Tech Talks by Mayer Brown

In this episode, we explore the ever-evolving realm of AI regulation and how it's reshaping technology transactions and internal governance worldwide. Join host Julian Dibbell and guests Ana Bruder, Arsen Kourinian, and Oliver Yaros as they discuss what’s happening in the EU, the US, and the UK, respectively, and how companies can navigate compliance in this changing environment.

In this episode, we revisit the ever-shifting landscape of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), a topic which has continued to captivate the tech world since our discussion a year ago. With GenAI at the forefront of the conversation, we delve back into the complexities surrounding its use, with a special focus on the contractual and legal challenges faced by users, data providers, and businesses. Join partners Marina Aronchik and Rich Assmus, and host Julian Dibbell, as they explore advancements in GenAI over the last year, emerging legal intricacies, and the implications for those navigating the technology.

Join our Technology & IP Transactions lawyers as they dive into the trends shaping 2024. In this episode, we explore the future of technology services, spotlight trends driving tech startups, and dissect deals tied to customer-facing digital platforms and cloud services. Additionally, we navigate the evolving regulations affecting tech transactions in Europe and the UK, as well as the legal complexities surrounding AI and GenAI. Tune in for a comprehensive overview that unpacks key trends and considerations for technology transactions in the year ahead.

Companies seeking to outsource—or re-source—business functions are strongly incentivized to act quickly, in order to realize savings and other benefits. However, maximizing those benefits requires effective planning and clever negotiating with suppliers, and companies that resist the temptation to take shortcuts will set themselves up for success in the long run. In this episode, partners Joe Pennell and Brad Peterson, along with host Julian Dibbell, provide insight into optimizing the outsourcing deal process, both in planning and execution.

Engaging third-party providers for technology transactions involves a certain level of cybersecurity risk. In fact, most companies have been through a third-party incident. In this episode, partners Justin Herring and Adam Hickey, along with host Julian Dibbell, unpack these cybersecurity risks and what businesses can do to prepare. They discuss the life cycle of a technology vendor relationship, including diligence and contracting, and how to manage the relationship to minimize risk.

China’s stance toward data privacy and cybersecurity has been a matter of interest for the last several years, most prominently with the June 2017 passage of China’s Cybersecurity Law, and the passage of the Data Security Law and the Personal Information Protection Law in late 2021. Now, more than two years after the 2021 laws were passed, companies wishing to conduct business in this landscape are faced with a daunting set of subsidiary regulations that require self-assessments, impact assessments and certifications to ensure compliance, failure of which can attract potentially heavy fines and restrictions on business operations if circumvented. Join Mayer Brown partner Gabriela Kennedy and host Julian Dibbell as they revisit the China data laws and these latest developments and discuss the effect they’ve had on the industry, and what interested parties should be aware of in the coming years.

Whether you are a startup or an acquiring company, there are several steps you should consider ahead of an exit to protect your deal and avoid issues later on. In this episode, Salt Lake City partners Spencer Glende and Scott Young, along with host Julian Dibbell, discuss measures companies can take with respect to IP and commercial agreements in order to avoid future friction in an investment or acquisition. Tune in for practical advice on navigating these contractual challenges.

The recent banking crisis has highlighted the need for FinTechs to take a strategic approach to their current and future bank partner relationships. With bank regulators focusing their attention on exactly these types of arrangements in recent years, there are today a number of hurdles for FinTechs to overcome as they execute on these critical business partnerships. In this episode, partners Rohith George, Eric Mitzenmacher and Jeff Taft, along with host Julian Dibbell, explore the impact of recent bank failures and unpack what they mean for FinTechs as they enter into relationships with new bank partners who are facing regulatory scrutiny regarding third party risk management.

Chatbots and other types of “generative AI”—AI that creates consumable content such as computer code, text responses, images, or music—have catapulted to the center of the AI discussion. In this episode, partners Rich Assmus and Marina Aronchik, along with host Julian Dibbell, discuss the key implications of generative AI and the contracting issues that arise for users and data providers.

As 2023 begins, we are coming off many years of fast and frothy innovation with a great deal of new complexity in both products and business models. We now face a downturn. Prominent companies across the economy are announcing layoffs and other cost-cutting measures and will likely require more complex deals to preserve profitability. In this episode, partners from our Technology & IP Transactions practice, along with host Julian Dibbell, will cover eight key trends to look out for in 2023 as companies look to reduce spend and drive revenue.

With technology deals increasingly involving open source software (OSS), clients are seeking our help analyzing OSS licenses, developing open source policies and negotiating contract terms for open source. In this episode, partner Paul Chandler and host Julian Dibbell discuss how OSS is impacting deals and how to address and mitigate the legal risks.

Market and technology changes create opportunities for companies to substantially reduce costs by negotiating or renegotiating managed services agreements and other outsourcing services agreements. In this episode, ISG partner Jon Lightman and Mayer Brown partners Brad Peterson and Mark Prinsley, along with host Julian Dibbell, discuss how to leverage change to create value in your outsourcing deals.

When engaging in a tech transaction, you must know your obligations under data privacy laws. First and foremost, it’s critical to consider whether “personal information”—a broad term that encompasses many types of data—is disclosed or received under an agreement. You must also understand the geographic scope of your deal, which data privacy laws apply (there are over 150 privacy laws worldwide), and the terms that must be included in an agreement to address those laws, including cross-border data transfer safeguards. In this special Cybersecurity Awareness Month episode, partner Arsen Kourinian and associates Josh Cohen and Megan Von Borstel, along with host Julian Dibbell, discuss these issues and more.

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has had a significant impact on commercial activity for many organizations on a local and international scale. Organizations with commercial operations in the region (both Ukraine and Russia) may face challenges in sustaining their contractual obligations. Mayer Brown partner Jim Ferguson and associate Valerie Vanryckeghem, along with host Julian Dibbell, will discuss common issues that certain organizations may face as a result of the crisis and practical considerations for drafting contractual protections with a view to avoiding the specific business risks of the Ukraine conflict.

Too often, contract rights bargained and paid for in negotiations are eroded during governance. This podcast describes seven tips for governing service provider relationships in ways that leverage or strengthen contract rights. Reg Goeke, who leads our Commercial Litigation practice, provides a litigator’s perspective and Brad Peterson, who leads our Technology Transactions practice, provides a sourcing lawyer’s perspective.

Non-fungible tokens, commonly called “NFTs,” have been around for some time, but they have only hit mainstream public consciousness over the past few years. With the speculative frenzy around NFTs seemingly at an all-time high, it can be difficult to sift through the noise and identify the real use cases, and accompanying issues, that companies need to be aware of. Mayer Brown partners Richard Assmus and Rohith George and host Julian Dibbell will decipher these digital assets, explore a few of the legal issues surrounding them and discuss some of the steps companies need to consider as they look to leverage NFTs as part of their business strategy.

This episode focuses on an IP right at the heart of many technology deals—copyrights. Mayer Brown partners Richard Assmus and Oliver Yaros and host Julian Dibbell will discuss some recent important changes in US and European copyright law and how those changes might inform your tech deals.

In contracts, parties typically seek to limit their liability to each other, both in terms of the types of damages or actions for which a party will have liability and the amount of damages that can be recovered, as well as, in certain cases, the remedies that can be pursued. The parties often negotiate exceptions from these limitations, including for gross negligence or willful misconduct. During this podcast, Chris Houpt, Linda Rhodes and Anja Watt along with host Julian Dibbell will examine the definitions of gross negligence and willful misconduct, recent court holdings on the ability of contracting parties to limit liability and the implications for contracts. For purposes of this podcast, we focus on New York law, commonly selected as the governing law in contracts.

In the 2022 edition of our long-running annual podcast, partners in Mayer Brown’s Technology Transactions practice will discuss trends that will drive and shape technology transactions. This year’s program will focus on convergence of cloud, AI and data; innovation through new and complex collaborations; continued change in cybersecurity and privacy laws and priorities; increasing focus on sustainable digital business practices; and emerging technologies that seem poised to drive technology transactions in future years.

Businesses today are data driven and data dependent, but the rules that govern how data can be used and shared across borders are becoming increasingly tricky for international organizations to navigate, subject to constantly evolving and often conflicting requirements in each region. None more so than in Europe, where changes over the past 18 months—including updated versions of the EU’s Standard Contractual Clauses for cross-border data transfer—have raised new sets of questions for organizations seeking to comply with the rules for moving personal data from Europe to places like the United States. In this special National Cybersecurity Awareness Month episode, partners Vivek Mohan and Oliver Yaros along with host Julian Dibbell discuss these changes and a few things businesses can do to stay on top of them.