The recent decision of the Court of Appeal in Tulip Trading Limited v van der Laan [2023] EWCA Civ 83 (a challenge to the jurisdiction of the English Courts) is interesting and controversial. While recognising that the argument is entirely novel and would “involve a significant development of the common law”, the Court of Appeal…
Read More… from The decentralised governance of bitcoin: truth or myth?
Environment Powering up Britain: the UK Government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has published its plan for long-term energy security. The plan pushes for cleaner, more affordable energy including adoption of carbon capture (usage and storage), offshore wind, green hydrogen and domestic improvements such as insulation, heat pumps and improved decarbonisation of transport…
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The approval is conditional on Microsoft complying fully with certain commitments. The Commission says that those commitments fully address the competition concerns that it has identified and represent a significant improvement for cloud gaming compared with the current situation….
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The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled in the case of Lännen MCE Oy v Berky GmbH and Senwatec GmbH & Co KG (Case C-104/22). Article 125(5) of the Trade Mark Regulation (2017/1001/EU) provides that an EU trade mark owner can bring EUTM infringement actions in a member state “in which the…
Read More… from CJEU rules on paid referencing of trade mark on search engine website
The European Parliament Internal Market Committee and the Civil Liberties Committee have adopted a draft negotiating mandate on the AI Act. MEPs say that they aim to ensure that AI systems are overseen by people, are safe, transparent, traceable, non-discriminatory, and environmental friendly. They also want to have a uniform definition for AI designed to…
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UK law Court of Appeal reverses decision about Optis mobile phone patents In Optis Cellular Technology LLC and other v Apple Retail UK Limited and others [2023] EWCA Civ 438, a majority of the Court of Appeal have reversed the Patent Court’s decision. This was the third technical trial in the mobile phone standard essential…
This book (now in its third edition) and its author probably do not need introduction to the readers of Computers & Law. Richard Susskind has been a pioneer in the use of information and communications technology for legal practice and the courts for decades and indeed is President of the Society for Computers and Law….
There have been a few notable examples of far-sighted individuals accurately predicting dramatic technological innovations that have changed the world. Arthur C Clarke accurately predicted the internet as far back as 1974, Douglas Adams predicted Alexa (“the book” in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy). Some readers may remember KITT the robotic sports car with…
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The Court of Justice of the EU has issued its ruling in Case C-300/21 |Österreichische Post. From 2017, Österreichische Post collected information about the political affinities of the Austrian population. Using an algorithm, it defined “target group addresses”, using socio-demographic criteria. Österreichische Post used the data to establish that certain individuals had a high degree of affinity with a…
The European Commission has proposed Regulations on standard essential patents, compulsory licensing of patents in crisis situations, and amendments to the laws about supplementary protection certificates. These aim to create a more transparent, effective and futureproof intellectual property rights framework. The Commission says that intangible assets like brands, designs, patents and data are increasingly important…
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