European Union: IT and Internet

The EU's Cyber Resilience Act establishes comprehensive cybersecurity obligations for manufacturers, importers, and distributors of products with digital elements. With reporting requirements now in effect and full compliance required by December 2027, economic operators must navigate conformity assessments, incident reporting protocols, and enforcement mechanisms that include substantial penalties for non-compliance.

Denmark is proposing legislation that would ban children under 15 from creating and using login-based profiles on major social media and video-sharing platforms. The draft bill targets Very Large Online Platforms designated by the European Commission, potentially requiring age verification for all users while exempting professional networks and content accessible without login. If passed, these rules are expected to take effect on July 1, 2027.

The EU Cyber Resilience Act establishes cybersecurity as a prerequisite for EU market access, affecting not only hardware products with digital elements but also standalone software. Manufacturers must navigate new conformity assessments, CE marking requirements, and mandatory free security updates during defined support periods. These requirements may force companies to fundamentally rethink their go-to-market processes and pricing calculations.

The European Union's data strategy introduces comprehensive interoperability obligations through the GDPR, Data Act, and Data Governance Act, fundamentally transforming how organizations handle data portability, switching between service providers, and data intermediation services. Organizations providing data processing services and those operating as data intermediaries face new compliance requirements, registration procedures, and operational standards that demand immediate attention and strategic implem

The European Union's Data Act introduces a groundbreaking "access by design" requirement that fundamentally changes how manufacturers must approach product development for connected devices and IoT products. From September 2026, businesses placing connected products on the EU market must ensure users can directly access their generated data by default, shifting data accessibility from a reactive request-based model to a proactive design imperative.

The European Commission is poised to introduce sweeping restrictions on children's access to digital platforms, including social media, video sharing services, AI chatbots, and online games. The proposed EU Kids Act would establish age-based limitations and verification requirements across all EU member states, potentially superseding individual national measures currently under consideration in countries like Ireland.

New cross-border evidence rules take effect in Sweden in August 2026, requiring digital service providers to respond to EU law enforcement orders within strict timeframes. Non-compliance carries penalties of up to 2% of global revenue, making immediate preparation essential for companies offering services to Swedish users.

AI biedt nieuwe mogelijkheden voor onderzoek, analyse en conceptteksten in de octrooipraktijk. Maar hoeveel kunt u aan deze technologie overlaten? Ontdek waarom menselijke expertise essentieel blijft voor een sterke octrooiaanvraag en een doordachte IE-strategie.

Two recent CJEU cases demonstrate how geo-blocking intersects with intellectual property rights in the digital age. The Anne Frank diary case clarifies when geo-blocking can prevent copyright infringement claims, while the PAUSCHA trade mark dispute questions whether domain names can infringe national trade marks when websites are geo-blocked from protected territories.