Tagged: legal

April 16, 2017 @ 3:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

First Successful Arbitration Settlement Against a Crowdfunding Scofflaw Prominent crowdfunding marketing firm Funded Today is perhaps the most successful agency in their space today. Having helped to direct more than 300 perk-based crowdfunding campaigns to financial success, Funded Today has now been instrumental in raising… Read More

April 13, 2017 @ 10:36 pm By Allen Shayanfekr  |  

According to the Securities Act of 1933, any company that sells securities must either register with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or file for an exemption. The JOBS Act 2012 provides a way for companies to use crowdfunding as a means of selling securities,… Read More

April 11, 2017 @ 3:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

Perkins Coie LLP, a legal firm with offices in the United States and Asia, has boosted their Fintech horsepower with the addition of Jacob S. Farber and Frederick B. Fedynyshyn as senior counsel in its Technology Transactions & Privacy practice. Perkins Coie considers itself legal experts… Read More

April 6, 2017 @ 4:30 pm By Jonathan Nieh  |  

Yesterday, the SEC’s Division of Corporate Finance released two new Compliance & Disclosure Interpretations (C&DIs) answering questions related to Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF). CD&Is are the Commission’s way of giving some informal guidance, through a question and answer format, on how its staff members interpret certain rules. They… Read More

March 30, 2017 @ 2:25 pm By JD Alois  |  

ONAGOFly, a top-twenty Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign and the 2nd most funded drone project ever on the platform, has been hit with a class action lawsuit filed in United States District Court in California on March 27, 2017. The lawsuit was filed by Allan Black, Christopher… Read More

March 28, 2017 @ 12:30 pm By Amy Wan  |  

So, you want to start a real estate crowdfunding (RECF) platform. This article is intended to serve as a basic guide to launching a real estate crowdfunding platform in the United States. Decide on what you want to do There are many different types of… Read More

March 21, 2017 @ 9:55 pm By Scott Andersen & George S. Georgiades  |  

Much excitement has been generated with the enactment of Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) and the ability of non-accredited investors to invest in startup companies in the United States. The SEC recently reported that while early capital raising efforts is still growing, Regulation Crowdfunding has provided… Read More

March 17, 2017 @ 3:13 pm By Georgia Quinn  |  

Many entrepreneurs that successfully raised money using the newly enacted Regulation CF (or Reg CF for short) have likely tried to put the tiresome process behind them and are focusing on company operations and executing on their business plans. However, all successful issuers need to… Read More

March 6, 2017 @ 10:20 am By Amy Wan  |  

It seems that at least once a week nowadays, I get a call asking whether an initial coin offering (ICO) is regulated at all, and the question came to a head at a recent Legal Hackers LA discussion on smart contracts by Daniel Rice. The… Read More

March 3, 2017 @ 11:25 am By JD Alois  |  

Lending Club (NYSE:LC) has was a significant court victory regarding its ability to compel arbitration. The case Bethune v. LendingClub Corp. was filed in the Souther District Court of New York in 2016. The issue pertained to the interest rate a New York resident was being charged… Read More

February 12, 2017 @ 3:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

Gust Launch is a relatively new addition to the Gust portfolio of services for startups. Gust Launch is described as; “one platform to easily incorporate, start, and run your company like a seasoned entrepreneur—designed by experienced startup founders, investors, and lawyers to help you from… Read More

February 9, 2017 @ 7:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

FINRA, or the “Financial Industry Regulatory Authority”, is one of the most powerful financial regulators in the United States. It is also a private corporation that performs its duties as a “self-regulatory organization” (SRO). FINRA oversees the thousands of broker-dealers and other financial industry participants… Read More

February 5, 2017 @ 9:31 am By Amy Wan  |  

Since Reg CF became effective, I’ve noticed a disturbing pattern in Reg CF deals—their valuations and economic terms are oftentimes unjustified. Unlike a normal angel or VC investment, which includes back and forth negotiations on terms with a lead investor, Reg CF issuers largely set… Read More

January 9, 2017 @ 9:05 am By Vincent Basulto  |  

Predicting what will transpire in the coming year is always challenging, particularly in relatively nascent and growing industries such as marketplace lending. While surprises are undoubtedly in store for 2017, indications are that certain trends—the growth of bank partnerships and industry consolidation—will continue and accelerate… Read More

January 8, 2017 @ 1:30 pm By Lior Ostashinsky  |  

  The JOBS Act, which was signed into law in April 2012, led to the adoption of three exemptions from the registration requirements of securities offerings in the U.S. All three allow raising capital via crowdfunding. The first to go effective (September 2013) was Reg… Read More

December 29, 2016 @ 7:30 am By Samuel Guzik  |  

The beginning of a new year is typically accompanied by renewed hope and positive expectations. 2017 is no exception.  As a staunch advocate of promoting the interests of small business generally, and smart regulation of capital formation, in particular, 2017 stands out to me as… Read More

December 28, 2016 @ 7:23 am By Scott Andersen  |  

FINRA recently completed a settlement expelling from FINRA membership UFP, LLC, a registered funding portal that operated under uFundingPortal.com.   The matter marks both early and decisive action by FINRA against a registered funding portal operating under Regulation Crowdfunding.  It establishes that FINRA takes seriously… Read More

December 24, 2016 @ 8:47 am By Therese Torris  |  

For Reid Feldman and Hubert de Vauplane of the Paris Office of Law Firm Kramer Levin, the latest revisions of the French crowdfunding regulation are part of a broader effort by the French authorities to relax the monopoly of French banks on credit and extend… Read More

December 20, 2016 @ 9:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Two Year Patent Troll Case Ends in Triumph as Gust Refuses to Settle in “Giant Win” for Crowdfunding Industry. Gust, the “world’s largest community of entrepreneurs and early-stage investors”, has won a huge victory in court that impacts the entire crowdfunding industry. Today Gust announced the… Read More

December 8, 2016 @ 3:00 pm By Amy Wan  |  

Crowdfunding campaigns tend to look like sexy, overnight successes, but rarely are the successful ones so effortless. What I’m about to say sounds dumb—so dumb that I’m reluctant to have to even say it—but a lot of folks contact me thinking that crowdfunding is easy,… Read More