Perspectives on AI, Metaverse & Blockchain

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.

OpenAI finds itself embroiled in another major copyright infringement lawsuit — this time in Canada. Similar to cases filed by major news organizations in the United States, a group of Canada’s biggest news and media companies has filed a lawsuit alleging that OpenAI is illegally using the publishers’ copyrighted material to train its GPT large language models (LLMs). Plaintiffs in the case include the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and parent companies representing the Toronto Star, the Globe & Mail, and dozens of national, provincial, and local newspapers.

Welcome to the Fall 2024 issue of “FCA Enforcement & Compliance Digest,” our quarterly newsletter in which we compile essential updates on False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement trends, litigation, agency guidance, and compliance tips. We bring you the most recent and significant insights in an accessible format, concluding with our main takeaways — aka “And the Fox Says…” — on what you need to know.

This article provides an analysis of recent updates to federal corporate compliance guidance on artificial intelligence and other new technologies.

Michael Fainberg and Patrick Lai will host a presentation titled, “Trends, Challenges, and Strategies of Patenting AI innovations in the U.S.”

This past September, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) updated its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (ECCP).

In recent years, Americans and policymakers in Washington, DC, have become increasingly fixated on artificial intelligence (AI), especially generative AI, and the economic and social considerations associated with the technology. While the emergence of the technology has led to increasing interest among Members of US Congress in both parties to set a foundation for its use in education, defense, research, and health, policymakers on the right continue to raise questions about whether, and how, the federal government should regulate AI.

Across the fashion and retail markets, artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing design, marketing, and customer engagement. The legal implications surrounding intellectual property (IP) issues and the unchartered regulatory landscape puts companies at a crossroads.

The United States awoke on November 6 to a changed and improbable political landscape. The nation has re-elected Donald J. Trump as President and has given him a US Senate Republican majority and potentially a US House of Representatives Republican majority as well. As fatigued and steadfast local and state election workers continue to sort through ballots, we continue to look to the finalization of tallies for some remaining Senate and House races to determine the nature and size of Congressional majorities.

Gemini Data, Inc., a data analytics company that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, has filed a federal complaint against Google LLC in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging that Google’s adoption and continued use of GEMINI in connection with its AI chatbot tool infringes Gemini Data’s trademark rights.