Most commentary around AI looks at the big picture or the future of work, but in this article we look at some practical data protection implications for businesses that are considering implementing AI systems. 1. Automated Decision-Making There are specific rules in both the EU and UK GDPR (in this article we will refer to both together) covering individuals’ rights when processing involves solely automated decision-making, including profiling ...
Businesses in the UK have for some time been subject to strict rules on misleading advertising, contained in the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008 (the “BPRs”) ...
Artificial intelligence is a burning topic in many sectors today and the legal industry is no exception. Recently, at the World Services Group's annual employment law conference held in February, AI was heavily debated along with its' impact not only on the legal profession, lawyers, clients, the way business is done, but also our traditional understanding of concepts such as "law" or "justice" ...
Artificial intelligence is a burning topic in many sectors today and the legal industry is no exception. Recently, at the World Services Group’s annual employment law1 conference held in February, AI was heavily debated along with its’ impact not only on the legal profession, lawyers, clients, the way business is done, but also our traditional understanding of concepts such as “law” or “justice” ...
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is aimed at extensive harmonization of data protection in the EU, and will be applicable with effect from May 25, 2018. The GDPR will replace the current EU Data Protection Directive (Directive 95/46/EC) and will be directly applicable in all EU member states. The new regulations mean that German employers will also have to prepare for changes as regards the protection of employees’ personal data ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has been not only causing major social upheaval but disrupting business development and the economy as well. Nevertheless, since last March, we have seen many developments and new projects involving self-driving vehicles (SDV). Here is an overview ...
Two months ago, we published an article speculating how the UK government may look to regulate generative AI such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, as part of its broader approach to AI regulation in the UK. On 29 March 2023, the government unveiled its White Paper entitled ‘A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation’ ...
Is Coronavirus the Great Leveller? When the novel coronavirus first started spreading like wildfire, people called it the “great leveller”. No respecter of status or economic background, Covid-19 affected people at all strata, from housemaids to Hollywood royalty; peons to prime ministers. Tom Hanks, Boris Johnson and an aide to US Vice President Mike Pence all contracted it ...
In Japan, the Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI) is the primary law that regulates data protection issues ...
It can hardly have escaped anyone’s attention that personal integrity is a highly topical subject within the EU, and that the work to adapt the existing regulations to new technical developments has been ongoing for several years. The work with the new data protection regulation has taken a long time but has now entered an exciting phase, after the start of the so-called “trialog negotiations” between the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament over the summer ...
In the 1940s writer and futurologist Isaac Asimov laid down his Three Laws of Robotics. We say it’s time for lawyers to do the same. A flourishing future is ours for the taking, provided we know how to grasp it. At Shoosmiths, we’ve been working on future-facing projects for a good few years now ...
Rapid innovation and convergence in the TMT space in Australia, together with an ever-changing legal and regulatory environment, means that TMT organisations must constantly re-evaluate, and in some cases entirely re-engineer, their business models and strategies. This chapter, contributed by partners Anthony Lloyd, Paul Kallenbach and Paul Schoff, discusses the different laws and regulations that impact the TMT space in Australia ...
As 2022 draws to a close we are provided with an opportunity to reflect on what has been and what is still yet to come. The UK tech sector has grown substantially since Brexit took effect in 2020, the real effects having been masked until now by the ensuing global pandemic. It has only really been in 2022 that the business community has been able to properly see the opportunities, and the challenges, that the sector faces ...
On June 28, 2010, the United States Supreme Court announced its decision on Bilski v. Kappos regarding what inventions are eligible for patent protection. The decision affirms that business methods are patentable, although the specific business methods at the center of the case are not. While stating that no single test governs the issue, the Court approved of the use of the “machine-or-transformation test” that the Federal Circuit had distilled from earlier Supreme Court cases ...
In a unanimous opinion authored by Justice Sotomayor, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to redefine preclusion, reversing the Second Circuit’s decision in trademark dispute Lucky Brand Dungarees Inc. v. Marcel Fashion Group Inc. The Second Circuit’s opinion had attempted to expand res judicata beyond the well-recognized issue preclusion and claim preclusion, creating a new category it called “defense preclusion ...
The Supreme Court ruled last week in Microsoft Corporation v. i4i Limited Partnership that “clear and convincing evidence” is still the standard of proof required to invalidate a patent. Section 282 of the Patent Act states that “a patent shall be presumed valid” and that “[t]he burden of establishing invalidity of a patent or any claim thereof shall rest on the party asserting such invalidity ...
Episode 7 of the Journey Through a Contract series highlights the key considerations when a business is entering into a contract with a consumer. Felicity Forward, Ayesha Chandegra and Joel Murphie provide guidance on how to identify a consumer contract, what additional protections consumers have and how the law is set to enhance consumer rights through the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill. Listen to the podcast and send us your feedback to [email protected] ...
February marks the start of the second month after Brexit materializing. The Member States have finally understood that the United Kingdom (UK) is no longer in the Europen Union (EU) so that the fairy-tale of the Single Market that has lasted for decades is now over. Although many businesses resolved various legal or regulatory issues before 1st January, new challenges inevitably keep arising now, when Brexit is a reality ...
What Happened Last week, the chairman of Satyam Computer Services Ltd., India's fourth largest information technology company, admitted to a stunning fraud. Fraudulent entries in the company's financial statements totaled in excess of US$ 1 billion, as compared to the actual financial state of the company. In response to the fraud, DSP Merrill Lynch Ltd., a local affiliate of Bank of America Corp ...
A company that obtains information from a number of competitors (for example, to create industry statistics or to provide price comparisons) should be careful not to facilitate the flow of confidential information between those competitors. Two recent cases highlight the potential competition law issues. We will then look at some practical considerations to keep in mind ...
Are you an influencer? Do you earn money or other benefits by creating content on social media? Influencers that are offered deals to advertise a brand’s products over social media platforms will qualify as traders and should thus disclose their adverts in a transparent manner. Over the coming weeks, the European Commission will be screening online posts to identify any sponsored posts uploaded to social media by influencers which could mislead consumers ...
The majority of people with a mobile phone or access to the internet have received unsolicited emails or calls from telemarketers (cold marketing). While the practice of cold marketing is decades-old, the recent awareness in data protection and privacy has affected this concept in recent times, particularly in relation to access to the data of consumers ...
The Regulation of Courier and Logistic Companies in Nigeria. By Florence Bola-Balogun, Kelechi Mba & Oluwapelumi C. Omoniyi. Introduction The Minister of Communications and the Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami (the “Minister”) in accordance with Section 62 of the Nigerian Postal Services Act, 2004 (“NIPOST Act”) approved the new guidelines for the regulation of the Courier and Logistics sector (“the Sector”) in Nigeria in July 2020[1] ...
