Legal News

Advocate General Athanasios Rantos In a non-binding opinion, Advocate General Athanasios Rantos advised that the Court of Justice should confirm the General Court’s earlier ruling dismissing objections by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd and Cephalon Inc. to the penalty the European Commission imposed in 2020. He concluded that the General Court applied the proper test when assessing whether Teva and Cephalon’s 2005 settlement — which ended patent‑infringement litigation between the companies — contravened the EU’s antitrust laws. According to Rantos, the General Court was rightly attentive to the restrictive provisions, namely the non‑compete and non‑challenge undertakings, which in substance required the parties to refrain from entering the market......

Automated decision-making and DSARs: access rights imply a right to explainability ( CK v Magistrat Der Stadt Wiendun & Bradstreet Austria GMBH) CK v Magistrat Der Stadt Wiendun & Bradstreet Austria GMBH, Case C-203/22 What was the background Austrian resident CK was refused a mobile phone contract after an automated credit check by Dun & Bradstreet Austria Gmb H ( D& B) rated her as not creditworthy. Relying on Article 15(1)(h) of the EU GDPR, she sought more detail from D& B on how the assessment was made, including the steps taken. When the Austrian data protection authority asked D& B to give ‘meaningful information’ on the logic underpinning the automated decision that used CK’s personal data, the company shared limited particulars but withheld other aspects, arguing the protection of trade secrets, notably its algorithms. The Federal Administrative Court in Austria ruled that D& B...

In this issue: Competition and state aid Data protection and cybersecurity Free movement, immigration and employment Financial services Energy Environment IP Life sciences International trade Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Trackers Competition and state aid Antitrust— General Court largely dismisses actions against the Commission’s decision concerning cartel in the European Government’s Bond sector; moderately reduces fines imposed on Nomura and Uni Credit The General Court delivered its rulings in Cases T-441/21 UBS Group and UBS v Commission, T-449/21 Natixis v Commission, T-453/21 Uni Credit and Uni Credit Bank v Commission, T-455/21 Nomura International and Nomura Holdings v Commission, T-456/21 Bank of America and Bank of America Corporation v Commission, and T-462/21 Portigon v Commission. These proceedings challenged the Commission’s infringement decision of 21 May 2021 regarding a cartel where seven banks...

TIBER- EU threat-led penetration testing framework Responding to this shift, on 11 February 2025 the European Central Bank released updated guidance for the threat intelligence-based ethical red teaming, or TIBER- EU, threat-led penetration testing framework, aiming further to harmonise operational resilience testing across the European Union. TIBER- EU assesses an organisation’s robustness against advanced attacks by recreating real-world cyber threats informed by threat intelligence. This marks a notable advance. The rapid maturation of complex technologies can create weaknesses and widen an organisation’s attack surface, necessitating a proactive, adaptive cyber security posture. Although established practices such as ethical hacking and penetration testing remain worthwhile, they are no longer adequate on their own to tackle today’s intricate threat landscape. This is increasingly vital as organisations adopt AI-enabled technologies that demand specialised testing approaches to detect and reduce potential...

The UPC Court of First Instance on 21 March 2025 dismissed Mul- T- Lock’s assertion that it lacked authority to assess alleged infringement of IMC Creations’ lock‑mechanism patent in the UK, Spain and Switzerland—jurisdictions outside the unitary patent regime. Mul‑ T‑ Lock’s objection—that the non‑ UPC status of the UK, Spain and Switzerland precluded such scrutiny—was therefore refused. Relying on the Court of Justice’s February 2025 decision in BSH Hausgeräte Gmb H v Electrolux AB, Case C‑339/22, the UPC Paris Local Division confirmed jurisdiction over IMC Creations’ actions against Mul‑ T‑ Lock France and Mul‑ T‑ Lock Switzerland, noting that, as with the court, one of the two defendants is established in France. The court reasoned that a patent proprietor must be able to bring all infringement claims arising across several Member States before a single forum, obtain...

In this issue EU fundamentals Banking and finance Corporate Data protection and cybersecurity Free movement, immigration and employment Financial services Energy Environment IP Life sciences TMT International trade Daily and weekly news alerts Trackers New and updated content EU fundamentals European Court of Justice rules on asymmetric jurisdiction clauses ( Società Italiana Lastre Spa v Agora SARL) The Court of Justice confirmed, pursuant to Article 25 of Regulation 1215/2012 ( Brussels I, recast), that asymmetric jurisdiction provisions are valid when favouring the competent courts of EU Member States or members of the Lugano Convention. Where such clauses comply with the mandatory requirements of Brussels I (recast), they are to be considered under that regulation rather than under individual national laws. The clause must set out objective criteria enabling a court seised to determine whether it has jurisdiction. A reference to ‘any other competent court’ is adequate, provided that competence is limited as described above. Società Italiana Lastre Spa v Agora SARL ( Case...

Mojzesowicz told the Annual Conference on European Data Protection Law 2025 that the Polish government, which is presently leading the talks, is ‘very committed’ to concluding them within its term chairing the body representing Member States, a mandate running until the end of June 2025. She noted that the Commission shares this goal, saying there is genuine momentum and a broad recognition of how essential this procedural regulation has become, with everyone acutely aware of its necessity. The timetable, she cautioned, is exceptionally tight, with numerous ‘technical trilogues’, pointing to several March 2025 sessions where outstanding technical points might be settled ahead of a final political......

On 12 December 2024, ESMA released its consultation paper together with draft standards. Stakeholders had until 12 March 2025 to reply to the 22 questions posed. This release provides the first view of: a pan- European regime for open-ended loan-originating AIFs, and the evidence AIF managers may need to present to their home national competent authorities to secure a derogation to offer an open-ended loan-originating AIF The consultation is relevant to managers considering, or already operating, a semi-liquid evergreen loan-originating AIF in Europe. The consultation’s outcome, and the ensuing final standards, will influence whether European open-ended loan-originating AIFs can compete effectively on the global stage. Growth in semi-liquid evergreen funds In recent years, appetite has risen among fund managers and investors for evergreen vehicles pursuing illiquid strategies—such as private credit and private equity—that still provide some liquidity during the fund’s term. These hybrid funds often...

In a judgment issued on 12 March 2025, the court found that the EU Intellectual Property Office was correct to reject evidence submitted by Lidl Vertriebs- Gmb H & Co KG concerning the prior public disclosure of one of its lightbulb designs, and it dismissed the appeal in full. Lidl Vertriebs- Gmb H had asked the EUIPO to invalidate the design owned by Taiwanese company Liquid Leds, arguing the German company’s case that it lacked the 'individual character' required for IP protection. Lidl specifically maintained that the Taiwanese firm’s bulb was essentially the same as earlier designs that had already been made public before the Taiwanese company filed its application. The EUIPO rejected Lidl’s claim, prompting the company to appeal. However, the Board of Appeal dismissed the challenge after officials determined that the earlier designs......

Developers behind the most capable AI systems are encountering an updated EU code of practice that shifts from prescriptive rules to results‑focused expectations. The European Commission’s AI Office issued the third, and penultimate, draft on 11 March 2025, introducing revisions to give providers room in how they achieve the code’s safety aims, while removing key performance indicators. The code is scheduled to be finalised by 2 May 2025. Serving as a compliance tool for organisations such as Open AI and Anthropic that create general‑purpose AI models considered by the EU AI Act to carry ‘systemic risks’, the code obliges providers of general purpose AI ( GPAI) models with systemic risks to put in place a safety and security framework setting out risk assessment, mitigation measures, and governance arrangements. In the latest draft, model providers are asked to define the criteria by which they will judge...

In this issue: EU fundamentals Commercial Competition and state aid Financial services Energy Environment IP Life sciences TMT International trade Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Trackers EU fundamentals European Commission releases March 2025 infringement package The European Commission has released the March 2025 infringement package, identifying the EU Member States it is pursuing for breaches of obligations under EU law. This tranche covers letters of formal notice, reasoned opinions, and referrals to the Court of Justice directed to Estonia, Italy, Hungary, France, Poland, Czechia, Germany, Croatia, Latvia, Slovakia, Finland, Bulgaria, Greece, Belgium, Spain, and others, in relation to a range of directives and regulations, including the Medium Combustion Plants Directive, the Free Movement Directive, the Firearms Directive, the Package Travel Directive, and the European Arrest Warrant Framework...

The EU General Court confirmed an earlier ruling that the sign applied for by Shorts International Ltd merely describes most of the goods and services listed in its application, notably short films. The judges observed that it is standard practice to use the term 'shorts' to mean short films. They also highlighted that particular film festivals are devoted to works described as 'shorts', reinforcing that convention within the industry. The specification includes services that are likely to relate to, or have as their subject matter, short films; in those circumstances, the word 'shorts' would directly indicate one of their characteristics, namely their brief duration, the court added. Shorts International, based in London, sought a trade mark in 2021 covering a broad range of purposes linked to film and television content. However, EU trade mark examiners refused that application in 2023 for the...

Background The European Green Deal remains under active negotiation and amendment, reopening debates on established sustainability rules including the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive ( CSRD), effective from 5 January 2023, the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive ( CS3D), effective from 24 July 2024, and the EU Taxonomy Regulation. On 8 November 2024, President von der Leyen unveiled an ‘omnibus simplification package’ (the Omnibus) to rationalise these frameworks, reflecting the Draghi report’s view that streamlining could enhance EU competitiveness. The Commission’s Competitiveness Compass, released on 29 January 2025, pledged to cut reporting burdens, with a particular focus on SMEs. Further specifics followed in the 2025 Work Programme of 12 February 2025. The Omnibus itself was issued on 26 February 2025 and now proceeds through the legislative pathway... What are the key impacts of the Omnibus proposal? In this note, we flag initial...

The European Commission has released the third version of the Code of Practice for GPAI models, intended as a key voluntary instrument enabling firms such as Google and Open AI to show alignment with the EU AI Act. Stakeholders in the talks have until 30 March 2025 to submit written comments, before a fourth and final draft that is anticipated to carry only relatively modest adjustments. See: LNB News 11/03/2025 62. Independent experts steering the Code have altered course from the previous edition, removing the key performance indicators that were designed to evidence compliance with the various commitments. The updated draft acknowledges that the Code should be read alongside guidance to be issued by the Commission’s AI Office, and also states that signatories will be expected to provide regular reports to the Commission on how the Code is being...

The secondary legal Act sets out a series of alterations when compared with the draft that was published for public consultation in October 2024 (see: LNB News 21/10/2024 6), notably concerning the way the panel will operate, the manner in which tasks are undertaken, and the level of support afforded to national authorities. Panel operation The condition for the Commission to appoint scientific experts—previously framed as an absence of any conflict of interest—has been narrowed to a focused requirement of independence from any general‑purpose AI model provider, rather than a blanket prohibition on any potential interest. As the Act states, ‘the expert shall be neither an employee nor party to a contractual arrangement with such a provider for the duration of the term’. Accordingly, activity for entities outside the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence ( GPAI) market, as well as for right holders or think tanks, is not...

On 6 March 2025, the European Banking Authority ( EBA), in draft advice to the European Commission on how to operate the AML regime, observed that enforcement by national supervisors is inconsistent. It put forward a set of common indicators to judge the gravity of breaches. The authority also explained that the proposed regulatory technical standards, which sit alongside the core AML rules, would oblige regulators to rate each infringement within one of four tiers, arranged by increasing seriousness......

Advocate General Maciej Szpunar advised the Court of Justice that, although the look of such designs might appear a marginal consideration because functionality dominates, EU judges ought to assess the ‘degree of freedom’ open to a designer when deciding if modest visual distinctions between designs suffice to create a different overall impression for the informed user. The dispute arises from an infringement action brought in Hungary by Danish toy maker Lego A/ S, which claims a local business attempted to import construction sets violating one of Lego’s registered designs. The design at issue concerns a toy-building ‘coupling component’ described in court papers as a cylinder with studs together with two axles of cross-section profile. The Budapest High Court rejected Lego’s request to seize the sets, concluding that the design’s ‘creative scope’ was extremely narrow because the shape was wholly determined by its...

The current regime applicable to AI-related products—the EU product liability directive The governing product liability framework for AI-related products is Directive 85/374/ EEC, the EU Product Liability Directive ( EU PLD). In addition, claimants may pursue claims based on contractual liability or other forms of non-contractual liability that fall outside the scope of the EU PLD. Directive ( EU) 2024/2853, the revised EU Product Liability Directive ( Revised EU PLD), will apply to products first placed on the market or put into service after 9 December 2026. Products placed on the market before that date will remain subject to the existing EU PLD until its repeal takes effect on 9 December 2026. Under the EU PLD, consumers can obtain redress where they prove a defect in a product, personal damage or property damage (excluding the product itself), and a causal connection between the defect and the...

The General Court of the European Union dismissed Ponomarekno’s challenge, rejecting his claim that the Council had relied on false information in finding connections to Putin, as well as his contention that the adverse impact of the sanctions on him lacked justification. The judges ultimately ruled that, on the available material before it, the Council was entitled—without assessment error—to treat the applicant as giving support to a Russian decision-maker. They also concluded that the sanctions’ consequences overall were justified by their aims, to exert pressure on Putin to end the war in Ukraine......

In this issue: Competition and state aid Data protection and cybersecurity Dispute resolution Free movement, immigration and employment Financial services Energy Environment Insurance and reinsurance IP Life sciences Regulatory International trade Lex Talk®EU Law: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Trackers Competition and state aid The European Commission has opened a public call for views on competition rules governing vertical agreements in the motor industry, covering Regulation ( EU) 461/2010 (the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation ( MVBER)) and the related Supplementary Guidelines. This review forms part of a continuing assessment intended to keep the framework in step with developments such as digitalisation and evolving mobility patterns. Stakeholders may submit observations until 23 May 2025. See: LNB News 28/02/2025 41. The...