Now more than ever, technology is influencing the way we do business, communicate, move through and around the world, access and manage our homes, receive and administer healthcare, make purchases, secure information, and protect our most valuable property. Morrison Foerster keeps pace with this rapidly evolving landscape across our internationally recognized corporate, finance, intellectual property, and litigation practices. MoFo Tech brings together our insights relating to fields such as blockchain and distributed ledger, cloud and as-a-service technologies, driverless cars, drones, fintech, computer hardware and software, the Internet of Things, semiconductors, and telecommunications. The MoFo Tech blog offers real-time, in-depth analyses of the trends and complex issues shaping the global technology industry.<h2>ABOUT MORRISON FOERSTER</h2>Morrison Foerster is a leading global law firm that transforms complexity into advantage for its clients. Our clients include some of the largest financial institutions, banks, consulting and accounting firms, and Fortune 100, technology, and life sciences companies. Highlighting the firm’s commitment to client service, leadership in market-changing deals and impact litigation, and values-based culture, Morrison Foerster has been repeatedly recognized as one of the top 10 firms on The American Lawyer’s A-List. Year after year, the firm receives significant recognition from Chambers and The Legal 500 across their various guides, including Global, USA, Asia‑Pacific, Europe, UK, Latin America, and FinTech Legal. Our lawyers passionately care about delivering legal excellence while living our values. Morrison Foerster has a long-standing commitment to creating a culture that respects and celebrates differences, while providing an inclusive environment. The firm has achieved Mansfield Certification Plus since 2018 as a result of successfully reaching at least 30 percent women, communities of color, and LGBTQ+ lawyer representation in a notable number of current leadership roles and committees. The firm also has a long history of commitment to the community and society through providing pro bono legal services, including litigating for civil rights and civil liberties, improving public education and fostering the wellbeing of children, advocating for veterans, promoting international human rights, enforcing the right to asylum, and safeguarding the environment.

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Scott Llewellyn’s practice focuses on complex litigation in federal and state courts around the country, with an emphasis on patent and trade secret disputes. Over the past decade, he has worked on some of the most significant, high–profile IP cases involving technology for televisions, smartphones, and self–driving cars, relying on 40 years of experience with computer hardware and software. Scott also has significant experience with business divorce cases before courts and arbitrators, involving a mix of trade secret, patent, tort, and contract claims relating to technology development and implementation.Scott also has successfully tried general commercial arbitration and agency matters, briefed and argued various appeals in federal appellate court, and tried more than 20 cases for the Denver City Attorney’s office, most of them jury trials.Scott also has an active pro bono practice, having worked on a variety of criminal and immigration appeals, and having represented Colorado criminal defense and mental health organizations in high–profile suits against the state of Colorado for violations of the constitutional rights of defendants.At MoFo, Scott serves on the board of the Morrison & Foerster Foundation. In the broader legal community, he serves on the boards of the Colorado Lawyers Committee and Drop in the Bucket (a charity that builds wells and sanitation systems in sub–Saharan Africa).After law school, Scott clerked for the Honorable Clarence A. Brimmer, District of Wyoming, and the Honorable Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain, Ninth Circuit. He was also previously an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center.

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Scott Llewellyn’s practice involves complex litigation before state and federal courts around the country, with an emphasis on patent and trade secret disputes for high-tech companies, to which he brings more than 35 years of experience with computer hardware and software, in particular relating to the processing and transmission of audio, video, voice, and other types of data. Mr. Llewellyn has also tried commercial arbitration and agency matters; briefed and argued various appeals in federal appellate court; and tried more than 20 cases for the Denver city attorney’s office, most of them jury trials.

Scott F. Llewellyn

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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.

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Provides insights and reports on the most current class actions lawsuits and product liability issues that affect consumer-facing companies.

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In-depth analysis of developments and trends impacting government contracting.

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News and thought leadership from lawyers who are adding value to the legal profession and the communities we call home.

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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.

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At the Intersection of Technology, Law, and Business

At the Intersection of Technology, Law, and Business

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Current State of the AI VC Financing Market

The Bad Guys Have AI, Too

MoFo Tech Law Summit – Tech and Antitrust: Policy Shifts in the Second Trump Administration

MoFo Tech Law Summit – Responsible Tech: Policy Becomes Practice

AI Dynamics: Regulatory Landscape and Industry Insights

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While companies are focusing on compliance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements, Californians will likely be given the option on the November 6, 2018 ballot to impose a sweeping, GDPR-like privacy regime that also deserves attention. If approved by voters in November, the California Consumer Privacy Act would require businesses to disclose the categories of personal information they collect, sell, or share about California consumers, and gives consumers a right to say “no” to the sale of their information.  The Act would also allow consumers to sue for violations (which include data breaches resulting from failure to maintain “reasonable security procedures and practices”) without suffering any loss of money or property, and would impose stiff penalties for noncompliance. Read our <a href="https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/NqnBCYElrZFzOYZ9irKtwt">client alert</a>.

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Purvi G. Patel is the former managing partner of the Los Angeles Office. She represents retail, e-commerce, and other businesses in significant advertising, unfair competition, consumer fraud, and privacy 

Purvi G. Patel

Purvi G. Patel defends retail, e-commerce, and other businesses in significant advertising, unfair competition, consumer fraud, and privacy matters. She has built a robust practice defending household names in complex and class action litigation in federal and state courts across the country, winning motions to dismiss, defeating class certification, and securing summary disposition in several multi-million dollar lawsuits. Purvi is a strategic and practical thinker who is in tune with her clients’ priorities, which leads to successful outcomes both inside and outside the courthouse.

Purvi Patel

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California’s GDPR? The 2018 California Consumer Privacy Act

California Supreme Court Clarifies Standards for Whistleblower Claims Under California Labor Code Section 1102.5

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While companies are focusing on compliance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements, Californians will likely be given the option on

California’s GDPR? The 2018 California Consumer Privacy Act

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), the answer is yes. But the SCA does not apply to all types of businesses or all types of data.Learn when the SCA does apply, as well other specifics like when a company served with a subpoena under the SCA may file a petition to quash that subpoena and how the United States’ Executive Agreement with a foreign government’s might affect a U.S. company subject to that foreign government’s jurisdiction.

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Of Counsel

Bob Litt, former General Counsel for the Director of National Intelligence, is of counsel and co-chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Global Risk and Crisis Management group. He advises industry-leading org

Robert S. Litt

Robert Litt

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CLOUD Act: New Legislation Will Overhaul U.S. Laws for Obtaining Data Stored Overseas

Google Ordered to Comply with Warrant for Foreign-Stored User Data

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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

CLOUD Act: New Legislation Will Overhaul U.S. Laws for Obtaining Data Stored Overseas

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.<img border="none" title="Click to enlarge" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4504" usemap="#Map" width="645" alt="Ransomware Attacks" src="https://media2.mofo.com/v3/images/blt5775cc69c999c255/blt1d79b13a42068fcd/627317bf8e09542a15b7df03/180316-ransomware-infographic.jpg?format=auto&quality=60" type="asset" sys-style-type="download">

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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 p

The Cost of Ransomware Attacks

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 protected?Companies seeking to employ biometrics to expand product offerings or increase data security or authentication might be surprised at the restrictions that apply in the different jurisdictions where they operate. Here we review existing restrictions in the United States, Europe, Canada, and Asia to provide a sense of potential pitfalls presented by use of biometrics in the global marketplace.Any organization that is engaged in or considering the collection or use of biometric information, particularly for identification purposes, should:<ol dir="ltr"><li>Assess whether that information could be considered biometric;</li><li>Consider which laws may be applicable (some may have a broader reach than they appear to have);</li><li>Determine whether any privacy laws of general applicability or specific to biometric information may be applicable; and</li><li dir="ltr">Monitor developments in this area as the laws related to it are expanding.</li></ol>

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Marian Waldmann Agarwal is a partner in the Privacy + Data Security Group at Morrison Foerster. She also co-leads the firm’s Artificial Intelligence Group and is a member of the global Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Steering Committee.

Marian Waldmann Agarwal

Marian A. Waldmann Agarwal

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Biometric Information as Personal Information In A Brave New World of Regulatory Compliance

Biometric Information as Personal Information In A Brave New World of Regulatory Compliance

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As computing power and technology have improved, a new way to identify individuals by their innate physical, or “biometric,” information has entered the market 

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 is not new. According to CNN, quoting a U.S. customs agency spokesman, border agents searched 4,444 cellphones and 320 other electronic devices in 2015. In 2016, searches of electronic devices at the U.S. borders rose to 23,877, according to the same source. In countries such as China and Russia, border agents have been searching phones and laptops for years, and many companies have developed policies to provide guidance to employees traveling to those countries. Companies are now struggling with how to advise and craft policies for employees traveling to and from the U.S. with electronic devices that may contain sensitive data.Bloomberg BNA Data Protection Report (Reprinted with Permission)

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Few lawyers in the world have Miriam Wugmeister’s breadth and understanding of privacy and data security laws, obligations, and practices. 

Miriam H. Wugmeister | Privacy and Data Security Lawyer

Few lawyers in the world have Miriam Wugmeister's breadth and understanding of privacy and data security laws, obligations, and practices. In the words of her clients, she is “extremely practical and phenomenally smart. Just about one of the best privacy advisers there is” (Chambers USA). Co-chair of Morrison & Foerster’s market-leading Global Privacy and Data Security Group and ranked among the top in the profession by all major directories, Ms. Wugmeister is regularly called upon by some of the world’s largest and most complex multinational organizations to confront their most difficult U.S. and international privacy challenges. “Tremendous at helping you come up with practical solutions to real problems” (Chambers USA), she develops cutting-edge solutions for clients that marry legal compliance with business realities.

Miriam Wugmeister

L.W. v. Snap Inc.,  675 F. Supp. 3d 1087 

Wamai v. Industrial Bank of Korea , 2021 WL 3038402 

In re Maxus Energy Corp.

In re Energy Future Holdings Corp.

James Paul McCartney v. Sony/ATV Publishing LLC

NFL Enterprises LLC v. EchoStar Satellite LLC

VOOM HD Holdings LLC v. EchoStar Satellite LLC

Change Healthcare Operations, LLC v WebMD Health Corp. 2017 WL 6610411  

Register.com, Inc. v. Verio, Inc.

Komag, Inc. v. Asahi Glass Co. Ltd.

Asante Techs. Inc. v. PMC–Sierra, Inc.

Biovail Corp. v. S.A.C. Capital Mgmt. 2009 WL 2844404 

Multi–Faceted Investigation of University Grants

Confidential International Arbitrations

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Alex advises on all aspects of complex commercial litigation in federal and state trial and appellate courts and in arbitration. He has represented U.S. and international clients in actions involving 

J. Lawrence

J. Alexander Lawrence

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Can Border Agents Search Your Phone?

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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 

Can Border Agents Search Your Phone?

The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has released guidance for covered financial institutions regarding its cybersecurity rule (the “Cybersecurity Rule” or “Rule”) that took effect on March 1, 2017.While the guidance appears intended to assist covered financial institutions time approaches for the first of the Rule’s phased compliance deadlines less than six months away, it’s unlikely to make the implementation challenges to financial institutions less daunting.The Rule requires that covered financial institutions adopt detailed programs, policies and procedures to protect Information Systems and some sensitive business and consumer information from cybersecurity threats.Covered financial institutions now have less than six months to establish compliance with the first Cybersecurity Rule’s requirements. This means covered financial institutions will need to rapidly: (1) assess the current state of their information security programs and what modifications may be required based on the policies and controls required by the Rule; and (2) consider new processes that might need to be created to meet the Rule’s reporting, recordkeeping, and certification requirements.The Client Alert provides a summary of key obligations and issues under the Cybersecurity Rule.Read the full <a target="_blank" href="https://media2.mofo.com/v3/assets/blt5775cc69c999c255/bltf00f264649a6c20b/627317ae8e09542a15b7deff/170323-ny-cybersecurity-regulations.pdf">Client Alert</a>.

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Recognized as an authority on financial privacy issues, Nathan helps financial institutions and other companies develop practical solutions for complying with privacy and data security laws. In partic

Nathan D. Taylor

Nathan Taylor

New York Cybersecurity Regulations: What Do They Mean, and When Do They Mean It By?

The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has released guidance for covered financial institutions regarding its cybersecurity rule (the “Cybe

New York Cybersecurity Regulations: What Do They Mean, and When Do They Mean It By?