Ted Claypoole leads Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP’s IP Transactions and FinTech Teams. Clients call on Ted to help manage, protect and profit from information, and his practice spans all sectors of the information economy. He helps companies design AI, and data analytics strategies and comply with relevant laws and contracts. Privacy and cybersecurity are the starting points for client advice on data collected through transactions, online interactions and the Internet of Things, with an emphasis on payments and financial activity.
A former in-house data and technology counsel for Bank of America and for CompuServe, Ted brings deep and practical experience in business and risk management to his work with clients. From global outsourcing agreements to sophisticated technology provided as a service, Ted meets client goals by developing and implementing IP protective contracts. He drafts and negotiates agreements involving software, the internet, data, mobile/remote access, and services. Ted advises both FinTech start-ups and large financial services companies in payment processing, data security, insurance and other matters.
A regular speaker and writer on privacy and security issues, Ted has been selected eight times as a presenter for the RSA Data Security Conference in San Francisco. Ted is also the editor of Womble Bond Dickinson’s HeyDataData Blog which covers topics related to data and digital business/law. In addition, he wrote the book Technology, Data and Law, and he edited and co-authored The Law of Artificial Intelligence and Smart Machines which was published by the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association. Prior to that, he co-authored two books from Rowman & Littlefield Publishers titled Privacy in the Age of Big Data and Protecting Your Internet Identity: Are You Naked Online? alongside Theresa Payton.
Presentations and Publications
Books
- The Law of Artificial Intelligence and Smart Machines. Editor and Co-author. Published by the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association.
- Technology, Data and Law, author, available on Amazon
- Privacy in the Age of Big Data: Recognizing Threats, Defending Your Rights, and Protecting Your Family. Co-author with Theresa Payton. Published by Rowman & Littlefield.
- Protecting Your Internet Identity: Are You Naked Online? Co-author with Theresa Payton. Published by Rowman & Littlefield.
Presentations
- AI as Risk and Savior, Twenty-Fifth Annual Institute on Privacy and Cybersecurity Law, Chicago, June 2024.
- Privacy Law and Brain-Reading Technology, American Bar Association, Business Law Section, Cyberspace Law Committee Working Meeting, February 2024
- I Know What You Thought Last Summer: AI, Neuroscience, and the Battle for Your Brain, American Bar Association’s Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Institute, October 2023
- Trick or Treat? Unmasking AI Disinformation and Manipulation, While Revealing Key Legal Issues, American Bar Association’s Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Institute, October 2023
- “2022 State of US Data Privacy Law Compliance,” Association of Corporate Counsel, September 2022
- “Moving Targets While Under Fire – Aligning with New Data Laws While Hackers and Customers Bring Pressure,” Womble Bond Dickinson's What the Tech? Virtual Summit, April 2022
- “Privacy Update: Practical Approaches to CCPA, CPRA, and EU Data Protection Compliance,” Association of Corporate Counsel, May 2021
- “How Cybersecurity Fits into Your Compliance and Ethics Program”, Association of Corporate Counsel (Atlanta, GA), January 2021
- “Professional Rule Requiring Technology Competence: Ethical Rules and How to Comply”, Association of Corporate Counsel CLE event, Georgia, March 2020
- “AI and the Financial Industry”, CLE event, California, March 2020
- “The Ethical Requirement for Technical Competence among Attorneys”, CLE event, Georgia, March 2020
- “AI and the Financial Industry,” Artificial Intelligence and Robotics National Institute, January 2020
Articles
- Functional Classifications for Artificial Intelligence, 2023, Business Law Today
- Quoted in Legal Tech's Milestones for Cybersecurity & Data Privacy in 2023, Legaltech News
- Intellectual Property Issues in Decentralized Finance, Texas Lawyer, with Sam Campbell
- Why Data Security and Legal Should Be Friends, Association for Data and Cyber Governance
- Colorado Passes Comprehensive Privacy Law – 4 Quick Takeaways, with Tara Cho, Nadia Aram, Taylor Ey, and Robert Botkin
- Sin Eaters, Moles, and Eternal Damnation: Europe’s Quasi-Religious War Against U.S. Internet Companies, Business Law Today
- Tote That Search, Lift That Mail: A “Green” New Deal for Data?, Business Law Today, with Phil Gura
- Guide to Regulation of Biometric Technology for Business and Government, with Taylor Ey
- Sleep with an Eye Open: The New Age of Hotel Privacy Intrusion
- ICO Warns Prominent US Company to Change Business Model: Paid Subscription Versus FREE with Ads, with Nadia Aram
- FTC Action Against IoT provider D-Link: An Administrative Overreach? Cecile Park Media
- Developing Laws Address Flourishing Commercial Use of Biometric Information, with Cameron Stoll, ABA Business Law Today
- Our Mini-Theme: Watches and Wallets, Compliance and Rebellion: The State of Cyberspace Law, Business Law Today
- Trinket, Trailer, Sweater, Spy: Your Possessions Are Watching You, Master’s in Data Science
- Privacy and Social Media, Business Law Today
- Regulating the Brainspray Revolution, Business Law Today
- Location Tracking and U.S. Law: How Technology Alters Expectations, Journal of Internet Law, Volume 16, Number 5, with Richard Balough
- Developments in the Law Concerning Geolocational Privacy, Theodore F. Claypoole and Richard C. Balough, The Business Lawyer, Volume 68, Issue 1, Pages 197 – 204
- Privacy Considerations Limit Geolocation Technologies, Co-authored with Richard Balough, Business Law Today
- No Place to Hide: First Amendment Protection for Location Privacy, BNA Electronic Commerce Law Reporter (16 ECLR 869)
- U.S. Privacy Laws: New Obligations for Associations, Association Law & Policy
- Protecting Data in a Business Failure, ACC Docket, co-authored with Danielle M. Benoit
- How a License Becomes a Sale: Software Applications of the First Sale Doctrine published by Matthew Bender as Expert Commentary in LEXIS research service
- Biometric Authentication for SCADA Security, Chapter 3 in Techno Security’s Guide to Securing SCADA: A Comprehensive Handbook on Protecting the Critical Infrastructure, Syngress Publishing, Inc.
- Unintended Consequences of Biometrics, Chapter 11 of American Bar Association Book The Practitioners Guide to Biometrics, with Todd Inskeep
- Data Security Requirements Clearer for Business, Charlotte Business Journal
- Willie Sutton is on the Internet: Bank Security in a Shared-Risk Infrastructure, University of North Carolina Law School Banking Institute, with Eugene M. Katz
Blog
Over 150 articles written and published on the HeyDataData Blog, including
- Multiple articles on using AI and the law, AI in your business, and theories of AI
- Posts on international privacy regulation and data localization
- Series of discussions on biometrics, DNA privacy and use of facial recognition software
- Discussions of internet policy and regulation
- Analysis of new surveillance techniques and technology
Professional Activities
- Vice Chair, American Bar Association President’s Task Force on Law and Artificial Intelligence
- Liaison between the ABA Business Law Section and the ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security
- Member, Leadership Council of the ABA Business Law Section
- Chair, Cyberspace Committee, Business Law Section of the American Bar Association
- Member of Advisory Committee for the University of North Carolina Charlotte, College of Computing and Informatics, Chair of Faculty Support Committee 2010-2015
- Member of Board of Directors, North Carolina Technology Association 2012-2014
- Co-Chair of local KnowledgeNet Chapter, International Association of Privacy Professionals 2012-2014
- Founder and Host of the WombleTech Lunch & Learn series in Charlotte
- Board Member and Chair for Certification Committee, Carolinas Minority Supplier Development Council. 2008 -2012
- Fellow of the American Bar Association
Representative Experience
Any result the lawyer or law firm may have achieved on behalf of clients in other matters does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients.
- Developed contracting models and internal governance for generative AI on behalf of energy and manufacturing companies
- Negotiated mobile payment platform for international bank.
- Negotiated IoT platform for consumer goods company
- Facilitated strategic relationship between leaders of FinTech company and a credit card company.
- Led response to data breach for payments company involving tens of millions of credit card data sets.
- Designed and implemented world-wide data management programs together with several international manufacturing companies.
- Analyzed and proposed cyber-insurance options and a risk management solution for world-wide computer manufacturer.
Honors and Awards
- Named a BTI Client Service All-Star, BTI Consulting Group, 2022
- Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America (BL Rankings), Technology Law, 2017 – Present
