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Learn about notable IP developments and trends in Asia-Pacific, including China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

This Wisdom of the Crowd, complied from responses posted on the New to In-house and Small Law Department eGroups, addresses issues of the liability and various restrictions on running a contest or sweepstakes. The issues discussed include elements of a sweepstakes, operating a contest open to the general public vs. business partners, and operating an office bracket pool.

If you're not general counsel to a mutual fund, chances are that you’re not fully versed in the Investment Company Act of 1940. However, chances are that you do work for an operating company that has investments. Not understanding the far reach of this Act can cause trouble for companies. Read on to find out what exactly is an inadvertent investment company and how to keep your company from becoming one.

We have all heard about big data breaches: millions of customer records at risk, credit monitoring for an extended period of time, etc. What about the smaller run-of-the-mill security or privacy breaches? Can we prevent them? Do we have to report them? How do you set up incident response reporting? How do you do a security risk assessment to mitigate your risks?

Blockchain technology can be an innovative tool for processing personal data — as long as it’s being used in a manner compliant with the EU General Data Protection Regulation.

This Wisdom of the Crowd (ACC member discussion) addresses addresses limiting the right to revise user policies. This resource was compiled from questions and responses posted on the Forum of the IT, Privacy & eCommerce ACC Network.

As valuable assets, trade secrets are often targets of theft. This article provides a brief summary of recent legislative developments and discusses best practices to help protect trade secrets.

This QuickCounsel lists ways to bring your global legal team together.

This InfoPAK is designed for use by both large and small corporate law departments in evaluating and discerning what technologies are available and best-suited to their company’s needs. As more technological resources become available to in-house counsel, counsel’s use of technology becomes more and more critical to running successful law departments. The InfoPAK begins by introducing counsel to basic technology and tools available. It then highlights some of the newer technologies that are becoming increasingly common within corporate legal departments, such as eDiscovery and Information Governance solutions, as well as advanced and emerging technology and trends within corporate legal departments. It then explores technology administration and best practices for managing technology, and concludes with key trends in the industry, including social media governance and cross-border eDiscovery.

Read Sean Venden's reasons explaining why in-house counsel should have a basic knowledge of accounting and where they can gain that knowledge.

The antitrust landscape has changed with the advent of the Biden administration. Companies should have a compliance program in place to keep the government at bay.

Looking to bring a business-focused approach to your in-house practice? Take some tips from Siemens Canada’s experience running the legal department like a business.

Janice More, vice president, European general counsel, company secretary at HJ Heinz, and winner of the ILO and ACC Europe’s European General Counsel of the Year award, shares insight on legal department leadership in this article. More’s collaborative approach has created streamlined, strategic engagement between her in-house team members and their business and legal partners. More leverages partnerships to add value to the Heinz business.

Learn how the European Union Intellectual Property Office study on AI and IP laws, published March 2, 2022, illustrates through hypothetical cases the "double-edged sword" of AI in IP protection and infringement.

This article looks at an approach to setting up a formal interviewing plan for a forensic engagement.

Learn about key climate change challenges, strategies, and regulatory developments in the media sector in the United Kingdom and the European Union.

This article reviews changes to trademark laws around the world in 2021.

This resource introduces and provides access to a virtual library of the most common usages of trade or other business practices in France, courtesy of the Centre du Droit de l'Entreprise at the University of Montpellier School of Law.

This articles describes the evolution of the roles of general counsel (GC) in Germany. Because of the need for German companies to respond to different challenges and business needs, GCs now serve more multi-faceted roles in contrast to their United States counterparts. In addition to providing legal insight as lawyers, GCs in German companies also have more executive roles, even acting as business managers.

The liberalization of China’s distribution sector in recent years has opened a new range of choices for companies that are looking to sell their goods in China. No longer are companies required to use an uncoordinated network of domestic wholesalers. Firms now have the option to distribute products in China using international and Hong Kong-based logistics businesses, one of the many new domestic distributors in China, or to go at it alone. This interactive presentation will explore the significant issues in distribution and agency arrangements in China and Pacific Rim countries, and give you the information, tips and tactics you will need in order to advise your sales and marketing teams on effective strategies to address the complex legal and cultural issues raised by these types of arrangements.

Any company or individual is subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") if it directly or indirectly causes an act or effect in the U.S. in the furtherance of a corrupt payment to a public official. In particular, U.S. parent companies of Mexican subsidiaries can be held liable under the FCPA, if they are found to have directed or been involved in the corrupt activities of their Mexican subsidiaries. This QuickCounsel covers how the FCPA affects how business is conducted in Mexico.

What does the US Supreme Court's decision regarding the admission processes of Harvard University and the University of North Carolina mean for colleges and for employers?

The Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2006 becoming law will substantially change the laws of trademark dilutions. Companies with well-known brands––and the in-house attorneys who work for them––should be aware of this new statue and the protections that it provides. Read on to find out how this law affects you.

Under new policies enacted by the government, fewer small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in Germany will be required to appoint a data protection officer (DPO). The new plans now mean that SME that have under 50 employees involved in automated processing of personal data will no longer have to appoint the DPO (the previous threshold was 20 employees).

Learn about legal issues related to the metaverse, including intellectual property, Game Industry Promotion Act/Election Transaction Act, and privacy.

In this article, learn about insolvency questions regarding crypto assets.

In the wake of the US Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, employers with health plans that cover abortion services will have to determine whether or how to provide continued access to this relatively little-used benefit, especially in states that will automatically restrict abortion access now that the ruling has been issued, or that are expected to do so.