There are so many legal issues in Episode 15 of HBO's Silicon Valley that it’s hard to know where to begin, so I’m going to start at the end: porn. Pied Piper is competing against nemesis Endframe for a $15 million contract from the online porn company Intersite. If Pied Piper wins the contract it will allow Pied Piper to stay afloat and avoid being absorbed and obliterated by Endframe.Episode 15 was not explicit about the terms of the deal. Does Pied Piper plan to license its technology for deployment on Intersite’s current platform, or is Pied Piper offering to host/store and serve Intersite’s content? Based on Pied Piper’s website I assume that Pied Piper plans to compress, host and serve content provided by its regular users and its business customers—starting with Intersite’s pornographic content. Are there any legal issues Pied Piper should consider before launching this business model and jumping into bed … [Read more...] about Other Peoples’ (Adult) Content (Episode 15) of Silicon Valley
Pirates of silicon valley
10th Annual Blawg 100
All About Advertising LawVenable’s group blog covers advertising laws of concern to broadcasters and marketers, with special attention paid to implications of Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission rulings. This year, they ran a very informative series called “Golden Rules,” all about the advertising and sponsorship issues raised by the Olympics. Arbitration Nation“This blawg provides recent news on all sorts of interesting arbitration decisions nationwide and does so accurately, intelligently, concisely and with a sense of humor and, sometimes, savvy political commentary. This may be the best ADR blawg, period. I have not seen a better one, and I read an awful lot of ADR news and edit the ABA ADR website for the Litigation Section.” —Mitchell Marinello, Novack & Macey, Chicago Art Law & MoreThe field of art law is often more swashbuckling than it’s given credit for. Posts on Art Law & More contain details … [Read more...] about 10th Annual Blawg 100
Uncertain Future for Non-Compete Agreements in Massachusetts: Legislators Seek Compromise
On June 23rd, the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development met to consider legislation relating to the legality and enforcement of non-compete agreements. The committee considered five bills on this topic, with the two most prominent being House Bill 1701 and Senate Bill 957, two proposals that prohibit the enforcement of non-compete clauses while permitting nondisclosure and non-solicitation agreements. Senate Bill 169 was also under consideration, which adopts a version of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, which standardizes a company’s legal right to protect their intellectual property.The potential policy directions discussed at these hearings ranged from moderate reform to a complete ban on non-compete agreements in Massachusetts, the latter largely supported by start-up and venture capital groups. In the reform category, one popular idea involved requiring the employers to disclose if accepting employment would require signing a non-compete at the time … [Read more...] about Uncertain Future for Non-Compete Agreements in Massachusetts: Legislators Seek Compromise
US to China: Don’t steal trade secrets the way we used to do
WASHINGTON (AP) — The upstart nation was a den of intellectual piracy. One of its top officials urged his countrymen to steal and copy foreign machinery. Across the ocean, a leading industrial power tried in vain to guard its trade secrets from the brash young rival. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the rogue nation was the United States. The official endorsing thievery was Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. And the main victim was Britain. How times have changed. Now, the United States accuses China of the very sort of illicit practices that helped America leapfrog European rivals two centuries ago and emerge as an industrial giant. “The message we are sending to China today is, Do as I say, not as I did,’ ” said Peter Andreas, professor at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. “The fact of the matter is that the U.S. was the world’s hotbed of intellectual property theft.” Having imposed … [Read more...] about US to China: Don’t steal trade secrets the way we used to do
Stormclouds Gather For Facebook’s Libra Currency
Sep 13, 11:18 AM EDT Newsletter Signup BusinessTechnologyWorldNationalMedia & CultureOpinionSportsLuxury World By Kevin TRUBLET 09/13/19 AT 11:03 AM International outcry is mounting over Facebook's Libra -- with central banks, governments and regulators railing against the social media giant's upstart cryptocurrency.Facebook unveiled plans in June for Libra -- which will roll out in 2020 -- to be backed by a basket of currency assets to avoid the wild swings of Bitcoin and other virtual units.Facing staunch opposition in Europe, Libra's boss admitted to AFP late on Thursday that it could yet decide not to operate in the region."We do not want to play at being pirates," said Bertrand Perez, managing director of the Libra Association, on the sidelines of a cryptocurrency event in Paris."If the European Central Bank refuses us permission to operate in Europe, then we will not operate there," Perez said, describing regulatory concerns as "legitimate" but not insurmountable.The … [Read more...] about Stormclouds Gather For Facebook’s Libra Currency