The U.S. Copyright Office (“Office”) has published guidance on its policy and practices for examining and registering works that contain material generated by the use of artificial intelligence technology. Some of the key points include the following:
Roblox recently announced that it is working on generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools that will help developers who build experiences on Roblox, to more easily create games and assets. The first two test tools create generative AI content from a text prompt and enable generative AI to complete computer code. This is just the tip of the iceberg on how generative AI will be used in games and a variety of other creative industries. Music, film, art, comic books, and literary works are some other uses. AI tools are powerful and their use will no doubt be far reaching. In the near term, so too will the associated legal issues. Some of the legal issues include:
Continue Reading How Generative AI Generates Legal Issues in the Games Industry
The rising prevalence of crypto and virtual currencies has invited the scrutiny of several regulatory bodies who continue to grapple with the unique challenges posed by blockchain technology, FinCEN being one prime example. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) is an arm of the United States Department of Treasury that seeks to impede financial crimes such as money laundering and terrorist financing, and was the first financial regulator in the U.S. to address virtual currency.
Blockchain is a revolutionary technology that has great potential to solve many of the fundamental challenges facing the music industry today. Blockchain technology including distributed, decentralized ledgers, smart contracts, and the ability to tokenize digital assets, is uniquely suited to address issues such as rights management, licensing, copyright ownership, royalty tracking and reporting and the primary and secondary ticketing markets for live events. Various aspects of the technology are currently being used to address some of these problems. Despite these current uses, blockchain adoption likely will be incremental and more evolutionary than revolutionary, at first. Longer term, blockchain technology could provide a more comprehensive solution for the industry.
Continue Reading How Blockchain Technology Can Improve the Music Industry
The SEC has formally announced that Ether is not a security. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Director of Corporate Finance William Hinman said that the commission would not be
Continue Reading SEC Declares Ether Is Not a Security
Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology are rapidly emerging as disruptive technologies. As has happened with many new technologies, particularly disruptive ones, a patent arms race is occurring. The number of patents being filed for these technologies is rapidly increasing.
The number of published applications shows roughly a tenfold increase over the number of issued patents.
Despite this increase in patent filing activity, many companies are unaware of what aspects of this technology can be patented and many myths and misconceptions exist. In addition to the usual misconceptions about patents (detailed below), the open source aspect of many blockchain-based inventions leads to greater confusion. The patentability of software and technology platforms does not cease just because some or all of the software is open source or built on a known protocol.
Continue Reading Patent Strategies for Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain Technology
China has put a halt to Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) in China. In a recent notice, China declared ICOs to be an illegal fund raising tool and indicated it is
Continue Reading China Halts ICOs
The pro-bitcoin legislation trend continues. This month New Hampshire passed legislation that exempts persons using virtual currency from registering as money transmitters. Specifically, the law amends existing RSA 399-G, which deals with licensing of money transmitters as follows.
Continue Reading New Hampshire Exempts Bitcoin from Money Transmitter Regulation
Nevada has passed a pro-blockchain law that recognizes blockchain technology as a type of electronic record for the purposes of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act and prohibits taxation and regulations regarding the use and implementation of blockchain technology.
Continue Reading Nevada Passes Pro-blockchain Law