(with apologies to Charles Dickens) Sarah Harris, Henry Goodwin and Ashley Winton update the perennial themes of Scrooge to a 21st century setting where Scrooge is struggling to stay relevant….. Published shortly before Christmas in 1843, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol was an instant hit in 19th century Britain, telling the salutary tale of Ebenezer…
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…
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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…
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William Hooper looks at how software design can influence the success of a project. William Heath Robinson had a delightful eye for the absurd. His designs were elaborate and amusingly flawed. How is software designed and built, and what is the effect of this on value to a customer? Does it matter if the design…
James Gill and Fiona Vickerstaff of Lewis Silkin summarise a recent case on the legal status of software as a service. Those of us working in the tech space will remember the relatively recent case of The Software Incubator Ltd v Computer Associates UK Ltd in which the CJEU decided that a perpetual licence to use software constituted…
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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…
It wouldn’t be much of an exaggeration to say that NIS2 is the acronym on everyone’s lips (at least in public sector IT circles that is). When coupled with its European sister legislation DORA, we encounter a regulatory twosome that makes the GDPR feellike yesterday’s news. And appropriately so given the EU’s second Network and…
Mark O’Conor and Nick de Lacy Brown, co-chairs of the revived Public Sector Tech Group, on the reasons for the initiative and what the Group seeks to achieve. There has never been a more exciting time to work in technology law – we all know that. But it is not just the private sector taking…
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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…
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