The Forgotten World of IP: How Can Intellectual Property Be Securitized and How It Should Be Regulated

By: Rachit Parikh

I. Introduction

The 2008 financial crisis spurred Congress into action and led them to enact regulation to protect consumers from financial institutions.[1] The regulation became known as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (hereinafter “Dodd-Frank Act”).[2] Broadly, the goal of the act was to regulate both bank-based financial companies and non-bank financial companies, such as hedge funds, from risky lending, and to protect consumers from these type of actions.[3] More specifically, Congress enacted sets of rules that regulated securitizations of asset backed securities which used different forms of loans as collateral.[4] However, one aspect that has been overlooked is whether these provisions also govern intellectual property assets such as patents and copyrights.

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Whistleblowers, Internal Reporting, and GDPR Compliance

By Varun Chari

The adage “Between a Rock and a Hard Place” has long captured the predicament of the employee-whistleblower who must decide whether to report company fraud. However, with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) providing incentives to whistleblowers to report internally and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) imposing legal restrictions on the collection of personal data, the adage now better describes the employer’s situation. U.S. transnational companies are pressured with the task of restructuring their internal compliance procedures to incorporate the requirements imposed by the GDPR[1] or risk potential liability for failing to do so. This Article will first explain this development by providing a brief background on the SEC whistleblower incentive scheme and the GDPR. Next, this Article will discuss the procedural requirements companies are subject to when they process a whistleblower or third-party’s personal data. Finally, this Article will propose best practices that companies should implement when processing a whistleblower claim internally.

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