Insights on AI, Metaverse & Blockchain

2025 will be a transformational year for the beverage and food industry, which has already been dramatically impacted by shifting market trends and profound policy changes. Here are the top five topics influencing the strategies and growth plans of beverage and food companies.

In the last year, state activism in healthcare consumer protection has surged, with new laws that heighten oversight of for-profit investors’ engagement with healthcare marketplaces and scrutinize pharmaceutical pricing practices. As part of this activism, several state legislatures have enacted laws regulating use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare delivery.

President Trump’s first months in office have been busy, but, in the export control world, we have been grateful for a brief respite from the mind-bending, hundreds-of-pages-long, industry-changing rules that the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued during the last stretch of President Biden’s term — sometimes more than one per day!

With 2025 underway, the AFS Consumer Products team highlights some of the most pressing legal issues facing the consumer products industry this year.

The US Copyright Office recently released Part 2 of its Copyright and Artificial Intelligence Report, addressing the copyrightability of outputs generated from artificial intelligence (AI) systems. This report is the second in the Copyright Office’s three-part series exploring the convergence of copyright and AI.

Colorado made history in May 2024 when it became the first state to adopt a comprehensive artificial intelligence (AI) consumer protection law. This landmark legislation has inspired other states, including Virginia, to pursue similar laws.

As several dozen copyright infringement cases against artificial intelligence (AI) developers continue to proceed through the federal courts, a recent ruling in the District of Delaware suggests that the fair-use defense against claims of copyright infringement may offer less protection than some AI developers expect.

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce that six thought leaders have been recognized by the 2025 JD Supra Readers’ Choice Awards, acknowledging the visibility and engagement their thought leadership has earned among readers during the past year.

On February 14, the newly formed Saks Global announced its plan to pay vendors past due balances in 12 monthly installments beginning in July.

With 2025 underway, the AFS Health Care team highlights some of the most pressing legal issues facing the health care industry this year.

In 2025, the retail and fashion industries are bracing for a transformative year, heavily influenced by the policies of the new Trump Administration. These policies promise rapid and significant changes, particularly in areas such as trade, tariffs, and immigration, which will profoundly affect global supply chains and labor dynamics.

In the final days of the Biden Administration, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to modify the Security Rule under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The NPRM proposes sweeping changes that impact how health care providers, health plans, and health care clearinghouses (covered entities) and their business associates (collectively, regulated entities) implement, document, and maintain safeguards for electronic protected health information (ePHI). OCR is accepting public comments on the NPRM through March 7.

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to develop at a rapid pace, even the most sophisticated general counsel (GC) and in-house legal teams will be hard pressed to keep up with the evolving legal landscape.

On December 21, 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law the New York State Fashion Workers Act, which imposes new regulatory obligations on fashion companies, advertising agencies, model management companies, and other entities that work with fashion models.

​Join ODSC and ArentFox Schiff’s Michael Fainberg and Matthew Berlin for a deep dive into the intersection of AI and intellectual property law.

As the development of the next-generation internet, known as Web3 — characterized by blockchain applications, smart contracts, and cryptocurrency transactions — continues to gain momentum, Web3 developers are turning to ArentFox Schiff’s Patent group for assistance in patenting their innovative technologies that will shape the future of the internet.

In its most recent effort to keep pace with advancing technology, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued two draft guidances on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of drugs, biologics, and medical devices.

Consumer protection wins again! The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a final order settling its complaint against Rytr LLC, an artificial intelligence (AI) writing assistant tool that was capable of producing detailed and specific false product reviews using AI technology.

The US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) introduced its long-anticipated (some would say dreaded) Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion (the AI Diffusion Rule) on January 15. Highlights include the first-ever export controls on artificial intelligence (AI) models and worldwide license requirements for advanced chips.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will hold an informal hearing at 1:00pm EST on January 17, regarding the proposed amendment to its existing impersonation rule.

Government Relations Co-Leader Dan Renberg, Co-Chairs Phil English and Byron Dorgan, and Partner Elizabeth Horner will join the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce in a webinar examining the implications of the 2024 Presidential and Congressional election results on January 8, 2025.

The parents of two Texas children recently brought a lawsuit against Character Technologies, Inc., alleging that its chatbot, Character.AI, encouraged self-harm, violence, and provided sexual content to their children. They are requesting that the court shut down the platform until the alleged dangers have been resolved. The suit, brought on behalf of the children, aged 17 and 11, was filed by the Social Media Victims Law Center and the Tech Justice Law Project. In addition to Character Technologies, Inc., the lawsuit names its two founders, as well as Google and Alphabet Inc. (collectively, Google).

Headlines that Matter for Companies and Executives in Regulated Industries

In a pending lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), OpenAI Inc. recently failed to convince the court to dismiss allegations that it improperly removed copyright management information from news articles used to train its large language models. While still early, the court’s favorable decision for The Intercept Media, Inc. could serve as a model for other news organizations and rights holders seeking to discourage the unauthorized use of their works by artificial intelligence (AI) developers.

Plaintiffs Dow Jones & Company, Inc., NYP Holdings, Inc., and corporate parent News Corporation have renewed their intellectual property (IP) complaint against artificial intelligence (AI)-powered “answer engine” Perplexity AI in the District Court for the Southern District of New York.