#office

The New Hampshire Attorney General's Office has accused Steven Kramer, a political consultant for the Democrats, of orchestrating the robocalls that utilized artificial intelligence to imitate President Biden's voice. Kramer was employed by Dean Phillips, who is competing against the sitting president in the primary elections.

Analysts from the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) suggest that existing U.S. copyright laws don't require adjustments to regulate the non-fungible token (NFT) industry. Instead, they recommend focusing on education and enhancing transparency within NFT products.

The legal team at Polygon Labs is advocating for DeFi to be classified as critical infrastructure in the United States, warranting oversight by the Department of the Treasury's Office of Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection (OCCIP).

The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has clarified its stance on decentralized finance, intending to impose capital gains tax on virtually any standard user activity.

Hong Kong police have arrested Joseph Lam, a crypto influencer and former lawyer, in connection with the ongoing investigation into cryptocurrency exchange JPEX. Lam, who has over 190,000 Instagram followers, was arrested today and his office was raided. The arrest follows the Securities and Futures Commission's warning against JPEX for misleading statements about its licensing status. The police have received at least 83 complaints involving JPEX, with virtual assets worth about HK$34 million ($4.3 million) reported.

Despite being over 100 days into the writers strike, the worries about studios using generative artificial intelligence to entirely write scripts have not come to fruition. The decision came in response to a challenge by Stephen Thaler, CEO of Imagination Engines, who sought to register AI-generated works. The judge upheld the U.S. Copyright Office’s stance that copyright protection only extends to works created by humans, not AI. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell has emphasized that copyright law has “never stretched so far” to “protect works generated by new forms of technology operating absent any guiding human hand.”

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will close its regional office in Salt Lake City, and two of its attorneys have resigned. This decision follows the regulator's defeat in court against the mining company Digital Licensing and its DEBT Box project, which began in July 2023.

The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) has filed a petition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to challenge the validity of a patent held by the competing blockchain domain name project, Unstoppable Domains (UD).

JPMorgan bank analysts suggest that the US Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) may wield certain influence over Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin. For example, it could enforce compliance with sanctions and restrictions regarding various projects, individuals, and nations.

The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office has reported that a court has imposed a seizure on the cryptocurrency assets of the State Special Communications Service's former chief.

In a report dated October 31, the Office of the Ethics Counsel highlighted the issue, noting that “many well-qualified candidates hold crypto assets, which, according to the office’s findings, would disqualify them from working on specific matters related to crypto assets.”

The French Data Protection Agency (CNIL) has conducted inspections at Worldcoin's Paris office due to concerns about the company's biometric data collection practices. Worldcoin, co-founded by ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman, scans users' irises in exchange for a digital ID and the promise of free cryptocurrency. The Worldcoin Foundation, incorporated in the Cayman Islands, has expressed its willingness to undergo the review and affirms its commitment to complying with regulatory requirements.

John Reed Stark, ex-chief of the SEC's Office of Internet Enforcement, believes the current SEC won't approve a Bitcoin spot ETF due to various reasons. However, Stark suggests that if a Republican wins the 2024 presidential election, the SEC might ease its crypto-enforcement and be more open to a Bitcoin spot ETF. He also speculates that SEC chair Gary Gensler might resign, potentially paving the way for Hester Peirce, known as "Crypto Mom", to take a leading role.