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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 11, 2017 - Litigation
House Passes Bill Proposing Sweeping Changes to Class Action Litigation
By: Claudia M. Vetesi
The House of Representatives has passed legislation – called The Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2017 (the “Act” or “H.R. 985”) to fundamentally change all stages of class action litigation. For example, the provisions require stricter “typicality” requirements for class members, the
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March 10, 2017 - Mergers + Acquisitions
New Rules on Merger Control, Market Dominance, Damages Claims, and Cartel Fines
By: Andreas Grünwald, Jens Hackl and Julia Schwalm
On March 9, 2017, the German Federal Parliament passed the ninth amendment to the Act against Restraints of Competition (ARC) ( Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen ). The amendment is expected to come into force in Q2/2017 and will substantially change German competition law. The reform
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March 07, 2017 - Litigation
The Madden Saga Continues: On Remand, Madden Survives Summary Judgment and District Court Certifies Class
Saliha Madden (“Madden”) claims that Midland Funding LLC (“Midland”) illegally charged Madden and other similarly situated New York debtors a usurious rate of interest on certain defaulted credit card obligations that Midland had purchased from a national bank. After a previous summary judgement for
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March 06, 2017 - Regulatory, Fintech
UK Regulations: Urgent Action Required from Loan-Based Crowdfunding Platforms
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a “Dear CEO” letter on February 28, 2017 requiring urgent action from firms operating loan-based crowdfunding platforms that facilitate loans to lending businesses. UK-based crowdfunding platforms and some of their borrowers that fail to act may be
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March 02, 2017 - Regulatory, Hardware
Watch Out: The Federal Trade Commission Continues to Watch the (Alleged) Watchers
By: Julie O'Neill
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges in a recent settlement with smart TV manufacturer Vizio, Inc. that it unfairly and deceptively collected, disclosed, and used TV viewer information for advertising practices in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act. The Decision Reinforces the
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February 23, 2017 - Regulatory
Don’t Get Caught by the Phisherman’s Hook This Tax Season
By: Miriam H. Wugmeister and Robert J. Baehr
During last year’s tax season, the IRS warned of a 400% increase in phishing and malware attacks, which contributed to an estimated $21 billion of taxpayer money lost to fraudulent tax returns. This was up from about $6.5 billion lost in 2014. Studies of
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February 23, 2017 - Litigation, Intellectual Property
Supreme Court Restricts the Extraterritorial Reach of U.S. Patent Law for Exported Goods
On February 22, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court in Life Technologies Corp. v. Promega Corp. held that if a party provides from the United States just one component of a foreign-manufactured, multicomponent, patent-infringing invention, that party cannot be liable under 35 U.S.C. §271(f)(1). Life
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February 17, 2017 - Regulatory, Litigation
Court Allows Microsoft to Challenge Secrecy of User Data Requests
In the ongoing debate over government access to private communications the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington rejected a Government motion to dismiss a suit by Microsoft challenging the constitutionality of certain secrecy provisions of the Stored Communications Act (SCA).
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February 13, 2017 - Regulatory, Litigation, Cloud Services + SaaS
Google Ordered to Comply with Warrant for Foreign-Stored User Data
In an opinion that departs significantly from one issued by the Second Circuit in 2016 in a similar case against Microsoft , the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania held that Google must comply with a subpoena from the Department of
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February 09, 2017 - Intellectual Property, Financings
Why Should Your Startup Care About Intellectual Property?
By: Timothy J. Harris
Intellectual property adds value to a startup by giving it the ability to: Exclude others from providing a particular product or service; Differentiate its product from legacy solutions and competition; Demonstrate its ability to innovate, making it an attractive investment or acquisition; Exploit its
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