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From our colleagues Paolo Morante, Steven E. Levitsky, Laura Kam and Adam Steene:

The Federal Trade Commission has announced its annual revision to the jurisdictional thresholds under the Act. The new thresholds will go into effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, which is expected in the next few days.

Under the new thresholds, no transaction will be reportable unless, as a result of it, the acquiring person will hold voting securities, assets, or noncorporate interests of the acquired person valued above $80.8 million (increased…
Continue Reading Hart-Scott Rodino Thresholds Revised

In this recent post to our fellow DLA blog – Technology’s Legal Edge – our colleague Giulio Coraggio identifies some of the legal issues that are being sorted out with respect to the Internet of Things, including the following:

  • Is “industrial” data personal data?
  • How do you protect data and IoT technologies?
  • Who is the owner of the data?
  • Is data kept secure?
  • What liability if things go wrong?

He also notes some EU-specific questions.  His full post can be found here.
Continue Reading The Internet of Things and its Legal Dilemmas

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

Compliments of Jason Smith of Kidder Mathews, attached is a Seattle-area office real estate market review for Q1 2016. Here is a short summary:

  • General leasing activity improved significantly outside of the Seattle and Bellevue central business districts (CBDs), which had led the region coming out of the recession.
  • Regional first quarter absorption was just over 670,000 s.f., a bit off the 2015 pace, but well above the previous ten years; this left the regional vacancy at 7.87%.
  • Rental rates continue to move up at a steady but modest rate,

…
Continue Reading Seattle Office Real Estate Market Review for Q1 2016

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

Data breaches are expensive. They cost an average of $5.4 million each to US companies in 2011 for mitigation and remediation alone, while also causing significant harm to brand and reputation.  The first 24 hours after you discover a breach are critical to restoring security, minimizing harm, obtaining and preserving evidence and complying with contractual and legal obligations.  Read here for tips on responding to a breach.
Continue Reading Data Breach Incidents – 16 DOs and DON’Ts

CB Insights created the below infographic on October 26, 2015 illustrating the rise of unicorn companies since 2011. This graphic is particularly interesting when viewed together with CB Insights’ blog post this morning (January 7, 2016) that recaps FY 2015 venture financing data.  CB Insights’ recent data shows that while FY 2015 was a record-setting year for venture financings, there was a dramatic drop in the number of mega financings in Q4 2015 (which mega deals had previously been driving the record level).  In any event, the graphics
Continue Reading Unicorn Infographic and 2015 Trends

Just a reminder to those who have Delaware corporations, your annual report and franchise tax payment are both due by March 1. At this point, you have likely already received from Delaware your notification of annual report and franchise tax due, which is sent to a corporation’s registered agent in December or January of each year. Delaware requires these reports to be filed electronically.

As you will notice, there are two methods that you can use to calculate the amount of Delaware franchise tax due for your corporation (…
Continue Reading Franchise tax due by March 1 for Delaware corporations: two methods of calculation, two vastly different results