GDPR Best Practices: How Companies Adapted to Comply

By: Jon Avidor The European Union’s privacy regulation General Data Retention Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect on May 25, 2018, which prompted companies to quickly review or change the way in which it collects and process users’ personal data. The new regulation gives European Union citizens more control over the private information they share […]

49 Shades of Grey: SEC Remarks Bring Some Welcome Crypto Clarity

By: Rob Griffitts Earlier today, William Hinman, the Director of Corporation Finance at the SEC, made remarks at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit: Crypto that have crypto entrepreneurs and investors breathing a sigh of relief – namely, that ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap behind bitcoin, is not a security. This wasn’t news […]

Make America [Insert Adjective Here] Again! Why Trademarking Someone Else’s Popular Phrase and the Mad Dash to the USPTO is Trivial

By: Jon Avidor and Torie Levine Fake news. Covfefe. Make America Great Again. These are phrases and words that are a big part of our current culture and seem like opportunities to make some big money if monetized. But before you spend your energy, and more importantly your money, trademarking these popular catchphrases, consider whether […]

Forms of Communication Subject to Regulation & ICO Marketing Collateral

By: Steve Masur ICOs have become a dominant topic of discussion both within the blockchain community and among securities attorneys and regulators. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) views an ICO as an offering of securities if it meets all of the elements of the ”Howie test,” based on an old court case which […]

Why Malta? ICOs and the Application of Extraterritorial SEC Regulations

By: Steve Masur Ever since the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) , and other government organizations started to clamp down in earnest on initial coin offerings (ICOs), companies planning their ICOs have been running away from the United States in droves.  Where are they going?  Top choices have included Gibraltar, Cayman Islands, Switzerland, […]

U.S. Regulators & Your Cryptocurrency: State Money Transmission Laws

By: Steve Masur In part one of this series, I provided an overview of the US regulatory landscape that impacts cryptocurrency businesses.  This article resumes the topic and focuses on state money transmission laws. State money transmission laws present stifling hurdles to cryptocurrency innovators operating in the US. As it stands now, 53 state and […]