A Practice Note highlighting issues to consider when counseling a prospective buyer of an AI company. This Note discusses the primary due diligence issues relating to AI and machine learning (ML) and strategies to mitigate or allocate risks in the context of an M&A transaction. This Note is also helpful for AI company targets that seek to anticipate potential issues. In this Note, the term AI company refers to a company involved in the research, development, or monetization of a product or service that is primarily powered by an ML algorithm or model that creates functionality or utility through the use of AI.

Read the full article on Practical Law, written in collaboration with by Annette Becker, Alex V. Imas, Jake Bernstein, Mark H. Wittow, Melanie Bruneau, Marion Baumann, Kenneth S. Knox, Julie F. Rizzo, Cameron Abbott, Thomas Nietsch, and Nicole H. Buckley.

Speaker at Virtual France and Milan Joint KnowledgeNet: 28 March 2024

Topic:

Beyond Paywalls, Cookies and Web Scraping: Navigating the new frontiers of data privacy and digital consent under GDPR and e-privacy directive in Italy and France.

Joint event between Paris and Milan KnowledgeNet Chapters regarding recent developments on consent in relation to web scraping and paywall.

Speakers:

Giovanna Fragalà, CIPP/E, Privacy Specialist, RCS mediagroup

Luca Zambrelli, e-business and Digital Director, Dolce&Gabbana

Paul Ouvrard-Arnaud, DPO; Compliance Officer, Dentsu International

Claude-Etienne Armingaud, CIPP/E, Partner, K&L Gates

Language: 

This event will be in English.

Register here

The ‘young and innovative team’ at K&L Gates LLP has a strong reputation in the market for its ability to handle data protection liability issues in M&A transactions and global data protection compliance mandates. Areas of activity for the practice include machine learning, autonomous driving and blockchain-based services. Claude-Étienne Armingaud heads up the team and is described as a ‘fount of knowledge on the subject of privacy and data protection‘. He is frequently sought out by clients from the software industry for assistance with cross-border technology transactions.

Leading individuals: Claude-Etienne Armingaud – K&L Gates LLP

Practice head(s): Claude-Etienne Armingaud

Other Key Lawyer(s): Camille Scarparo

(more…)

Practice head(s): Claude-Etienne Armingaud

(more…)

K&L Gates LLP covers a myriad of IT and internet issues, from GDRP compliance to contract negotiation. The firm is notable for its expertise in IP and data protection matters, as well as, increasingly, AI, NFT and blockchain issues. The practice is led by Claude-Etienne Armingaud, who is dual-qualified in France and the US, and is consequently well placed to handle multi-jurisdictional transactions.

Practice head(s): Claude-Etienne Armingaud

(more…)

Entering Chambers Europe/France TMT: Data Protection ranking as an Up & Coming lawyer.

Client testimonials:

Claude-Étienne has a vision that goes beyond IT into other areas, so he gives multidisciplinary and strategic insights. He is also pleasant to work with and efficient.

He works really efficiently for us; he is really dedicated and clearly passionate about it too.

Source: Chambers Europe

Part IV of our series “Regulating AI: The Potential Impact of Global Regulation of Artificial Intelligence” will focus on recent developments in general availability of AI and how generative AI solutions are leading regulators, at a global level, to consider legal frameworks to protect both individuals affected by AI and digital sovereignty.

The program will feature a panel addressing the EU AI Act, on which a preliminary political agreement was reached last December and unanimously approved by the ambassadors of the 27 countries of the European Union on 2 February 2024, prior to its upcoming final votes.

Like the GDPR before it, the EU AI Act will be a trailblazing piece of legislation which will impact companies at global level.

Our panelists will discuss the consequences of the EU AI Act on companies contemplating the provision of AI solutions in the EU market or leveraging AI in the EU, with a special focus on non-EU companies.

Additional topics in our Regulating AI — The Potential Impact of Global Regulation of Artificial Intelligence series include:  

  • Part I – 13 September 2023 (EU / U.K.) – View Recording
  • Part II – 7 December 2023 (Asia-Pacific Region: China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan) – View Recording
  • Part III – 12 December 2023 (United States)

Register or watch the replay here.

Access the full text of the EU AI Act here.

Join our session as we explore the implications of the EU AI Act. In this webinar, we’ll:

Featured speakers

Yücel Hamzaoğlu​

Partner
HHK Legal

Melike Hamzaoğlu

Partner
HHK Legal

Claude-Étienne Armingaud​

Partner
KL Gates

Noshin Khan​

Ethics & Compliance, Associate Director
OneTrust​

Harry Chambers

Senior Privacy Analyst
OneTrust

Register here.

Quoted in Agenda article “New EU AI Rules Will Have Global Impact“:

The scope of the EU AI Act will apply to all companies whose AI systems are used or affect EU-based individuals, according to Claude-Etienne Armingaud, a partner in K&L Gates’ Paris office and a member of the law firm’s technology transactions and sourcing practice group.

Due to its breadth, global companies developing AI systems, most of which are headquartered either in the U.S. or in China, will face two options: “Get in line with the EU AI Act or abstain from the EU market,” Armingaud said.

Some companies threatened to exit the European market after the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, became effective in 2018, but many didn’t actually follow through, according to Armingaud.

“So, without a doubt, all companies dabbling in AI will need to comply if they truly want to remain global,” he said.

Agenda – New EU AI Rules Will Have Global Impact

New ranking in Who’s Who Data 2024 as Recommended in the Data Privacy & Protection and Information Technology categories.