The capabilities and use cases for AI and ML are moving at lightning speed, and the law is trying to catch up. Legal, compliance and governance functions must manage risk and develop processes and policies for AI projects that work with the law as it is today, while also anticipating the coming wave of legal, regulatory and technological change.
In this webinar series, our EMEA team discussed the IP and data privacy issues raised by AI, the developing regulatory landscape and practical issues when contracting for AI.

2023 is gearing up to be an interesting year for those in the life sciences sector, with upcoming reforms to the established regulatory and IP landscapes that will impact innovator strategies in R&D, commercialization, and patent enforcement. While reforms are currently under draft by the European Commission, the key areas of anticipated change are highlighted in a newly published article in The Life Sciences Lawyer.

In the third episode of the series, Mackenzie Martin, partner in our IP and Technology practice in Texas, and Tanvi Shah, senior associate in IP and Technology in London, discuss the role of patents, trade secrets, and plant variety rights in green innovation — and in particular, how they incentivize and promote technological development in the consumer goods and retail industry.

Off the Shelf, the Global Consumer Goods & Retail (CG&R) Industry Video Podcast, provides short practical legal insights into the key issues affecting consumer goods and retail businesses. Increasingly, the desire for CG&R companies to include references and claims about their sustainability stems from the demand by consumers to know more about the brands they engage with, particularly their sustainability credentials, and this is driving this trend for green/sustainability claims to be increasingly featured and promoted.

The Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency launched a consultation in early 2022 as part of its post-Brexit efforts to develop a world-class and flexible regulatory environment for clinical trials. The consultation closed in March 2022, but continues to offer insights into what the future holds for the UK regime for clinical trials.

With the changes to the regulation of veterinary medicines in the UK as a result of Brexit, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate has created a helpful information hub pulling together its communications on current and future regulatory changes. Access the Hub here, including useful explainers on “Application and authorisation“, “Manufacturing and distribution“, and “Pharmacovigilance“, and see below for a summary of some key points.

Following petition by The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), the BioIndustry Association (BIA) and others within the industry, the UK Government has changed its position on when protection will begin for a number of regulatory exclusivities post-Brexit. Such changes demonstrate that the UK Government is receptive of industry views – and also the power of collective lobbying.

In a judgment delivered on 9 July 2020, the CJEU held that a new therapeutic application for an authorised medicinal product cannot be the subject of a supplementary protection certificate (SPC).  This clarifies the position on an issue that has been unclear for nearly a decade, but will be unwelcome to companies in the healthcare and life sciences sector who have invested, and continue to invest, in the development of new therapeutic applications for authorised products. It will have a significant impact on pending SPC applications relating to second medical uses.