Category Archives: Blockchain

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Blockchain Technology Continues to Support a Flourishing Music Industry

Sidney FohrmanBy Sidney Fohrman on Posted in Blockchain, Cryptocurrency
For the first time since 2007, the Recording Industry Association of America is reporting that the United States retail music market is on its way to becoming a $10 billion market. Streaming royalties account for a majority of this growth along with new use cases entering the marketplace. New technologies and content offerings have and continue … Continue Reading

Blockchain Continues to Make Headway in the Energy Industry

Mark PatrickWilliam RappoltKenneth WisemanBy Mark Patrick, William Rappolt and Kenneth Wiseman on Posted in Blockchain
Recent developments in the energy sector indicate that blockchain technology is being embraced to address a range of issues including network security and improved integration of renewable generation and demand response resources. This emerging technology continues to have the potential to become a disrupter in the energy industry.… Continue Reading

FinCEN – We Will Identify Where Compliance Is Not Taking Place And Take Appropriate Action

James GattoBy James Gatto on Posted in Bitcoin, Blockchain, CryptoAssets, Cryptocurrency, FinCEN, Initial Coin Offerings, Regulatory, Virtual Currency
Last week we reported that FinCEN had issued new guidance addressing cryptocurrency and other convertible virtual currency. The need for compliance was reinforced this week. In a speech by Sigal Mandelker, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, during blockchain week in NY, a stern warning was issued. The message was clear. Regulatory compliance is … Continue Reading

FinCEN Updates Guidance on Crypto

James GattoBy James Gatto on Posted in Bitcoin, Blockchain, CryptoAssets, Cryptocurrency, FinCEN, Initial Coin Offerings, Regulatory, Virtual Currency
FinCEN has issued  2 new guidance documents addressing cryptocurrency and other convertible virtual currency (CVC). The guidance does not establish any new regulatory expectations. Rather, it consolidates current FinCEN regulations, guidance and administrative rulings that relate to money transmission involving virtual currency, and applies the same interpretive criteria to other common business models involving CVC. … Continue Reading

Blockchain Games and Collectibles – Patents and Other Legal Issues

James GattoBy James Gatto on Posted in Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, SEC
The use of blockchain (or distributed ledger) technology for games (a.k.a blockchain games) and token-based digital collectibles is on the rise. The overnight popularity of CryptoKitties was as significant to raising the awareness of digital collectibles as Pokémon Go was to location-based AR games. However, the ecosystem extends well beyond CryptoKitties, and is growing rapidly. … Continue Reading

How Blockchain Technology Brings Value to Healthcare

James GattoBy James Gatto on Posted in Blockchain, Healthcare
Blockchain applications for healthcare have garnered significant attention recently. For example, as we recently blogged, five major healthcare companies – Humana, MultiPlan, Optum, Quest Diagnostics, and UnitedHealthcare – formed the Synaptic Health Alliance (the “Alliance”) to explore how blockchain technology could resolve current healthcare issues.… Continue Reading

The Synaptic Health Alliance: A Look at how Blockchain Technology Could Improve Provider Data Quality

John TiltonJames GattoSamuel GilkesonBy John Tilton, James Gatto and Samuel Gilkeson on Posted in Blockchain, Healthcare
In 2018, five major healthcare companies – Humana, MultiPlan, Optum, Quest Diagnostics, and UnitedHealthcare – formed the Synaptic Health Alliance (the “Alliance”) to explore how blockchain technology could resolve current healthcare issues. The Alliance launched its first pilot program in April 2018 to focus on specific ways that “blockchain technology can help ensure the most … Continue Reading

Security Tokens — A Superior Platform for Securities Holding and Trading

James MercerJames ThompsonBy James Mercer and James Thompson on Posted in Blockchain, CryptoAssets, Cryptocurrency, SEC
The use of digital securities or security tokens has coincided with the explosion of crypto-currencies and efforts to establish Internet-traded coins or tokens with utility as a form of currency. Lost amidst the enthusiasm over the revolutionary implications of crypto-currencies is the simple fact that security tokens which use block-chain technology and smart contracts have … Continue Reading

Smart Contract Developers – Beware and Lawyer Up!

James GattoBy James Gatto on Posted in Blockchain
Smart contracts, also referred to as chaincode in the Hyperledger world, are one of the most powerful aspects of blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). This “self-executing” code can receive various inputs and, based on “if-then” logic encoded therein, can take various actions and update the ledger state. Based on recent actions by U.S. regulators, … Continue Reading

Considering Blockchain In The Electricity Industry

James GattoMark SundbackKenneth WisemanAndrew MinaMark PatrickWilliam RappoltBy James Gatto, Mark Sundback, Kenneth Wiseman, Andrew Mina, Mark Patrick and William Rappolt on Posted in Blockchain, Regulatory
A version of this article originally appeared on Law360 on November 7, 2018. Blockchain technology and smart contracts have the potential to become major disrupters in the energy industry. For example, these technologies may accelerate the automation of some or all aspects of the electricity delivery transaction chain and allow for more decentralized, efficient electricity … Continue Reading

Crypto Firms Make Inroads with State and Federal Regulators

Jeff KernChristopher BoschBy Jeff Kern and Christopher Bosch on Posted in Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Regulatory
Over the past couple of years, the crypto industry has come under heavy scrutiny from skeptical regulators seeking to root out fraud and protect investors amid the initial coin offering boom that generated over $4 billion in 2017. However, this skepticism is starting to give way to a more business-friendly attitude. Crypto firms have made … Continue Reading

10 Things to Know About The Intersection of Blockchain Technology, Open Source Software, and Patents

James GattoBy James Gatto on Posted in Blockchain, Open Source, Patents
On their own, blockchain technology, open source software, and patents each present legal issues that are often complex and frequently misunderstood. When combined, the complexity and misunderstandings of these three topics are magnified. This set of issues is important now because blockchain technology is on the verge of mainstream commercialization and much of it relies … Continue Reading

Blockchain. Bringing A Chorus of Cheers to the Music Industry

James GattoAlexandra BearSidney FohrmanBy James Gatto, Alexandra Bear and Sidney Fohrman on Posted in Blockchain
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 … Continue Reading

The Blockchain-based Supply Chain Adoption Tipping Point?

James GattoBy James Gatto on Posted in Blockchain, Patents, Supply chain
Blockchain has long been touted as having transformational potential. Yet, the commercial adoption has been slow. As with any cutting-edge technology, commercial adoption usually requires some tipping point. For adoption of blockchain-based supply chain, the tipping point may just have occurred. According to a recent article, starting in September 2019, Walmart and its Sam’s Club … Continue Reading

10 FAQs About Blockchain and Life Sciences

James GattoBy James Gatto on Posted in Blockchain
Blockchain is a rapidly emerging technology and has the potential to bring transformative changes to many industries. As more companies become aware of and study this technology, many questions arise. These questions relate to what blockchain technology is, how it works and what about it is so different. Blockchain is often associated with the financial services … Continue Reading

SEC Blockchain and Crypto Update

James GattoBy James Gatto on Posted in Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, SEC
The SEC has been busy over the past couple of weeks addressing blockchain and crypto-related issues. ETF Activity The SEC rejected, for a second time, a request by the Winklevoss brothers for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. The primary reason given by the SEC was that the submission did not sufficiently explain how the ETF would … Continue Reading

New York’s AG Enters the Cryptocurrency Ring as Federal, State Authorities Find Regulatory Footing

Jeff KernChristopher BoschBy Jeff Kern and Christopher Bosch on Posted in Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Regulatory
On April 17, 2018, the New York State Attorney General (“NYAG”) sent a “Virtual Markets Integrity Initiative Questionnaire” to 13 companies operating virtual currency trading platforms. The questionnaire consists of 34 questions covering a number of topics, including ownership and control, operation and fees, trading policies and procedures, outages and other suspensions of trading, internal … Continue Reading

Drafting Effective Blockchain Patents

James GattoBy James Gatto on Posted in Blockchain, Patents
As the number of blockchain-based patents and patent applications increases, more companies have become interested in pursuing these patents. Other companies still think that blockchain-based inventions are not patentable. To help sort fact from fiction, we have prepared a paper to provide an update on blockchain patents, provide guidance on the types of blockchain inventions … Continue Reading

Issues to be Considered in Launching an Offering Involving Digital Instruments Based upon the Use of Blockchain

Law of the LedgerBy Sheppard Mullin on Posted in Blockchain, Initial Coin Offerings, SEC
Read the full article here, authored by Richard A. Friedman and Andrea Cataneo. An excerpt: “When considering an offering of digital instruments that involves the use of blockchain technology, whether in the form of tokens, coins or otherwise, there are a number of issues that need to be considered. Much   has been written and said … Continue Reading

How Blockchain Can Impact Healthcare

James GattoBy James Gatto on Posted in Blockchain
Blockchain technology is finding its way into every industry. Healthcare is no exception. According to a recent report by Deloitte, “blockchain technology has the potential to transform health care, placing the patient at the center of the health care ecosystem and increasing the security, privacy, and interoperability of health data.” Some of the proposed applications … Continue Reading

10 Things to Know About Blockchain for the Transportation Industry

James GattoBy James Gatto on Posted in Blockchain
Read the full article here. An excerpt: “According to a recent article proponents of blockchain technology have identified a wide variety of potential applications that would benefit the providers and commercial users of transportation and logistics services, such as: Foiling Imposter Carriers. Shippers sometimes fall victim to schemes whereby a fraudster masquerades as a legitimate … Continue Reading

Patent Strategies for Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain Technology

James GattoBy James Gatto on Posted in Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Patents
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 … Continue Reading
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