Jurisdiction(s):
European Union

EU IoT legal issues: telecoms, APIs, IP and SEPs, standards/interoperability, competition, consumer rights, product safety/liability, accessibility, contracting (excluding data protection and cybersecurity)

Published by a LexisNexis EU Law expert

Practice notes

The Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things refers to everyday items—not just conventional computing kit like laptops and mobiles—connected to the internet. Related terms include connected devices, smart objects, the internet of services, machine‑to‑machine (M2M) technology, sensor networks, the network of networks, and pervasive or ubiquitous computing. IoT covers objects as varied as running shoes, buildings, cars, fridge‑freezers and drones. With embedded technology, these items can interact and share data online with one another, the user, the service provider and/or their environment, and they can be monitored and controlled remotely.

This Practice Note introduces IoT technology in the EU and considers:

The technology underpinning the IoT
Identifying the legal issues
Application programming interfaces (APIs)
Telecommunications and electrical equipment
Intellectual property—overview
Intellectual property ownership and licensing issues
Competition law
Consumer protection
Product safety and liability
Compliance requirements
The appropriate contracting model
Additional legal issues

This Practice Note does not address data protection, privacy or cyber security. These are covered separately in Practice Note: Internet of things...

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Matthew Hunt

Bristows

Matthew is an associate in the Competition & EU department at Bristows LLP, based in London.Matthew has been involved in a number of high-profile cases in the TMT sector. He was part of the team defending Google against an abuse of dominance claim brought by the online mapping company Streetmap, as well as the team representing Samsung in litigation issued by Unwired Planet relating to 'FRAND' aspects of standard essential patent licensing. He is currently involved in a number of on-going FRAND disputes, both for SEP holders and implementers.Matthew has significant experience dealing with the practical issues that arise during litigation, particularly in relation to: confidentiality; privilege; co-ordinating litigation across jurisdictions; and overlapping European Commission investigations, including disputes as to whether claims are follow-on or standalone. He has also spent time on secondment to the in-house litigation team of a leading...

Pat Treacy

Bristows

Pat Treacy is a partner in the Competition team at Bristows LLP. Pat has specialised in EU law and competition law for almost 30 years and has been involved in landmark cases at EU and national level. In addition to her expertise across the range of competition law, she has particular strengths in advising on the complex legal and policy issues arising where competition law and intellectual property law intersect. Consequently, clients in high technology sectors including life sciences and TMT seek her advice regularly. Pat represents clients before the competition authorities and the courts, whilst also advising on competition law issues in complex agreements (including settlement, R&D and licensing agreements). Pat advises many of the Firm's clients on the competition law responsibilities affecting dominant companies. She and her team assist clients with competition compliance programmes and preparation for "dawn...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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