As we previously discussed, nobody is safe from cybersecurity threats, and as our colleagues last reported, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has heightened its cybersecurity scrutiny, issuing an investigative report on cyber fraud against publicly traded companies and signaling it will pursue both bad actors as well as companies failing to implement controls to detect and prevent hacking. A victim of a data breach itself, the SEC is now demonstrating how it intends to pursue bad actors.

Every January, electronics manufacturers descend upon Las Vegas for the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to showcase their latest and greatest forays in devices. Not surprisingly, there was no shortage of shiny fresh connected devices with new and evolving applications in everything from workouts and personal care to the more usual suspects of television and virtual assistants.

As 2018 comes to a close, we have once again compiled all the links to our Contract Corner blog posts, a regular feature of Tech & Sourcing @ Morgan Lewis. In these posts, members of our global technology, outsourcing, and commercial transactions practice highlight particular contract provisions, review the issues, and propose negotiating and drafting tips. If you don’t see a topic you are interested in below, please let us know, and we may feature it in a future Contract Corner.

In Part 1 of this series, we provided an overview of data (or knowledge) commons and some key issues to consider, but how does one actually create and manage a data commons? To find your feet in this budding field, build on the theoretical foundation; address the specific context (including perceived objectives and constraints); deal with the thorny issues (including control and change); establish a core set of principles and rules; and, perhaps most importantly, plan for and enable change.

You may have heard of the “tragedy of the commons,” where a resource is depleted through collective action, but knowledge is different from other resources—knowledge can be duplicated, aggregated, integrated, analyzed, stored, shared, and disseminated in countless ways.

Knowledge sharing has long been an important element of academic research. And now collective sharing and governance of data assets throughout the scientific community, including for-profit participants, is gaining momentum.

During their webinar, Hot Topics in Data Privacy Regulation in Russia, Moscow partners Ksenia Andreeva, Anastasia Dergacheva, and Vasilisa Strizh will discuss trends in data privacy regulations in Russia for the upcoming year.

There is no “one size fits all” solution when drafting and negotiating the liability provisions relating to data protection obligations and security incidents.

Washington, DC partners Giovanna M Cinelli, Kenneth J. Nunnenkamp, and Stephen Paul Mahinka and Boston partner Carl A. Valenstein recently published a LawFlash on the recent action taken by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to implement a pilot program under the Foreign Investment Risk Review and Modernization Act (FIRRMA).

In Part 1 and Part 2 of this Contract Corner, we discussed the importance of assessing and defining the types of data involved in a services agreement, and highlighted issues to consider with respect to the ownership and control of company and personal data.