Expert Analysis

• Privacy Lessons From FTC's BetterHelp Consent Decree

  

  The Federal Trade Commission's recent enforcement action against BetterHelp highlights the growing risk associated with the use of third-party cookies and pixels on websites for companies that offer health services, say Rachel Marmor and Shannon Hartsfield at Holland & Knight.

• What To Expect From A Litigation Finance Industry Recession

  

  There's little data on how litigation finance would fare in a recession, but a look at stakeholders' incentives suggests corporate demand for litigation finance would increase in a recessionary environment, while the number of funders could shrink, says Matthew Oxman at LexShares.

• A Worker's Guide To Fighting Discriminatory Layoffs

  

  Recent mass layoffs have hit the tech industry particularly hard, and while a reduction in force can present hurdles for employees to vindicate their rights, it does not insulate employers from liability for discrimination, retaliation and other employment law violations, say attorneys at Sanford Heisler.

• AI Can Almost Generate Evidence Of Patent Obviousness

  

  Several tests with ChatGPT suggest that artificial intelligence is at least getting close to being capable of generating freestanding evidence of obviousness when determining whether a patent is valid, though current known shortcomings undercut its reliability, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

• A Look At The Feds' Extraordinary Reaction To SVB Collapse

  

  With the receiverships of two banks in almost as many days, the emerging pattern of regulatory response holds the banking sector as a whole responsible for losses at individual institutions, a scenario that may not end with special assessments to cover Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

• Software Startups Should Address IP Considerations Early On

  

  Capturing intellectual property in the early stages of a software startup is critical, and mistakes in three core areas — preserving rights, reviewing agreements and perfecting ownership — can often affect a company's IP position, valuation and overall success, says Ed Russavage at Wolf Greenfield.

• Robocall Mitigation Tips For Providers Amid FCC Crackdown

  

  The Federal Communications Commission's recent enforcement actions for apparently illegal robocall traffic show that U.S. voice service providers must know their customers or risk the consequences — and five mitigation practices may be worth considering, say Jessica Gyllstrom and Ashley Brydone-Jack at Telecommunications Law Professionals.

• Opinion

  SEC Needs To Support Crypto Gatekeepers

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has a significant responsibility to create and maintain a regulatory environment governing the crypto industry, but currently, crypto businesses — and their lawyers — often are punished for seeking to comply, says retired Wilson Sonsini partner Rob Rosenblum.

• New Education Dept. Rule Applies To Broad Range Of Vendors

  

  The U.S. Department of Education's revised "third-party servicer" definition likely intends to capture only vendors truly providing student loan, recruiting and retention services, but its language is so broad that it will leave higher education institutions with no choice but to carefully evaluate all of their technology vendor relationships, says Craig Gilley at Venable.

• Limiting BIPA Damages After Ill. Biometric Consent Violations

  

  In the wake of the Illinois Supreme Court's February ruling in Cothron v. White Castle, holding that an employer must pay damages for each time it violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act during a period of 10 years, companies should adopt specific strategies to mitigate the newly heightened risk of ruinous cumulative awards, say attorneys at Quinn Emanuel.

• How S&P 100 Cos.' Human Capital Disclosures Are Evolving

  

  A survey of human capital resource disclosures shows that S&P; 100 companies are generally expanding the length of their disclosures, covering more topics and including slightly more quantitative information in some areas, say Mike Titera and Meghan Sherley at Gibson Dunn.

• Combating Russia's Evolving Sanctions Evasion Efforts

  

  As the war in Ukraine enters its second year, Russia and its oligarch class will continue their attempts to elude sanctions, and regulators from the U.S. and allied nations will keep searching for ways to beat them back, say Ian Herbert at Miller & Chevalier and Brad Dragoon at Charles River.

• How Alcohol Cos. Can Best Follow New Advertising Rules

  

  The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau recently issued new guidance on how the bureau’s rules on advertising apply to alcohol brands’ online presence, meaning industry members should take extra care when putting anything on social media, say Jason Canvasser and Alyson Acheson at Clark Hill.

• Actual TM Confusion And Social Media Evidence: 4 Questions

  

  As recent federal rulings increasingly analyze whether social media posts may constitute evidence of actual trademark confusion, parties should ask a series of questions before employing this type of evidence in litigation, says Dylan I. Scher at Quinn Emanuel.

• Bid Protest Spotlight: Lessons For Joint Ventures

  

  In this month's bid protest roundup, Alissandra McCann at MoFo examines recent decisions from the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims of particular significance to joint ventures, concerning past performance evaluation and misrepresentation, and registration in the System for Award Management.