On October 30, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted rules allowing the use of crowdfunding by companies to offer and sell securities. Crowdfunding is the raising of money in cyberspace through portals, i.e., specialized websites like Gofundme, Indiegogo, Kickstarter. By using these portals, individuals or businesses can engage…
Trade secrets are vital to a business’s growth and development. From a practical standpoint, the advantage a business may have vanishes once the trade secret is publicly known. As a result, businesses have employed various methods to prevent the leaking of trade secrets. From confidentiality agreements to encryption, a smart…
What are trade secrets? In general, the definition of a trade secret varies from state to state. Essentially, it means any confidential information you would not want your competitors to know about. This could be anything from customer lists, marketing plans, to business models. Although, this definition is broad, it…
On August 24, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit handed down its decision in favor of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against Wyndham Worldwide Corporation. This lawsuit was against the defendant and its subsidiaries for their failure to implement proper cybersecurity measures and protect consumers’…
In general, intellectual property, includes, copyright, trademarks, and patents (collectively “IP”). According to the World Intellectual Property Organization, IP refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, designs, and symbols, names and images used in commerce. Now, when it comes to the use of intellectual…
This year saw the data breaches of Sony Pictures, Ashley Madison, and Experian Credit Bureau. The increasing commonality of data breaches has prompted the federal and state legislatures to review their data breach notification laws. What is a data breach? A data breach occurs when an unauthorized user (i.e., hacker)…
The case of Eagle v. Morgan is about an employer’s access to employee’s social media account. This case highlights the importance of companies having social media policies to address the ownership of social media accounts during and after employment. What is the case about and how does it affect your…
According to its website, the Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. LifeLock has used the massive security breaches of companies like Anthem and Target to increase its membership. On July 21,…
As of March 25, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted new rules to update and expand Regulation A. Regulation A+ will allow companies to gain access to funds through crowdfunding. These new rules are mandated by Title IV of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act. What will…
The modern day business model is shifting towards cloud computing and Software-as-a-Service (“SaaS”) agreements. This new trend allows customers to treat licensing costs as expenses that can be paid over time. SaaS also provides a solution to bug fixes, glitches, and the updating of licenses simultaneously. With the shift to…