As Christmas swiftly approaches, we send you a subliminal reminder to do that last-minute shopping by sharing an interesting decision of the General Court (GC) of the CJEU in Shopify Inc. v EUIPO (T-222/21).

On 17 January 2023, Getty Images announced that it had initiated High Court proceedings in London against Stable Diffusion Limited for copyright infringement. Separately, a class action lawsuit has been launched in California against the generative AI systems Stability AI, Midjourney and Deviant Art.

The Irish Government has published “Digital Ireland: Connecting our People, Securing our Future.” This is its updated National Digital and AI Strategy, setting out 20 high-level objectives supported by 90 specific deliverables across seven policy areas: public services, enterprise, digital and AI infrastructure, cyber security, digital regulation, online safety, and skills and talent.

The Irish Court of Appeal (Court) has, for the first time, issued general guidance on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the litigation process.

On 21 May 2024, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment launched a consultation on the domestic implementation of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (the “AI Act”). The consultation is intended to inform Ireland’s approach to implementing the AI Act, particularly in relation to the configuration of national competent authorities required for implementation.

The AI Office will implement the future AI Act at EU level and it should become a central coordination body for AI policy at EU level and cooperate with other Commission departments, EU bodies, Member States and the stakeholder community.

On 17 February 2024, the Digital Services Act (the "DSA") comes into full force, requiring all intermediary service providers to consider what action they need to take in order to comply with its terms.

On 11 May 2023 the latest compromise text of the AI Act was voted on by the leading parliamentary committees of the European Parliament.

Making predictions about the future trajectory of M&A markets is always fraught with difficulty. Globally, deal advisers report a healthy pipeline of potential transactions to come, but there can be no guarantee that dealmakers will not turn the tap off once again.