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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 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
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 Justice
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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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February 02, 2017 - Mergers + Acquisitions
Chinese Interest High Despite Uncertainty
How does China view the United States as an investment market under the new Administration? Despite United States withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and rumblings in Washington about tightening regulatory review on inbound investment and M&A from China, interest from China to invest/acquire
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January 14, 2017 - Blockchain, Intellectual Property
A Rush to Patent the Blockchain Is a Sign of the Technology’s Promise
“A potential patent war looms over the blockchain,” according to a January 2017 piece in The Economist. That fight over patent rights to aspects of blockchain technology is a sign of the blockchain’s potential, according to Morrison & Foerster intellectual property partner Colette Reiner
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January 01, 2017 - Regulatory
Cross-Border Information Sharing for Effective Services
By: Miriam H. Wugmeister
Navigating privacy laws is particularly challenging for multinational companies with affiliates in the European Economic Area (EEA) that share personal information with service providers outside the EEA. All EEA member countries impose restrictions on the sharing of personal information outside the EEA because their
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