FinCEN issued an alert indicating that certain organizations and individuals have been circumventing various laws related to sports betting, including by permitting “third-party betting” and reminding the industry about the importance of applying a risk-based approach with respect to this issue and the need to implement reasonably designed AML programs…
In denying a motion for summary judgment of invalidity under Section 101, the court stated: “An inability to articulate an abstract idea to which claims are directed may be a clue that those claims satisfy Section 101.” The patent claims at issue related to management of online poker. Defendant challenged…
Too many companies/lawyers treat website Terms of Service (TOS) as boilerplate agreements that no one reads. Many companies simply put a link at the bottom of the homepage. This approach continues to prove ineffective, as courts are more frequently refusing to enforce TOS absent properly drafted terms and a requirement…
In comments on October 14, 2014, Ben Lawsky commented on changes to the proposed bitlicense regulations. The main points he made were these: Regarding who will be required to obtain a bitlicense, he said the focus will be financial intermediaries, not software developers or individual users. To the extent that…
On August 1, 2014, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released draft guidance that would exempt from premarket 510(k) review many low-risk medical devices–including certain mobile applications that can convert a cell phone into a medical device, such as a thermometer or a stethoscope. Although the guidance is not yet…
On Friday, Michael Dell, CEO of Austin-based Dell Inc., announced on twitter that Dell.com is now accepting Bitcoin as a direct payment option for consumers and small businesses in the U.S. Other major companies, such as Overstock and Expedia, began accepting Bitcoin earlier this year and have reported favorable results,…
Bitcoin mining firm GHash is reportedly consistently attaining over 51% of all of the hashing power of all Bitcoin miners. As a decentralized currency, Bitcoin depends on an open ledger called the “block chain” to track every transaction using the Bitcoin protocol. The integrity of the block chain is generally…
As reported in our earlier post, the U.S. Government has begun its first ever auction of Bitcoins. The Bitcoins to be auctioned were seized in connection with the shutdown of the Silk Road – the “dark net” site that served as a marketplace for illegal goods. The U.S. Marshals Service…
The California Attorney General recently published recommendations for developing meaningful privacy policies that comply with the California Online Privacy Protection Act of 2003 (CalOPPA), including recommendations for complying with “Do Not Track” disclosure requirements. According to the Attorney General, a meaningful privacy policy is one that addresses significant data collection…
More and more federal and state agencies are weighing in on virtual currency. Here’s what they are saying: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN): FinCEN Statement on Providing Banking Services to Money Services Businesses (Nov. 10, 2014) Request for Administrative Ruling on the Application of FinCEN’s Regulations to a Virtual Currency Payment…