Tech Talks by Mayer Brown

As generative AI transforms the way businesses operate, understanding copyright risks has never been more critical. In this episode, host Julian Dibbell sits down with Rich Assmus and Brian Nolan, partners in our Intellectual Property practice, to unpack the U.S. Copyright Office's latest report on generative AI and copyright law. They dive into the high-stakes legal questions surrounding the use of copyrighted content to train AI models, including hot-button issues like model weights and retrieval-augmented generation. They also discuss how courts may apply the fair use doctrine to generative AI, with a close look at transformativeness, market impact, and other key factors.

Just two months in, 2025 is already delivering significant developments in AI and technology law. In this episode, host Julian Dibbell is joined by Rich Assmus, a partner in our Intellectual Property practice, to discuss Thomson Reuters v. Ross, a closely watched case with important implications for AI and data usage. We start by outlining the key facts and legal framework the court considered before turning to the central issue of the ruling: fair use. Rich explains how the court applied the four key factors of fair use and what this analysis means in the context of AI and data technology. We also explore the broader implications of the decision and its potential impact on other cases involving AI and training data—and on companies looking to contract for AI products and services. Join us for an insightful discussion on one of the year's most notable legal decisions in this evolving area of law.

2025 is shaping up to be a busy year in tech. While blustery economic tailwinds continue to drive digital transformation, a new presidential administration promises shifts in policy that will likely keep businesses on their toes. In this episode, host Julian Dibbell is joined by Rohith George, Joe Pennell, Brad Peterson, and Scott Young, partners from all across our Technology & IP Transactions practice, to provide perspectives on the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. We will discuss the expected increase in M&A activity, the impact of venture capital on emerging tech companies, the growing significance of AI in dealmaking, and the challenges posed by regulatory uncertainty.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly reshaped the facilities management (FM) outsourcing landscape. Companies have transitioned from fully office-based work to home-based work, and now to hybrid models, prompting a reevaluation of space utilization. In this episode partner Rohith George, along with host Julian Dibbell, explore how FM providers are adapting to these changes, leveraging technology and data, and addressing sustainability and data security challenges.

Companies, across a variety of industries, are increasingly taking a multi-channel approach to core product and service delivery. While a company-owned website or app often remains the primary way for the company to interface with and deliver services to its customers, third-party platforms can sometimes be an attractive additional channel through which customers can be acquired and maintained. This means negotiating and entering into platform agreements that are intended to bring mutual benefit to both the company and the platform provider. In this episode, Rohith George and Corina Cercelaru, along with host Julian Dibbell, will explore key issues for companies to consider when engaging with customer-facing platform providers and recommend approaches to take in order to achieve a successful collaboration.

In this episode of Tech Talks, we discuss the Federal Trade Commission's recent ban on non-compete agreements and its implications for employers, as well as strategies for protecting confidential information and trade secrets. Join Gail Levine and Kristine Young, along with host Julian Dibbell, as they explore the practical and contractual measures employers can adopt, the potential consequences if the FTC's rule is struck down, and best practices for contracting with third parties.

In this episode, we explore the ever-evolving realm of AI regulation and how it's reshaping technology transactions and internal governance worldwide. Join host Julian Dibbell and guests Ana Bruder, Arsen Kourinian, and Oliver Yaros as they discuss what's happening in the EU, the US, and the UK, respectively, and how companies can navigate compliance in this changing environment.

In this episode, we revisit the ever-shifting landscape of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), a topic which has continued to captivate the tech world since our discussion a year ago. With GenAI at the forefront of the conversation, we delve back into the complexities surrounding its use, with a special focus on the contractual and legal challenges faced by users, data providers, and businesses. Join partners Marina Aronchik and Rich Assmus, and host Julian Dibbell, as they explore advancements in GenAI over the last year, emerging legal intricacies, and the implications for those navigating the technology.

Join our Technology & IP Transactions lawyers as they dive into the trends shaping 2024. In this episode, we explore the future of technology services, spotlight trends driving tech startups, and dissect deals tied to customer-facing digital platforms and cloud services. Additionally, we navigate the evolving regulations affecting tech transactions in Europe and the UK, as well as the legal complexities surrounding AI and GenAI. Tune in for a comprehensive overview that unpacks key trends and considerations for technology transactions in the year ahead.

Companies seeking to outsource—or re-source—business functions are strongly incentivized to act quickly, in order to realize savings and other benefits. However, maximizing those benefits requires effective planning and clever negotiating with suppliers, and companies that resist the temptation to take shortcuts will set themselves up for success in the long run. In this episode, partners Joe Pennell and Brad Peterson, along with host Julian Dibbell, provide insight into optimizing the outsourcing deal process, both in planning and execution.

Engaging third-party providers for technology transactions involves a certain level of cybersecurity risk. In fact, most companies have been through a third-party incident. In this episode, partners Justin Herring and Adam Hickey, along with host Julian Dibbell, unpack these cybersecurity risks and what businesses can do to prepare. They discuss the life cycle of a technology vendor relationship, including diligence and contracting, and how to manage the relationship to minimize risk.

China's stance toward data privacy and cybersecurity has been a matter of interest for the last several years, most prominently with the June 2017 passage of China's Cybersecurity Law, and the passage of the Data Security Law and the Personal Information Protection Law in late 2021. Now, more than two years after the 2021 laws were passed, companies  wishing to conduct business in this landscape are faced with a daunting set of subsidiary regulations that require self-assessments, impact assessments and certifications to ensure compliance, failure of which can attract   potentially heavy fines and restrictions on business operations  if circumvented. Join Mayer Brown partner Gabriela Kennedy and host Julian Dibbell as they revisit the China data laws and these latest developments and discuss  the effect they've had on the industry, and what interested parties should be aware of in the coming years.

Whether you are a startup or an acquiring company, there are several steps you should consider ahead of an exit to protect your deal and avoid issues later on. In this episode, Salt Lake City partners Spencer Glende and Scott Young, along with host Julian Dibbell, discuss measures companies can take with respect to IP and commercial agreements in order to avoid future friction in an investment or acquisition. Tune in for practical advice on navigating these contractual challenges.

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.

In contracts, parties typically seek to limit their liability to each other, both in terms of the types of damages or actions for which a party will have liability and the amount of damages that can be recovered, as well as, in certain cases, the remedies that can be pursued. The parties often negotiate exceptions from these limitations, including for gross negligence or willful misconduct. During this podcast, Chris Houpt, Linda Rhodes and Anja Watt along with host Julian Dibbell will examine the definitions of gross negligence and willful misconduct, recent court holdings on the ability of contracting parties to limit liability and the implications for contracts. For purposes of this podcast, we focus on New York law, commonly selected as the governing law in contracts.

In the 2022 edition of our long-running annual podcast, partners in Mayer Brown's Technology Transactions practice will discuss trends that will drive and shape technology transactions. This year's program will focus on convergence of cloud, AI and data; innovation through new and complex collaborations; continued change in cybersecurity and privacy laws and priorities; increasing focus on sustainable digital business practices; and emerging technologies that seem poised to drive technology transactions in future years. 

Businesses today are data driven and data dependent, but the rules that govern how data can be used and shared across borders are becoming increasingly tricky for international organizations to navigate, subject to constantly evolving and often conflicting requirements in each region. None more so than in Europe, where changes over the past 18 months—including updated versions of the EU's Standard Contractual Clauses for cross-border data transfer—have raised new sets of questions for organizations seeking to comply with the rules for moving personal data from Europe to places like the United States. In this special National Cybersecurity Awareness Month episode, partners Vivek Mohan and Oliver Yaros along with host Julian Dibbell discuss these changes and a few things businesses can do to stay on top of them.

Competition among cloud platform providers is fierce as they scramble for market share and customers. As cloud providers bundle key products and services—such as AI and other tools—with their “basic” cloud offerings to lure and retain cloud customers, they are also offering other benefits through “strategic partnerships” with customers. In a strategic partnership, a cloud provider collaborates with the customer to provide new services or industry platforms and even joint “go-to-market” opportunities utilizing data and industry expertise from the customer. Cloud + Strategic Partnerships resemble joint ventures in many respects but without forming a jointly-owned legal entity. While a Cloud + Strategic Partnership may provide many advantages to cloud customers, there are a number of important issues to consider before entering into such a relationship. Join Mayer Brown partners Rebecca Eisner, Rohith George and Brad Peterson and host Julian Dibbell as they discuss how to achieve the customer's business and legal objectives in a Cloud + Strategic Partnership with a cloud provider.

Over the past few years, China has introduced a range of laws dealing with data privacy and cybersecurity. The most well-known is China's Cybersecurity Law, which came into effect in June 2017. With the recent passing of China's Data Security Law and Personal Information Protection Law, concerns regarding data localization and how to get data outside of China have been brought back into sharp focus. But beyond cross-border data transfers, these new laws may also have a further impact on technology transactions, particularly in relation to the deployment of cybersecurity products in China or for foreign companies that deliver products or services to Chinese residents or that utilize Chinese service providers. Join Mayer Brown partner Gabriela Kennedy and counsel Karen Lee along with host Julian Dibbell as they explore these developments.

The way consumers purchase goods and services is rapidly changing, and insurance is no exception. AI, advanced analytics, smart devices and other technologies are enabling new capabilities, and insurance companies, together with their Insurtech and Big Tech partners, are finding innovative ways to reach and service customers using these tools. Join Mayer Brown partners Rohith George, Paul Chen and Yevgeniy Markov and senior associates Yuliya Feldman and Julian Dibbell as they discuss trends and highlight regulatory, commercial and contractual issues in this exciting space.

Join Mayer Brown partners Richard Assmus and Oliver Yaros as they discuss with host Julian Dibbell how to address the IP pitfalls in data monetization. Their discussion will focus on the unseen value of data, the difficulties that exist with protecting data as traditional intellectual property, the paramount importance of the contracting regime that applies with any third parties that are providing or obtaining data, the typical pitfalls that exist when seeking to protect and exploit the value found in data, and the practical approaches that can be taken to address these risks.

Banking as a Service (“BaaS”) refers to arrangements where licensed banks integrate their digital banking services directly into the products of other non-bank businesses. Join Mayer Brown partners David Beam, Rohith George and Joe Pennell and associate Julian Dibbell as moderator as they discuss these arrangements and how they compare to traditional technology outsourcing and other types of bank-fintech partnerships. The conversation will cover some of the key regulatory and contractual issues that arise when setting up these arrangements and other factors that financial institutions should consider when evaluating whether and how to enter the BaaS space.

With high-profile cybersecurity incidents hitting the headlines, President Biden's recent cybersecurity executive order seeks to strengthen security practices at federal agencies and government contractors. But what does the order mean for companies across the private sector? Join Mayer Brown partners Stephen Lilley and Veronica Glick and host Julian Dibbell for a discussion of the order's key provisions and how they may affect how businesses manage cyber risk and contract for secure products and services.

Licensees face financial risk and operational disruption in audits by their software and data vendors. Changes in technology are driving a current surge in those audits. Join Mayer Brown partners Richard Assmus, Brad Peterson and associate Jengeih Tamba with host Julian Dibbell as they describe how those audits unfold and discuss strategies for reducing risk and disruption.

Across industries, companies are actively pursuing and seeking to scale existing implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to increase revenue, cut costs, develop new product offerings and retain or gain a competitive advantage. To realize the potential benefits of AI solutions, companies need to assess and account for related regulatory and compliance risks. The discussion focuses on practical approaches for companies to evaluate and account for regulatory and compliance risks when evaluating, licensing and implementing AI solutions. Join Mayer Brown partners Marina Aronchik and Vivek Mohan as they discuss with host Julian Dibbell the existing regulatory landscape for AI, as well as changes on the horizon.

The supply chain for products is becoming vastly complex as more and more products involve technology components. Technology may be embedded in products to achieve their intended purpose; remotely connected to monitor and maintain them, update their functionality and connect them with other systems; and used to collect data valuable to the enterprise. Understanding and managing the risks associated with these interconnected solutions will help an enterprise achieve its desired business outcomes. Join Hilton senior counsel John Eichenberger and Mayer Brown partner Linda Rhodes as they discuss with host Julian Dibbell managing the enterprise supply chain, including contracting with manufacturers and resellers, and addressing key risk factors for resiliency.

There is a great deal more to monetizing data than setting up a data lake. In this episode, we discuss legal issues faced by investment funds working to drive returns by analyzing the operational data of their portfolio companies. Join Mayer Brown partners Brad Peterson and Elizabeth Raymond as they discuss key legal considerations and best practices with host Julian Dibbell.

When one of your key technology customers or vendors files for bankruptcy, what is the impact on your company? And what can your company do to mitigate the impact? Join Mayer Brown counsel Monique Mulcare and partners Richard Assmus and Matthew Wargin as they discuss key considerations and best practices with host Julian Dibbell.

The end of the Brexit transition period and the implementation of the new UK/EU Trade Agreement have had a significant impact on technology transactions throughout Europe. Businesses entering into Europe-wide technology engagements should pay particular attention to the effects on technology licensing, data privacy and international data transfers, employment and immigration rules, and financial services regulatory requirements. Join Mayer Brown partners Oliver Yaros, Christopher Fisher, Elizabeth Espín Stern and Chris Chapman as they explore current practices and future implications with host Julian Dibbell.

Today’s managed services deals deliver new levels of value through cloud services, process automation, AI and other digital age technologies. This digital transformation of outsourced functions is providing services that perform faster and better and at a lower cost. But there are new risks and challenges that require new contracting terms and approaches. Join Mayer Brown partner Brad Peterson and associate Alan Velasco as they discuss with host Julian Dibbell how lawyers can help clients secure the needed commitments and avoid costly pitfalls.

Many companies are increasingly relying on third parties to provide critical services and technology to support their business objectives. While dispute clauses might not seem important at the time of negotiation, it is the first clause a litigator looks at when a dispute arises. Please join Mayer Brown partners Sarah Reynolds and Jim Ferguson and host Julian Dibbell as they discuss practical ways to optimize your contract’s dispute clauses.

Companies are increasingly pursuing new and innovative ways to use an asset that they have had for years—their data. This data, usually combined with data acquired from third-party sources, can help a company optimize internal operations, improve existing products or services, or create new data-driven revenue streams. But to succeed with these initiatives, companies need to evaluate and account for a number of legal, business, and operational issues, some of which may change or impact the work of data scientists. Join Mayer Brown partners Marina Aronchik and Rohith George as they discuss with host Julian Dibbell how lawyers can help their companies protect and maximize the value of data and avoid common mistakes in data monetization projects.

As widely reported, 2020 was a year of rapid digital transformation and an inflection point for many long-running trends in data, digital, outsourcing and software transactions. In our first episode of season two of Tech Talks, partners in Mayer Brown’s Technology Transactions practice discuss likely trends based on their observations from work on critical transactions for clients. Key topics will include managed services, privacy, cloud/XaaS, data monetization, fintech and other technology platforms, and emerging issues in the use of artificial intelligence.