On 24 February 2016, the European Commissioner, Věra Jourová, announced the signing of the Judicial Redress Act by President Obama. The Act aims to: (i) address the concerns expressed by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) when it overturned the Safe Harbor Agreement last October 2015 regarding the lack of judicial redress by EU citizens in the US and (ii) facilitate data exchange between the US and EU.

The Act purports to give EU citizens the same rights to judicial redress under the US Privacy Act of 1974 that US citizens have, by allowing them to bring civil actions in U.S. courts against US law enforcement agencies which misuse their personal data.

Whilst the Act gives the US Department of Justice authority to determine which US agencies are within its scope, potentially limiting the reach of the Act, it nonetheless represents a welcome step forward by the US government. Continue Reading Commissioner Věra Jourová announces signing of Judicial Redress Act by President Obama

The Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) has published new guidance on ‘Data sharing in the public sector’ following the decision of the CJEU in Bara (C-201/14) (see our previous blog on the Bara judgment).

The Bara judgment serves as a reminder that any decision by public bodies to share personal data bodies should not be taken lightly, and only the minimum amount of personal data should be shared. It shows the importance of public bodies informing individuals as to how their personal data is used, for what purpose, and who has access to it.Continue Reading DPC publishes guidance on data sharing in the public sector

The High Court in the UK has fully endorsed the use of predictive coding in discharging a parties obligation regarding electronic disclosure. Master Matthews, in Pyrrho Investments and others v MWB Property and others [2016] EWHC 256 (Ch), noted in this case that "there were no factors of any weight" to point in the direction of not using predictive coding for the disclosure process.  This is the first time a UK Court has given judgment on the area, while noting the limited Irish and US jurisprudence on the topic.

Predictive coding, often referred to as technology assisted review, is the use of computer software to review and analyse documents, determining if they are of relevance to the issues of the case. It is not without human input however, as the computer must first be "trained" in order to determine relevance.  Based on the training received the software can review and score documents for relevancy, subject to quality assurance exercises carried out by the human reviewer.Continue Reading UK High Court endorses Predictive Coding in Discovery

The conference on Modernising Copyright, jointly organised by the Irish Centre for European Law and the School of Law, Trinity College Dublin, brought together a number of interesting academics, practitioners and commentators, for a lively discussion concerning various aspects of the future of copyright law in Europe. Among the issues addressed were the development of a Digital Single Market (DSM) in Europe, the nature of copyright exceptions and limitations, and the position of online service providers and intermediaries vís-a-vís copyright infringement. Continue Reading Modernising Copyright – ICEL/TCD Conference

Following the CJEU decision in the Schrems Case on 6 October 2015 invalidating the Safe Harbour regime, the Article 29 Working Party (the group comprised of representatives of European national data protection authorities (Article 29WP)) gave the EU and US a three month timeline in which to agree a political solution to replace Safe Harbour. Following intense negotiations, political agreement on the core elements of a new EU/US Privacy Shield was announced yesterday. Continue Reading Safe Harbour will be replaced by an EU/US Privacy Shield – will it withstand Article 29 Working Party scrutiny?

The Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) last week published its decision in relation to the application of the well-known fast-food outlet Supermac’s for a Community Trade Mark (CTM). In a split decision, OHIM ruled that Supermac’s is not entitled to use its brand to sell fast-food/takeaway products or services or to use the brand as a CTM on certain foodstuffs (e.g. meat, fish, poultry, chicken, onion rings, hamburgers, nuggets or chips) in the EU. This decision comes following the filing of extensive opposition by arguably Supermacs’ biggest competitor, McDonald’s.Continue Reading Big Mac stronger than Supermac’s

In advance of the forthcoming Dáil elections, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) has issued guidance to candidates for election and their representatives on canvassing, data protection and electronic marketing (the Guidance). Publication of the Guidance follows the ODPC’s previous efforts to boost awareness of individuals’ privacy rights in this area (see previous blog here).

The Guidance includes an overview of the provisions in relation to unsolicited marketing and cookie use as contained in the EC (Electronic Communications Networks and Services) (Privacy and Electronic Communications) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 336 of 2011). It also emphasises …

Continue Reading ODPC Issues Guidance on Canvassing, Data Protection and Electronic Marketing

The International Patents Group at Taylor Wessing recently launched their online patent map, an interactive tool that allows users to compare different patent litigation regimes across Europe. The tool answers key questions on the law and practice of patent litigation to include procedure, claim construction, validity, interim measures, costs, and appeals, while allowing users to compare the answers for other European countries.  A&L Goodbody contributed to the Irish section.Continue Reading Taylor Wessing launches online Patent Map

Speaking at the 8th National Data Protection Conference, on 28 January 2016, the Data Protection Commissioner (the DPC) warned that in 2016 her office intends to audit insurance companies offering telematics boxes to assess their compliance with data protection legislation.Continue Reading Insurance companies offering tracking devices to face audits

Europe is today celebrating Data Protection Day, with this year’s celebrations coinciding with the recent political agreement for the finalised text of the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (for further information – see our earlier blog post). One of the many events organised across Europe in conjunction with Data Protection Day was the National Data Protection Conference, which took place over the course of yesterday and today. Continue Reading Data Protection Day – National Data Protection Conference