In an earlier blog, we outlined that the UK confirmed its intention to ratify the International Agreement on a Unified Patent Court. In December 2016, the UK government proceeded to sign the Protocol on Privileges and Immunities of the Unified Patent Court.  The Protocol provides EU privileges and immunities to the judges of the Unified Patent Court necessary for the exercise of its functions.  The Protocol is required in the individual countries hosting divisions of the court, one of which is in London.  This positive step would suggest that the UK is moving closer towards ratification.
Continue Reading UK closer to UPC ratification

The Article 29 Working Party has issued a press release and three sets of guidelines and FAQs on implementation of some key issues under the GDPR:

It welcomes any comments from stakeholders on the guidelines until end January 2017. Guidelines on Data Privacy Impact Assessments and Certification are promised for 2017.

The guidance provides some interesting insights and should help organisations to comply with their new obligations under the GDPR.  The guidelines on the Lead Supervisory Authority highlight that there will be more than one lead supervisory authority, where a company carries out several cross-border activities and the decisions on the means and purposes of processing are taken in different establishments. This means that companies will have to consider organising decision-making powers in respect of personal data processing activities in a single location, in order to avail of the “one-stop shop” mechanism.
Continue Reading GDPR guidance on Data Portability, DPOs & Lead Supervisory Authority

The ODPC has published guidance, The GDPR and You – Preparing for 2018, to help organisations prepare for the GDPR. It contains a checklist to provide companies with a practical starting point to ensure full compliance by May 2018. It is important for organisations to start taking steps to prepare now, to ensure that adequate policies and procedures are in place to deal with the new rules when they come into force.  Organisations will face hefty fines for non-compliance, and the risk of individuals bringing private claims for breach of their data privacy rights.

The Article 29 Working Party …
Continue Reading ODPC publishes guidance on the GDPR

The Department of Justice and Equality have published a policy document on amending the law relating to the interception of communications. The purpose of interception legislation is to assist in the fight against organised crime and to protect the security of the State.

Irish legislation relating to interception is out-of-date and needs to be amended to provide for lawful interception of email and other forms of communication over the internet. Interception is controlled, to a limited extent, by the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act 1983, and the Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications (Regulation) Act 1993. That legislation is restricted to Telecoms and Postal Service providers (i.e. voice calls, text messages and postal packets). 

The Government intends to introduce approximately 50 amendments to the current regime, with the primary aim of ensuring that communications services delivered over the internet are covered by our lawful interception legislation.  Accordingly, the definition of “information society services” will be amended to cover “internet referencing services, social media“, and “any other entity providing a publicly available means of communication over an electronic communications network.” The definition of “interception” will also be amended to reflect modern communications characteristics.  It will essentially be “an action, the effect of which is to make some or all of the content of a communication available to a person“. Continue Reading New legislation on interception of communications

The UK has confirmed today that it intends to ratify the International Agreement on a Unified Patent Court. The Minister of State for Energy and Intellectual Property, Baroness Neville-Rolfe, reportedly made the statement at a meeting of the EU Competitive Council.

There has been much commentary on the political and legal challenges the UK would face in joining the system post-Brexit. It does remain the possibility that the UK could join the system and then be ejected, something which is most likely to be determined post-Brexit.Continue Reading UK will say “Yes” to UPC

On 19 October 2016, the CJEU ruled, in Breyer v Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Case C-582/14), that dynamic IP addresses may constitute “personal data” under the Data Protection Directive, where a website operator has the legal means of identifying the visitor by use of additional information held about him/her by the ISP.  The decision confirms the stance taken by the Scarlet Extended (Case C-70/10) (at para. 51), where the CJEU essentially held that IP addresses are “personal data” because they allow those users to be precisely identified. However, that finding by the CJEU related to the situation in which the collection and identification of the IP addresses of internet users is carried out by ISPs.
Continue Reading CJEU rules IP addresses may constitute personal data

On 5th October 2016, our IP & Technology team hosted a seminar on the new EU General Data Regulation (GDPR), which takes effect from 25 May 2018.  The Data Protection Commissioner, Helen Dixon, gave a keynote address at the event, which was followed by commentary from our IP and Technology Partners, John Whelan, John Cahir, Mark Rasdale and Claire Morrissey.

The GDPR introduces substantial changes to EU data protection law.  Companies have 19 months remaining in which to make preparations for the GDPR, but given its extra-territorial scope; new concepts such as accountability and privacy by design and…
Continue Reading A&L Goodbody Guide on the EU General Data Protection Regulation

On 13 September 2016, the Central Bank of Ireland (the CBI) published new guidance on IT risk management and cybersecurity for financial service firms. Publication of the Guidance follows the CBI’s previous actions in relation to cyber risks in the funds, insurance and banking sectors (see previous blog here). The CBI acknowledges that IT plays an integral part in the supply of financial services and calls on Boards and Senior Management of regulated firms to recognise the ever increasing incidences of cyber-attacks and business interruptions. It requests such firms to acknowledge their responsibilities in this regard and prioritise IT security. This responsibility involves establishing and maintaining a resilient IT strategy, while ensuring that it aligns with the firm’s general business strategy. It states that a robust oversight and engagement on IT matters at the Board and Senior Management level promotes an IT and security risk aware culture within the firm.
Continue Reading The Central Bank of Ireland publishes new Cross Industry Guidance on IT and Cybersecurity Risks

The High Court in Muwema v Facebook Ireland Ltd [2016] IEHC 519 held that Facebook had no duty to remove defamatory content posted by an anonymous third party. Justice Binchy did, however, make a Norwich Pharmacal order requiring Facebook to disclose the identity and location of the person operating the page involved.Continue Reading ISP not required to remove defamatory statements

In GS Media v Sanoma Media Netherlands and Others (C-160/15), the CJEU held that the posting of a hyperlink on a website, giving access to copyright-protected work on another website, will not constitute a "communication to the public" under Article 3(1) of the Copyright Directive 2001/29/EC, if the person posting the link did not do so to seek financial gain, and did not know that the hyperlink was published illegally without the consent of the copyright holder.  In contrast, if a hyperlink is provided for profit, knowledge of the illegality of the publication on the other website must be presumed.Continue Reading CJEU finds linking to freely available but unauthorised content may not constitute copyright infringement