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In this special LexCast edition, we will be talking about start-up stories as we are not able to do so at our Spring Start-up Stories Night due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Right at the end of 2020, the European Commission published its much-awaited digital regulation proposal – the proposal for the Digital Services Act (“DSA”) and the proposal for the Digital Market Act (“DMA”). The new proposal is intended to modernise the EU E-Commerce Directive, which has been in force for over 20 years. If adopted, the proposal will likely have a wide-ranging impact on digital service providers. Find out what to expect in our summary below and have your voice heard by providing feedback to the European Commission on both the DSA and the DMA by the 15 February 2021.

When you have an idea for a product or start-up ready for execution, but you do not feel like you want to start a business on your own or you simply do not have the necessary funds to do so, you might be looking for co-founders or investors. When doing so, you do not want someone else to learn of your idea and then take it and use it themselves. Therefore, it is important to keep the circle of people you tell about your projects small in the beginning. It is also important to protect the information that you share. In this context, a non-disclosure agreement ("NDA") often comes into play.

As 2020 comes to an end FRORIEP looks forward to 2021 and wonders what it holds. Listen to our specialists from across our offices in London, Zurich, Madrid, Geneva and Zug talking about what they see on FRORIEP’s horizon, what they look forward to and what legal questions they hope will be clarified in the coming year.

In this LexCast, we will be talking about LegalTech and its impact on Swiss firms and in particular Swiss law firms. LegalTech is currently rising all over the world and increasingly enters the traditional legal market. With its Focus Area "AI and Digitalisation" Froriep has already delved into the field of digitalisation and now takes a closer look at LegalTech during this LexCast.

Today, 8 September 2020, the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner ("FDPIC") issued a press release announcing it no longer considers the Swiss-US Privacy Shield regime to provide an adequate level of data protection. The FDPIC has taken its time to consider the July 2020 Schrems II decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union ("CJEU"), which found the EU-US Privacy Shield to be inadequate. It has now issued this decision on the basis of its own annual assessment of the virtually identical Swiss-US Privacy Shield.

On the 16 July 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union ("CJEU") finally rendered its long-awaited judgement in the Case C-311/18, Data Protection Commissioner v Facebook Ireland & Schrems ("Schrems II") on the validity of Standard Contractual Clauses ("SCC") as a transfer mechanism for transferring personal data from the EU/ EEA to third countries under the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"). In its decision, the CJEU considers that the Commission Decision 2010/87 on standard contractual clauses is valid. However, in its decision, the CJEU also ruled on the adequacy provided by the EU-US Data Protection Shield and invalidated the protection afforded by this Decision.

Swiss data protection law also uses the protection of the SCCs and the Privacy Shield as mechanisms for data transfers. Both in Switzerland and the EU many businesses rely heavily on the SCCs and the Privacy Shield for their data transfers to countries outside of the EU/EEA or Switzerland. As a result of the CJEU's judgement, businesses will need to take immediate action or be in breach of data protection laws. Find out in our blog what this landmark decision from the CJEU means for your business.

If you are a start-up or established business providing online intermediation services or offering a search engine for business and corporate website users in the European Union, then you might have to update your terms and conditions because of a new EU Regulation. The Regulation on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services, which enters into effect on 12 July 2020, applies to businesses both in and outside the EU. The Regulation sets out several obligations for service providers, including requirements with regard to the terms and conditions of the service provider.

Find out in our blog whether the Regulation applies to you and how you will have to change your terms and conditions.

The new prospectus regime, including its exemptions, is also applicable to bonds and convertible bonds issued in Switzerland. But even if an exemption to publish a prospectus would apply, there are still some important specialities to be taken into consideration concerning bond offerings in Switzerland and in particular regarding convertible bonds.

The coronavirus pandemic continues to dominate our everyday lives. The Federal Council is now gradually easing the measures and lifting bans. As of 6^th June 2020, further businesses and institutions will be allowed for reopen. 

Artificial Intelligence («AI») has and will continue to have an increasing impact on our everyday lives. Although AI in general is only at its inception phase, when it comes to medicine it already has a track record in particular in terms of pattern recognition. The application of machine learning systems may even help to develop and fight the current Covid-19 crisis. At the same time, this adds to the need to find out how AI should be addressed from a legal perspective, which the European Union («EU») White Paper on Artificial Intelligence intends to outline.

If you have missed our event on shareholder exit and liquidity events on 27 February 2020, check out our latest LexCast on which Leti McManus (Tiger Link Advisors), Vincenzo Braiotta (Grant Thornton) and Benjamin Dürig (Froriep) agreed to share their main takeaways from the event. The podcast is moderated by Cornelia Mattig.

In this episode of LexCast hosted by Froriep, Pascal Mathis and Alex Stöckl of Wingman Ventures, a company helping start-ups to build successful companies, chat with us about their experience with new companies.

Max Schrems, an Austrian privacy activist, has brought yet another data protection case to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The outcome of this case will be decisive for everyone who transfers data to non-EU countries. The decision in the case has the potential to force a wide range of businesses to make huge changes in their data management.

As part of our firms' innovative character, three focus areas have been created, one of them being "Artificial Intelligence and Digitalisation". Aside from growing our core practice, we strongly believe that our clients will have a growing need for competent legal advice in this area, in particular as an increasing number of companies are using Artificial Intelligence (AI), be it to classify and label documents, translate emails, make recruitment decisions, or recommend what to buy or watch next. Aside from the question of how to responsibly implement such technology in businesses, we first need to understand what AI is. As part of our AI series and to help you tackle your next AI project, we have drafted a list of terms that may prove helpful to you.

Work relationships are changing significantly so that we may even speak of an HR transformation. 

Start-up founders often focus on the business and raising capital, whereby they often overlook the basic legal pitfalls when setting up their venture. This creates vulnerabilities for the founders, the investors, but also the business as such. 

In this episode of LexCast hosted by Froriep, Mark Montanari talks with Cornelia Mattig about the newly proposed amendment of the Collective Investment Schemes Act by the Federal Council. The changes are intended to create a new fund category called Limited Qualified Investor Fund. This Fund would not need an authorisation or approval from FINMA nor would it be supervised by FINMA.

In this episode Cornelia Mattig of FRORIEP (host) is discussing together with Ozan Polat and Benedikt Schuppli of Dezentrum as well as Ronald Kogens of FRORIEP's DLT (Blockchain) & Fintech practice group the current legal challenges as well as liability and responsibility questions in relation to decentralised systems and projects.

The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has published guidelines on the use of processing of personal data necessary for the performance of a contract as a legal basis under Art. 6.1 lit. b General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The guidelines are now in the public consultation phase.

The media has given increased coverage to cybersecurity issues over the last couple of months, addressing in particular the US race against China to build the fifth generation of wireless technology (5G technology) and its security aspects. Although there is a widespread worry of increased cyber intrusions once 5G technology is widely available, there is also a huge possibility for new internet-based services. This is because 5G is designed to provide users with a much faster wireless connection allowing for new innovations in different areas (e.g. Internet of Things) to become a more integrated part of our daily lives.

In this episode of LexCast hosted by Froriep, Nicola Benz Managing Partner of FRORIEP talking to immigration law specialist Daisy Vacher about Brexit and Swiss immigration.

A potential reality coming to Switzerland may see every photo or snap protected by copyright; does this mean that there is now remuneration due for every picture on my website or social media site?

The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) following its fourth plenary session on November 16th of this year has published guidelines on the territorial scope of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for public consultation. The public consultation will be organised from 23 November 2018 to 18 January 2019.

Under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), all websites that process personal data must have a link to a data privacy notice that explains what personal data is collected and processed and for what purposes.