Tech & Sourcing @ Morgan Lewis

On March 11, 2022, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Bank of England, and the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) released a joint statement reiterating that all UK financial services firms, including the cryptoasset sector, are expected to ensure compliance with economic sanctions.

Join partners Mark L. Krotoski, Charles M. Horn and associate Martin Hirschprung at 1:00 pm ET on March 15, 2022 as they provide a summary of the existing and developing requirements faced by “banking organizations” following the publication of a final rule to notify their primary federal regulator within 36 hours in the event of certain kinds of computer-security-related incidents.

The White House issued an executive order on March 9 relating to the responsible development of digital assets in the United States. This executive order outlines the first ever whole-of-government approach to both addressing the risks of digital assets and maximizing the potential benefits.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) released a statement on February 14 confirming a series of changes to potentially unfair contract terms that had been agreed with four of the largest providers of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) products operating in the United Kingdom.

The Bank of England (Bank) and the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published their final report of discussions from the UK Artificial Intelligence Public-Private Forum on February 17. Over quarterly meetings and several workshops conducted since October 2020, the Bank and the FCA jointly facilitated dialogue between the public sector, the private sector, and academia in order to deepen their collective understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) and explore how to support the safe adoption of AI. This initiative was incorporated into the UK National AI Strategy.

The German Conference of DPAs (the DSK) has released new (legally non-binding) detailed Guidelines dated February 18, 2022 with respect to direct marketing in Germany.

The unfolding conflict in Eastern Europe is likely going to cause a wide-ranging impact to companies with business operations or personnel in the region. For technology and commercial contracting professionals, this means potential contract disputes, force majeure issues, business continuity implications, and cybersecurity concerns.

Rights holders are almost always looking for ways to monetize the intellectual property (IP) that they own or license. For owners of rights in popular logos; characters from TV shows, movies, or video games; or similar IP, one way to generate a revenue stream is to enter into merchandise license agreements.

In this edition of our Spotlight series, we welcome David Plotinsky to discuss key issues that technology lawyers and professionals should keep in mind regarding tech transactions, foreign investment, and review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

The Morgan Lewis M&A Academy continues on February 22 with the next presentation in “Track 2 | Getting the Deal Done – Specialists Matter” regarding key issues and considerations when companies are buying or selling technology assets. As technology and sourcing professionals, it is important to stay up to date on M&A market trends and deal issues relating to technology transfers.