Brussels IP & Tech Update - Smart buildings, AI guides, global telehealth and new rules against late payments

In our last edition of 2021, we share with you our latest white paper on Smart buildings. We also highlight the Belgian government’s new policy on public procurement contracts and provide a brief update on the amended rules against late payments in commercial transactions.

We introduce you to some of our latest valuable resources including our global sustainability report 2020/2021, the newly launched Global Telehealth Comparison Guide, the AI Scorebox, our EU AI Regulation Handbook and much more.

Lastly, we wish you a happy holiday season and thank you for your trust this year. We look forward to bringing you more of our latest intellectual property and technology related publications and insights in 2022.

Smart Buildings: Legal concepts of connected constructions - This white paper discusses buildings of the future and highlights the legal considerations and impact of digitalisation of real estate from a daily operational perspective. It explores business opportunities and challenges this transformation presents to the construction industry concerning data protection, cybersecurity, contracting and property law. You can download a copy of the report here.

Stronger focus on ESG in future federal public procurement contracts - The Belgian federal government has approved its new policy for procurement of goods and services by federal public bodies in the period 2021-2023. Here we touch on the content of the new policy and the consequences it may have on your business.

Update on modification of the Belgian act on combating late payment in commercial transactions - On 15 July 2021, the Act of 2 August 2002 on combating late payment in commercial transactions was modified. This Act intended to address companies’ liquidity problems caused by the late payment behaviour of their business customers. In summary, the new act stipulates that (i) the payment term agreed between parties in all commercial transactions will be limited to 60 days maximum, irrespective of the companies’ sizes; and (ii) the acceptance or verification procedure for the conformity of goods or services must be included in the maximum payment term of 60 days. The new act will enter into force on 1 February 2022. If you would like further information or assistance regarding any update of your terms and conditions and long-term contracts, please email or speak to your usual DLA Piper contact.

Our presence at COP26 – Every country has a role to play in addressing climate change, but many lack resources to fully engage in a process that is so complicated. Since 2012, over 40 lawyers from 15 DLA Piper offices around the world have provided research, advice and negotiation support to increase Georgia’s capacity and represent its interests in U.N. climate talks through New Perimeter, our global pro bono initiative. At COP26, once again we supported Georgia, representing its interests in the U.N. climate talks.

Our sustainability report 2020/2021 – Find out how we are currently addressing the sustainability and environmental, social and governance (S&ESG) issues that are most important to our firm and to our stakeholders. This report shows a snapshot of our activities throughout the year May 2020 to April 2021.

DLA Piper sets science-based target to halve all emissions by 2030 - DLA Piper International has set a science-based target to halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 2019/20 pre-pandemic levels. Approved by the Science Based Target initiative, the target spans DLA Piper’s entire value chain, including indirect emissions from the firm’s supply chain and covers all international offices including the Belgian offices. Read more.

Valuable resources

Global Telehealth Comparison Guide – There are enormous opportunities in the telehealth space for businesses already operating in this field, businesses considering expanding into telehealth and start-ups. This global comparison guide covering over 50 jurisdictions provides an overview of the current state of telehealth regulations worldwide and assists readers to identify the opportunities, challenges and risks, on a country-by-country basis. It is an easy to use interactive comparison site that simplifies cross-jurisdictional comparison, and allows you to download a PDF of the information you require. Access our updated Global Telehealth Guide here.

AI Scorebox is now live - Our newly developed AI Scorebox is a global tool used to determine an organisation's AI maturity, which is benchmarked against other organisations in their sector. We do this in two ways: firstly, by looking at the organisation's AI maturity overall and secondly, by looking at their maturity with regard to a particular AI solution. Get started now.

EU AI Regulation Handbook – In this handbook, we help you navigate the new AI Regulation by placing it in context, examining its key provisions, and considering how businesses looking to deploy AI solutions in the near future can adopt 'compliance by design' principles to ensure readiness for the new regulatory landscape.

We would like to hear from you

Do you have an intellectual property, technology or data protection related question or a topic you would like us to address in this IP & Tech Update? Please don’t hesitate to e-mail us and we would be more than happy to look into it.

We look forward to receiving your requests and feedback.

Additional resources

Privacy Matters
Insights on global privacy and data protection including latest blogs relating to the Schrems II ruling.

Technology’s Legal Edge blog
The latest insights on the legal developments affecting the technology sector.

TechLaw Video Series
Perspectives on tech and evolving regulatory environment.

Coronavirus Resource Centre
Insights, events and contacts to deliver our proven guidance and direction during these difficult times.

TechLaw Podcast Series
Insights on the impact of tech across sectors and society.

Global Trademark Guide
Addresses some of the challenges in managing global brand protection.