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You’ve Got Mail! Emails May Be Subject to Stockholder Books and Records Requests
By Zachary Liebnick and Zane Polston
Delaware corporations have always been required to provide certain information to their stockholders under Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL), but the scope and form of that information has naturally changed as technology advances.
Why You Need Proprietary Information and Inventions Assignment Agreements
By Daniel Marden
Protecting your company’s intellectual property rights is essential during all stages of your company’s growth. One of the first steps you can take to protect your company’s intellectual property rights is to have all advisors, consultants, contractors and employees of your company enter into Proprietary Information and Inventions Assignment Agreements (“PIIAs”), also known as Confidential Information and Inventions Assignment Agreements.
California’s Privacy Act—Watch for an Expanding Private Right of Action
By Joshua Briones, Esteban Morales, Matthew Novian
The California Consumer Privacy Act takes effect on January 1, 2020, but amendments are expected. In an article recently published by Bloomberg Law, Mintz attorneys Joshua Briones, Esteban Morales and Matthew Novian discuss the April 9 hearing on SB-561, a bill that would expand the private right of action and remove compliance opportunities for businesses, and explain why the bill should be closely watched.
Musical.ly’s COPPA Failure Falls Flat at the FTC; Will Pay Note-Worthy Fine
By Cynthia Larose and Elana Safner
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has handed down its largest civil penalty ever for violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”). Musical.ly, now known as TikTok after a 2018 merger, agreed to a fine of $5.7 million for its violations. The settlement was significant not only because of its record amount, but also because it includes a specific agreement on how the website will operate going forward.
The California Consumer Privacy Law is Here. Get Prepared.
By Cynthia Larose and Brian Lam
This webinar provides an overview of the act including who it applies to, the types of data covered, and the new rights granted by the act such as data access, deletion, and portability.
Employers Beware: Judge Greenlights Employee’s Privacy Lawsuit Over Dropbox Access
By Cynthia Larose, Katharine Beattie, and Jennifer Budoff
Many employers maintain policies limiting their employees’ expectation of privacy in the workplace, including policies that eliminate any expectation of privacy when using company-issued electronic devices. While employers may think that having such a policy would protect them from invasion of privacy claims under the Fourth Amendment or state law, a recent federal court decision may cause employers to think otherwise. This post examines this decision and provides best practices for avoiding issues with employees’ privacy interests.
The Impact Terms Project: Defining the Standard for Impact
By Verna Krishnamurthy
The Impact Terms Project (“ITP”) was launched as a platform intended to provide guidance on best practices to entrepreneurs, investors and other stakeholders in the rapidly-evolving social enterprise space
MintzTech Connect Industry News — April 2019
By Dan DeWolf and Samuel Effron
This issue’s topics include the SEC no action letter on utility tokens, raising capital as a public benefit corp, resales of private securities using Section 4(a)(7), distributing equity among start-up stakeholders, and the abc’s of California employment law.
The SEC Confirms the Limited Scope and Nature of Utility Tokens
By Marine Bouaziz and Dan DeWolf
On April 3, 2019, Finhub, the SEC’s Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology, released the “Framework for ‘Investment Contract’ analysis of digital assets” (the “Framework”) providing principles for analyzing whether a digital asset[1] constitutes an investment contract, and thus a security. The same day, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance (the “Division”) published its first No-Action Letter on digital tokens.
Can I Raise Venture Capital as a Public Benefit Corporation?
By Ben Stone
As societies and markets increasingly insist that corporations generate positive social impact alongside profit, investors have taken notice. The global impact investing market alone, for instance, doubled from $114 billion in 2017 to $228 billion in 2018, and will almost certainly continue to accelerate. [1]
10 Shortcuts Entrepreneurs Should Not Take When Starting a Company
By Robert Giachetti and Mark Higgins
Congratulations - you have done it! You had an idea, you built a product, you figured out how you want to go to market, and you created a company. With that tedious process complete, you are ready to find your first customer, iron the bugs out of your product, and start making money.
Convertible Notes for Startups
Hear the emerging growth advisors and creators of Mintz's MintzEdge program, Dan DeWolf and Samuel Effron, discuss the ins and outs of convertible notes for startups, including the advantages and disadvantages from a legal and funding perspective.
How to Distribute Equity in Your Start-Up
By Patrick Elahmadie
The purpose of granting equity to management, employees and certain consultants is to align the interests of the parties pivotal to the growth of your company with the interests of investors. There are a number of different ways to grant equity in a start-up, the most common of which is stock options
MintzTech Connect Industry News — February 2019
By Dan DeWolf and Samuel Effron
This issue of TechConnect covers issues for emerging companies to consider when dividing and sharing equity and disproportional rights and controls for directors.
Employment Law Basics In California
Jennifer Rubin, a Member in the Employment, Labor & Benefits Practice, and Sebastian Lucier, a Member in the Venture Capital & Emerging Companies Practice, discuss employment law related matters for companies operating in the state of California, including the challenges relating to characterizing an individual as an employee rather than an independent contractor.
CAUTION: Director Veto Rights in Financing Documents May Constitute “Disproportionate Voting”
By Lewis Geffen
Section 141(d) of the Delaware General Corporations Law (DGCL) allows the certificate of incorporation (COI) of a Delaware corporation to confer upon one or more directors voting powers greater than or less than those of other directors, thus resulting in “disproportionate voting” rights amongst the Directors.
How To Get Started: Dividing Equity, Getting Incorporated and Other Details When Beginning Your Business!
By Dinesh Melwani and Will Perkins
Just about every emerging business/start-up lawyer could write a book (and many have!) on the topics of equity division, incorporation and the innumerable ‘other details’ founders need to keep in mind when starting a business!
LLCs and Convertible Debt – Too Good to be True?
By Scott Pinarchick and Will Bussiere
Founders choosing a structure for their business are often drawn to the limited liability company, or LLC, for its overall flexibility in both taxation and governance matters. And founders seeking access to early capital, not to mention seed investors themselves, are often drawn to the convertible note as a simple, less expensive means to raise funds.
MintzTech Connect Industry News — November 2018
By Dan DeWolf and Samuel Effron
This issue of TechConnect covers liability considerations for directors of Delaware public benefit corporations and profiles FinTech company Templum.
Digital Tokens: Rethinking the Term “Cryptocurrency”
By Dan DeWolf, Rachel Gholston, and Marine Bouaziz
What are the similarities between a one dollar bill, a share of a company, and a pre-paid gift card? The answer is……..not so much! The same is true of the similarities between virtual currencies, security tokens, and utility tokens; in truth, not so much.
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