Is there any business that is not being reshaped by technology? In the rush to join the Internet of Everything, the concept of an interconnected universe has spread from the domestic to the corporate realm with a seamlessness that is moving faster than the ability of many corporate IT, strategy, and legal departments to absorb the implications. This overwhelming sense of change makes it hard for corporate management to decipher what they “must know” from what they “should know” when it comes to determining the transformative technologies reshaping their businesses. The major discussions around topics like Big Data mask the reality that, at a granular level, for companies the implications could rewrite much of what they know and understand about the way they do business—and who they do business with in the future.
What is the top challenge for companies pursuing cross-border technology and media licensing transactions in China in the year ahead?
The top challenge for companies pursuing cross-border technology licensing transactions is to fully comprehend the applicable local laws and regulations. China is moving from a “Made in China” to a “Developed in China” mentality, and there are a significant number of native patent applications and patent litigation cases in Chinese courts. Foreign companies need to understand the implications of local patent portfolios, and navigate the evolving IP landscape, to succeed in the new China.
What trend will have the biggest impact on data centers over the next 12 months?
The continued growth of data centers which provide cloud services to small- and medium-size ventures will maintain its impact on the broader data center market by leading to higher demand and thus sustain its continued development. As the volume of content maintained online rapidly expands, regulatory and privacy concerns will lead to further geographic expansion of data centers optimized to service public clouds.
What is the No. 1 stay-awake issue related to managing data privacy and security for today’s global companies?
The #1 issue is data security—how to protect personal and other data and handle security breaches. Companies must assess which data categories are maintained and what security levels are appropriate. Second, companies must keep abreast of evolving international privacy regulation and industry best practices for data localization and big data. The Internet of Things and associated applications expand daily. Companies providing those services, or using the data they generate, need to understand the legal exposures they create.
What is the most important thing companies can do to safeguard sensitive personnel data and protect themselves from the risk of litigation, while taking advantage of powerful new technology?
HR, IT, and employment counsel all must work together to build a robust data protection program and instill a culture of compliance. Employees can be either the strongest or weakest link, so education is critical. Data prioritization, assessing current retention and technology use practices, defining and adopting baseline standards, and implementing an operational incident response plan are key steps companies will need to take to help keep confidential information confidential.
Increase in number of data records compromised in data breaches last year
Source: GemaltoWe advised Bull, a Europe-based expert in cloud solutions, cybersecurity, and big data services, on the €620M takeover bid from IT services company Atos for Bull. The acquisition positions Atos to become a global leader in cloud, cybersecurity, and big data services.
Our lawyers advised SoftBank Corp. as the lead investor in the US$600M Series D financing of KuaiDi Dache, a leading mobile taxi booking app in China. The financing is the latest in a series of transactions on which we have advised SoftBank Group and its subsidiaries over the years.
We represented Align Technology Inc. in a precedent-setting patent infringement victory before the International Trade Commission (ITC) that had a significant impact on the IP community. Align successfully argued that the ITC must recognize cross-border electronic transmissions as “importations” of “articles” under its jurisdiction. The case marked the first time the ITC addressed that jurisdictional question. The significance of the issue to the U.S. economy attracted wide-ranging media attention and extensive briefing on both sides of the issue from major companies and industry groups.
Leading technology companies continue to spur the rapid growth of the data center industry, and Paul Hastings has been there every step of the way to help guide them to success in some of their largest and most significant transactions.
We advised Facebook on its US$1.5B data center project in Iowa, and continue to provide counsel on our client’s real estate ownership, leasing, and other data center matters. We are also advising SoftLayer, an IBM company, on the US$1B+ global expansion of its data centers in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the U.S.
We continue to advise Salesforce.com on a variety of data center matters both in the U.S. and internationally. Notably, we helped our client negotiate a site agreement to establish a new data center in Germany through a multi-party arrangement involving a data center owner and a telecommunications company. We also advised Salesforce.com on a data center master services agreement to establish a new facility in France.
Other highlights of our data center work include representing Tierpoint in its acquisition of Xand and its six data centers across the northeastern U.S., and in its acquisition of Philadelphia Technology Park. We have also advised clients such as GI Partners and LinkedIn as they pursue their data center strategies. Along with our real estate work, our interdisciplinary team advises data center clients on other critical issues such as data privacy and security, technology transfer and sanctions compliance, and power purchase agreements.