Stradley Ronon recently launched our Business Vantage Point Venture Capital blog. Articles on timely topics written by our team of trusted advisers to the venture capital and private equity community will be posted to the site regularly. Below is a recap of recent posts.
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IN THIS ISSUE:
AI-Generated Art Has Arrived, With Litigations Close Behind
Board Observers: Relevant Considerations and Potential Pitfalls
2023 State Data Privacy Law: A Quick Reference Guide
Zooming In on Effective Board Meetings
AI-Generated Art Has Arrived, With Litigations Close Behind
It’s not news that owners of copyrights in music and images have been using AI tools to troll the web looking for infringements for a while. Once an infringement was located, more often than not, money was paid, and a quick settlement was reached. But now, suddenly, there is an entirely new set of issues for copyright owners to confront, which is not going to be so straightforward. Read More...
Board Observers: Relevant Considerations and Potential Pitfalls
Angel investors, venture capital and private equity funds often seek to secure some presence, formal or informal, within the board meetings of the corporations in which they invest. Such representation and participation in corporate governance provide potential benefits to both the investor and the portfolio corporation. The corporation can benefit from having experienced investors participate and provide guidance in board meetings and beyond. While some corporations may be wary of offering such investors a formal seat on the board of directors, one option commonly employed is to grant investors or their representatives rights as “board observers.” Such persons may observe and even participate, usually in some limited fashion, in meetings of the board of directors. They generally get rights to attend meetings and obtain all materials provided to formal members of the board, but in a non-voting capacity. Granting such rights, however, introduces a number of unique issues and subtle potential pitfalls that both the corporation and the investor should carefully assess. Read More...
2023 State Data Privacy Law: A Quick Reference Guide
Despite recent efforts on Capitol Hill over the summer, Congress has yet to bring a workable model for a national data privacy framework to a vote. Individual states continue to fill the void by responding to growing consumer expectations for greater privacy and control over their personal information. In 2023, four additional states (Colorado, Connecticut, Utah and Virginia) will join California in bringing comprehensive consumer privacy laws into effect. As state legislatures continue to define general data privacy rights, nationwide compliance has become increasingly complicated as many businesses are required to track diverging requirements across all states. The accompanying table is a quick reference guide that compares some of the key provisions of these emerging data privacy statutes. Read More...
Zooming In on Effective Board Meetings
Throughout the pandemic, we all got accustomed to holding virtual meetings as a necessity, but recently I have received a number of questions from clients about continuing to hold virtual or hybrid board meetings or whether they should be encouraging more fully in-person meetings to the extent practicable. This is definitely a discussion that a number of companies are having as we try to move back to more in-person activities. There are, of course, pluses and minuses to the ability to use Zoom, Teams and other similar technology to meet with colleagues, but I believe the conversation should focus on the most effective way to hold a meeting of the Board of Directors, such that the Board properly engages with management and is diligent in exercising its fiduciary duties. Read More...
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