Cyberspace Law Committee Newsletter - May 2019

     

    In This Issue

    Message from the Chair

    Cheryl Dancey Balough

    The ABA has officially launched Cyberspace Law’s latest book, Cloud 3.0: Drafting and Negotiating Cloud Computing Agreements. Many thanks to editors Lisa Lifshitz and John Rothchild and to the 20+ chapter authors who contributed knowledge, time, and expertise to this project. While it is accessible to non-experts, even seasoned technology law veterans—as many of you no doubt are—will benefit from the authoritative guidance of the authors, who provide practical guidance and best practices to help you understand, evaluate, negotiate, and draft cloud computing agreements..

    Another Bad Blockchain Bill

    William Denny

    We’re only going backwards in the quality of laws regarding blockchain technology and smart contracts. On April 16, 2019, the governor of Arkansas signed HB 1944 into law. Entitled “an Act Concerning Blockchain Technology,” HB 1944 amends the Arkansas version of UETA by defining “blockchain distributed ledger technology,” “blockchain technology” and “smart contract,” and by stating that a signature secured through blockchain technology shall be considered an electronic signature, a record secured through blockchain technology shall be considered an electronic record (so far so good), and a smart contract shall be considered a commercial contract. WHAT?

    Subcommittee News

    The Cloud & Enterprise Technology Subcommittee continues to work on its Directors’ Technology Handbook. The Directors’ Handbook will end with a handy (easy to find) reference list of tips for lawyers who find themselves engaging in conversations about technology. We invite Committee members to consider your own experience and share a helpful insight in the form of a short tip. Please limit your tip to a single paragraph. Please click here to see an example and formatting guidelines.