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ICO Statement on Generative AI Model Training

Published on 09 Dec 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

What position does the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) continue to take on Generative AI Model training?

The UK's new AI Bill

Published on 17 Oct 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

UK's new AI Cyber Security Code of Practice

Published on 17 Oct 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

What is the UK's proposed AI Cyber Security Code of Practice?

EU AI Act into force 1 August 2024

Published on 17 Oct 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

The EU AI Act came into force across all 27 EU member states on 1 August 2024. The aim of the legislation is to ensure AI systems used in the EU are safe and transparent.

The UK's Digital Information and Smart Data Bill

Published on 17 Oct 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

What can we expect from the new Digital Information and Smart Data Bill (the DISD Bill)?

New Minister for Data Protection Sir Chris Bryant

Published on 17 Oct 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

On 8 July 2024, the Government appointed Sir Chris Bryant as the Minister of State for Data Protection and Telecoms (as well as Minister of State for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism).

Social media and video sharing platforms targeted by ICO over children's privacy practices

Published on 17 Oct 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

What must social technology platforms be aware of to ensure they are following the ICO's codes of practice for children's online safety?

Uber hit with €290m fine for transferring European driver data to its US HQ

Published on 17 Oct 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

What does the Uber fine signal for international data transfers and the consequences of failing to comply with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR)?

X suspends personal data training of AI chatbot Grok following Irish DPC pressure

Published on 17 Oct 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

How are the data regulators addressing the use of personal data when training AI language models?

Part 4 – AI Regulation in Asia

Published on 06 Aug 2024. By Nick Lauw, Partner and Pu Fang Ching, Senior Associate and Armani Cheng , Associate

This is Part 4 of 'Regulation of AI – raising the trillion dollar bAIby'

“Consent or pay” models under scrutiny in UK and EU

Published on 01 Aug 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

Are “consent or pay” business models compliant with data protection law?

ICO forces Serco Leisure to stop using facial recognition technology for employees

Published on 01 Aug 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

In what circumstances can facial recognition technology (FRT) be acceptable to monitor employees in the workplace?

Ofcom and ICO to collaborate on Online Safety and Data Protection

Published on 01 Aug 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

How are the data protection and broadcasting regulators collaborating to regulate online services from a safety and privacy perspective, and what does this mean for businesses and services regulated by both bodies?

ICO publishes guidance on content moderation

Published on 01 Aug 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

What steps should businesses operating content moderation systems in the UK be taking to comply with new guidance published by the UK’s Information Commissioner (ICO)?

The ICO’s strategic approach to regulating AI

Published on 01 Aug 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

How can the ICO’s recently published AI strategy paper help businesses navigate the evolving AI regulatory landscape, particularly in respect of data protection principles?

New development: DPDI Bill fails to become law

Published on 01 Aug 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (DPDIB), the proposal for post-Brexit data protection laws in the UK, did not pass through Parliament before its dissolution on 24 May 2024 ahead of the general election on 4 July 2024. This means that the DPDIB has failed to become law and any proposals for data reform in the UK will largely need to start afresh in the new Parliament.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology consults on proposed data infrastructure statutory framework

Published on 17 Apr 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

What statutory obligations could the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s (DSIT) proposed statutory framework impose on UK data centre providers?

ICO publishes updates to its guidance on Transfer Risk Assessments

Published on 17 Apr 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

How will recent updates to the Information Commissioner’s Office’s (ICO) guidance on Transfer Risk Assessments (TRAs) affect how UK organisations conduct their TRAs?

New ICO guidance on content moderation and data compliance

Published on 17 Apr 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

How can organisations using content moderation technologies and processes best comply with data protection laws?

ICO launches consultation series on generative AI and data protection

Published on 17 Apr 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

What is the Information Commissioner’s Office’s (ICO) intended approach to developing guidance on how data protection law should be applied to the development and use of generative AI?

CJEU rules on what constitutes “automated decision-making” under the GDPR

Published on 17 Apr 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

Does the production of a credit score constitute “automated decision-making” for the purposes of Article 22 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)? What wider impact will this have for AI technologies?

EDPB adopts opinion on “main establishment” of a controller in the EU

Published on 17 Apr 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

What is meant by “main establishment” under article 4(16)(a) of the GDPR for the purposes of determining the application of the one-stop-shop mechanism?

ICO warns UK’s most visited websites to improve cookie choices

Published on 17 Apr 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

What steps is the ICO taking to ensure that website cookie banners are compliant with law?

New Development: EU Data Act published in Official Journal

Published on 17 Apr 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

The EU Data Act (the Act) came into force on 11 January 2024. The Act sets out rules regarding the fair access to and use of data, aiming to enhance the data economy for individuals and businesses by overcoming barriers to data sharing and establishing frameworks around data access and use.

ICO fines HelloFresh £140,000 after 7-month spam marketing campaign

Published on 17 Apr 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

Where did HelloFresh go wrong with their email and text marketing campaign and what lessons can be learned from the ICO’s investigation and subsequent fine?

ICO issues preliminary enforcement notice against Snap for its “My AI” Chatbot

Published on 11 Dec 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

How can organisations who wish to join to the world of generative AI ensure that they adequately assess the risks from the perspective of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)?

New Development: EDPB provides clarification on tracking techniques covered by the ePrivacy Directive

Published on 11 Dec 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

On 14 November 2023, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) adopted a set of new guidelines (the Guidelines) on the technical scope of Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive (the ePD).

Clearview AI cleared of £7.5m ICO fine for processing data outside the UK

Published on 11 Dec 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

Just how did the processing of personal data by Clearview AI (Clearview) fall outside the scope of UK GDPR?

ICO publishes guidance to ensure lawful monitoring in the workplace

Published on 11 Dec 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

How can employers monitor their workers whilst maintaining their trust and complying with data protection regulation?

ICO publishes its draft “Data Protection Fining Guidance” for public consultation

Published on 11 Dec 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

How will the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) calculate the amount of a fine under the UK GPDR and the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018?

EU Advocate General’s opinion on data subjects’ rights to compensation for non-material damage under the GDPR

Published on 11 Dec 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

Does the theft of an individual’s sensitive personal data by a wrongdoer give rise to compensation for non-material damage under Article 82 EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), if the wrongdoer has not used, or taken steps to use, the sensitive personal data for any purpose?

ICO updates its guidance on AI and data protection

Published on 07 Jul 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

What are the key data protection principles which the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) expects organisations to follow when integrating AI into their product and service offerings?

How will the "Genny lec" impact the world of cyber and tech?

Published on 24 Jun 2024. By Rachel Ford, Partner

On 22 May 2024, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stood in the pouring rain to announce a General Election, thus commencing a summer of political and meteorological uncertainty for those in the UK.

Fines for PDPA Breaches: How Clear is the Crystal Ball?

Published on 16 Nov 2023. By Nick Lauw, Partner and Pu Fang Ching, Senior Associate

The Singapore Personal Data Protection Commission ("PDPC") has recently issued a number of new enforcement decisions.

Cybersecurity breaches at financial services firms more than trebles

Published on 25 Sep 2023. By Richard Breavington, Partner

Cybersecurity breaches reported by financial service providers rose from 187 in 2021/22 to 640 in 2022/23 UK pension schemes report the biggest increase, 4,000%, in data breach reports to the ICO

Kick-ed out – UKIPO applies Supreme Court SkyKick decision in ENERJO opposition

Published on 17 Jun 2025. By Sarah Mountain, Partner and Samuel Coppard, Senior Associate

In the case of ENERJO (O/0439/24), the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) upheld an opposition against an application filed by Cashflow – the specification for which ran to a whopping 81 A4 pages! It found that "the sheer size and disparate nature" of the goods and services applied for amounted to bad faith, citing the Supreme Court’s decision in SkyKick, the weapon of choice for those wanting to challenge overly broad specifications. A detailed analysis of the decision follows.

Cheers Thatchers!–Lemon-Aid for Brand Owners as Court of Appeal Decision Suggests Greater Protection for Brand Owners from “Lookalike” Packaging

Published on 13 Jun 2025. By Ciara Cullen, Partner, Consumer Brands & Retail Sector Lead and Joshy Thomas, Senior Knowledge Lawyer and Harpreet Kaur, Associate

Cheers Thatchers!–Lemon-Aid for Brand Owners as Court of Appeal Decision Suggests Greater Protection for Brand Owners from “Lookalike” Packaging

EU Design regulation changes coming on 1 May 2025: What businesses need to know

Published on 14 Apr 2025. By Louise Morgan, Senior Associate and Georgia Davis, Of Counsel

1 May 2025 sees the first in a series of implementations of the long-awaited changes to EU design law.

Aesthetic appeal and craftsmanship are not enough: WaterRower fails to secure copyright protection as a UK work of artistic craftsmanship

Published on 13 Dec 2024. By Ciara Cullen, Partner, Consumer Brands & Retail Sector Lead and Joshy Thomas, Senior Knowledge Lawyer

The term "artistic craftsmanship" has no statutory definition under UK copyright law – a position that has only been made more challenging by a conflict between EU and UK case law in this area. In this hotly anticipated judgment, the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) sought to determine what it means to be a work of artistic craftsmanship in the context of s 4(1)(c) of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA).

AGA Saga – AGA retrofitter liable for trade mark infringement, but Lifestyle Equities saves director from joint tortfeasorship

Published on 23 Aug 2024. By Georgia Davis, Of Counsel

In AGA Rangemaster Group v UK Innovations Group, [2024] EWHC 1727 (IPEC), AGA Rangemaster UK Ltd (AGA), brought a successful claim against UK Innovations Group Ltd (UK Innovations) and its director Michael McGinley for trade mark infringement in relation to their marketing and sales of AGA cookers that had been "retrofitted" with electrifying control panels, using UK Innovations' specialised "eControl System".

APPY result in infringement and invalidity proceedings relating to "Builder" trade marks for app-building software

Published on 19 Aug 2024. By Sarah Mountain, Partner

In Engineer.AI Global Ltd v Appy Pie Ltd, HHJ Melissa Clarke held that the claimant's registered trade marks for BUILDER (and variations thereof) for app-building software were partially invalid and not infringed by the defendants. This decision also provides a useful summary of the law on the key principles of trade mark disputes and also a look at targeting, trade marks relating to AI and the costs capping regime in the IPEC.

McDonald's BIG MAC trade mark – General Court gives decision on evidence of genuine use

Published on 30 Jul 2024. By Ciara Cullen, Partner, Consumer Brands & Retail Sector Lead and Harpreet Kaur, Associate

In a decision that, practically, provides for only a tiny loss of protection for the behemoth brand and trade mark, on 5 June 2024 the European General Court (General Court) partially revoked McDonald's BIG MAC trade mark (the EUTM) in the EU (Supermac's (Holdings) Ltd v EUIPO (Case T 58/23)).

Ginfringement: Success for M&S in the Court of Appeal in registered design spat with Aldi

Published on 15 Mar 2024. By Rory Graham, Associate and Georgia Davis, Of Counsel

M&S and Aldi's gin bottle battle over design rights has reached a conclusion (for now) as the Court of Appeal has unanimously upheld the IPEC's decision that Aldi's bottle infringed M&S' design.

Clear as gin: M&S and Aldi take liquor bottle battle to the Court of Appeal

Published on 26 Jan 2024. By Rory Graham, Associate and Georgia Davis, Of Counsel

Intellectual property enthusiasts' favourite supermarket adversaries were back at loggerheads this week as M&S and Aldi appear before the Court of Appeal. The pair sought to thrash out a first instance decision handed down in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) regarding alleged infringement of M&S' registered design rights in a gin bottle.

M&S v Aldi – lookalike claims lit up by design rights

Published on 24 Mar 2023. By Ciara Cullen, Partner, Consumer Brands & Retail Sector Lead and Harpreet Kaur, Associate and Jack McAlone, Associate

As lookalike products rise in prominence, the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court's (IPEC) recent ruling that the sale and advertisement of Aldi's 'Infusionist' range of favoured gins infringed M&S's UK registered designs protecting the light-up bottles containing its 'Snow Globe' gin range (Marks and Spencer PLC v Aldi Stores Limited [2023] EWHC 178) highlights the utility of registered design rights in circumstances where other intellectual property rights (IPR) are often less able to provide protection.

Lookalikes and passing off—bottle design get-up claim (Au Vodka)

Published on 07 Nov 2022. By Ciara Cullen, Partner, Consumer Brands & Retail Sector Lead and Sarah Mountain, Partner and Samuel Coppard, Senior Associate

Currently there's significant activity in the lookalikes space. The Au Vodka claim (Au Vodka v NE10 Vodka [2022] EWHC 2371), which focuses on bottle design 'get-up', arrived in the courts for an interim injunction hearing in September 2022. Au Vodka's application was dismissed. The judgment shows that passing off—get-up claims based on shape can be challenging to bring, particularly at the interim stage, and prompts the question of whether it's possible to bring Cofemel and copyright into the lookalikes arena.

Sky Kick Back! High Court finding of bad faith overturned by Court of Appeal in long-running Sky v Skykick saga

Published on 09 Aug 2021. By Ben Mark, Partner and Sarah Mountain, Partner

On 26 July 2021, the Court of Appeal (CoA) handed down its much-anticipated decision in the latest instalment of the Sky v Skykick trade mark dispute.

William Grant & Sons v Lidl: where to be-gin?

Published on 16 Jun 2021. By Ciara Cullen, Partner, Consumer Brands & Retail Sector Lead and Ben Mark, Partner and Sarah Mountain, Partner

On 25 May 2021, the Scottish Court of Session (SCOS) granted an interim interdict (akin to an interim injunction), which prevents Lidl from selling its own brand 'Hampstead gin' in Scottish stores, pending the outcome of the matter at trial.

Copyright: Online platform operators’ liability for users illegally uploading copyright material

Published on 02 Nov 2020. By David Cran, Partner, Head of Disputes

C-682/18 Frank Peterson v Google LLC and others and C 683/18 Elsevier Inc. v Cyando AG EU:C:2020:586 – A-G opinion