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The "Unicorn Kingdom's" AI White Paper

Published on 12 May 2023. By Helen Armstrong, Partner and Ricky Cella, Senior Associate and Joshy Thomas, Knowledge Lawyer

The UK's pro-innovation AI White paper has been published. It landed almost simultaneously with an open letter from the Future of Life Institute which called for a six-month halt in work on AI systems more powerful than the generative AI system: GPT-4.

New developments in AI may put law firms at greater risk of phishing fraud

Published on 28 Apr 2023. By Will Sefton, Partner and Head of Professional and Financial Risks and Tom Morris, Associate and Tamsin Hyland, Partner

As the computing power of Artificial Intelligence continues to grow exponentially, we consider how generative technology may expand the reach of traditional phishing frauds aimed at law firms.

The Times recognises RPC among Best Law Firms 2024

Published on 30 Oct 2023.

International law firm, RPC, has been recognised by The Times in its Best Law Firms 2024 report, an annual ranking of the top 250 law firms in England and Wales.

Navigating the impact of AI on work: challenges, opportunities, and the human touch

Published on 20 Mar 2024. By Patrick Brodie, Partner

The fear of job losses because of technology and automation, including artificial intelligence, has been with us since the 1960s. For some time, academics have predicted the decline of routine, rules-based and process-driven roles.

Virtual billboards: the future of immersive advertising?

Published on 15 Jan 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner and Elizabeth Alibhai, Partner and Nick Lauw, Partner

With the deployment of immersive technologies poised to become the norm, the implementation of infrastructure for "virtual billboards", and the "property digital rights" which they demand, is demonstrating a lucrative gap in the market and huge growth potential.

Thaler v Comptroller [2023] UKSC 49: the UKSC rules that AI cannot be an 'inventor'

Published on 10 Jan 2024. By Matthew Jones, Partner

To the surprise of no one, the UK Supreme Court (UKSC) has finally ruled that an artificial intelligence (AI) cannot be an inventor for the purposes of UK patent law. This judgment accords with the decisions of the lower courts in the UK and the initial ruling of the UKIPO. It also reflects similar findings from most of courts around the world where the claimant, Dr Thaler, brought similar actions.

EU AI ACT-ion stations

Published on 29 Sep 2023. By Helen Armstrong, Partner and Charles Buckworth, Partner

The EU is forging ahead with its vision for AI. With wrapping up talks on the EU AI Act between the EU governments, the Commission and the parliamentary negotiators imminent, we bring you up to date on the EU's risk based approach, the scope of the Act, a timeline, key points that will form the basis of the discussions and next steps.

What To Know About AI Fraudsters Before Facing Disputes

Published on 29 Aug 2023. By Dan Wyatt, Partner and Christopher Whitehouse, Senior Associate

Fraudsters are quick to weaponise new technological developments and artificial intelligence is proving no exception, with AI-assisted scams increasingly being reported in the news, including most recently one using a likeness of a BBC broadcaster.

The November 2023 AI safety summit and the UK's direction of travel

Published on 29 Aug 2023. By Helen Armstrong, Partner and Charles Buckworth, Partner and Joshy Thomas, Knowledge Lawyer

The government has confirmed that the UK AI safety summit will be held at Bletchley Park on 1 and 2 November 2023.

Generative AI and intellectual property rights—the UK government's position

Published on 03 May 2023. By Helen Armstrong, Partner and Jani Ihalainen, Associate and Joshy Thomas, Knowledge Lawyer

The IPO is to produce a code of practice by the summer that will provide guidance to support AI firms in accessing copyright protected works as an input to their models.

Understanding and managing the risks in artificial intelligence (AI) technology projects

Published on 12 Apr 2023. By Helen Armstrong, Partner and Ricky Cella, Senior Associate and Joshy Thomas, Knowledge Lawyer

How do you go about managing the risks and challenges that might arise during the deployment of AI technology?

RPC reacts to UK Government White Paper on AI

Published on 30 Mar 2023. By Jon Bartley, Partner and Ciara Cullen, Partner and Richard Breavington, Partner and Kelly Thomson, Partner, ESG strategy lead and Helen Armstrong, Partner and Patrick Brodie, Partner and Mamata Dutta, Partner

RPC reacts to UK Government White Paper on AI

AI technology projects – the regulatory landscape

Published on 24 Feb 2023. By Helen Armstrong, Partner and Ricky Cella, Senior Associate and Joshy Thomas, Knowledge Lawyer

Parties engaged in AI technology projects should be mindful of the regulatory landscape, and the changes taking place within it. A failure to do so could result in an AI solution that is not compliant from a regulatory perspective, the use of which potentially creates risk for the technology provider and user.

Parliamentary 'wash up' – which Bills made it through?

Published on 31 May 2024. By Paul Joukador, Partner and Praveeta Thayalan, Knowledge Lawyer and Shahil Goodka, Trainee Solicitor

On 22 May 2024, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that a General Election will take place on 4 July 2024. Parliament was then prorogued on 24 May 2024 which allowed a mere 2 days for 'wash up' - the process by which outstanding bills may be rushed through the parliamentary process.

Ofcom's 'Roadmap to Regulation' underway with its consultation on illegal harms duties under the Online Safety Act

Published on 12 Jan 2024. By Jessica Kingsbury, Associate

In November, Ofcom, as new online safety regulator, published the first of four major consultations under the Online Safety Act ("OSA"), which sets out its proposals for how "user-to-user" ("U2U") services (essentially any online website or app that allows users to interact with each other) and online search services (i.e. Google, Bing and similar) should approach their illegal content duties under the new legislation. The consultation provides guidance in a number of areas including governance, content moderation, reporting and complaints mechanisms, terms of service, supporting child users, and user empowerment.

The Online Safety Bill is set to become law

Published on 21 Sep 2023. By Rupert Cowper-Coles , Partner, Media and Nadia Tymkiw, Senior Associate and Jessica Kingsbury, Associate

The Online Safety Bill will shortly become law in the UK as soon as it receives Royal Assent. The legislation will introduce a new regulatory regime for online platforms and search engines which target the UK, imposing wide-ranging obligations on in-scope services with serious consequences for non-compliance.

The Online Safety Bill and the risk of unintended consequences

Published on 31 Mar 2023. By Nadia Tymkiw, Senior Associate

The Online Safety Bill was reintroduced to Parliament late last year, with new amendments receiving scrutiny in the House of Commons in December, before the bill entered the House of Lords in January. The bill continues to evolve, most notably with the government removing the requirement for user-to-user platforms and search engines to prevent adult users from encountering "legal but harmful" content, instead requiring online platforms to provide users with enhanced content controls (i.e., choice as to what content is seen), and imposing further obligations around transparency and enforcement of online platforms' terms and conditions. "Legal but harmful" obligations remain in place for under 18s. The government has recently agreed to introduce criminal sanctions for senior managers who fail to take proportionate measures to protect children from potentially harmful content.

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

Published on 24 Jun 2024. By Rachel Ford, Partner and Helen Monachan, Associate

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.

2024 Amendments to the Cybersecurity Act 2018

Published on 19 Jun 2024. By Nick Lauw, Partner and Pu Fang Ching, Senior Associate

The Cybersecurity Act 2018 (the "Act") first came into force more than 6 years ago to establish a legal framework for the oversight and maintenance of national cyber security in Singapore.

Cyber_Bytes Issue 64

Published on 04 Jun 2024. By Richard Breavington, Partner and Daniel Guilfoyle, Partner and Ian Dinning, Senior Associate and Rachel Ford, Partner and Christopher Ashton, Senior Associate and Bethan Griffiths, Senior Associate and Laura Thackeray, Senior Associate and Helen Monachan, Associate and Elizabeth Zang, Associate and Emanuele Santella , Associate

Welcome to Cyber_Bytes, our regular round-up of key developments in cyber, tech and evolving risks.

The Role of AI in Disputes

Published on 03 Jun 2024. By Daniel Hemming, Partner and Olivia Dhein, Knowledge Lawyer and Ricky Cella, Senior Associate

While lawyers have had various forms of AI available to them for years, it is generative AI and the development of large language models (LLMs) which is likely to represent a fundamental shift for dispute resolution. This technology now offers language capabilities that have never been seen before, and is likely to transform the way lawyers conduct proceedings.

AI-as-a-Service – Key Issues

Published on 03 Jun 2024. By Praveeta Thayalan, Knowledge Lawyer and Tom James, Associate

Artificial Intelligence-as-a-Service (AIaaS), in the same vein as Software-as-a-Service and Infrastructure-as-a-Service, refers to cloud-based tools that allow businesses to gain access to an AI model hosted by a third party provider.

Procuring AI – Commercial Considerations Checklist

Published on 03 Jun 2024. By Praveeta Thayalan, Knowledge Lawyer

Many companies will no doubt be considering using AI within their business to take advantage of the massive opportunities for increased productivity and cost efficiencies promised.

Generative AI – Addressing Copyright

Published on 03 Jun 2024. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Joshy Thomas, Knowledge Lawyer and Emma Dunnill, Senior Associate

When it comes to the interaction of AI and IP rights, bar a flurry of activity surrounding the inevitable outcome by all of the courts including the Supreme Court in the Thaler, Dabus case, most attention has been focussed on copyright. There are three main potentially thorny issues and all have been extensively covered by the mainstream media.

AI and Privacy – 10 Questions to Ask

Published on 03 Jun 2024. By Jon Bartley, Partner and Praveeta Thayalan, Knowledge Lawyer and Karolina Lewicki, Associate

We set out in this section 10 key questions to ask yourself at the outset when developing or deploying AI solutions in your business.

The Ethics of AI - The Digital Dilemma

Published on 03 Jun 2024.

This is Part 6 of 'Regulation of AI – raising the trillion dollar bAIby'

Part 6 – Practical Considerations

Published on 03 Jun 2024. By Caroline Tuck, Partner and Joshy Thomas, Knowledge Lawyer and Ricky Cella, Senior Associate

This is Part 6 of 'Regulation of AI – raising the trillion dollar bAIby'

Part 5 – AI Regulation Globally

Published on 03 Jun 2024. By Caroline Tuck, Partner and Joshy Thomas, Knowledge Lawyer and Ricky Cella, Senior Associate

This is Part 5 of 'Regulation of AI – raising the trillion dollar bAIby'

Part 4 – AI Regulation in Asia

Published on 03 Jun 2024. By Caroline Tuck, Partner and Joshy Thomas, Knowledge Lawyer and Ricky Cella, Senior Associate

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

Part 3 - AI regulation in the US

Published on 03 Jun 2024. By Caroline Tuck, Partner and Joshy Thomas, Knowledge Lawyer and Ricky Cella, Senior Associate

Back in October 2022, the White House published federal guidance – a Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights identifying five principles aiming to guide the design, use, and deployment of automated systems. It was designed to operate as a roadmap to protect the public from AI harms and was followed in October 2023 by the US President's Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence...

Part 2 - AI regulation in the EU

Published on 03 Jun 2024. By Caroline Tuck, Partner and Joshy Thomas, Knowledge Lawyer and Ricky Cella, Senior Associate

The EU AI Act, the main elements of which are covered in our previous article, was provisionally agreed in December 2023. Shortly after it was agreed, the Commission released some Q&As to flesh out the key provisions and timelines for application. It is anticipated that the latest text of the Artificial Intelligence Act will be formally adopted by both Parliament and Council in April, triggering a graduated two year period for compliance (with obligations for high-risk systems defined in Annex II applicable in 3 years).

Part 1 - UK AI regulation

Published on 03 Jun 2024. By Caroline Tuck, Partner and Joshy Thomas, Knowledge Lawyer and Ricky Cella, Senior Associate

There has been consistent messaging from the UK Conservative-led government that the UK has decided to adopt a light touch approach to regulating AI. This was evident in the AI white paper published in March 2023 which outlined a principles based framework (see ['The Ethics of AI – the Digital Dilemma'] for more information about the principles themselves and see here for additional coverage of the AI white paper). The UK government held a consultation on the AI white paper in 2023 and published a response on 6 February 2024 that adds slightly more flesh to the bones of the UK framework.

What is AI and why is it topical?

Published on 03 Jun 2024. By Paul Joukador, Partner and Helen Armstrong, Partner and Charles Buckworth, Partner and Caroline Tuck, Partner

Whilst there is no universal definition of what constitutes artificial intelligence, at its core, AI refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think and learn like humans. This encompasses the ability to reason, learn from experience, understand complex concepts, interact with their environment and look to solve problems.

What is a foundational model?

Published on 03 Jun 2024. By Caroline Tuck, Partner and Rory Graham, Associate

Welcome to Cyber_Bytes, our regular round-up of key developments in cyber, tech and evolving risks.

Regulation of AI - raising the trillion dollar bAIby - introduction

Published on 03 Jun 2024. By Caroline Tuck, Partner and Joshy Thomas, Knowledge Lawyer and Ricky Cella, Senior Associate

As with any new technology, existing data protection and privacy, intellectual property, competition, product liability, data security and consumer laws apply to its application in each jurisdiction. This has thrown up a number of important and newsworthy issues and considerations for AI developers and providers, legislators, consumers and rights holders. There are also several sets of high profile legal proceedings both decided and ongoing in several jurisdictions. These issues and legal proceedings are discussed in other sections of this AI Guide.

Cyber_Bytes Issue 63

Published on 10 May 2024. By Richard Breavington, Partner and Daniel Guilfoyle, Partner and Ian Dinning, Senior Associate and Rachel Ford, Partner and Christopher Ashton, Senior Associate and Bethan Griffiths, Senior Associate and Laura Thackeray, Senior Associate and Helen Monachan, Associate and Elizabeth Zang, Associate and Emanuele Santella , Associate

Welcome to Cyber_Bytes, our regular round-up of key developments in cyber, tech and evolving risks.

Data dispatch - April 2024

Published on 17 Apr 2024. By Jon Bartley, Partner

Welcome to the fourth edition of Data Dispatch from the Data Advisory team at RPC. Our aim is to provide you on a regular basis with an easy-to-digest summary of key developments in data protection law.

Cyber_Bytes - Issue 62

Published on 03 Apr 2024. By Richard Breavington, Partner and Daniel Guilfoyle, Partner and Ian Dinning, Senior Associate and Rachel Ford, Partner and Christopher Ashton, Senior Associate and Bethan Griffiths, Senior Associate and Laura Thackeray, Senior Associate and Helen Monachan, Associate and Elizabeth Zang, Associate and Emanuele Santella , Associate

Welcome to Cyber_Bytes, our regular round-up of key developments in cyber, tech and evolving risks.

Cyber_Bytes Issue 61

Published on 05 Mar 2024. By Richard Breavington, Partner and Daniel Guilfoyle, Partner and Ian Dinning, Senior Associate and Rachel Ford, Partner and Christopher Ashton, Senior Associate and Bethan Griffiths, Senior Associate and Laura Thackeray, Senior Associate and Helen Monachan, Associate and Elizabeth Zang, Associate and Emanuele Santella , Associate

Welcome to Cyber_Bytes, our regular round-up of key developments in cyber, tech and evolving risks.

Cyber_bytes - Issue 60

Published on 06 Feb 2024. By Richard Breavington, Partner and Daniel Guilfoyle, Partner and Ian Dinning, Senior Associate and Rachel Ford, Partner and Christopher Ashton, Senior Associate and Bethan Griffiths, Senior Associate and Laura Thackeray, Senior Associate and Helen Monachan, Associate and Elizabeth Zang, Associate and Emanuele Santella , Associate

Welcome to Cyber_bytes, our regular round-up of key developments in cyber, tech and evolving risks.

Data dispatch - January 2024

Published on 01 Feb 2024. By Jon Bartley, Partner

Welcome to the third edition of Data Dispatch from the Data Advisory team at RPC. Our aim is to provide you on a monthly basis with an easy-to-digest summary of key developments in data protection law.

Data dispatch - December 2023

Published on 12 Dec 2023. By Jon Bartley, Partner

Welcome to the second edition of Data Dispatch from the Data Advisory team at RPC. Our aim is to provide you on a monthly basis with an easy-to-digest summary of key developments in data protection law.

Cyber_Bytes - Issue 59

Published on 08 Dec 2023. By Richard Breavington, Partner and Daniel Guilfoyle, Partner and Ian Dinning, Senior Associate and Rachel Ford, Partner and Christopher Ashton, Senior Associate and Bethan Griffiths, Senior Associate and Laura Thackeray, Senior Associate and Helen Monachan, Associate and Elizabeth Zang, Associate and Emanuele Santella , Associate

Welcome to Cyber_Bytes, our regular round-up of key developments in cyber, tech and evolving risks.

Cyber_Bytes - Issue 58

Published on 08 Nov 2023. By Richard Breavington, Partner and Daniel Guilfoyle, Partner and Ian Dinning, Senior Associate and Rachel Ford, Partner and Christopher Ashton, Senior Associate and Bethan Griffiths, Senior Associate and Laura Thackeray, Senior Associate and Helen Monachan, Associate and Elizabeth Zang, Associate and Emanuele Santella , Associate

Welcome to Cyber_Bytes, our regular round-up of key developments in cyber, tech and evolving risks.

Data dispatch - October 2023

Published on 31 Oct 2023. By Jon Bartley, Partner

Welcome to the first edition of Data Dispatch from the Data Advisory team at RPC. Our aim is to provide you on a monthly basis with an easy-to-digest summary of key developments in data protection law.

Cyber_Bytes - Issue 57

Published on 11 Oct 2023. By Richard Breavington, Partner and Daniel Guilfoyle, Partner and Ian Dinning, Senior Associate and Rachel Ford, Partner and Christopher Ashton, Senior Associate and Bethan Griffiths, Senior Associate and Laura Thackeray, Senior Associate and Helen Monachan, Associate and Elizabeth Zang, Associate and Emanuele Santella , Associate

Welcome to Cyber_Bytes, our regular round-up of key developments in cyber, tech and evolving risks.