Tech Talks by Mayer Brown

The recent banking crisis has highlighted the need for FinTechs to take a strategic approach to their current and future bank partner relationships. With bank regulators focusing their attention on exactly these types of arrangements in recent years, there are today a number of hurdles for FinTechs to overcome as they execute on these critical business partnerships. In this episode, partners Rohith George, Eric Mitzenmacher and Jeff Taft, along with host Julian Dibbell, explore the impact of recent bank failures and unpack what they mean for FinTechs as they enter into relationships with new bank partners who are facing regulatory scrutiny regarding third party risk management.

Chatbots and other types of "generative AI"—AI that creates consumable content such as computer code, text responses, images, or music—have catapulted to the center of the AI discussion. In this episode, partners Rich Assmus and Marina Aronchik, along with host Julian Dibbell, discuss the key implications of generative AI and the contracting issues that arise for users and data providers.

As 2023 begins, we are coming off many years of fast and frothy innovation with a great deal of new complexity in both products and business models. We now face a downturn. Prominent companies across the economy are announcing layoffs and other cost-cutting measures and will likely require more complex deals to preserve profitability. In this episode, partners from our Technology & IP Transactions practice, along with host Julian Dibbell, will cover eight key trends to look out for in 2023 as companies look to reduce spend and drive revenue.

With technology deals increasingly involving open source software (OSS), clients are seeking our help analyzing OSS licenses, developing open source policies and negotiating contract terms for open source. In this episode, partner Paul Chandler and host Julian Dibbell discuss how OSS is impacting deals and how to address and mitigate the legal risks.

Market and technology changes create opportunities for companies to substantially reduce costs by negotiating or renegotiating managed services agreements and other outsourcing services agreements. In this episode, ISG partner Jon Lightman and Mayer Brown partners Brad Peterson and Mark Prinsley, along with host Julian Dibbell, discuss how to leverage change to create value in your outsourcing deals.

When engaging in a tech transaction, you must know your obligations under data privacy laws. First and foremost, it's critical to consider whether "personal information"—a broad term that encompasses many types of data—is disclosed or received under an agreement. You must also understand the geographic scope of your deal, which data privacy laws apply (there are over 150 privacy laws worldwide), and the terms that must be included in an agreement to address those laws, including cross-border data transfer safeguards. In this special Cybersecurity Awareness Month episode, partner Arsen Kourinian and associates Josh Cohen and Megan Von Borstel, along with host Julian Dibbell, discuss these issues and more.

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has had a significant impact on commercial activity for many organizations on a local and international scale. Organizations with commercial operations in the region (both Ukraine and Russia) may face challenges in sustaining their contractual obligations. Mayer Brown partner Jim Ferguson and associate Valerie Vanryckeghem, along with host Julian Dibbell, will discuss common issues that certain organizations may face as a result of the crisis and practical considerations for drafting contractual protections with a view to avoiding the specific business risks of the Ukraine conflict.

Too often, contract rights bargained and paid for in negotiations are eroded during governance. This podcast describes seven tips for governing service provider relationships in ways that leverage or strengthen contract rights. Reg Goeke, who leads our Commercial Litigation practice, provides a litigator's perspective and Brad Peterson, who leads our Technology Transactions practice, provides a sourcing lawyer's perspective.

Non-fungible tokens, commonly called "NFTs," have been around for some time, but they have only hit mainstream public consciousness over the past few years. With the speculative frenzy around NFTs seemingly at an all-time high, it can be difficult to sift through the noise and identify the real use cases, and accompanying issues, that companies need to be aware of. Mayer Brown partners Richard Assmus and Rohith George and host Julian Dibbell will decipher these digital assets, explore a few of the legal issues surrounding them and discuss some of the steps companies need to consider as they look to leverage NFTs as part of their business strategy.

This episode focuses on an IP right at the heart of many technology deals—copyrights. Mayer Brown partners Richard Assmus and Oliver Yaros and host Julian Dibbell will discuss some recent important changes in US and European copyright law and how those changes might inform your tech deals.