“Europe should become the global centre for trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI).” This is the ambitious target set by the European Commission (the “Commission”) when presenting its proposal for an Artificial Intelligence Act on 21 April 2021, in which it intends to regulate the use of AI, not the technology itself. The proposed AI Regulation is primarily a prohibition law which prohibits the use of AI systems in certain application scenarios or makes it subject to technical and organisational requirements. The proposal...

Read more

Stout experts offer insights on the 5G patent landscape, FRAND licensing terms, and aggregate royalty burdens. Proliferation of 5G and wireless encouraging SEP patent owners to extend their reach Licensing of standard essential patents (SEPs) is a longstanding tradition in the telecommunications and consumer electronics sectors. Performing valuations, determining appropriate royalty rates, and licensing on a fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) basis is an expected, but often complicated, practice for use of technologies, including wired and wireless connectivity, video encoding, and...

Read more

Overview: Last week's cyberattack on the largest US gasoline pipeline continues to lift oil and gasoline prices.  The June gasoline futures gapped higher to extend last week's 2.4% gain but has subsequently moved lower to enter the gap.  June WTI is firm and holding above $65. The supply disruption is key, but iron ore prices soared 10% on strong Chinese demand. More broadly, the CRB Index settled last week at six-year highs.  Led by South Korea, Asia Pacific equities...

Read more

On 22 August 2020, the ban on abuse of economic dependence was implemented in Belgium (Article IV.2/1 of the Code of Economic Law). Now that almost a year has passed and the first judgments have been rendered, we assess what first lessons can be drawn from these judgments. The rulings show that the ban is regularly relied upon in court and has lowered the hurdle for plaintiffs to make their case. Economic dependence is defined as "a subordinate position of...

Read more

The human consequences of the coronavirus pandemic are all too clear. The full economic impact of the various government lockdowns in place around the world are yet to emerge. However, even at this stage it is certain that the impact on the global economy will be massive: probably beyond any of our experiences. The impact will be felt everywhere, including on the private insurers with whom we place our clients’ business. What shape will these insurers be in when...

Read more

On Wednesday, European Commission Vice-Presidents Valdis Dombrovskis and Margrethe Vestager, joined by Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton presented an update to the Commission’s Industrial Strategy which had been adopted shortly before the coronavirus crisis hit the continent. It is intended to boost the EU’s economic recovery and counteract various technological and industrial dependencies towards Asia and North America, which had proved to be a significant problem during the health crisis.    With this strategy, the Commission aims to continue developing a more effective industrial policy and intervene more actively in the market. This involves targeted state support for specific industries to keep or re-shore production to the EU. Breton announced...

Read more