Since the announcement on 6 June that the Council and European Parliament had reached agreement on the draft Directive establishing the Electronic Communications Code (the “Code”), the communications and competition communities have been on tenterhooks to see what the final version of the text contains.
The draft Code has been in the pipeline for almost two years and is part … Continue Reading
Class actions are commonplace in the United States but relatively rare in Europe.
The European Union wants to change that, by facilitating class actions for mass privacy and data breaches.
With the development of big data, the scope and impact of potential data breaches or losses have indeed significantly increased. In the EU, the GDPR comes into effect. Due to … Continue Reading
Reform of EU copyright is the core of the Commission’s Digital Single Market strategy. Various legislative initiatives have been proposed but the “heart” of the reform is without a doubt the proposal for a new copyright directive. While there appears to be a growing consensus on the wording of most articles, a few key provisions remain under debate. In this … Continue Reading
The Portability Regulation (EU) 2017/1128 came into force on 1 April 2018. Part of the EU Commission’s aim to establish a Digital Single Market, the Regulation facilitates cross-border portability of online content. It allows for subscribed content services to “travel” with the subscriber throughout the entire European Union. Be it movies, sport events, music, e-books, online games, they … Continue Reading
The trialogue between the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Member States on the revision of the Audio-Visual Media Services (AVMS) Directive is currently in progress, after several years of work by all parties to update the text of the Directive. This update is timely, given the profound and rapid changes in how TV and other video content is … Continue Reading
The European Parliament’s Rapporteur on the draft Copyright Directive (COM (2016) 593), Axel Voss, released proposed amendments to Article 11 and its corresponding recitals at the end of March. Mr Voss’s draft, for the shadow Rapporteurs on the Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI), introduces a number of remarkable suggested changes, which diverge significantly from the Bulgarian … Continue Reading
In anticipation of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, the European Commission has released a Notice to Stakeholders on the impact of Brexit on the incoming rules on geo-blocking (the “Notice“).
The Geo-blocking Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2018/302) was adopted by the EU on 27 February 2018 and will apply from 3 December 2018 (see our blog here… Continue Reading
The new provision on the banning of unjustified geoblocking in online sales is at the heart of the EU Commission’s aspiration and effort to create a real Digital Single Market within the European Union.
The term “geoblocking” stands for any type of technical or contractual discrimination based on the nationality or residence of a customer. It is a common phenomenon … Continue Reading
Three European regulators have warned investors about the risks associated with dealing with virtual currencies, saying they are unsuitable “for most purposes, including investment and retirement planning”.
What does this mean?
The European Securities and Markets Authority, the European Banking Authority and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority have joined together to express their concern over the fact that … Continue Reading
To date, the main legacy of the Brexit referendum of 2016 appears to be a country split in half: some badly wish the UK would continue to be a member of the EU and some are equally keen on making a move. Yet, there seems to be at least one thing on which Remainers and Leavers will agree: nobody knows … Continue Reading
I’m currently watching a wonderful new show called “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” on Amazon Prime. It’s a comedy about a recent divorcee in Manhattan in the early 1960s who decides to become a stand-up comedian. As I’m watching the show my thoughts drift to the magnitude of difference between the fictitious Midge Maisel watching Bob Newhart on her 1960s-era television … Continue Reading
The European Union will end unjustified geoblocking for consumers wishing to buy products or services online within the EU before the end of next year.
What does this mean?
The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission have reached an agreement whereby consumers will be able to buy goods and services online from any EU country.
The … Continue Reading
The European copyright reform is underway. The heart of this process clearly is the draft for a Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (COM 2016(593) final). The draft is and the proposed amendments to it are currently being considered by the European Parliament. The debate is led by the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI). It was anticipated that … Continue Reading
In our 18 July blog we reported the then recently published key dates for compliance with the EU online Portability Regulation. Following a correction published in the EU Official journal on 28 July 2017, those deadlines have been pushed back by just under two weeks. A revised version of our blog post is below, with the new deadlines added.
*******… Continue Reading
According to the German Federal Labor Court, Germany’s highest court for employment disputes, German employers are not allowed to monitor employees in the workplace without a concrete suspicion of a criminal violation or, in some cases, a serious breach of duty (judgment dated July 27, 2017, case ref. 2 AZR 681/16). This means that employer monitoring of an employee’s computer … Continue Reading
In our 21 June blog we reported that the text of this, the first legislative proposal published by the Commission under the Digital Single Market strategy banner, had been finalised by the European Parliament and Council. The Regulation on ensuring the cross-border portability of online content services in the internal market ((EU) 2017/1128), to give it its formal title, has … Continue Reading
On June 19, Hogan Lovells Washington D.C. hosted a panel to discuss Europe’s Digital Single Market (DSM) initiative and how the European Union’s strategic plans might affect trade and business relations between the United States and Europe.
Hogan Lovells partners (Brussels) were joined by Andrea Glorioso, Counselor for the Digital Economy at the Delegation of the European Union to the … Continue Reading
Swiftly following the CJEU decision in Filmspeler (see our blog post), in which the Court found that the selling of multimedia players with add-ons to illegal streaming websites amounted to copyright infringement, the CJEU has confirmed that an indexing site such as the infamous website, The Pirate Bay, can be liable and as a result, internet service providers (ISPs) … Continue Reading
The new EU Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53/EC (“RED”) applies to all radio equipment, such as products with mobile communication, Bluetooth or WiFi. It is replacing the former EU Directive on Radio and Telecommunication Terminal Equipment 1999/5/EC (“R&TTE Directive”).
RED has been applicable since 13 June 2016 but provided a one-year transitional period, during which companies were allowed to continue placing … Continue Reading
To regulate or not to regulate: This question becomes relevant for the sharing economy after last week’s European Parliament resolution calling for clear EU guidelines on the collaborative economy. The resolution is a response to the European Commission’s Communication on “A European agenda for the collaborative economy” from June 2016 which took a light or even non-regulation approach regarding … Continue Reading
Join us on 19 June, 10:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. EST, for a lively discussion with experts regarding the current regulatory developments in Europe and the United States. Andrea Glorioso, Counselor for the Digital Economy at the Delegation of the European Union to the United States, will provide an overview of what U.S. markets might expect from the EU. … Continue Reading
On 12 May 2017 the European Aviation Safety Agency (“EASA“) opened a consultation into sweeping new regulations on the operation of unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS” or drones) in European airspace. Individuals and companies that are interested in the future of UAS operations in the European Union (“EU”) should carefully review the Notice of Proposed … Continue Reading
The European Commission is taking stock of what has been accomplished regarding its Strategy for a Digital Single Market. Two years ago, on 6 May 2015, Commissioners Oettinger and Ansip announced their strategy to create a single European market in the online world. Such market should rest on three pillars: (1) better access for consumers and businesses to digital … Continue Reading
The European commission published its last draft directive on the modernizing of the European copyright law (COM(2016) 593 final) on 14 September 2016. The draft was part of a larger strategy to bring about a single digital market within the European Union. Back then, the legislative proposal triggered quite some discussion given that its provisions touched upon more than one … Continue Reading
