Our Technology Sector Group comments on upcoming trends and developments to expect in 2025 for the sector. 1. Artificial intelligence (AI) In 2025, AI will remain front and centre, as the hype of the last 18 months gives way to more widespread deployment of AI solutions across organisations – but with that will come increasing legal and compliance challenges ...
Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on general product safety (“EU GPSR”) came into force on 13 December 2024 with the aim of ensuring that all non-food consumer products, whether sold online or offline, on the EU market are safe. The EU GPSR, which replaced the General Product Safety Directive (“GPSD”) in the EU, serves as a “safety net” that catches and regulates the safety of consumer products in the absence of other specific rules ...
The Information Commissioner's Office has recently published ‘AI tools in recruitment audit outcomes report’ in which they issue a series of recommendations to AI developers and users to ensure job seekers are protected during the recruitment process ...
The EU Data Act will start to apply in September 2025. It has become clear that one of the most vexing issues in applying the Data Act to real-life scenarios may in fact be a very basic one: Understanding how the apparatus of roles of the Data Act works in practice, and how it interacts with parallel role definitions of other EU laws. We discuss some of these issues and proposed solutions in this brief article ...
Extension of the Act’s scope to number-independent interpersonal communications services (NI-ICS) The new Act broadens the definition of an «electronic communications service» to encompass number-independent interpersonal communication services (NI-ICS). NI-ICS refers to person-to-person communications services that do not connect to numbers within a national or international number plan, nor facilitate communication with such numbers ...
On 2 February 2025, many businesses with commercial activities in the European Union must ensure their staff demonstrate a mandatory level of literacy in artificial intelligence (AI). For businesses without adequate provisions, Shoosmiths is here to help. Under Article 4 of the EU AI Act, anyone using an AI system for commercial activities in the EU (intentionally or otherwise) may fall within the scope of the regulation ...
In an era of increasing data breaches and cyberattacks, businesses face mounting risks that can lead to financial, reputational, and operational damage. The cost of a data breach reached an average of $4.88 million in 2024, a 10 percent increase from the previous year ...
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has released its long-anticipated final rule on patent fee adjustments (“Final Rule”). Set to take effect January 19, 2025, these changes represent the most significant fee restructuring since 2020. The changes aim to generate sufficient revenue to recover the USPTO's operational costs, while promoting efficient patent prosecution practices. Here's what patent applicants and owners need to understand about the upcoming changes ...
The European Blockchain Sandbox (the ‘Sandbox’) is a pan-European dialogue between innovators who come up with particularly interesting, original and useful applications for blockchain technology, and the relevant regulatory authorities that would be involved in such a project. The Sandbox is running from 2023 to 2026 and each year is supporting 20 use cases on the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) ...
Artificial intelligence (‘AI’) is revolutionising various industries and in today’s consumer-driven world, ensuring the safety of products is of paramount importance, more so when considering the innovative products being placed on the market. At the core of the AI Act [1] are requirements that providers, manufacturers, importers, and distributors of AI systems must meet before making an AI system available for use or distribution on the Union market ...
On November 7, 2024, Bill C-244, An Act to amend the Copyright Act (diagnosis, maintenance and repair)1 received royal assent, adding a new exception to the provisions governing technological protection measures (TPM) in the Copyright Act (CA). This legislative amendment adds section 41.121 to the CA, making it legal to circumvent TPMs for product maintenance, repair and diagnosis. What it means The new section 41.121 is expected to have a limited impact on the Canadian repair market ...
The new Network and Information Systems Directive (NIS2) came into effect on 18 October 2024 and with it comes an overhaul of the way in which cybersecurity risk management is regulated in Europe. In this article we cover the applicability of NIS2 to digital infrastructure providers and digital services providers (collectively “digital providers”), an expansion in scope under NIS2 that represents a major shift for the EU’s digital sector ...
Blockchain 2024 - Bermuda (Legal 500) 1. Please provide a high-level overview of the blockchain market in your jurisdiction ...
November 15, 2024 By: Artin Betpera, Christina Morgan and David Liu I. Introduction Any business operating a website needs to be aware of the proliferation of lawsuits targeting websites which use any type of customer tracking technology. While advantageous to the business in its marketing efforts, the data collection subjects the business to potential liability ...
Chapter 647 of the Laws of Malta, titled the Markets In Crypto-Assets Act (hereinafter referred to as “Chapter 647”), integrates all aspects of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 of the European Parliament and Council on markets in crypto-assets (“MiCAR”) ...
The new Network and Information Systems Directive (NIS2) came into effect on 18 October 2024 and with it comes an overhaul of the way in which cybersecurity risk management is regulated in Europe. Given that cloud-based architecture is now considered the industry-norm, data centres have become the custodians of the vast majority of our digital economy and form a core aspect of any critical infrastructure or service ...
Corporate Power Purchase Agreements, or CPPAs, are long-term electricity supply agreements between two parties and are a valuable catalyst for the green energy transition. Currently, only around a very small proportion of UK businesses have the financial capacity and energy demand to use larger scale CPPAs, but as a firm we are working with clients to find innovative ways to democratise the procurement of renewable energy ...
On October 11, 2024, the United States Department of Defense (DOD) published a final rule implementing its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program, which is designed to verify that defense contractors are adequately protecting sensitive information from cybersecurity threats. The CMMC applies to contractors who process, store, or transmit Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) or Federal Contract Information (FCI), which is most DOD contractors ...
The Krogerus Data Symposium 2024 brought together hundreds of data and AI experts on 23 October at Lasipalatsi to discuss the upcoming changes brought by the Data Act and the AI Act. This year, the programme highlighted both the practical challenges and opportunities that technological advancements and the EU legislator's responses to them will present to companies' operations ...
1. Introduction We are not only living in a digital age but also in an age where individuals and businesses increasingly depend on banks for their day-to-day activities. The convergence of these two factors is compounded with the increased use of artificial intelligence (AI) both generally and specifically in the banking sector. From a general perspective, AI start-ups in 2013 received USD 2 bn in investments globally which increased twelvefold in 2018 to USD 24 bn [1] ...
Integrating AI tools at work is not without danger. Three experts from the independent Belgian law firm, ALTIUS, explain how companies should best guard against ethical risks, data protection, intellectual property rights, and trade secrets. “It is essential that organisations teach their people to work with AI safely and responsibly ...
The Product Regulation and Metrology Bill (the “Bill”) was published on 4 September 2024 and will provide the Secretary of State with wide regulation making powers to replace, amend or update product safety legislation in the UK. Why is the Bill needed? The Department for Business and Trade’s impact assessment of the Bill stated that the “UK lacks powers to end recognition or to recognise new and updated EU regulations in GB” ...
The gaming industry, which has transformed from a niche market to a global powerhouse, has seen a significant surge in venture capital (VC) investment over the past few years. This trend is driven by the rapid growth of the gaming market, advancements in technology, and the increasing societal acceptance of gaming as a mainstream form of entertainment. Here’s a closer look at the emerging trends and key players in VC investment within the gaming sector ...
The latest report from techUK, which Shoosmiths has sponsored, shows the economic impact, as well as the potential to boost the positive impact, of data centres on the UK economy. The main economic value of data centres is their role in enabling digital transformation across all sectors of the economy, allowing businesses to benefit from digital products and services that allow them to operate and be more efficient and productive ...
The new Network and Information Systems Directive (NIS2) came into effect on 18 October 2024 and with it comes an overhaul of the way in which cybersecurity risk management is regulated in Europe. The major changes brought about by NIS2 include stricter security measures, new incident reporting obligations and will substantially expand enforcement powers for regulators ...
