Internet & Social Media Law Blog
The Mid Lane is a rundown of developments in the world of esports.
It is no surprise that COVID-19 is impacting esports players, tournaments and the overall landscape of the growing industry. (But Facebook did something, too!)
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Innovating Your Thinking About Patents
Innovation has become seemingly synonymous with operating a successful business as the projected success of a company is measured by both its ability to innovate and its track record of innovation. Patent law is an area of law tasked by the U.S. Constitution to promote innovation. Patents and innovation should therefore ostensibly have some correlation for business.
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Keep an Eye on the Bayh-Dole Act in Regard to COVID-19-Relevant Patents
While companies in every industry are working hard to figure out the best response to this global pandemic, those in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries have been faced with some unique challenges related to the balancing of intellectual property rights with serving the public good. One particular question that such companies might face is whether parts of their patent portfolio are connected to federal funding and if so, how the Bayh-Dole Act may come into play as the government faces increasing pressure to meet public health needs.
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The Challenge of Keeping Wellness Companies Healthy during COVID-19
One doesn’t have to look beyond Facebook posts, Twitter feeds or just text messages with family members to understand how COVID-19 is transforming established norms. With bedrock industries such as air travel, hospitality, food and beverage, insurance and traditional health care, ringing the alarm, it is easy to lose track of a trend that was gently and steadily growing and effecting real and positive change—the embrace of holistic health and wellness in the workplace. Not surprisingly, many of the wellness companies leading this change rely on congregation—in-person community-building—for their growth.
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Esports and Gaming in the Time of COVID-19
March often marks a new beginning—not just by Mother Nature—but also in sports. In the U.S., March brings the excitement of the NCAA tournament, Spring Training for Major League Baseball, and the ever-tightening playoff races for the NBA.
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Fighting Financial Wrong-Doing with the Power of AI
We’ve discussed before the potential of AI to detect financial crimes like money laundering. On March 23, colleague Deborah Thoren-Peden will explore the growing nexus between artificial intelligence and the detection and prevention of financial misdeeds.
In “Leveraging AI to Combat Financial Crimes,” Thoren-Peden will be joined by Sam Small (ZeroFox) and Tim Mueller (GuideHouse) to discuss how AI is being integrated into RegTech solutions for enhanced AML compliance and screening, and how AI is being used to monitor insider trading, market manipulation and other suspicious market activities. In addition, they will identify best practices from law enforcement and financial institutions where AI is being successfully deployed to curb financial criminal activity.
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Can the Blockchain Address the Vulnerabilities that Lurk Alongside the Potential of 5G?
With great power comes great responsibility. 5G is the next generation of 3GPP technology. Along with having the potential to facilitate the next leap in connectivity, 5G technology supremacy also has the power to define the geopolitics of the next century. As the global battle for 5G dominance plays out, companies are driving hard to secure coveted Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) encompassing 5G technology. The victor will secure substantial revenue and money flow in the form of patent royalties.
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TikTok’s Meteoric Rise Causes Privacy Concerns
With over one billion monthly active users, chances are that you have heard of the wildly popular TikTok platform that is now owned and run by the Chinese company ByteDance. Allowing its users to live-stream anything from their latest lip-syncing battles of their favorite pop artist’s songs to controversial video content of government protests or operations—TikTok has understandably caught the attention and ire of governments (and parents) throughout the world.
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The Mid Lane: Esports News – 1/22/20
The Mid Lane is a rundown of developments in the world of esports.
Growth, taxes and malls? An unconventional esports location is dominating the industry news this week. The latest news roundup indicates that all signs point to the continual progression of esports.
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A New York DFS Proposal Could Treat Digital Coin Assets More Like Traditional Assets
In December, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) published a proposal to create a public list of approved virtual currencies and a self-certification methodology for holders of NY Bitlicenses and New York trust companies approved to engaged in a virtual currency business to offer to New York consumers virtual currencies without the need for additional approvals of the DFS. If adopted, the proposal would be a significant step at the state regulatory level toward treating digital assets in a manner commensurate with other more traditional financial assets.
In “New York Guidance on Listing Digital Assets,” colleague Daniel N. Budofsky examines this proposal more closely.