Tech & Sourcing @ Morgan Lewis

As part of our Spotlight series, we connect with Jeff Boujoukos, the leader of Morgan Lewis’s securities enforcement practice, to discuss the current and future state of affairs of the regulation and enforcement activities of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding cryptocurrency and initial coin offerings. Jeff points to recent cases and statements that may impact and shape the cryptocurrency market going forward.

As part of our Spotlight series, we connect with Andrew J. Gray IV, a partner in Morgan Lewis’s IP-Technology group, to discuss the recent focus on embedded copyright cases based on a court’s unwillingness to apply the server test. Andrew gives us his thoughts on recent developments and what companies may want to think about when embedding social media content (or other content) into its own.

We recently highlighted the Morgan Lewis financial services team’s overview of proposed guidance released by the three federal banking agencies with respect to third-party relationships within the fintech industry. The federal banking agencies, though, are not alone when it comes to guidance on third-party vendors.

Through legislation, Connecticut has incentivized businesses to conform to one or more industry recognized cybersecurity frameworks. As we recently discussed, cybersecurity incidents and risks are taking centerstage. Under Connecticut’s recently enacted Public Act No. 21-119, An Act Incentivizing the Adoption of Cybersecurity Standards for Business (the Act), as further described below, a business that implements a qualifying cybersecurity program is shielded from punitive damages in connection with any data breach-related tort claim that is brought in, or under the laws of, Connecticut.

With the recent onslaught of ransomware attacks, it’s time to revisit force majeure clauses (again). Earlier in the pandemic, we reviewed how COVID-19 could impact force majeure provisions. Since then, there has been a flurry of analyzing, renegotiating, and testing contractual language, as parties work through, or anticipate, pandemic-related difficulties. While contracting parties focus on striking a balance of when, and to what extent, a party’s performance will be excused due to pandemic-related circumstances, a different threat could follow a similar trajectory.

Exceptions to confidentiality obligations are largely standardized, but in some contracts a copy-and-paste approach could, at best, lead to uncertainty and, at worst, undermine key aims of the transaction.