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Article prepared by and republished courtesy of our DLA Piper Trusts and Estates colleagues.

Earlier this month, the US Treasury issued proposed regulations that, if finalized, will significantly increase the transfer tax cost of transferring interests in family-controlled entities to other family members, both during lifetime and upon death. These regulations relate to how the value of the transferred interest is determined for gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer tax purposes. Under current law, well-established valuation methods permit the application of discounts for the lack of control and lack of…
Continue Reading New IRS Proposed Regulations Eliminate Valuation Discounts: Planning Likely Required before the End of 2016

From our colleagues William H. Hoffman and Cisco Palao-Ricketts

Due to high competition to attract employee talent and to improve employee recruiting and morale, several private companies in the technology sector have recently altered typical stock option terms to extend the exercise period of vested stock options following termination of employment.

This new trend carries with it a complex set of considerations for employers that we examine in more detail here.
Continue Reading Equity Compensation Trend: Extending Time to Exercise Vested Stock Options

The US Department of Commerce announced that it will begin accepting applications for Privacy Shield certifications beginning on August 1.

For US organizations collecting personal data from the EU, the past year has been an anxious one, as the European Court of Justice invalidated the EU-US Safe Harbor program in October 2015 and the terms of a far-reaching General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) have been promulgated to replace the EU’s 1995 Data Protection Directive. Among other things, one of the major impacts of the GDPR – when it takes effect in May 2018 – is that it will apply to US businesses that sell to, make services available to or somehow target data subjects in the EU – even if those US businesses have no operations or affiliates in the EU. With the GDPR looming, the issue of cross border data transfers and the significance of the Privacy Shield program for US businesses are likely to become even more relevant.
Continue Reading Privacy Shield is final: What it means for businesses

The pace of innovation and adoption in technology – fast and getting faster – has long presented a stark contrast to the deliberate pace of change in the law. That contrast is greater than ever today, as entrepreneurs and established tech companies alike accelerate the time to market and the speed of global expansion. With that as a backdrop, DLA Piper’s Global Technology Summit, scheduled for September 27-28, 2016, at the Rosewood Sand Hill in Menlo Park, California, is expecting record attendance, and representatives from major tech players such as…
Continue Reading At the Intersection of Business, Law and Technology; DLA Piper’s Global Tech Summit

From our colleagues Edward J. Johnsen, Wesley G. Nissen, David A. Goldstein, Jay Coogan and Robert B. Weiss

The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced that a private equity fund advisory firm and its owner have agreed to pay more than $3.1 million to settle charges that include engaging in brokerage activity and charging transaction-based fees without registering as a broker-dealer. In so doing, the SEC appears to have rekindled the fire under a long-simmering issue regarding the kinds of services that private fund advisers can provide…
Continue Reading SEC Sanctions Private Equity Fund Adviser For Acting As An Unregistered Broker

On May 11, President Barack Obama today signed the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) into law.  The law is effective immediately.  The DTSA provides a federal claim for misappropriation of trade secrets. Until now, trade secrets have been protected only at the state level, with most states (other than New York and Massachusetts) adopting their own version of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA).

You can read more about the details of the new law here in an overview by our colleagues Victoria Lee, Rajiv Dharnidharka and Katherine Cheung…
Continue Reading Employee and Other Proprietary Information & Invention Assignment Agreements – Update for New Trade Secret Law

Today, April 14, 2016, the EU Parliament adopted the long awaited General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The Regulation will have a considerable impact on all organizations based in the European Union that process personal data, but also on organizations based outside of Europe providing services to the European market. The GDPR contains many key changes, among them a single set of rules applicable across all member states, stricter requirements for transparency and consent, and tougher enforcement. Non-EU companies whose businesses target EU countries will also be subject to the Regulation.
Continue Reading EUROPEAN GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION ADOPTED – ARE YOU READY?

Article prepared by and republished courtesy of our colleague Matthew Grosack; originally published here: https://www.dlapiper.com/en/us/insights/publications/2016/03/commercial-use-of-drones/.

The varying commercial applications of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) – more commonly referred to as drones – across multiple industries poses a number of opportunities and challenges for companies both big and small.

On the one hand, UAS will give companies access to unprecedented insight and analytics into business operations and provide customers with new and potentially cost-effective commercial services. On the other hand, the commercial use of UAS is currently subject to regulatory scrutiny at both the federal and state levels, increasing liability exposure for prohibited uses or unauthorized operations.

As this technology becomes more mainstream and companies incorporate UAS into day-to-day business operations, it is important to consider the fluid and changing legal and regulatory framework governing what is and is not permitted.
Continue Reading Commercial use of drones: what is allowed? What is not? FAA, Congress and the states are weighing in

Article prepared by and republished courtesy of our colleagues Sanjay M. Shirodkar and David P. Lewis; originally published here: https://www.dlapiper.com/en/us/insights/publications/2016/01/the-hot-list-2016-proxy-season-trends

As we enter 2016, we want to bring your attention to a few items that we believe will play prominent  roles in the 2016 proxy season.  In 2015, proxy access, shareholder activism and newly adopted or proposed rules from the Securities Exchange Commission were some of the big-ticket items.  These and other issues are on the hot list for this coming season. We also include a list of action items you may wish to consider as you plan for the 2016 proxy season.

Please keep in mind that the following Hot List is a summary only and is not intended to be specific legal or tax advice.  We encourage you to call the authors of this client alert or your DLA Piper contact if you have any questions or would like to discuss any of the issues described below in the context of your company.
Continue Reading The Hot List: 2016 Proxy Season Trends and Action Items

From our colleagues Kelly Friedman, Tamara Hunter and Jim Halpert

This fall, more than a year after Canada’s anti-spam legislation (CASL) came into force, it is abundantly clear that the regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, is taking its new responsibilities very seriously.

In the latest developments, the CRTC recently issued an Enforcement Advisory and further Guidance on Implied Consent.

The CRTC’s message is loud and clear – it will impose penalties, regardless of good intentions.

Find out more about CASL and the key messages for business in…
Continue Reading Canadian Anti-Spam Regulatory Activity