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Showing 13 posts from 2024.

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

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. Read More ›

Categories: Cybersecurity, Elder Law, Employment, Estate Planning, Privacy

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

Saving for RetirementThis 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. Read More ›

Categories: Employee Benefits, Retirement

Startups or Corporations: IP Strategies for All Businesses

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). Read More ›

Categories: Intellectual Property, Licensing, Patents

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

Deepfake Face Identity TechnologyWith 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. Read More ›

Categories: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Copyright, Cybersecurity, Defamation, Privacy, Technology, Trademarks

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

UnsubscribeYesterday, 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). Read More ›

Categories: Alerts and Updates, Billing/Payment, News, Privacy, Technology

MOU Between Agencies Could Impact M&A Deals

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.

Categories: Department of Labor, Labor Relations, Mergers & Acquisitions, National Labor Relations Board

DOL Echoes Employee Benefits and Cybersecurity Best Practices

Data Breach Shredded DocumentsOn 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.  Read More ›

Categories: Alerts and Updates, Cybersecurity, Department of Labor, Employee Benefits, IT Contracts, Technology

Can AI-Generated Works be Copyrighted?

AI Intellectual PropertyWith 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. Read More ›

Categories: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Intellectual Property, Lawsuit, Licensing

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

Reviewing Employee Benefit PlanA 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. Read More ›

Categories: Employee Benefits

AI Legal Issues That Can Impact Your Business

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. Read More ›

Categories: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Intellectual Property, IT Contracts, Technology