May 19, 2017, a federal appellate court struck down part of the FAA’s attempt to safely monitor and integrate small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) into the national airspace. The D.C. Circuit found that the FAA’s Registration Rule, which was promulgated in December 2015
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May 01, 2017 - Cloud Services + SaaS
Clashing With Second Circuit, Court Orders Google to Turn Over Foreign-Stored Data
Based on an April 2017 opinion by a federal district court in California, storing user communications abroad is not a failsafe way to avoid U.S. law enforcement requests for user data. The Northern District of California issued the opinion in response to Google’s motion
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April 10, 2017 - Artificial Intelligence
FAA Announces First-Ever Drone-Specific Airspace Restrictions
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that, as of April 14, 2017, the restrictions that apply to drone flights near populated areas and airports will also apply to drone flights near 133 military facilities. The first airspace restrictions to apply specifically and solely to
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April 04, 2017 - Privacy + Data Security
Biometric Information as Personal Information In A Brave New World of Regulatory Compliance
By: Marian A. Waldmann Agarwal
As computing power and technology have improved, a new way to identify individuals by their innate physical, or “biometric,” information has entered the market and appears on the cusp of becoming more widely adopted. A core question is: what biometric information needs to be
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April 02, 2017 - Intellectual Property, Financings
The Most Common Intellectual Property Mistakes of Startups
By: Timothy J. Harris
According to Tim Harris, a partner in Morrison & Foerster’s Emerging Companies + Venture Capital Group, many startups open themselves up to intellectual property disputes by failing to: Secure title to the IP upon which their startups are based; Obtain valid invention assignment agreements
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March 24, 2017 - Privacy + Data Security
Can Border Agents Search Your Phone?
By: Miriam H. Wugmeister and J. Alexander Lawrence
There have been numerous reports from individuals entering the U.S. of border agents searching their phones and laptop computers. Many of those individuals are U.S. citizens. Although these events have been in the news recently and appear to be on the rise, this practice
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