Reed Smith LLP
Global Perspectives
SEC Enforcement Action Involving Initial Coin Offering Muddies Jurisdictional Waters
Digital assets, popularly referred to as “cryptocurrencies”, “coins”, and “tokens”, continue to provoke regulatory attention and create discord amongst regulators. Recent actions by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) demonstrate that activities by the issuers of tokens may draw scrutiny from either or both agencies. As new token issuance schemes hit the market every day, cryptocurrency market participants must be cautious because multiple regulatory enforcement arms are becoming increasingly active in this rapidly evolving arena.
“See you in court!” - changes to the law on groundless threats concerning infringement of trade mark, design rights and patents
Rights holders can be very protective of the fruits of their intellectual efforts (and rightly so). However, many are unware that when they threaten proceedings for infringement of trade marks, design rights or patents, they may themselves fall foul of the law. Unless the threat (which can take many forms) falls within one of the statutory exceptions, the aggrieved party (i.e., the party whose commercial interests suffer because of the threat) could itself sue.
A Brief History of How We Got Here - The Road to UAE Arbitration
Kristine Kalnina of Reed Smith Dubai explores the enforcement considerations in the Dubai arbitration process, tracking the various developments in the process over time and providing analysis as to where we are now.
Pioneering offshore access to the China commodities futures markets – The INE and its medium sour crude oil contract
The opening up of the futures markets for commodity products in China has been much discussed and highly anticipated. However, it looks like a crude oil futures contract, listed on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE), will finally be the first Chinese commodity futures contract capable of being directly traded offshore by foreign investors. While the launch date for the INE’s crude oil contract hasn’t been announced, it is widely expected to happen before the end of 2017. Depending on the success of the crude oil contract, the INE may herald the path for other exchanges and other futures products to become accessible from offshore.
10,000 Foot View
Do Values Matter…Now?
Reed Smith has partnered with Susan Bird, an internationally-recognized leader in executive communication, in developing a new series of podcasts that are “curated conversations,” moderated by Susan and produced by Wf360. Some say we’ve lost our true north…as individuals, as companies, as countries. We’ve abandoned the values that formed the basis for our behavior. We’re more focused on what benefits us and our families, without much regard for our communities or our country. Is that so?
