Chinese courts take a different approach to the issue of AI generating copyright protected images, the DLA Piper team reports. On 7 March 2025, the Changshu People’s Court (in China’s Jiangsu province) announced that it had recently concluded a case on the topical issue of whether AI-generated works can be protected by copyright. In the…
We have teamed up with the LIDC (International League of Competition Law) to share a series of podcasts examining some of the increasingly pressing questions around cloud computing, AI and competition law. Over seven episodes, recorded in November 2024, Ben Evans, Shruti Hiremath and guests will look beyond the current position to identify some of…
Read More… from Exploring Competition in Cloud and AI Podcast: Episode 1 – The Status Quo
Ryan E. Long warns of the US lawsuits currently targeting social media platforms The Set Up Great news! Your UK based social media dating company – “Better Than Cupid” – just got funded. It’s been launched in the US and is slated to be released in other countries. You just started celebrating. But then you…
Mauricio Figueroa argues why we need to look beyond the conventions of international law to regulate AI Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are being deployed across industries and sectors of the economy; it is certainly a global problem. At first glance, international law seems like an obvious way forward: a platform designed to address cross-border issues….
Read More… from The Drawbacks of International Law in Governing Artificial Intelligence
Jagvinder Singh Kang provides some timely advice for your procurement projects this year. IntroductionTechnology procurement has evolved over the decades. Gone are the days of just procuring IT hardware alone, or standard software. Organisations have become more dependent upon Cloud solutions, usually in the form of SaaS, and now there will be an inevitable movement…
Read More… from New Year’s Resolutions For Procuring Technology Solutions in 2025
Online Safety Act 2023 (Commencement No 4) Regulations 2024 made The Online Safety Act 2023 (Commencement No 4) Regulations 2024 (SI 2024/1333) have been made. These Regulations are the fourth commencement regulations under the Online Safety Act 2023. They bring into force on 17 January 2025 the duties about regulated provider pornographic content in section…
The Basics and Beyond Rónán Kennedy reviews a book aimed directly at the legal professional who needs to understand the technology they advise on. Those who work in law and technology are sure to encounter some aspect of hardware or software that they do not understand, either because it is new or because they simply…
Read More… from Technology and Security for Lawyers and Other Professionals
Mark Ryan and Tom Sweet of SES Secure trace the evolution of software escrow and the impact of AI on its use As many readers will know, software escrow is a risk mitigation tool that safeguards the critical assets, such as software applications, organisations are reliant on. It typically involves a tri-party legal agreement being…
Read More… from Software Escrow – Its Evolution, Use in Legal Frameworks and The Influence of AI
Amanda Chaboryk examines how policies and organisations may need to adapt if generative AI is to be used to improve access to justice. Introduction The legal field has consistently faced a growing and essential demand for innovation to tackle persistent issues related to access to justice. At a high level, the primary factors that impact access…
Mauricio Figueroa summarises the key points from the SCL AI Conference hosted by Herbert Smith Freehills on 8th October. Practitioners, lawmakers, academics, trainees, in-house lawyers, and civil society representatives gathered at Herbert Smith Freehills’ offices in London for the annual Society for Computers and Law AI conference. The event brought together experts to explore the…
The long-awaited Procurement Act is scheduled to come into force in February next year promising a more flexible regime. Professor Albert Sanchez-Graells picks out some of the challenges it will pose for those working in public-sector procurement. After a recently announced 4-month delay to its ‘go live’ date, the Procurement Act 2023 is now due…
Read More… from The Procurement Act 2023 and its implications for tech procurement
Amanda Chaboryk and Nicholas Cook highlight the importance of reviewing your information architecture before using your data for generative AI The advent of artificial intelligence (AI), and generative AI (GenAI) in particular, has resulted in a dawning era of transformative potential in the legal domain. It has been met with a range of reactions from…
Read More… from IA Before AI: Facilitating Generative AI Adoption within Legal Teams
Product Regulation and Metrology Bill introduced to Parliament On 4 September 2024, the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill had its first reading in the House of Lords. The Bill aims to reform the UK’s product safety regime by addressing modern safety issues. The Bill’s second reading in the House of Lords is due to take…
Tom Whittaker and Ryan Jenkins look at the increasing importance of AI literacy in the EU and more globally AI literacy in simple terms is about developing skills and understanding regarding how to develop and use AI, its opportunities and risks. Contracts, governance and internal policies may require or encourage some form of AI literacy….
Sachin Bhatt, our regular cybersecurity contributor, highlights the threats to our universities from malicious activity…
A team from Hogan Lovells consider the regulatory regimes governing digital accessibility in the UK and EU. Summary: In the era of digital transformation, the need to ensure products and services are accessible to all, including those who experience some form of disability, is greater than ever. While there is not (yet) a global uniform…
Andrew Woolsey and Sophie Ashcroft take a fresh look at the legal issues surrounding defective software through the lens of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal…
Once upon a time technologies like artificial intelligence and the metaverse were confined to the annals of science fiction. No longer, both innovations exist in the here and now, with vast potential to transform our world. These emergent technologies, however, are not without attributes of concern, one of which is energy consumption and the consequent…
Read More… from Emerging technologies and the climate: charting a pathway to pre-emptive oversight
IT contracts and disputes have long concentrated on functional specifications, tests and defects to assure that projects deliver what is intended. This is only part of what is required. William Hooper examines the role of design in contract and dispute….
A team from DLA Piper dig deeper into the House of Lords report on balancing risk and innovation in AI regulation, in particular, the open source question While much attention has been paid to the finalisation of the EU’s AI Act in recent weeks, developments in AI continue at a frenetic rate. On 2nd February…
The price of Bitcoin has climbed since the SEC allowed new trading funds. Martyna Dudek explains what’s changed and the FCA’s own moves to allow crypto trading….
Áine Rafferty knows an in-house legal team is a critical component for many technology firms and has been recognised by industry peers for leading high performing in house technology teams. Here she provides some steers on how to make sure the team is valued by the other parts of the business. The role of the…
Read More… from 5 steps to building a high performance in-house legal team
Adrian Aronsson-Storrier and Helen Hart look at the recent case of Harber, a tax case involving fictitious case references generated by ChatGPT…
The House of Commons Business and Trade Select Committee has published a report ahead of the UK-EU summit in May. The Committee highlights that the UK government has described raising growth as its number one mission and has a target for the UK to achieve the highest rate of sustained growth in the G7. Currently…
Ofcom has launched an investigation into whether the provider of an online suicide forum has failed to comply with its duties under the Online Safety Act 2023. This is the first investigation opened into an individual online service provider under the OSA. Specifically, Ofcom is investigating whether this provider has failed to: Due to its…
We have teamed up with the LIDC (International League of Competition Law) to share a series of podcasts examining some of the increasingly pressing questions around cloud computing, AI and competition law. Over seven episodes, recorded in November 2024, Ben Evans, Shruti Hiremath and guests will look beyond the current position to identify some of…
Read More… from Exploring Competition in Cloud and AI Podcast: Episode 2 – Alternative Visions
Chris Kemp summarises the issues around new Model Contract Terms and Standard Contractual Clauses emerging from the shadow of the recent EU digital regulation. Introduction – the new MCTs and SCCs By now the ‘top level’ requirements of the new wave of EU tech and digital regulation are fairly well known: the AI Act’s risk-based…
UK law Electronic Communications (Networks and Services) (Designated Vendor Directions) (Penalties) Order 2025 The Electronic Communications (Networks and Services) (Designated Vendor Directions) (Penalties) Order 2025 SI 2025/443 has been made. It makes consequential amendments to the Electronic Communications (Networks and Services) (Penalties) (Rules for Calculation of Turnover) Order 2003, SI 2003/2712 which in summary covers…
The ICO’s Assurance department has recently approached organisations in the financial services sector to review how they process information. The review looked at how they use children’s data and how they use AI and automated decision making. The ICO also wanted to gather views on experiences of implementing good data protection practice, compliance challenges, competing…
Read More… from ICO reports on use of children’s data in financial services sector
The Information Commissioner’s Office has published guidance about anonymisation and pseudonymisation techniques, aimed at helping organisations handle personal data in compliance with data protection laws. Anonymisation is the process of representing data in such a way that individuals are not identifiable. Once data is anonymised, it falls outside the scope of data protection laws. Pseudonymisation…
Most of the consumer aspects of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 came into force on 6 April 2025. This includes the repealed and replaced Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, which update the provisions about unfair commercial practices, as well as new powers for the CMA, including GDPR-style fines, and new…
Read More… from Consumer aspects of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act in force