On 10 July 2019, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) initiated an investigation pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 into France’s Digital Services Tax (DST) to determine whether the tax is discriminatory or unreasonable and burdens or restricts United States commerce. Following an affirmative finding by USTR, the U.S. may take unilateral actions against imports of goods and services from France (including the imposition of a tariff or quota)…

On 30 July, the Court of Appeal of The Hague ruled on the formal entitlement to priority following from a US provisional patent application (judgment in Dutch here). The attack on priority in this case is part of a recent trend by parties in patent litigation which aims to challenge entitlement to invoke priority under the Paris Convention and the European Patent Convention. Background Biogen Inc., F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG and Genentech Inc. jointly own…

China is a market that represents a paradox for many telecoms, media and technology (“TMT“) companies. On the one hand it offers the promise of almost unlimited growth potential if you get the product right, but on the other it presents huge challenges from the regulatory and compliance perspective in terms of establishing a foothold in the market. The challenges include market access restrictions, data localization requirements, to name but a few. The market access…

Jason Lohr (San Francisco) held the first in a series of internal webinars on the basics and legal implications of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, highlighting their relevance to IPMT. AI touches nearly every industry and is used to solve complex problems, spot and minimize risks, improve decision-making, and develop new products. Key issues and tips for navigating this complex area were covered, including: The current state of AI and key concepts: As AI is still…

On July 25, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a pair of bills establishing new requirements for businesses that process certain personal information related to New York residents. The changes include expanding the scope of information covered by New York’s data breach notification law; defining breaches to include incidents involving unauthorized access to covered information, even where the information is not acquired; and requiring consumer reporting agencies who suffer breaches of social security…

On August 3-8, the small satellite (“smallsat”) community flocked to Logan, Utah for Smallsat 2019. The conference drew nearly 3500 participants representing more than one thousand organizations and forty-five countries. The attendees included smallsat operators, ground-station-as-a-service providers, launchers and launch integrators, component manufacturers, students, enthusiasts, and even some attorneys. In addition to the noticeable increase in attendance, a few other themes, highlighted below, jumped out. Orbital debris mitigation continues to dominate conversation The keynote by…

On 9 July 2019 the UK data protection authority (ICO) updated its Data Sharing Code of Practice (first published in 2011) (Code). On the same day, the ICO also announced its intention to fine Marriott International just over £99m for infringements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), highlighting the importance of due diligence in the context of data sharing. The Code, made under section 121 of the UK’s Data Protection Act (DPA), is publicly…