Eden Legal Blog

EU-US personal data transfers seem set to be permitted to continue under plans agreed between the EU Commission and US authorities. However, details are sketchy and the uncertainty created since the end of the Safe Harbor system seems likely to continue as national Data Protection Authorities and privacy activists remain unconvinced that the prospective scheme properly addresses the key issue of surveillance by US authorities.

UPDATE: On 16 July 2020, the EU Court of Justice decided that the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework could no longer be used to authorise transfers of personal data from the EU/EEA/UK to the USA, and other mechanisms need to be used.

If you are in business you are processing data – so this applies to all of us. We have some time but clearly it would be a mistake to leave preparations until Easter 2018.

(May 2016: edited to include date of application)
(January 2017: edited to reflect draft E-Privacy Regulation)
(May 2018: edited to cover UK “data protection fee”)

“Model Clauses”; “Model Contracts”; “Standard Contractual Clauses”… For international transfers generally they remain entirely useable and legally valid. For transfers to the USA, now that Safe Harbor can’t be relied upon, they may still [December 2015] be the best option while awaiting a decision on what any successor arragements may look like.

The EU Court of Justice has ruled that we can no longer rely on the Safe Harbor scheme in order to permit transfers of personal data from the EU to the USA, whether to a third party or to a group company. If we haven’t already, the most immediate solution is to sign the European Commission’s Model Clauses…

From 1 October 2015, new specific rules apply to supplies of digital content to consumers. Time to review purchase flows and terms and conditions with end users, as well as contracts with suppliers. (Yes, again.)

If we engage an external party to promote our products, then we could inadvertently create a commercial agency relationship and provisions in our contract may be overridden by laws that protect the agent. As ever, Eden Legal’s recommendation is to consider these matters at the outset. However, even after the fact there may be arguments on both sides.

Adam Farr of Eden Legal will be at the Mobile World Congress again in 2015. For 2015 what are some of the legal issues relevant to MWC?

Late payment is a problem for all. But if we are owed money, then late payment of commercial debts legislation may help us to claim interest and costs, and deter customers from delaying payment.

Update August 2016: UK interest rates were cut to 0.25% so the default intrest rate we can charge will be 8.25%.

In emails there seems to be footer “inflation” and a lot of copying from others, without properly considering either the applicable obligations or the advisability of what is being said. Here we try to cut through this to what is legally required and/or useful to have.

All you want to know is what details to put on your website. However, in the UK, the information is spread over various (overlapping) legal provisions.

We don’t want to be over-legalistic or moralistic. But paying a hacker and covering over the problem could turn out to be more damaging to you and your customers than dealing properly with the issue.

Eden Legal’s description of its services prompted one contact to coin the phrase “Legal Department as a Service”. We like that analogy and so here is a not-so-serious run down of some of the similarities – and not so similarities.