By: Cassy Sulzer On February 6, 2024, The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) implemented two new rules in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“the Act”): Rule 3a5-4 and 3a44-2.[1] These rules introduce ambiguity regarding the classification of individuals as “dealers” or as “traders,” crucial for determining registration requirements with both the SEC and self-regulatory…

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By: Leo Garonski Under the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, Congress significantly subsidized airlines and created the Civil Aeronautics Board to prevent restraints of trade, designate airlines routes, and control seat prices.[1]  The Act also required that U.S. citizens own at least three-quarters of each U.S.-based airline.[2]  The U.S. airline industry inflected on cost and…

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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: 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: 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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