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🇫🇷 La veritable Privacy by design, Conference Automobile Connectee – Journal de l’Automobile, Paris

Paris Stepping into London’s Fintech Shoes?

February 27th, 2017 | Posted by Claude-Etienne Armingaud in France | IT | Legislation - (0 Comments)

Despite the lack of announcement by UK Government to give notification to the EU under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty of its decision to withdraw from the Union, France is already making its move to move into the steps of the former Fintech capital of Europe. On January 25-26, 2017, more than 1,500 people attended the second edition of the Paris FinTech Forum, encompassing more than 28 countries and 130 companies, from global players to startups.

The irony of the event location, set in the historical venue of the former Paris Stock Exchange building, was not lost to the Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau who wondered “Who would have imagined just a few years ago that a central banker would be speaking at a forum on innovation?” before recognizing that “For banks and insurers, the digital revolution is upsetting the traditional model for client relations” and “there are difficult choices ahead.”

In addition to Fintech – both in their classic understanding of technological innovation applied to the finance industry to more disruptive models, the Forum also gave the opportunity to demonstrate the blossoming RegTech scene. RegTech encompasses all added-value solutions which make it easier for banking services to ensure compliance with applicable regulation, be it for the KYC or AML purposes. Blockchain based solutions also departed from their original Bitcoin association to showcase a broad range of innovative services, from identity control to supply-chain management.

While investments, both in terms of number of operations and invested amounts, have been slightly decreasing in 2016, the Paris Fintech Forum was a proud statement that the market was maturing into products ready to hit the market on a large-scale basis.

The Paris Fintech Forum showcased the strong interest of the French current Government in blockchain technology (see NewsBTC article here), in the wake of the uncertainty surrounding the consequences of the Brexit announcement (see Business Mirror article here). However, France itself will be facing a general election next April and uncertainty may also prevail until then on the continent.

First publication: K&L Gates F i ntech Law Watch

Electronic Money: The French Government Strengthens Financial Intermediaries’ Obligations

On November 10, 2016, the French Government issued a decree against the financing of terrorism which contains various measures addressing anonymous electronic money [source in French]. This new regulatory measure applies to electronic money issuers as well as their distributors, credit institutions, finance companies, consumers, and to any person who physically transfers money from a certain amount.
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French CNIL Reveals the Scope of its Connected Car “Compliance Package”

October 7th, 2016 | Posted by Claude-Etienne Armingaud in Connected Cars | Europe | France | Privacy - (0 Comments)

On 3 October 2016, during a conference organized by the French Comity of Car Manufacturers (“CCFA”) during the Paris Motor Show, Mrs. Sophie Nerbonne, the Compliance Director of the French Data Protection Authority (“Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés” or “CNIL”), hosted a press conference in the ongoing fact-gathering for the CNIL’s “compliance package on connected vehicles” (link – in French) on the basis of the Act no. 78-17 dated 6 January 1978, relating to information technology, data files and civil liberties.

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Legal 500 2016 – EMEA Ranking – Industry focus: IT, telecoms and the internet – Band 3

K&L Gates is ranked in the Industry focus: IT, telecoms and the internet ranking as Band 3

“Headed by E. Drouard, K&L Gates LLP’s six-lawyer team assists major companies with digital transformation, outsourcing matters and IT systems integration. It also advises on cutting-edge data protection matters. Altarea-Cogedim Group and Voyages-SNCF.com are clients, as are a number of luxury goods manufacturers and advertising groups. Senior associate Claude-Etienne Armingaud is another name to note.”

Source: Legal 500 EMEA

rankings

The French Take On The Blockchain

March 30th, 2016 | Posted by Claude-Etienne Armingaud in Blockchain | France | Legislation - (0 Comments)

On March 24, the French National Assembly hosted a day-long conference on “Blockchain: Disruption and Opportunities.”

This event aimed at raising awareness of the French elected representatives and corporate executives on blockchain issues and potential uses for the digital transformation of society as a whole.

The closing statement provided by Emmanuel Macron, the French Minister of Economy, Industry and Digital Economy, was subsequently echoed by his announcement on March 29 of the upcoming adaptation of the French finance regulatory framework in order to progressively allow the introduction of the technology.

This adaptation should first open up to experimentation on the mini-bond market, to be expanded to other tools.

Mr. Macron stated that he was “aware of the importance of the disruptive potential of the blockchain” while the regulatory framework was limited by the current French and European regulations, which prevented the use of the blockchain “in real-life situations, i.e. with real clients and not exclusively in closed beta test scenario within a given financial institution.”

It was also announced that a ministerial ordinance had just been submitted for review to the French Administrative Supreme Court (“Conseil d’État”) to allow for such experimentation in the coming weeks.

First published on K&L Gates FinTech Law Blog.

Automated Vehicles – Comparative views across the Pond

January 29th, 2016 | Posted by Claude-Etienne Armingaud in Connected Cars | Europe | Privacy - (0 Comments)

While the Obama administration just announced that the financing of the autonomous car would be one of its last projects during the Detroit Auto Show, the research services from the European Parliament also published a prospective note on a similar topic.

The two projects share a same ambition: reduce the death toll on the roads as well as energy consumption. (more…)

Big Data, Concurrence, Données Personnelles, e-Commerce, Europe, Gouvernement, Internet, Législation, livre numérique, Régulation

Did the ECJ Kill the Safe Harbor Framework on E.U.-U.S. Data Transfers?

October 6th, 2015 | Posted by Claude-Etienne Armingaud in Case Law | Data Transfer | Europe | Privacy - (0 Comments)

On October 6, 2015, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) ruled in the “Schrems”case that the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor framework on the transfer of personal data from Europe to the United States, was invalid.

For the past 15 years, this Safe Harbor framework gave privileged status to U.S. companies, allowing for such entities to “self-certify” that they complied with privacy standards negotiated between the European Commission and the United States Department of Commerce under the Clinton Administration in 1999, and were viewed as “adequate” by the EU. Effective immediately, today’s ruling may force all of the 4,400 U.S. entities that currently relying on the Safe Harbor to access the data of their EU partners and subsidiaries, to seek alternate modes of data transfer or risk non-compliance with EU data protection requirements.
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🇫🇷 L’avocat à l’ere numerique, FNUJA de Draguignan

Creation of a new industrial property right in France: the IGPIA

June 4th, 2014 | Posted by Claude-Etienne Armingaud in France - (0 Comments)

The French law no.2014-344 on consumer protection, named “Hamon Act” (for the name of the Ministry in charge of this reform) and dated March 17, 2014, creates a new industrial property right: the “Geographical Indications protecting Industrial Products and Crafts” (or “Indications Géographiques protégeant les Produits Industriels et Artisanaux”, herein, “IGPIA”). Until now, the protection of geographical indications was reserved, both at French and European level, to agrofood products, leaving aside the industrial and handicrafts products, whose quality is related to a specific know-how linked to their geographical origin. The IGPIAs cover well-known products, such as Quimper pottery, Limoges porcelain, Basque linen or Calais lace. Nine new provisions have been added to the French Intellectual Property Code (IPC), in order to clarify the implementation mechanisms for the management and the protection of IGPIAs.

La loi n°2014-344 relative à la consommation, dite « Loi Hamon » du 17 mars 2014, vient de créer un nouveau de droit de propriété industrielle : les « Indications Géographiques protégeant les Produits Industriels et Artisanaux » (IGPIA). Jusqu’ici la protection des indications géographiques n’était réservée, tant au niveau français qu’européen, qu’aux produits agroalimentaires, laissant de côté la qualité des produits industriels et artisanaux, issue d’un savoir-faire lié à leur origine géographique. Les IGPIA visent des produits reconnus tels que la faïence de Quimper, la porcelaine de Limoges, le linge basque ou encore la dentelle de Calais. Ce sont ainsi neuf dispositions qui ont été ajoutées au Code de la Propriété Intellectuelle (CPI), afin de préciser les mécanismes de mise en œuvre de la gestion et de la protection des IGPIA.