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The blockchain and its underlying distributed ledger technology (DLT) have progressed from cryptocurrency-related thought experiment to an increasingly embraced—or at least experimented with—technology with the potential to transform “business as usual” practices across a wide range of industries.
This evolution has been one of a thousand steps, and many of those have been legislative, regulatory or otherwise legal in nature. Pillsbury lawyers have been there every step of the way. We are proud to be one of the first movers in the blockchain space, and were honored by the Financial Times with the “Innovation in Changing and Influencing Regulation” Award in 2016 for our work with the state of Delaware and a blockchain client to create the Delaware Blockchain Initiative, a major initiative to allow Delaware corporations to register their securities on a blockchain-based system. Our blockchain lawyers provide legal analysis for state and federal regulators of the financial services industry and regularly advise on initial coin or currency offerings, global exchanges, and blockchain-related fintech companies. They have testified before the U.S. Senate regarding the future of Bitcoin and the blockchain.
Our multidisciplinary approach is founded on a straightforward strategy: to prepare our clients to leverage the benefits of blockchain and smart contact technologies while identifying and mitigating its risks. Pillsbury has been called upon by OCC, CFPB, SEC, CFTC and state-regulated financial entities, among others, to help integrate blockchain technology; by banks to review new bitcoin client accounts; by cryptocurrency exchangers for anti-money laundering polices; by regulators to develop official guidance on their money transmission rules; and even by legislators to write new blockchain-specific legislation.
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Our Intellectual Property team has been filing blockchain patents since 2015. We provide comprehensive industry intelligence, technology analysis, and IP risk assessment for client considering deploying blockchain or distributed ledger technology. In that time notably, Pillsbury was responsible for helping clients successfully apply for more than 10 percent of “blockchain” patents issued in 2018. Since then we’ve filed more than 70 blockchain patent applications and obtained more than 25 blockchain patents for clients in the cybersecurity, software and data marketplace industries.
We work with emerging companies developing businesses that utilize cryptocurrency for payment transactions on their networks, and routinely counsel clients on open source licensing regimes used in blockchain computing platforms. Our team has significant experience with fintech organizations, including developing regulatory compliance standards and processes for application, supervision and examination of New York-regulated BitLicensees and digital asset companies, and other fintech non-depository financial institutions.
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