Insights

AI and Copyright in the Fashion Industry

Carolyn Wimbly Martin and Margaret Horstman

Artificial intelligence (“AI”) is an innovative system where computers emulate human intelligence processes. AI technologies have been transforming how companies invent and create products, predict consumer trends and streamline production processes. In the past several years, AI has found a new home in the fashion industry and has been used to execute digital clothing designs, […]

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Virtual Try-On Features: Augmented Reality Technologies Highlight Evolving Compliance Hurdles Under U.S. Privacy Laws

Carolyn Wimbly Martin and Margaret Horstman

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing restrictions have made it hard for consumers to try on clothes, accessories and makeup before making a purchase. As an alternative, consumers have turned to augmented reality (AR) “virtual try-ons” offered by brands like Garnier, Maybelline and Warby Parker. AR is the use of digital information, […]

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Instagram Sued Over Embedding Copyrighted Images

In a less than surprising development, Instagram was sued in the Northern District of California on May 19, 2021 by two photojournalists in a class action accusing the social media giant of violating copyright law by facilitating the practice of embedding images on third-party websites for its financial gain. The lawsuit alleges that Instagram is […]

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An Epic Trade Secret Mistake? Why Third Parties to Litigation May be at Risk of Losing Trade Secret Protections

Carolyn Wimbly Martin and Robert Piper

May 21, 2021 marked the end of an epic three-week trial, pitting Epic, the owner and developer of the wildly popular Fortnite video mobile game, against Apple, the maker of the number one smartphone platform in the U.S. Despite being an antitrust case, Epic v. Apple inadvertently raised a serious trade secret concern on its […]

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Film, Theater and Copyright Post-Pandemic

For 11 days in January-February 2021 a group of college friends from the class of 2020 each purchased a $350 all access pass to the virtual Sundance Festival so they might text and share video chats around their passion for theater. Since graduation, they were now scattered across the country, one in a new job […]

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Cybersecurity: New Executive Order Promises to Overhaul the Entire Industry

Carolyn Wimbly Martin and Robert Piper

Nearly a decade after then-Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta predicted the United States would face a “cyber-Pearl Harbor,” the Federal Government (“USG”) has finally taken dramatic action. On May 12, President Biden signed an Executive Order (“EO”) that radically overhauls the nation’s approach to cybersecurity. After multiple high-profile attacks on both public and private systems, […]

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AI in the Living Room: The Problem with Online Exam Proctors

Carolyn Wimbly Martin and Ethan Barr

When the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered physical classrooms, students arrived home to numerous Zoom or Google Meet invitations to attend their newly established virtual classes. Now that remote education has become ubiquitous (despite optimistic plans for in-person classes in Fall 2021), many educational institutions have turned to the trendiest technological advances to monitor classroom activity, particularly […]

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The Information Transparency and Personal Data Control Act

Carolyn Wimbly Martin and Kavya Rallabhandi

The Information Transparency and Personal Data Control Act (“ITPDCA”) was introduced to Congress in March 2021 by Representative and former Microsoft executive, Suzan DelBene. The ITPDCA seeks to implement a uniform federal standard for consumer data privacy regulation and drive global data privacy policy. Data privacy is vital to both companies and the individual. Data […]

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NFTs: A 2021 Internet Craze or a Fundamental Shift in How We Think of Digital Property and Copyright Law?

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have existed since 2017, but in March 2021 they became a household word. In the following weeks a number of issues came to light, which may suggest that the future of NFTs will not live up to the initial hype. An NFT is a digital property existing on a secure network of […]

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EU Proposes Artificial Intelligence Regulations: What Does This Mean for the U.S.?

Carolyn Wimbly Martin and Ethan Barr

On Wednesday, April 21, the European Union (EU) officially set forth the “Proposal for a Regulation laying down harmonized rules on artificial intelligence,” more commonly referred to as the Artificial Intelligence Act (hereinafter, “the Regulation”). This set of rules would govern the use of artificial intelligence (AI) within the jurisdiction of the EU. The Regulation […]

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