The Singapore tax authority has issued guidance which confirms the viability of certain Bitcoin transactions. Like the central bank in China, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) took the position that Bitcoin is not a type of money or currency. This is still an unsettled question in other jurisdictions.…
The taxation of virtual currencies has garnered increasing attention, in part due to the princely fortunes some are making from the rapid increase in the price of Bitcoins. Yet, the U.S. IRS has issued little guidance in this area. This is likely to change soon. In May 2013, the GAO…
Based on some recent articles, a number of people have asked whether Bitcoin might be declared illegal under an archaic law known as the “Stamp Payments Act.” According to a recent Congressional Research Service report, the answer is …. likely not. The Stamp Payments Act of 1862 states: Whoever makes,…
All types of businesses are leveraging new and emerging business models around virtual currencies and virtual goods. Check out our video where we discuss the various legal issues that need to be addressed to safely and profitable capitalize on these significant business opportunities:
2013 was an incredibly active year for social media legal issues. Below are selected highlights on some of the more interesting legal issues that impacted social media, along with links to reference material relating to the topics. 1. Virtual Currency/Bitcoin FinCEN Virtual Currency Guidance and Enforcements – FinCEN published legal…
The Sacramento Bee in an article titled Job Front: Social media are growing recruitment tools reported that “[e]mployers in greater numbers are relying on social media to recruit new talent,” according to Jobvite’s 2013 Social Recruiting Survey. The Sacramento Bee noted that the survey “showed about 94 percent of employers either…
Last month, in KNF&T v. Muller (October 2013), the Massachusetts Superior Court found that a LinkedIn update regarding an employee’s new job was not a solicitation of business in violation of her non-competition agreement, which also prohibited solicitation. In that case, the court denied the former employer’s request for a…
The intersection of social games and gambling is moving forward at a torrid pace. Yet, there are many blurred lines with respect to the legal boundaries for permissible game mechanics used in social games and online gambling offerings. The use of virtual goods and virtual currency further complicates the analysis.…
In early November, an administrative law judge of the National Labor Relations Board dismissed a complaint filed against an employer, finding that the employer did not violate the National Labor Relations Act by withdrawing rehire offers from two employees’ based on their Facebook conversation. The two employees worked for a…
While a legal battle will continue between a Second Life content “consultant” and a school teacher using the online virtual-world creating program as an educational tool, the Southern District of New York made one thing clear last week – user-generated Second Life content is copyrightable. In FireSabre Consulting LLC v.…