Careers

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Experience

Innovation

Interactive Maps

Locations

About

Pages

Meet our team of innovators
Ask us how we do it

Professionals

Insights

Services

Thompson Hine LLP, a full-service business law firm with approximately 400 lawyers in 8 offices, was ranked number 1 in the category “Most innovative North American law firms: New working models” by The Financial Times and was 1 of 7 firms shortlisted for The American Lawyer’s inaugural Legal Services Innovation Award. The firm has been recognized by the National Law Journal as a Legal Technology Trailblazer and featured by Bloomberg for its innovative service delivery models, which drive accuracy and predictability. The firm’s commitment to innovation is embodied in Thompson Hine SmartPaTHTM – a smarter way to work – predictable, efficient and aligned with client goals. For more information, please visit ThompsonHine.com and ThompsonHine.com/SmartPaTH.

Home | Thompson Hine LLP

Atlanta

Chicago

Cincinnati

Cleveland

Columbus

Dayton

Los Angeles

New York

Washington, D.C.

“Data is the new oil” has been a catchphrase for some time now. There are lots of similarities. Both have myriad uses and are resources that can be processed, shaped, and molded into a wide variety of valuable products. They flow in pipes. Both can be expensive to produce.

contentpilot/introduction

Companies use both oil and data to create, market, and sell their products and services. Artificial intelligence is the latest in the incredible line of developments in the manipulation and use of information. Just recently I saw the surprising news that there is not enough information in the world on which to train new artificial intelligence models. Will we run out of information, just as forecasters predict that eventually we will run out of oil?

core/paragraph

On the other hand, data and oil are different in many important ways. Apart from the obvious ones, data often is a byproduct of other activities. Businesses generate financial information, trade secrets, personnel data, and other valuable information. Individuals do so almost unintentionally; personal consumption and other behavioral information, captured through cell phone apps, credit card transactions and even video surveillance when out and about in public, all are hot commodities.

Another mantra one hears is “information wants to be free.” Human beings are naturally curious beings and want to know what’s going on around them. If someone else has a good and useful thing, of course we want to have it too. Everybody wants a piece of the action.

Governments also want more information about business activity and corporate transactions. Officials track economic activity as a guide to setting interest rates and implementing economic policy. They gather information to pursue other objectives, such as law enforcement, trade controls, or breaking up monopolies. Some examples (there are of course many more) include:

core/list

Additionally, hackers, business competitors, and even national governments want to steal information. One of the fastest growing areas of our work is advising companies that have fallen victim to different forms of computer hacking: ransomware attacks, “Hacking as a Service” (HaaS), spoofing, theft of trade secrets. All our clients are experiencing this.

So, information is incredibly valuable, often guarded jealously, of vital interest to individuals, businesses, and society, and in need of protection. We certainly hope you find the information in our long-running quarterly Business Law Update to be useful and important. We appreciate your attention and welcome your constructive comments, questions, and feedback.

https://admin.thompsonhine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Thompson-Hine-Newsletter-Business-Law-Update-July-2024.pdf

core/file

This article may be reproduced, in whole or in part, with the prior permission of Thompson Hine LLP and acknowledgement of its source and copyright. This publication is intended to inform clients about legal matters of current interest. It is not intended as legal advice. Readers should not act upon the information contained in it without professional counsel.

This document may be considered attorney advertising in some jurisdictions.

Business Perspectives: What’s Going On?