Tech & Sourcing @ Morgan Lewis

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have exploded in popularity over the past year. Use cases for NFTs have been growing as more industries are realizing the benefits they present. A report by blockchain specialist Chainalysis found that almost $41 billion was spent on NFTs in 2021—a number that is likely to continue growing.

The UK government is considering responses to its proposed reforms to auto-subscription rules for consumer contracts, as part of a broader consultation on reforming UK competition and consumer policy.

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) in the United Kingdom just closed a consultation on policy options for changes to patent and copyright legislation to better protect technology created by artificial intelligence (AI).

As 2021 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.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has held in Case C-410/19 The Software Incubator Ltd v Computer Associates (UK) Ltd that the supply of software by electronic means, where accompanied by the grant of a perpetual user license in return for a fee, could constitute a “sale of goods” for the purpose of defining a commercial agent under the EU Commercial Agents Directive (the Directive).

Companies are transforming legacy systems, implementing automation and artificial intelligence tools, embedding digital capabilities into their products, shifting to cloud solutions and leveraging technology to better connect to their customers, personnel, and third parties, all at an unprecedented pace. The focus on businesses to get to market faster, reach a broader audience and provide real-time interaction has in turn put pressure on legal and sourcing documents to keep up. The complexity and volume of the numbers of projects (and contracts) can be daunting — especially for companies that have not yet elevated the importance of the technology law function within their organizations.

If you are just wrapping your head around the concepts of virtual reality and augmented reality, it may be time to get past the learning curve, as more technology companies are talking about creating the “metaverse.”

On September 2, 2021, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO’s) motion for summary judgement, finding that an artificial intelligence (AI) system cannot be named as an inventor on a patent.

Last week, we started to take a look at key issues sponsors should be mindful of when entering into a sponsorship agreement, particularly for sponsorship of a team, event, venue, individual influencer or player, or similar arrangements.

With many sports, music, and other events returning to in-person attendance after a prolonged hiatus for pandemic-related reasons, and others continuing to be conducted in front of huge virtual audiences, we think it’s a good time to run through some of the most common issues we encounter in sponsorship agreements.