An open meeting of the Litigation Committee held to discuss matters of interest and future activities.

Cyber risks to companies and their customers and employees have reached unprecedented new levels. The onslaught of ransomware attacks, state-sponsored cyber intrusions, and myriad online fraud schemes is now combined with the renewed specter of politically motivated, destructive cyber-attacks on a global scale, including against critical infrastructure companies. This session will begin with a keynote and fireside chat featuring Rob Silvers, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Undersecretary for Policy and recently appointed by President Biden to head the nation’s first Cyber Safety Review Board. This will be followed by a panel of leading cyber and data privacy legal counsel from companies and law firms around the world, who will address how lawyers can drive positive changes for their clients and firms in managing emerging cyber risks.

This aviation roundtable is being led by industry experts and will cover global trends in aviation (including upheavals, black swans and the Russia fallout), repercussions to the industry and developments in finance and leasing laws.

It has been said that there are basically three types of practice orientation: (1) the legal technical approach (2) the wise advisor (3) the lawyer with a high moral purpose as guided by the lawyers' conscience. It has been well recognised that the solution to the social challenges which intersect poverty such as migration climate change and wealth inequality must involve a lawyer’s commitment to a high moral imperative. This requires that that the lawyer approach legal problem-solving guided by such purpose. International norms particularly norms that are grounded upon soft law increasingly call for a holistic approach to business planning. The panel discussion will focus on how such things as the independence of the legal profession can assist in pursuing the practice orientation of a high moral purpose while still maintaining the support of the client in such pursuits.

A pre-recorded video made for the session, by Hon Mia Amor Mottley QC, Prime Minister of Barbados, on the topic, will be played and used in the discussion. 

HumanRightsMultinational corporations are increasingly facing allegations of involvement in atrocity crimes. This panel will explore past and current cases where corporate entities and/or their officers have been investigated and, in some cases, criminally charged for core international crimes such as war crimes and crimes against humanity. For example, in France, the cement company Lafarge faces charges of crimes against humanity committed in Syria, and in Sweden, Lundin Energy executives have been charged with aiding and abetting war crimes in South Sudan. The panel will look at the general framework for such liability, and the challenges faced in the investigation and prosecution of alleged corporate perpetrators.

Money and politics: what’s new in Private Equity in 2022? This panel of experts will discuss the trends in transactions and regulatory issues that are driving deals and deal structures in the private equity arena in the US, Asia and Europe.

Taxpayer visibility is becoming more transparent as it is easier for authorities to obtain as well as combine data about the interaction between multiple parties, be it within a corporate group or among third parties, by new technologies, including AI and larger storage volumes. This panel will discuss and analyze the role the legal profession plays in this tech supported game and the extent to which the meaning and scope of legal privilege has evolved.

A recent survey conducted by the LFMC of the IBA shows that while 84% of firms have a strategy, there is less satisfaction in terms of its uniqueness, ableness in a partnership to articulate the firm's strategy and follow up in terms of implementation. This session will discuss how a firm can improve it success in implementing its strategy. How is a strategy effectively communicated? How to set goals and measure progress? How should we organise ourselves to ensure better implementation? Are your incentives and performance reviews aligned to the strategy? What does it take to make lawyers change their daily behaviour?

From Venezuela to Haiti to Central America and elsewhere, refugee migration is challenging countries throughout the Americas. Our experts discuss where we are in 2022.

The Covid-19 pandemic brought an intense period of enforced temporary changes to the way we resolve disputes and administer justice. The transition to innovative virtual – remote and online – courts hearings, arbitral and mediation sessions, is both thrilling and concerning. Whether the transition and changes made should be reversed or not, leads to some fundamental questions. It is all about the right balance in protecting both the rights and interests of parties and the public while using technological opportunities which can improve (reform) practices of the court, arbitral tribunals and mediators and assessing improvements in access to and lowering the costs of justice – after all, we should never waste a good crisis.  

This joint session aims to map the landscape of the Covid-19 online transition, exploring lessons learned; what has worked, and what has not, promises and best practices for maintaining juridical quality, legitimacy, and efficiency. Initially it seemed the principles to open justice, which remain paramount, were threatened. Yet benefiting from the tech development of wide-spread open-access live streaming, proceedings suddenly became far more accessible than before – just an example: the UK Supreme Court’s livestream of important Brexit litigation was reportedly viewed by almost 30 million people. How reporting restrictions and protected evidence coexist with online open justice is yet to be seen. While saving time and money, relieving parties and their legal teams from the need to travel and time to be called to a hearing, the physical experience of an online hearing is significantly different from being inside a courtroom or before an arbitral tribunal. Could the lack of ritualistic aspects of a formal hearing and feelings of distance, foster distrust rather than belief in the legitimacy of the authority of the court or tribunal? What is the effect of depersonalizing the dispute resolution process, especially non-verbal cues like body language and eye contact (even when web cameras are employed)? May parties feel that they have not been fully heard? Can the required level of trust, for fruitful mediation, be achieved online? How are judges able to properly ascertain the credibility of a witness online? Although virtual hearings suggest that they tend to be more focused than hearings in person, could ‘zoom-fatigue’ be detrimental to the quality of decision-making of judges, lawyers and parties? Just to name a few challenges, which will undoubtedly lead to a lively debate and exploration of best practices in remote dispute resolution.

Presented by the Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Committee, Arts, Cultural Institutions and Heritage Law Committee, Space Law Committee, Media Law Committee, Technology law Committee and Communications Law Committee.

This very dynamic and well-attended session enables you to select from a menu of hot topics in the IP, communications, media and technology sectors and participate in roundtable discussions.

Topics of current interest are selected to stimulate a lively debate. Moderators on each table introduce the table topic and the participants do the rest. Background knowledge or experience within areas for discussion is not required. Our menu will include hot and 'late breaking' topics in the areas of intellectual property law, internet law and mobile technologies, privacy and data protection, technology contracting and dispute resolution, arts law and space law.

Discussion is usually around the interface of law, business and technology, with a global focus. Many topics for discussion are often the subject of considerable public and media interest. In participating in the table topics you will gain a deeper insight into these areas and be able to add your own comments. 

The format is interactive networking. The session will provide you with a great opportunity to meet many other lawyers and to discuss topics of mutual interest with them: don't forget your business cards, ecards and contact details to share. We welcome new participants in these discussions. 

The following topics will be discussed during the session, with the help of the respective moderators identified for each topic:

1. Hot topics in Privacy and Data Protection

• Processing of underage’s personal data
• Internal investigations conducted by private companies
• Cross-border data transfers
• Cooperation with investigations/criminal procedures initiated by public authorities
• Data Protection Laws - Scope / Exemptions
• Multiple sanctions due to the simultaneous violation of a data protection law and other laws (e.g. consumers; antitrust)
• Overview about sanctions and fines

2. Contracts for Clouds: what’s in the standard terms and what can you negotiate?

• What’s in a typical cloud contract?
• How do AWS, Google, and Microsoft deal with issues like choice of law and forum, liability, service levels, termination, and more?
• Are standard cloud contracts evolving?
• When can customers negotiate with cloud providers?

3. Geospatial Data management – an opportunity for growth

Geospatial information is vital for national development, policy and decision-making, programs and projects, and to achieve sustainable social, environmental and economic development. The main strength of geospatial information is that it provides the integrative platform for all digital data that has a location dimension to it. Collaborative information systems that are comprehensive, coordinated, and integrated, underpinned by geospatial information technologies and applications, are providing the evidence on where people interact with their place, events and activities. With rapid digital transformation of society and economy, issues, challenges and opportunities related to the acquisition, availability, accessibility and application of geospatial information, are common and experienced across various levels of society, government and economy. The need for sound and enabling policy and legal frameworks on geospatial information management to address these issues has become more critical as the acquisition and application of geospatial data become increasingly innovative and creative arising from new and emerging technologies, devices and solutions.

Since 2017, the UN-GGIM Working Group on Policy and Legal Frameworks for Geospatial Information Management, has been actively developing mechanisms to address the complex issues related to geospatial information, including custodianship, authority and authoritative data, open data, personal data, data privacy and confidentiality, data licensing, data security and geospatial data for public good. We will explain how the acquisition, availability, accessibility, and application of geospatial information can be addressed, through a wide array of tools and resources developed with the collaboration of the IBA.

4. 5G Delivery structures

The roll out of 5G will entail large investments for mobile carriers, not just in their having to bid for spectrum allocation but mainly for infrastructure and hardware investments. The high cell density required for the operation of 5G networks also magnifies these concerns. In the wake of fierce market competition and declining revenues per customer, carriers have been innovating how they are approaching 5G infrastructure investments, including for example, entering into infrastructure and services sharing arrangements, along with developing solutions to improve and secure their radio access networks. Join us as we discuss the challenges faced by mobile carriers and novel approaches taken by them in response.

5. Can Legal Tech create increased revenues for law firms?

What are the pitfalls? Best practices from around the globe.

6. Regulating Internet and platforms around the world

Since Apple and Meta (aka Facebook) displaced legacy enterprises and Alphabet (aka Google) declared its victory against Yahoo, regulators waited for the day digital markets would correct themselves. In the meantime, they also had greenlighted some acquisitions and seemed to have regretted clearing some in hindsight. The wait is over, though: regulators recently changed the tack, and competition policy is poised to favour increased interventions towards big tech. Although killer acquisitions and new ex ante competition tools to address the sources of big tech's market power and overcome the barriers to entry are at the centre of the heated discussions, they all come down to fostering innovation. In recent years, regulators have taken bold steps and expanded the scope of innovation theories of harm to justify interventions. Yet there are serious questions concerning whether competition authorities could genuinely grasp the nature of competition in digital markets and, if so, whether they have the foresight to predict the level of innovation in counterfactuals without compromising evidence-based enforcement. This table will get to the bottom of these questions by analysing the sources of innovation in high-tech markets: is big always bad?

7. 2022 Technology and IP Disputes Update

This topic would allow for discussion of the major cases involving technology and IP disputes in different countries including identification of trends in technology disputes and dispute resolution processes.

8. AdTech, Tracking, Cookies and Pixels – thoughts on where things are heading

Tracking devices (whether cookies, pixels or whatever) have been under scrutiny from regulators around the world. In this session we will be looking at the comparative approaches in Latin America, Europe and the US.

9. Patent Litigation Funding – Support to Patent Owners or Patent Troll in Sheep’s Clothing

Table will discuss the growing use of Litigation Funding in IP related litigation matters. Discussion will include experiences with funders and cases supported by them. The group will also explore whether funding provides access to the courts for those without means to enforce their valuable rights or whether it encourages frivolous filings that would not have otherwise been filed or few settlements in the hopes of large returns.

10. The copyright protection over “concept stores” and/or format The idea to attract the customer’s attention using the environment in which the purchasing processes are generated has been spreading over the last years. It does not refer only to the way in which products are presented but also to the general appearance and mood of the shop and to the impact that it has on customers. In this scenario, concept stores are becoming increasingly popular in retail but retailers have had varying degrees of success in protecting the format or layout of their stores. This topic will explore how different jurisdictions and different IP laws can protect concept stores and will consider a hypothetical scenario based on a recent Italian Court of Appeal decision. Participants are encouraged to share their views and experiences from their own jurisdictions in an open discussion about the practicalities of using IP laws to protect the layout of a store, the shape or configuration of different display elements, or the overall look and feel of a concept store.

11. The impact of the Digital Services Act (on intellectual property rights and technology)

The DSA will seek to set standards for accountability in the digital marketplace. Much uncertainty remains about what the practical consequences of the DSA are for e-commerce, and how the balance of interests will play out IP owners see the DSA as a step forward, that gives e-commerce platforms greater responsibility. They believe that although it could have been more ambitious, it is an improvement on the status quo. The tech industry is globally satisfied, insofar as the DSA incorporates the principle that digital service providers are immune from liability for the unlawful content they host, provided they were not aware it was unlawful or acted promptly to remove or to block access to it once made aware. However, this principle is clarified in the DSA, which adds new prohibitions and highly restrictive obligations.

This table topic will be a good opportunity for anticipating and discussing these consequences.

12. Underutilized procedural methods for getting patents allowed in the U.S. and Europe and India

In recent years the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has introduced procedural programs and reforms that are designed to expedite, simplify or improve examination for applicants. In similar fashion to the USPTO, the European Patent Office and Indian Patent Office have procedural programs that can be used as alternatives to normal patent examination. These programs, when used properly, can help applicants achieve faster favourable outcomes.

13. We are Running Out of Trademarks – Combatting this Problem with New Forms of Trademark Protection

Discussion on how brand owners are protecting their valuable trademark rights when it seems that all trademark options have been exhausted. How do you advise clients and their marketing teams when every mark they consider is unavailable?

Are more Non-Traditional Trademarks (NTMs) – a valuable addition

14. This table will have two rotating topics

a. Space Arbitration

• Available dispute resolution mechanisms (Claims Commission under the Liability Convention; ITU; ESA; national courts; international arbitration)
• The advantages of arbitration
• Need for promotion of the sector-specific arbitration rules
• Arbitration clauses in coordination agreements to ensure arbitrability of violations
• Need for dispute resolution mechanisms for disputes relating to physical collisions

b. Space Debris

Space Debris: the problem – crowding of earth orbit and growth of satellite numbers, formation of debris and the need to solve the problem - ESA and UN solutions

Impact on the long-term use of space.

15. This table will have two rotating topics

a. Fair Use

The development of fair use in the visual arts.

From Tintin to Hopper; The Andy Warhol Estate’s appeal against photographer Lynn Goldsmith, the mandatory inclusion of “Pastiche” as an exception to infringement in the EU Directive (EU) 2019/790 on copyright in the Digital Single Market and more.

b. Antiquities / Foreign State

The second topic concerns the impact of the litigation and now appeal of Turkey’s lawsuit against Christie’s and collector Michael Steinhardt over the so-called “Stargazer” figurine. This lawsuit tests the boundaries of sovereign actors asserting cultural property rights outside their borders but in the civil litigation context.

16. "Fake News!" or Free Speech? 

Whether QAnon or Sputnik news, vaccine scaremongering or hate speech, everyone is concerned about the spread misinformation and disinformation online. Are there circumstances where restrictions on speech or bans on specific speakers can be justified? Can such restrictions be reconciled with national or international human rights regimes? Who gets to decide what is fake or real? Members of the Media Law Committee look forward to exploring these topics with you.

Our hot topics round tables are designed to be interactive and will host a series of tables where we will discuss ‘late breaking’ topics in the areas of international commerce, trade, franchising and product law. The topics are selected to be of current interest and likely to stimulate discussion and debate. Moderators at each table introduce and briefly discuss the table topic and then participants weigh in with their views. You have the opportunity to discuss three topics. We have scheduled turnover times when the participants change tables to move to the next topic of their choice. By participating in the table discussions, you gain a greater insight into these areas and the other participants and table moderators benefit from your comments. In a final wrap-up afterwards for all participants the moderators share the highlights of their tables. The session provides you with a great opportunity to meet many other lawyers and discuss topics of mutual interest with them. Many times at our session, participants meet lawyers from other countries who they keep in touch with for years to come. Every year our table moderators comment that they ‘learnt as much or more’ from the table participants as they themselves conveyed.