Web 3.0 and the promise of the metaverse has generated excitement about new markets for businesses large and small. But as with any technological frontier, legal uncertainties cause new risks to emerge alongside the opportunities. One area currently full of legal questions is trademark law. We will examine what we
Wai Choy
Wai Choy has deep expertise in technology, media and intellectual property-related transactions and counseling and is a partner in Proskauer’s Corporate Department, Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) Group, and Blockchain & Digital Assets Group. He is recognized as a trusted advisor to asset managers, operating companies and other enterprises at various stages in their development and across industries, including technology, technology-enabled services, media, financial services, e-commerce, sports and healthcare.
In the context of private equity, mergers, acquisitions and financings, Wai:
- Structures and negotiates key transaction documents, such as purchase, merger, transition services and intellectual property license agreements;
- Leads teams in conducting legal due diligence and provides industry-specific market insights;
- Advises clients on technology, intellectual property, privacy and data security matters; and
- Represents portfolio companies pre-sale or post-acquisition in their business operations, including key commercial transactions and strategic agreements.
Wai also helps operating companies navigate legal and business matters in their day-to-day business operations and leads the structuring, drafting and negotiation of a wide range of contracts, such as:
- Service agreements for a variety of services, including outsourcing, software as a service (SaaS) and other hosted services, data analytics, digital marketing, software and website development, systems integration, technology implementation and payment processing;
- Collaboration agreements between strategic partners for the development, manufacturing and commercialization of new technology, products and services;
- Software license agreements and other complex intellectual property license and assignment agreements;
- Revenue sharing, joint venture, reseller, supply, equipment purchasing, manufacturing and other types of general commercial agreements;
- Content production, license and distribution agreements covering various business models and distribution methods;
- In the biotech, pharma and medical device arena, agreements covering research and development collaborations, intellectual property licenses, manufacturing, supply and distribution services, sponsored research, grants, revenue sharing and other strategic partnerships among commercial entities, academic institutions and/or charitable organizations;
- Terms of use, privacy policies and end user license agreements for websites, mobile apps and other software; and
- Advertising-related agreements spanning digital, radio and billboard media, including programmatic advertising platform agreements, lead generation service agreements, advertising reseller and affiliate agreements, insertion orders and advertising terms and conditions.
Wai serves as Co-Editor of Proskauer’s Blockchain and the Law blog and counsels business and legal teams on blockchain and distributed ledger technology development, structuring and implementation, cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), fan tokens and other digital assets, and associated legal issues.
Prior to joining Proskauer, Wai worked in the Business & Legal Affairs departments of Marvel Studios in Los Angeles and Marvel Entertainment in New York. At the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Wai served as Senior Editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review and was a Levy Scholar.
Sixth Circuit to Construe Scope of CDA Section 230 Immunity on Appeal of Unusual Jones v. Dirty World Decision
How can a website operator lose the broad immunity for liability associated with user-generated content conferred by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA)?
Section 230 has been consistently interpreted by most courts to protect website operators against claims arising out of third-party content, despite some less than honorable…
Infringing Copyright? Think Twice Before Removing the Copyright Notice–It Could be Deemed “Copyright Management Information” Under the DMCA
A simple copyright notice (e.g., “© [Year of First Publication] [Owner]”) on a website can imply an assertion of ownership in individual elements of the website and constitute “copyright management information” under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a Texas district court held. A Texas investment company learned this lesson…
SEC Has Conditional “Like” for Social Media Disclosures by Securities Issuers—A Reason to Reevaluate Electronic Communications Policies and Practices
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission gave disclosures made through social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter a conditional “thumbs up” in a Report of Investigation it released on April 2, 2013. Issuers of securities, the SEC stated, can use social media to disseminate material, nonpublic information without having…