Navigating 2025: Federal Legislative and Regulatory Updates on Stablecoins and Decentralized Finance — The Crypto Exchange Podcast
Unpacking the Fifth Circuit's Landmark Tornado Cash Decision — The Crypto Exchange Podcast
A Conversation with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce
Navigating the Dark Side of Crypto: Crime, Compliance, and Consumer Protection – The Crypto Exchange Podcast
Crackdown on DeFi? An Examination of the CFTC's Enforcement Action Against Uniswap — The Crypto Exchange
Hot Topics in International Trade, Wyoming, Blockchain, Crypto, and the Current Landscape of Regulations
Ep. 11 - Crypto & Consumer Protection: Insights from a Former FTC Official
The Current State of Web3 Gaming
From Court to Code: Smart Contracts and Arbitration
Powering Sustainable Crypto: A General Counsel’s View
From Paper to Digital: The California DMV's Leap Into Blockchain Technology — The Crypto Exchange Podcast
El Salvador’s Bitcoin Nation: A Government Insider’s View
Dogecoin’s Day in Court
A Tale of Two Crypto Cases
Unpacking the Lummis-Gillibrand Payment Stablecoin Act: Implications for the Digital Asset Industry — The Crypto Exchange Podcast
Navigating the Regulatory Waters: The SEC's Wells Notice to Uniswap and its Impact on DeFi — The Crypto Exchange Podcast
Will Resiliency Carry the Digital Asset Sector Through 2024: Navigating the 2023 Regulatory Landscape — The Crypto Exchange Podcast
Understanding the CFPB's Proposed Digital Payments Larger Participants Rule and Its Implications for Digital Assets — The Consumer Finance Podcast
Hot Topics in International Trade-The Mod Act
What is sufficient originality for copyright? What is substantial similarity for copyright infringement? The latest artificial intelligence and intellectual property cases – authors lost contributory
The cryptocurrency industry is undergoing a transformative period as the Trump administration adopts a more structured and proactive regulatory approach to digital assets such as Bitcoin. This evolving legal framework not...more
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have reshaped our socio-legal understanding of "property." Prior to the launch of NFTs, laypersons and lawyers alike evaluated tangible and intangible assets in the context of physical (real) space....more
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the U.S. Copyright Office recently published the results of their co-study (on the interplay between non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and intellectual property. ...more
Want to learn more about drafting, negotiating, and understanding intellectual property and technology contracts and have 10 minutes to spare? Grab your morning coffee or afternoon tea and dig into our Tech Contract Quick...more
In a major Web3 trademark infringement case, NFT creators prevail over those with a bad-faith intent to profit. On April 21, 2023, Yuga Labs, the original creators of the Board Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) non-fungible token...more
American Conference Institute’s 3rd Annual Summit on Women Leaders in IP Law returns for another exciting year with curated content showcasing powerful women in intellectual property. During this IP-focused conference, women...more
Despite recent headlines that have proclaimed “The End of Crypto” in view of large-scale failures at cryptocurrency companies like FTX, Celsius, and Blockfi, innovation in the space continues at an accelerating pace. Startups...more
In 2023, we believe that intellectual property issues in relation to the metaverse, blockchain technologies and crypto assets will continue to be an important focus for brand owners and for businesses entering or expanding...more
At the heart of what is considered the first NFT trademark trial were two competing arguments: Were the artist Mason Rothschild’s creation of “MetaBirkin” NFTs — digital images of blurry faux fur-covered handbags inspired by...more
A nine-person jury in the Southern District of New York has found that "MetaBirkin" NFTs violate Hermès International SA's rights in its "Birkin" trademarks. This is the first trial to consider the intersection of NFTs and...more
How far does a trademark extend into the digital art world? French luxury fashion brand Hermès sought to answer this question in its precedent-setting case against artist Mason Rothschild, which concluded with a win for...more
The Metaverse is a minefield for intellectual property (IP) owners. Many of the threats to IP will be familiar — such as unauthorized use of trademarks, copying of content, and misuse of name/image/likeness. However, the best...more
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) serve as agile mechanisms to verify an underlying asset's authenticity and/or ownership linked with it. For now, minting NFTs to commercialize digital artwork on blockchain domain names continues to...more
The use of NFTs ("Non-fungible Tokens") can constitute a trademark infringement. This was recently decided by the IP Chamber of the Court of Rome (Tribunale di Roma, decision of 20 July 2022, ref. 32072/2022). The court...more
Durch die Nutzung von NFTs ("non-fungible tokens") können Markenrechte verletzt werden. Dies hat kürzlich die Kammer für geistiges Eigentum des Gerichts erster Instanz in Rom entschieden (Tribunale di Roma, Entscheidung v....more
For creators who seek to protect their intellectual property (IP), the idea of enforcing intellectual property rights in the metaverse may initially appear to be daunting. After all, given the metaverse's association with...more
As technology and the physical lives of consumers continue to converge, businesses active in metaverse and blockchain technologies will need to think about how their brands and source identifiers might evolve or change...more
Digital assets and NFTs being all the rage, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) is increasingly receiving trademark applications covering virtual goods and NFTs, the regulatory classification of which is...more
The Metaverse is widely regarded as the next frontier in digital commerce, with organizations spending millions of dollars securing a presence by buying digital real estate and investing in platforms to be market leaders....more
Thank you for reading the May 2022 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss Spotify's exploration into NFTs, two new USPTO policies with practical implications for trademark applicants...more
Kilpatrick Townsend’s Rob Potter and Sarah Anderson recently participated in a panel of thought leaders to discuss the recent trends and significant challenges surrounding NFTs and the associated legal landscape, including...more
Showcasing Powerful Women in Intellectual Property! ACI’s Summit on Women Leaders in IP Law will bring together women in Intellectual Property roles to explore industry trends and other important factors impacting today’s...more
In 2008, a still-unknown person or group going by the alias Satoshi Nakamoto introduced blockchain technology and the first cryptocurrency to the world. In 2020, the cryptocurrency market was valued at $1.49 billion. And, in...more
Last month, our post about art NFTs and the DMCA highlighted the distinction between non-fungible tokens and the copyrighted works they represent. In the context of copyright, this dichotomy is generally uncontroversial: In...more
Non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) continue to dominate the crypto-zeitgeist. It is beyond dispute that they are currently a major economic and cultural force. In 2021, sales surged to approximately $25 billion. They have been...more