Photo of Aoibheann Duffy

Aoibheann Duffy

Subscribe to Aoibheann Duffy's Posts

Aoibheann Duffy is a Trainee Solicitor in the IP & Technology Group at A&L Goodbody.

Aoibheann holds a Bachelor of Civil Law Degree (BCL European) and a Masters of Laws (LLM) in Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law from University College Dublin where she studied online regulation, trademark law, patent law and international copyright law. She has a particular interest in IP litigation, data privacy and online regulation. Aoibheann is currently completing a Certificate in Data Protection Practice from the Law Society of Ireland.

January 28th was European Data Protection Day and we marked the event by attending the 9th Annual Data Protection Conference which was held in the Aviva Conference Centre.

The two-day conference featured interactive workshops on the first day on ‘Privacy by Design’ and ‘Conducting a Data Protection Audit’. The second day included a line-up of notable speakers who spoke on topics related to the theme of the conference; “GDPR – It’s here, what’s next”. Dara Murphy, Minister of State for European Affairs, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection spoke about his department’s work in preparing for GDPR and the importance of having a strong, well-resourced Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC). The Minister also announced plans for a data summit in June this year.

A&L Goodbody’s Claire Morrissey presented on “Legal Aspects of the GDPR” and took part in a lively Q&A session. Claire highlighted some of the key changes that the GDPR will bring including the need to demonstrate compliance, the new right of data portability, the new security reporting obligations and the ability for individuals to recover financial and non-financial loss (such as damages for distress or embarrassment in the event of inadvertent disclosure of personal data). She also offered some practical tips for ways in which businesses can prepare for the GDPR (some of which are available here).Continue Reading 9th Annual Data Protection Conference

The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner is to get a €1.2m increase in funding for 2016. Minister for European Affairs and Data Protection, Dara Murphy announced the measure, under Budget 2016, and said that the increased resources are bring provided to "ensure that Ireland continues to have an excellent regulatory and enforcement regime for data protection, and that we are fully equipped to adapt to the ever-increasing pace of change in the digital economy".Continue Reading Government announces €1.2m increase in funding for the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner

The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) participated in the third Global Privacy Enforcement Network (GPEN) Privacy “Sweep” (the Sweep) which took place between 11th and 15th May 2015. The aim of the Sweep was to examine the data privacy practices of websites and apps aimed at or popular among children.Continue Reading GPEN Privacy Sweep 2015 raises Concerns over Children’s Apps

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, or Drones, as they are more commonly known, have traditionally been regarded as a military tool, frequently featuring in media reports on US military action as well as TV dramas such as ‘Homeland’ and ‘House of Cards’. They are however, being increasingly put to a much broader spectrum of uses.

Drones have been used by humanitarian organisations to deliver food and medical supplies to crisis-stricken areas. Following typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, drones were used by international relief agency Medair to map terrain and create a detailed system of 3D aerial images of the region to make relief efforts more efficient. Amazon’s Prime Air development project has also garnered a lot of attention for its goal to use drones to deliver goods to customers in 30 minutes or less. Drones are also now available to buy in electronics stores and are used to capture videos and photographs by amateur and professional photographers. Continue Reading Drone Regulation Takes Flight

Augmented Reality (AR) uses technology to overlay real world, physical environments with virtual components like light, sound, video, images or GPS data.  Once seen as a futuristic and ‘gimmicky’ area, AR is growing at a rapid pace and will soon form part of our everyday technology. Microsoft recently unveiled its AR wearable technology, ‘Hololens’ which is geared towards gaming and design and comes in the form of a headset. Continue Reading Augmented Reality Poses New Legal Challenges