By: Whitney Hosey *| Staff Writer

Before the final GOP tax bill was completed, many in the real estate industry were concerned over the fate of Section 1031 of the U.S. Tax Code, otherwise known as the “Like-Kind Exchange.” A Section 1031 Exchange “is a real estate transaction involving the sale of one property with the tax on the capital gain deferred because of the qualified purchase of another like-kind property in exchange.” While normally all sales of real estate are taxable, Section 1031 creates an exception where the parties to the transaction are not taxed or are taxed minimally, at the time of the exchange.

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By: Greg Volk *| Staff Writer

With over one-fifth of young adults streaming hit shows like “Game of Thrones” using another person’s account, password sharing is certainly popular. But is it illegal? According to a decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last year, it theoretically could be. There is little chance the FBI will come knocking on your door, however. If there is any crackdown on streaming, it is more likely to occur in the marketplace.

News headlines about password sharing have been confusing (compare “Yes, Sharing Your Netflix or HBO GO Passwords Is Actually A Federal Crime” with “Relax, you’re not going to jail for sharing your Netflix password”), so it is important to understand what is really at stake for consumers. The confusion arises from the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), a vague thirty-year-old federal statute that’s been called “the worst law in technology.” Aimed at hackers, the CFAA makes it illegal to “access[] a protected computer without authorization, or exceed[] authorized access.” But what constitutes “access” and when is it “without authorization”?

In the Ninth Circuit case, United States v. Nosal (“Nosal II“), the court held that the defendant violated the CFAA when he used a former colleague’s password to take client data from a recruiting company in order to start his own. The defendant argued that such a broad interpretation of the CFAA could criminalize acts like sharing a password among family members, to watch Netflix, for instance, or to check-in for a flight. A dissenting judge agreed. The majority said their interpretation would not apply to those situations. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case, so we are unlikely to get greater clarity anytime soon.

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By:  Maureen Gallagher *| Staff Writer

Is money better known as a number on a screen or a crisp linen bill? For the time being, the word may still comfortably conjure an image of green slips of paper, but the future may tell a different story in which electronic, mobile payment first comes to mind.

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The Wake Forest Journal of Business and Intellectual Property Law present its Spring Symposium:

Intellectual Property and Medical Technology: From Creation to Commercialization 

The Symposium is being held, today, Friday, February 2, 2018, from 8:30 am – 4:00 pm at the Wake Forest Innovation Quarter (Biotech Place). This year’s event will look at medical patents, bioethics and the intellectual property implications of medical technology.

MORNING SESSION

Overview of Regenerative Medicine, Role of Law, & Bioethics

Keynote Speakers: Julie Watson and Dr. John D. Jackson

Julie Watson, Chief Legal Counsel for the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the Wake Forest School of Medicine, opened the Wake Forest Journal of Business and Intellectual Property Law Symposium by introducing the first speaker of the day, Dr. John D. Jackson. Dr. Jackson, an associate professor at the Institute since 2010, began the day’s events by explaining the technical components of the Institute.

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The Wake Forest Journal of Business and Intellectual Property Law will be hosting its spring symposium,  “Intellectual Property and Medical Technology: From Creation to Commercialization,” beginning at 8:30 a.m. this Friday, February 2, 2018, in the Wake Forest Biotech Place Atrium at Wake Forest Innovation Quarter. Medical patents, the intersection of bioethics and the law, and the venture capitalist-side of regenerative medicine are among some of the topics to be discussed at this year’s symposium. This blog post is meant to provide a brief overview of bioethics and venture capitalists of medical devices.

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By: Gabriela Mejias *| Staff Writer

On October of 2016, AT&T, Inc. and Time Warner Inc. announced that AT&T would acquire Time Warner in an $85.4 billion transaction. This acquisition was widely seen as the biggest of the year. Time Warner is a giant media and entertainment powerhouse that owns brands such as HBO, Turner Broadcasting (think CNN, TNT, TBS, and Cartoon Network/Adult Swim), and Warner Brothers. Given AT&T’s extensive network in mobile, broadband, and television distribution, this match could change the face of access to the internet, news, entertainment, streaming services, and more.

The deal was planned to go through by the end of 2017, however, reports indicated that the Justice Department had a few issues with the proposed deal. The Justice Department instructed AT&T to sell either DirectTV or Turner Broadcasting, saying that an acquisition including these companies would raise costs for other entertainment companies and stifle competition. AT&T chief executive responded to that instruction in the negative, stating, “If we feel that litigation is a better outcome then we will litigate.”

Antitrust litigation is most commonly triggered by instances of horizontal acquisition. In horizontal acquisition, a company is merging with another company in a similar market sector and at the same stage of production. Because this involves the combination of two likely competing companies, it is at risk for creating reduced competition and a monopoly for that industry. This is where Justice Department antitrust litigation steps in.

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By:  Maureen Gallagher *| Staff Writer

It is every driver’s dream – to soar out of gridlock of the highway to the open, uncluttered air. The possibilities seem endless when a car is unconstrained by winding roads and free to literally go straight to its destination. Uber wants to make this dream a reality with their potential new offering called UberAIR. As usual, Uber has big ideas and big promises. They imagine a world where “traveling from San Francisco’s Marina to work in downtown San Jose, a drive that would normally occupy the better part of two hours, would only take 15 minutes. Since time is money, if this promise is executed correctly, the benefit could ripple positively across the economy, reducing wasted travel time and increasing productivity.

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By: Whitney Hosey *| Staff Writer

On October 31, the Senate Judiciary Crime and Terrorism Subcommittee began a two-day inquiry into possible effects of Russian sponsored advertising via social media during the 2016 Presidential Campaign. Representatives from Facebook, Google, and Twitter were questioned to determine whether it was possible Russian paid adverts present on these sites impacted the election. Another major concern is how these platforms may have been misused in order to do so, and what steps the companies are taking to ensure their sites are not used in this manner again.

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By: Jamie Burchette *| Staff Writer

It is an age-old story – companies work together, but the relationship sours. Sometimes this is the end of the story, and sometimes this is only the beginning. The relationship between Keyssa Inc and Essential Products Inc seems to be heading in the latter direction.

Keyssa is a company that wants to change the way devices connect with each other. There are already several existing ways: cables, Wi-Fi, etc., however, Keyssa’s product, Kiss Connectivity, promises many benefits over existing connections. Wireless connections take up a significant amount of space inside devices since the connection requires antennas. While these antennas are small, they are relatively large when they are placed inside a smartphone. On the other hand, Kiss Connectivity is “coffee bean-sized” and takes up less space. And, unlike cables, Kiss Connectivity does not require an opening in the device. Kiss Connectivity is more secure than Wi-Fi since it is a direct connection between the two devices without going through any routers. Even more impressively, Kiss Connectivity allows data transfer speeds of up to 6GB per second.

Keyssa has been developing this technology since 2009, and it is just starting to roll it out. In October 2016, Keyssa announced it was placing Kiss Connectivity in Intel 2 in 1 devices. In August 2017, Keyssa partnered with Samsung and Foxconn to place Kiss Connectivity chips in smartphones. Keyssa’s thunder, however, was stolen by the Essential Phone.  The Essential Phone was released shortly after the partnership was announced, and it came equipped with a “magnetic connector with wireless data transfer.” For Keyssa, this move raised some eyebrows, and, subsequently, Keyssa filed a lawsuit against Essential Products.

Keyssa’s lawsuit does not allege that Essential Products stole their chip technology. Instead, this lawsuit has taken a different path. According to Keyssa, the two companies spent ten months discussing Keyssa’s technology. These discussions involved Keyssa’s trade secrets, which Essential Phone was obligated not to disclose under a non-disclosure agreement. Eventually, Essential Products ended the relationship and, instead, used a competing chip from SiBEAM.  Still, the Essential Phone incorporated elements, such as testing methods and antenna designs, which Keyssa claims are trade secrets which they had shared with Essential Products.

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By: Emily Marcum *| Staff Writer

Over two-thousand lawsuits are currently pending in state and federal court alleging that Johnson & Johnson failed to warn women about the potential cancer risks associated with its popular talc-based baby powder product. Around 5,000 women claim that they developed ovarian cancer from using the Johnson & Johnson powder containing talc. Talcum powder is made from the mineral, talc, which is mostly made up of three elements magnesium, silicon, hydrogen, and oxygen. In its natural form, some talc can contain asbestos, a known cancer-causing agent. As a result, the United States has ensured since the 1970s that all talcum products used in consumer products are asbestos-free. The American Cancer Society has talc containing asbestos listed as a carcinogen. However, the studies regarding the asbestos-free talc contained in the Johnson & Johnson baby powder and other consumer products remains inconclusive. The American Cancer Society urges consumers that are concerned about talcum powder to avoid or limit their use of consumer products that contain it.

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