Technology Law Blog, IT Law & Articles | Foster Swift

Holiday Talks: Essential Estate Planning and Tech Safety for Aging Family Members

Matthew S. Fedor, Lindsey M. Mead — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 09:00:01 -0500

Now is a busy time for businesses as they wrap things up before year-end. But the holiday season can be stressful for a different reason when the owner or some of the employees are responsible for the care of aging family members on top of working full-time.

IRS Announces 2025 Cost-of-Living Adjustments for Retirement Plans and for Health and Welfare Benefit Plans

Amanda J. Dernovshek, Julie LaVille Hamlet, Mindi M. Johnson — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 09:00:02 -0500

This blog has been updated since December 4, 2023. The data below is current.

The IRS has announced the 2025 cost-of-living adjustments for retirement plan and health and welfare benefit plan limitations. The charts below set forth the applicable limitations.

Startups or Corporations: IP Strategies for All Businesses

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 09:00:03 -0400

Foster Swift attorney Mikhail "Mike" Murshak recently appeared on an episode of Michigan Reimagined, a podcast that discusses entrepreneurship and small business development and shares the stories of the people and organizations driving Michigan’s economic sustainability, to discuss the importance for a business to protect its intellectual property (IP).

What is a Deepfake and How Might it Impact Your Business?

Taylor A. Gast, Lindsey M. Mead — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 09:00:04 -0400

With the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and its various synthetic media outputs, deepfakes are just one of many new risks to businesses. Deepfakes pose considerable threats to companies, potentially damaging reputation, trust, and financial stability through malicious impersonation and manipulation of digital content.

Implications of FTC’s Final “Click-to-Cancel” Rule: Simplifying Consumer Cancellations

Joel C. Farrar, Taylor A. Gast, Lindsey M. Mead — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 09:00:05 -0400

Yesterday, on October 16, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued final amendments to the “Rule Concerning Recurring Subscriptions and Other Negative Option Programs”, also referred to as the “Click-to-Cancel” Rule (the “Rule”). See the following link from the FTC’s website for more information: Federal Trade Commission Announces Final “Click-to-Cancel” Rule Making It Easier for Consumers to End Recurring Subscriptions and Memberships | Federal Trade Commission (ftc.gov).

MOU Between Agencies Could Impact M&A Deals

Matthew S. Fedor, Clifford L. Hammond — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 09:00:06 -0400

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been struck between the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Labor (DOL) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) which will significantly strengthen the four agencies’ ability to investigate and evaluate the potential impact of proposed mergers and acquisitions on labor markets and jobs. See the full article here.

DOL Echoes Employee Benefits and Cybersecurity Best Practices

Amanda J. Dernovshek, Taylor A. Gast, Mindi M. Johnson — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 09:00:07 -0400

On April 14, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”) issued its first cybersecurity best practices guidance for retirement plans. The EBSA guidance was highly anticipated as the frequency and cost of data breaches affecting employee benefit plans continues to rise.

Can AI-Generated Works be Copyrighted?

Lindsey M. Mead — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 09:00:08 -0400

With the influx of generative artificial intelligence (“AI”) tools and applications becoming readily available online, it is increasingly important to assess whether AI-generated works can obtain intellectual property protection. Specifically, in light of AI apps being able to create paintings, photographs, and illustrations from minimal prompting from an end-user, the United States Copyright Office (the “Copyright Office”) has had to consider whether such works can be copyrighted and to what extent.

Is it Time to Update and Restate Your Summary Plan Description?

Amanda J. Dernovshek, Julie LaVille Hamlet, Mindi M. Johnson — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 09:00:09 -0400

A Summary Plan Description, often referred to as an “SPD”, is a document intended to clearly describe and explain the important provisions of an employee benefit plan. The SPD must be written in such a way that the average employee will understand the benefits, rights and rules of the plan.

AI Legal Issues That Can Impact Your Business

Taylor A. Gast, Lindsey M. Mead — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 09:00:10 -0400

Many businesses are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in a variety of innovative ways to improve productivity and to save time and money. According to a 2023 Forbes article (forbes.com/advisor/business/software/ai-in-business/), 1 in 3 businesses plan to use ChatGPT to write their website content while 97% of business owners believe it will help their business.