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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SCL members will be aware that foundation models are a type of AI technology that are trained on vast amounts of data that can be adapted to a wide range of tasks and operations. Foundation models have many possible applications including chatbots, writing assistant and code writing, and generation of images for artistic or commercial…

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On 8 March 2023, the UK government introduced the Data Protection and Digital Information (No 2) Bill. The Bill (which passed its second reading in the House of Commons on 17 April) is an amended version of the bill that was originally introduced in July 2022. Hailed by the Government as ‘modern laws for a…

Read More… from The new UK Data Protection Bill: Practical effects and prognosis

The Advocate General has issued his opinion in the case of Case C-340/21 | Natsionalna agentsia za prihodite. In 2019, there was unauthorised access to the information system of the Bulgarian National Revenue Agency (NAP) and that various items of tax and social security information regarding millions of people had been published on the internet….

Read More… from Advocate General says that unlawful access to personal data by third parties leads to liability for presumed fault on the part of the controller

UK law Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 (Commencement No 2) Regulations 2023 SI 2023/469 made The Regulations have been made to bring into force certain provisions in the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022. They are the second commencement regulations made under the Act. Regulation 2 brings into force on 26th April…

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The TV turns on, without prompt, and switches to the news. The company you are working for has decided to implement a new AI system, rendering your role and the roles of many of your colleagues redundant. You ask your virtual assistant to bring up your social media and attempt to post your distaste at…

Read More… from Beyond Binary: Revisiting the Interplay of Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law

The Court of Appeal has issued its ruling in Adaptive Spectrum and Signal Alignment Inc v British Telecommunications plc [2023] EWCA Civ 451. The case concerned a contract between Adaptive Spectrum and Signal Alignment Inc (ASSIA) and British Telecommunications plc (BT) to settle several international patent disputes concerning home broadband internet connection technology. Amongst other…

Read More… from Court of Appeal dismisses appeal in telecoms patent contract dispute

Microsoft entered into a $68.7 billion deal to buy Activision, a video games publishers, in January 2022. The CMA launched an in-depth review of the deal in September 2022, and in February 2023 provisionally found that the merger could make Microsoft grow str4onger in cloud gaming, stifling competition in a growing market. In an update…

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The long-awaited Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill has received its first reading in the House of Commons. The publication of the Bill follows the UK government’s responses to the “reforming competition and consumer policy” and “a new pro-competition regime for digital markets” consultations. It has three key areas of focus: Consumer protection The consumer…

Read More… from Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill receives its first reading in parliament