BLT: November 2013

Business & Corporate

Our Mini-Theme: Cyber-Crime, -Cars, and -Coins: Hot Topics in Cyberlaw

Jonathan T. Rubens

The Cyberspace Law Committee (CLC) is getting ready yet again for its annual Cyberspace Law Institute and Winter Working Meeting. This year, we will meet January 30–February 1, 2014, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Denver, Colorado, where we will have an opportunity to meet with some of the many cyberlawyers and technology professionals in the Denver–Boulder area. This vibrant technology community, once noted for its roots in the data storage and telecommunications industry, now encompassing innovators, entrepreneurs, and lawyers involved in many areas, is one of the regions where lawyers and business leaders are confronting rapidly evolving cyberlaw issues every day. With this mini-theme, we offer a series of articles on a variety of rapidly-evolving cyberlaw topics, which we will explore further at the January conference as part of our cyberlaw agenda. The range and depth of CLC’s membership is reflected in the topics covered in this mini-theme, which was curated by Professor Sarah Jane Hughes.

Business & Corporate

From Victim to Victor: Corporate Crime in the Internet Era

More and more companies are evaluating whether to accept status as a corporate crime victim, and how doing so offers options for prosecution of and recovery from the wrongdoers.

Business & Corporate

Cyberterrorism on Wheels: Are Today’s Cars Vulnerable to Attack?

The potential exists that a car’s computers can be hacked, leaving the car vulnerable to infection by malware. The legal implications of this technological vulnerability have yet to be adequately addressed.

Business & Corporate

What’s in Your Wallet? Could it be the Department of Homeland Security?

Stephen T. Middlebrook

Homeland Security’s proposed program to stop individuals at the border and scan their payment cards, obtain information from their financial institutions, and potentially seize funds associated with the cards raises serious legal questions.

Business & Corporate

Big Data and Consumer Financial Information

Consumer transaction data is increasingly becoming a valuable commodity. This article offers an overview of how such data is collected, used, and protected.

Business & Corporate

The Past and Future of Bitcoins in Worldwide Commerce

Denis T. Rice

The bitcoin is changing the landscape of virtual currency, with some hailing it as “the next great step in Internet and global currency.”

Business & Corporate

Regulating the Brainspray Revolution

Theodore F. Claypoole

There are no current laws regarding the use of technology to capture someone’s brain signals without that person’s consent, not to mention the technology that can force bodily action through brain stimulation alone.

Business & Corporate

Revisiting the Public Performance Right in the Battle Over Broadcast

Jon M. Garon

The author analyzes the legal question as to whether the retransmission of a television broadcast to viewers using new technologies constitutes a public or private performance.

Business & Corporate

KEEPING CURRENT: Crowdfunding: The Real Thing Is Almost Here

On October 23, 2013, the SEC issued its long-awaited rule proposal on crowdfunding, bringing it one step closer to fruition.

Business & Corporate

DELAWARE INSIDER: Delaware Law Pitfalls in IPOs

Jeffrey R. Wolters

There are several Delaware corporate law issues to watch out for in IPOs.

Business & Corporate

ETHICS CORNER: Our New Column; and the “No Contact Rule”

Robert Evans III

The goal of our newest Business Law Today column is to present topics that occasionally confront lawyers, principally business lawyers, involving the ethics rules, professionalism, and civility.

Business & Corporate

FOCUSING ON PRO BONO: When Lawyers Help Out

Judge Karen A. Overstreet

Good things happen when lawyers help out. They change their community, become more collegial, and have fun. When Consumer Education and Training Services (CENTS) was born in 1995, we had one goal: to improve financial literacy in our community.

Business & Corporate

Inside Business Law

Late October and early November saw three great annual Committee meetings, which bear review. The LLCs, Partnerships and Unincorporated Entities Committee held the 2013 LLC Institute, featuring a keynote speech by Hon. Myron T. Steele, Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court, addressing the “Growing Importance of Alternative Entities as Compared to Corporate Structures.” The Business Bankruptcy Committee held its 2013 Annual Meeting, featuring a smorgasbord of CLE programs and in-person working committee meetings. Finally, the Banking Law Committee held its annual meeting, presenting numerous panels that provided a multifaceted view of current trends and issues in banking law, including a panel discussion among the general counsel of the FRB, FDIC, OCC, and CFPB.