Emerging Technology
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Emerging Technology
Overview
Experience
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News + Views + Events

Our Technology Group works to keep you aware of the latest developments and how they may affect your business and personal lives. We can help you manage your internet and technology risks in the many areas. 

Blockchain + Smart Contracts

We are in the midst of an endless stream of developments in hardware, software and computing power that has pushed blockchain and cryptocurrencies into the mainstream. With these new opportunities also come new risks and challenges, with unique legal obstacles. In this emerging industry, government regulation and oversight is developing and changing quickly as these new technologies become widely adopted. Our team has helped clients with a variety of blockchain issues, including litigating urgent injunctions to enforce smart contracts on the blockchain and helping a client with a blocked digital wallet.

As you contend with the commercial and technical realities, regulations, risks and opportunities in this evolving sector, our team can help you with:

  • Advice on the negotiation and drafting of smart contract reference terms
  • Drafting consortium agreements for private or permission-based ledgers, and
  • Developing consortium governance policies, participant agreements, consortium management agreements, technology license agreements.

Cryptocurrencies

In the past decade, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple have significantly altered the landscape of electronic transactions. Utilizing distributed ledger and blockchain technology, these cryptocurrencies are fundamentally changing the way we do business. From share transactions and contracts, to money transfers and supply chain management, blockchain and cryptocurrencies are altering the way businesses process electronic transactions and manage assets. Our team is dedicated to ensuring that your assets are protected and that your business can utilize these new technologies to grow your business safely.

Services provided for cryptocurrencies:

  • Wallet and Firewall Agreement
  • IT Outsourcing and Service Agreements
  • Cyber Liability
  • Security Opinions
  • Security Enforcement
  • Security Protocols and Encryption Standards

Esports

At Field Law, we provide advice on all manner of issues impacting the esports sector, including:

  • Providing strategic and risk assessment for esports businesses and players
  • Providing copyright, patent and trademark advice relating to live streaming play, and moding
  • Structuring sponsorship agreements with major sponsors
  • Consulting with AESA and other industry and regulatory bodies regarding a legal framework for the governance of esports in Canada
  • Applying for non-immigration visas for gamers and support personnel
  • Advising on the creation, acquisition, expansion and operations of eSports teams, including employment and commercial matters, streamer contracts, player contracts and league participation agreements
  • Financing of esports businesses including securing venture capital financing
  • Creating end-user license agreements, terms of service and privacy policies

BioTech

Biotechnology relies on continuous innovation, obtaining and sustaining funding for research and development, and having intellectual property protection in place to protect new products and processes. Our team of corporate and commercial lawyers, patent agents and trademark agents bring extensive technical knowledge to the wide range of issues affecting the biotechnology sector. We use our industry knowledge to support our clients with technology development and licensing, intellectual property protection and enforcement, regulatory approval and corporate structuring. 

R v Shah, 2017 ABQB 144
Dmyterko v Telus, 2021 ABQB 175
Geophysical Service Incorporated v. Encana Corporation, 2016 ABQB 230
Thursday, May 14
AI Governance: Why Your Business Needs a Plan Now
As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly integrates into business operations, organizations must establish clear AI governance procedures to mitigate risks, ensure compliance, and maintain trust. Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) and governance framewor...
February 19, 2025
How to Conceptualize, Investigate + Tackle Digital Asset Threats
Seminar
Curious about cryptocurrency investigations? Want to learn how digital assets can be seized and what steps you can take to counter cryptocrime? Field Law's Emerging Technology Group invites you to a thought-provoking talk with Bri...
August 2024 - 6 min read
The State of AI Regulation in Canada (2024)
Canada's AI regulation is still in development, with the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act under review in Parliament. In the meantime, voluntary guidelines are in place, and provincial and international efforts are progres...
June 25, 2024
Supply Chain Legislation + Sustainability: Understanding the Risks
Lunch + Learn
Join global supply chain experts Achilles and Field Law for a discussion centred on the global wave of supply chain legislation, its connection to ESG principles and the risks and the opportunities for Canadian businesses. Embracing Environmental, S...
August 2022 - 3 min read
The Artificial Intelligence and Data Act… Coming Soon to AI Near You
In June 2022, the Government introduced Bill C-27, an Act to enact the Consumer Privacy Protection Act, the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act, and the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act. A major component of this propose...
September 4, 2021
A Legal Perspective on Issues in Gaming
Alberta Esports Association: Capsule Series Panelist
August 23, 2021
As Esports Grows and Creates new Legal Challenges, Law Firm Allies with Alberta Esports Association
Canadian Lawyer
May 13, 2021
Coffee + Counsel: How to Protect Your Business Against Phishing Attacks
Q+A Session
Join us for another edition of Coffee + Counsel, a complimentary series that brings you together with a few of our lawyers for an unscripted chat about legal issues pertinent to organizations in Alberta. Your questions guide the discussion, and we prov...
May 5, 2021
The Modernization of Canadian Privacy Law: Where Are We Heading?
Seminars
Individuals and organizations, both large and small, are increasingly faced with challenging issues in the area of privacy and information handling. Bill C-11, the Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2020, seeks to modernize Canadian privacy legis...
March 2021 - 4 min read
Facial Recognition: A Privacy Law Perspective
Humans love to look at faces – our families, our friends, complete strangers. In some ways, our brains are optimized for facial identity recognition. We’re good at it, so of course we want to teach machines how to do it even bette...
January 2020
Click-Through Agreements
Sierra Trading Post is an Internet retailer of brand-name outdoor gear, family apparel, footwear, sporting goods. Sierra lists comparison prices on its site to show consumers that its goods are competitively priced.Chen, the plaintiff, sued Sierra, cla...
March 18, 2019
Tech Support: Law Firms Lining up to Take Advantage of Tech Boom
Canadian Lawyer Mag
Erika Carrasco discusses how the law surrounding drones offers a typical example of the challenges of working in a fast-developing area.
October 2018
How do “Smart Contracts” Fit With “Traditional Contracts”?
The Medium
Placing Smart Contracts in Context  A “smart contract” is really a set of computer programs designed to automatically execute certain transaction steps, provided certain conditions are met. It’s not so much a contract, in th...
September 2017
Autonomous Vehicle Law: The Current Legal Landscape
Presentations
The National Public Sector Lawyers Forum
September 2016
The Wild West: Drone Laws and Privacy in Canada
‘Drones’ were first known by the military as unmanned aerial vehicles, and later by the International Civil Aviation Organization as remotely piloted aircraft systems. Drones come in various shapes and sizes and can be p...