Our 10th annual Technology May-rathon series of more than 40 tailored webinars focusing on current technology issues, trends, and developments wraps up with its final two webinars next week.

These webinars will address issues surrounding new forms of cryptocurrency and technology acquisition in the age of the coronavirus (COVID-19):

• Stablecoins: US and UK Regulatory and Tax Treatment: Monday, June 8 at 12:00 pm ET/9:00 am PT
• Acquiring Technology Assets from Distressed and Bankrupt Sellers: Monday, June 8 at 1:00 pm ET/10:00 am PT

The German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) ruled on May 28 that an opt-out for cookies settings is inadmissible under German law under Section 15(3) of the German Telemedia Act (TMG) in conformity with the ePrivacy Directive (press release of the BGH; available only in German). As a result, website operators can no longer rely on the fact that it would be possible to set cookies in Germany solely based on their legitimate interests. Previously, operators had justified the opt-out process based on earlier statements of the German supervisory authorities and the wording of TMG regulations.

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As the digital landscape in the United States evolves, federal courts are reexamining federal cybersecurity laws enacted during an era before individuals, companies, and the government had easy access to computers and the internet. In particular, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), 18 USC § 1030, a cybersecurity bill enacted in 1986 as an amendment to an existing computer fraud law, has come under significant scrutiny. In this blog post, we will review the CFAA and recent federal court activity regarding the law.

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As businesses across America begin to reopen in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, many will likely implement new social distancing and sanitization procedures. That got us thinking about how companies may choose to use touchless authorization technologies like facial recognition as the main form of entry into their facilities, rather than continuing to use tools such as keypads or fingerprint scanners that require many people to repeatedly touch the same surfaces daily.

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With more than 40 webinars total, the annual Morgan Lewis Technology May-rathon continues. We thought these particular webinars were especially timely with regard to topics we follow in Tech & Sourcing @ Morgan Lewis:

• AI and Copyright: Who’s That Author Behind the Computer?: Tuesday, May 26 at 12:30 pm ET/9:30 am PT
• Global Privacy Issues: Thursday, May 28, at 11:00 am ET/8:00 PT

See the full schedule of remaining May-rathon events >>

The unprecedented conditions created by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and resulting government shutdown orders have placed significant roadblocks for the last step of documenting a contract or other legal document: authentication. The steps to overcome these roadblocks are highlighted two recent Morgan Lewis LawFlashes.

In COVID-19: How to Notarize Documents During a Pandemic, Jeannine Bishop and Kathleen Keyser describe both existing and recent emergency legislation that allows either temporary or permanent remote online notarization (RON) so that documents can be effectively notarized.

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The conditions created by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and resulting government shutdown orders have raised questions across various industries regarding contractual rights and obligations during the crisis. One contract provision in particular is garnering signification attention: the force majeure clause. Recently, these clauses have evolved from boilerplate provisions at the end of a contract to now being front and center in many contract negotiations. In this blog post, we will review considerations for drafting force majeure clauses within the current environment.

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Please join us as we examine highlights from the Contract Corner feature on our Tech & Sourcing @ Morgan Lewis blog. The series reviews essential issues and practical pointers for technology, outsourcing, and commercial agreements.

Partners Peter M. Watt-Morse and Mike Pierides will discuss the following topics:

• Analysis of contract rights
• Bankruptcy impact
• Termination and renewal issues
• Cybersecurity and data protection
• Licensing and IP rights

We hope you’ll join us on Tuesday, May 12, at 12:00–1:00 pm ET, 9:00–10:00 am PT, and 5:00–6:00 pm GMT.

Register for the webinar now >>

See the full schedule of events >>

We hope to see you for our annual series—now in its 10th year—of tailored webinars focused on current technology issues, trends, and developments that are of key importance to our friends and clients.

This year, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic provides unique challenges for the technology sector. We will address these issues across our full slate of programming, as well as in a dedicated COVID-19 track of events.

Select programs will include:

• The Fourth Industrial Revolution: What Do Automation and Outsourcing in the 21st Century Mean for the Modern Workplace?
• Successful Cyberincident Response in 2020
• Contract Corner: The Year in Review (covering our Tech & Sourcing @ Morgan Lewis Contract Corner series)
• Business Processes Outsourcing: Tricks and Tips from the Russian Law Perspective
• IP Year in Review: Important Cases Decided in 2019
• COVID-19 Exposes New Supply Chain Risks
• Effect of COVID-19 on the Fintech Sector

See the full schedule of events >

New York’s Department of Financial Services (DFS) issued guidance on April 13 alerting regulated entities of the significant increase in cybercrime during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Specifically, DFS noted several cybersecurity risks resulting from the realities of a remote workforce. With the increase of remote working, companies have issued new devices to employees and in many cases allow employees to use their personal devices to remotely access company information. These practices understandably subject companies to increased risk of phishing attacks and the leak of confidential information. Remote connections need to be as secure as possible using mechanisms like Multi-Factor Authentication and secure VPN connections so that data is safely and properly encrypted in transit. Regulated entities should be sure that all devices have the necessary and proper security software and that employees are trained properly on how to use applications securely.

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