By: Sarah Benjamin The Antiquities Act, which was passed in 1906, gives Presidents broad discretion to designate areas as National Monuments and thereby take them out of use for commercial industries and set them aside for the sole purpose of public recreation and enjoyment.[1] Since the Act’s passage, various Presidents have designated nearly 100 million…

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By: Julie Chung The rise in cryptocurrency usage and sales confused the traditional securities and financial space. The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) typically exercised regulatory oversight to protect investors in the capital markets.[1]Cryptocurrencies have notably dodged financial regulators like the SEC with virtual currencies and sophisticated payment systems structured to avoid financial regulation.[2] Cryptocurrencies…

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By: Liam Sullivan Last month, SEC Commissioners adopted new rules regarding special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), concluding a years-long effort to increase transparency and protections around investments in SPACs and the acquisition (de-SPAC) and initial public offering (IPO) of existing companies using this investment vehicle. The SEC turned a critical eye towards SPACs during a…

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By: Miguel E. Serrano How does the sudden prevalence of “Wrapped” compilations fit into U.S. privacy law? On January 17, 2024, the D.C. Metro (Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority or “WMATA”) followed companies like Spotify, Duolingo, and the Washington Post in posting a 2023 “year-end review.”[1] When Spotify launched its Wrapped feature in 2015, the…

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By: Caitlyn Lindstrom Patreon, a video content subscription platform,[1] challenged the constitutionality of the Video Privacy Protection Act (“VPPA”),[2] which allows consumers to “maintain control over personal information” while generating and accessing video content on providers’ platforms.[3]  The VPPA was born out of concern for consumer privacy regarding media consumption.[4] Following the publishing of then-U.S.…

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By: Vincent Alfieri Universal Music Group has recently filed a lawsuit against Anthropic PBC, an Amazon backed startup, alleging that the company’s Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) chatbot infringes on the lyrics from multiple copyrighted songs.[1]  Universal’s complaint contains numerous side-by-side comparisons of the chatbot’s generated lyrics and the lyrics from copyrighted works.[2] When directed by a…

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By: Kevin Quintanilla A big win may come soon to consumers due to the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) new proposed rule to ban junk fees.[1] Junk fees refer to hidden costs or extra charges that a consumer must pay, oftentimes substantially increasing the total price of a product or service.[2] These fees are frequently not…

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By: Seth Bilbrey With venture capital firms and other investment companies flocking to social media to promote investment projects, courts are being forced to look at a depression era securities law to determine what exactly a “seller” is.[1] The 1933 Securities Act (“Securities Act”) has allowed investors who have purchased unregistered securities, or who were…

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By: Cassy Sulzer On September 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to hear the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) disclosure liability case of Moab Partners, L.P. v. Macquarie Infrastructure Corp.[1] The Supreme Court will consider whether a failure to make a disclosure required under Item 303 of Regulations S-K of the Securities Act…

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