Flo Nicolas, J.D.

Yesterday, Maryland became the 17th state to enact a comprehensive data privacy statute. With more than 40% of the U.S. population residing in those states, the patchwork of data privacy laws in the U.S. has created significant legal challenges for companies doing business nationwide. However, with Congress taking up the new American Privacy Rights Act (APRA), those challenges may soon abate. Drawing on data privacy and protection concepts from international regulations and state comprehensive data privacy laws, the APRA creates a unique law that attempts to address contemporary privacy concerns while simultaneously anticipating future technologies. But will it pass? --- Thanks to ALM and Law.com Pro for publishing Andria Adigwe and my thoughts. #dataprivacy #dataprivacylaw #cyberlaw Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC Higginbotham AFCEA Central Maryland Chapter Chris Hughes IAPP - International Association of Privacy Professionals National Defense Industrial Association - (NDIA) Business Executives for National Security (BENS) Daniel Solove Benjamin Yelin April Falcon Doss Ahmed Eissa

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The digital landscape is evolving fast—are you ready? Join us on Thursday, December 5, for the BBA Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Digital Law Conference at 16 Beacon Street, where we’ll unpack the latest trends, legal updates, and challenges shaping the future of digital governance, privacy laws, AI solutions, and cybersecurity. Here’s a glimpse of what’s on the agenda: - International Cybercrime: What to Be Alert for in 2025 With cyber threats growing more sophisticated by the day, hear from top prosecutors and legal experts about how nation-state attacks, crypto fraud, and hack-to-trade conspiracies are shaping the future of international law. - Contracting for AI Solutions As AI continues to transform industries, don’t miss the conversation on navigating complex AI contracts and ensuring compliance in a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape. Learn from experts how to balance innovation with responsibility. - Big Data and Privacy Laws: What You Need to Know With 19 states adopting new privacy laws by 2026 and increased enforcement at both the federal and state levels, get the latest updates on how privacy regulations are changing the game for businesses and legal professionals. This is your opportunity to stay ahead of the curve, network with other industry leaders and make sure your organization is prepared for 2025 and beyond. Learn more and register below: https://lnkd.in/ejXi6tdU

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When AI is trained with unlicensed copyrighted material, the question of infringement versus fair use remains unresolved. Many copyright holders assert that this use violates their rights, and are litigating to address the issue. In light of this, is it premature to require AI companies to disclose which copyrighted works are used to train their generative AI systems? #ai #trainingdata

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American Privacy Rights Acts - A surprise development Few important highlights of the Act: - The American Privacy Rights Act (APRA) represents a significant development in the U.S. federal privacy landscape, surprising many with its emergence amidst prior stagnation. - Spearheaded by key figures in Congress, including Chairpersons Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Maria Cantwell, the bill enjoys bipartisan and bicameral support, enhancing its potential for enactment. - Its broad applicability extends to both commercial entities and nonprofits, with exceptions carved out for small businesses meeting specific revenue and consumer data criteria. - Noteworthy provisions include the introduction of a private right of action, empowering individuals to enforce certain aspects of the law, a departure from previous federal privacy bills. - The APRA aims to streamline privacy regulation by preempting state laws, providing a unified national standard enforced primarily by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys general. - Data minimization principles underpin the bill, requiring entities to justify the collection, processing, and retention of personal data, with stringent consent mechanisms ensuring individual control over their information. - Extensive categories of sensitive data, encompassing health, financial, biometric, and other personal information, are subject to heightened protection and affirmative consent requirements. - Special obligations target entities based on their size and nature of operations, such as large data holders, high-impact social media companies, and data brokers, imposing additional compliance measures. - Executive responsibility and operational governance requirements mandate the appointment of designated privacy and security officers within covered entities, fostering a culture of accountability and compliance, with annual certifications reinforcing organizational commitment to privacy.

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In our latest blog post we highlight #AI innovations that are helping court systems to expand #accesstojustice. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/edkmHcAS

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As we approach the end of 2024, my December article for PatentNext focuses on the filing statistics of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) patent applications at the U.S. Patent Office. It’s no surprise that filings in the GenAI space have skyrocketed in recent years, driven by the surge of inventions and activity surrounding GenAI models such as ChatGPT, Claude, Llama, Mistral, and others. I am excited to see what advancements 2025 will bring in the AI space as we continue to learn and adapt to these innovative tools. And wishing everyone a joyful upcoming New Year! #artficialintelligence #patents

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🔎 Quick highlights from the draft of the American Privacy Rights Act (APRA) ➡ Covered data is now defined as "information that identifies or is linked or reasonably linkable, alone or in combination with other information, to an individual or a device that identifies or is linked or reasonably linkable to 1 or more individuals." ➡ APRA covers data that can be derived or inferred. Currently, only California and Oregon address this. ➡ APRA uses "Individuals" instead of "Consumers" (which most state privacy laws use Consumers). The devil is in the definition 👿 ➡ APRA's applicability extends beyond the business-to-consumer context and includes nonprofit organizations. ➡ Exemptions are provided for government entities and their service providers, small businesses with less than USD40 million in rolling three-year average gross revenue that handle the data of fewer than 200,000 individuals or do not broker data, and publicly available information. ➡ Employee information exempt to the extent it is provided for publicly available "business contact information" that is made available on a website or online service to all members of the public, including the name, position or title, business telephone number, business email address, or address of the employee. #privacy #APRA #dataprotection #individuals #employees #organizations #smallbusinesses #governmententities #publicinformation

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The USPTO has released a crucial update on #patent #subjectmattereligibility, focusing on artificial intelligence (#AI) inventions. This guidance, effective July 17, 2024, aims to provide clarity and consistency in evaluating AI-related patent applications under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Key takeaways for in-house patent counsel: 1. Enhanced Clarity: The guidance offers additional insights on applying subject matter eligibility criteria to AI inventions, building on previous guidelines. 2. New Examples: Three new examples demonstrate the application of the guidance across various technologies, helping practitioners navigate complex AI patent scenarios. 3. Federal Circuit Alignment: The update incorporates discussions of relevant Federal Circuit decisions on subject matter eligibility. 4. Public Feedback Opportunity: The USPTO is accepting comments on the guidance and examples until September 16, 2024. 5. Broader AI Initiative: This update is part of a larger USPTO effort addressing AI's impact on intellectual property, including recent inventorship guidance for AI-assisted inventions. For in-house counsel, this guidance presents an opportunity to refine AI patent strategies, potentially increasing the likelihood of securing protection for AI innovations. It's crucial to review the full guidance and examples available on the USPTO's AI-related resources webpage. #PatentLaw #ArtificialIntelligence #IPStrategy Thoughts on how this might impact your AI patent portfolio? Let's discuss in the comments! Citations: [1] https://lnkd.in/eUbkGXvG

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The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is calling for public input on the role artificial intelligence (AI) plays in shaping patent laws, particularly how it affects prior art and the criteria for patentability. As AI continues to evolve, its integration into various sectors not only promises substantial benefits but also introduces complex challenges for intellectual property rights. Through its AI and Emerging Technologies Partnership, the USPTO has been actively consulting with industry experts to address these issues. The agency's request for written comments aims to further understand AI's impact on patent evaluations, such as what constitutes prior art and how the capabilities of a person skilled in the art (PHOSITA) are assessed. The feedback will guide the USPTO in crafting future guidelines, supporting its court proceedings, and advising Congress on technical matters. #patents #artificialintelligence #USPTO https://lnkd.in/gFjWzWPp

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🔎𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐩 Justice Technology Association is gaining momentum, revolutionizing access to legal services. AI-driven tools can provide 24/7 assistance, streamline case management, and empower individuals to understand their legal rights. However, significant challenges remain, especially in resources and expertise for those closest to the problems. Addressing this issue could transform how legal services are delivered, making them more accessible to those who need them most. Read Justice Technology Association's blog post to learn more: https://lnkd.in/gWTkJ_Nc At the Connecticut Bar Foundation, we're committed to exploring innovative solutions like AI to bridge the justice gap and ensure everyone has access to the legal resources they need. #AccessToJustice #AI #JusticeTech #ConnecticutBarFoundation

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Learn how legal operations teams embracing AI will bring big changes to the field. In his column for Today's General Counsel, Colin Levy of Malbek looks at the challenges and advancements of new legal technology: https://bit.ly/3Ik6oxv #generalcounsel #inhousecounsel #legalops #ai #legaltechnology #legaltech #careerdevelopment #CGI2024 #CLOC

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Some great points in this article on the USPTO data breach announced earlier this month: -“Leaked unpublished application titles, filing dates & inventor names might not matter much as prior art but would be an unexpected boon for competitor monitoring... Your competitors that are carefully watching your patent portfolio will see, ‘Oh my gosh, they just filed something over here, this must be something important. Let’s start watching and monitoring'. It is a good way for competitors to keep an eye on what is going on and try to work ahead or work around things" - The USPTO states it has evidence of only one unauthorised viewing by the person who reported the issue to the agency.  - This is not the first time the USPTO has reported a data exposure. The patent office also has inadvertently disclosed: 2022 – private email addresses of trademark applicants; 2023 – home addresses of 61,000 trademark applicants; 2024 – second exposure of home addresses of trademark applicants; 2024 – non-public patent application titles and numbers in the recordation process in Assignment Center; and 2024 – Patent Center data exposure of unpublished patent applications with an assignment recorded from 2017 to 1 August. - Regarding the USPTO data exposure, she notes that if a patent applicant made a similar data breach, it would be grounds for malpractice. But her view is the USPTO behaves like the rules do not apply to it. - “We're paying the fees for the USPTO, and we expect a level of security. We want things to be state-of-the-art. We want things to be tested,” says Ali. “I think what the USPTO lacks as an innovation agency is a really good dynamic of communicating with the actual users – the IP owners as well as the attorneys.”

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Thomson Reuters is committed to transforming the justice system by empowering legal aid organizations and courts with innovative AI solutions. Through the AI for Justice program, we’re helping to bridge the justice gap by providing crucial tools that expand access to those who need it most. Thomson Reuters Institute’s work with the National Center for State Courts, collaborating through the AI Policy Consortium, is also helping courts harness AI responsibly to improve legal outcomes. Together, these initiatives are driving meaningful change. Learn more, including insights from The Innocence Center, an LSO Innovator Program, here: https://lnkd.in/gP48Rf2H #AccessToJustice #JusticeInnovation #ThomsonReuters #Courts #NCSC #JusticeGap

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🎙 📣 🎙 In this new #GWIC Roundtable Lisa Fine & I talk with two experts, Diana Kelley and Gwen Lee Hassan, JD, CCEP about putting AI to use for Ethics & Compliance Teams. Tune in to learn about: 💻 How Ethics & Compliance Teams streamline their workload and amplify their impact with AI solutions; ⚖️ What frameworks and safeguards you should utilize to protect against hallucinations and unintended consequences; ✅ What disclosures or opt-out features you should consider to alert users that the interactions are AI-based; and 🗓️ The state of current and future AI regulation. Listen now at Corporate Compliance Insights at https://lnkd.in/d9VGcfw or wherever you hear podcasts. If you are using AI in your Ethics & Compliance function in a way we didn’t mention, please tell us in the comments.  #GWIC is proud to announce that it has been nominated for the #WomenInPodcastAwards. Voting opens August 1, 2024, and you can find #GWIC in the business category - https://lnkd.in/g8e6KUvK #EthicalLeadership #AI #Ethics #Compliance #WomenLeaders #WomenPodcasts

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Key Legal Updates for 2025 Businesses Should Know As we kick off 2025, here are some critical legal developments in data privacy, artificial intelligence, and technology compliance that businesses need to prepare for: (1) Expanded California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) Protections: California’s privacy law now classifies personal information in AI systems and neural data as sensitive personal information, adding stricter compliance obligations. (2) California Automatic Renewal Law (CARL) Updates: Subscription-based businesses must meet new standards, including clear disclosures and easy “click to cancel” options, to comply with expanded consumer protections. (3) AI Transparency Requirements: Looking ahead, the California AI Transparency Act (effective 2026) will require AI providers to implement detection tools and watermark AI-generated content. These updates reflect the rapidly evolving intersection of law and technology, emphasizing the need for businesses to stay ahead of compliance requirements. If you’re navigating these changes or tackling broader tech-related legal challenges, feel free to connect—I’d be happy to help. Videos and content are for educational purposes only, not to provide specific legal advice. Contact: [email protected] #DataPrivacy #ArtificialIntelligence #LegalCompliance #BusinessLaw #TechUpdates

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The brain is the new privacy frontier: Responding to developing technologies in the neurotech space, a number of American states have amended their privacy laws to include "neural data" in their definition of sensitive personal information. Some require opt-in consent for its collection, others simply the possibility for a data subject to opt out. Some have included employees' neural data in the definition, others not - with varying implications for privacy protection:

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