BCLP has advised client Playtech plc (Playtech), in connection with its $85 million investment (c. €80 million) in Hard Rock Digital (“HRD”).

BCLP advised FARFETCH Limited (NYSE:FTCH), the leading global platform for the luxury fashion industry, on its investment in Neiman Marcus Group (NMG) the parent of brands including Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, as part of a broader, global strategic partnership.

Setting new precedent in the world of data, the FTC has found that the work product of ill-gotten data is no longer retainable by the developer.  On January 11, 2021, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it reached a settlement in its enforcement action against Everalbum, Inc. (“Everalbum”), the developer of the “Ever” photo storage application (In the Matter of Everalbum and Paravision, Commission File No. 1923172).  While the FTC has entered into dozens of such settlements over the prior two decades, the Everalbum settlement is unique as it appears to be the first settlement in which the FTC has required the deletion of intellectual property developed using data obtained in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act (Act), in addition to the data itself.  In particular, and in addition to requirements commonly seen in other FTC settlements (including broad notice, consent, and deletion requirements), the Everalbum settlement requires that Everalbum delete all “Affected Work Product,” defined as “any models or algorithms developed in whole or in part using Biometric Information [Everalbum] collected from Used of the ‘Ever’ mobile application.”  This settlement is likely to cause greater scrutiny of data subject consents and the collection of biometric information, and potentially impacts the collection of other sensitive personal information as well.