Technology, Media & Telecommunications

Geo-blocking beware: New EU rules greatly restrict the ability of businesses to use geo-blocking techniques as part of their online sales and marketing strategies

April 2019 – Geo-blocking is no longer a laissez-faire matter in the European Union. From December 2018, a new set of rules apply that limits the use of geo-blocking by online businesses operating in the EU. The Geo-blocking Regulation — as this...

Bulgaria introduces a range of derogations from the EU General Data Protection Regulation

March 2019 – Bulgaria has introduced a set of specific requirements relating to the processing of personal data in addition to the requirements under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”). Such specific requirements (commonly known...

Prague lawyers Zdeněk Kučera and Petr Měšťánek speak at blockchain conference

March 2019 – Zdeněk Kučera, the head of the TMT and litigation practices in our Prague office, and the firm’s regional head of Know-How, Petr Měšťánek, have shared their knowledge of distributed ledger technology at a conference on blockchain...

EUR 50 million fine for GDPR in France. What about CEE?

January 2019 – On 21 January 2019, the French data protection authority — the Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés (“CNIL”) — issued a General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) fine of EUR 50 million against Google...

Kinstellar advises JVC Kenwood on its acquisition of shares in Streamstar

January 2019 – Kinstellar has recently advised the Japanese multinational electronics company JVC Kenwood on its acquisition of shares in the Slovak technology company Streamstar.
Streamstar specialises in the development, manufacture and sales...

Amendment to Czech trademark legislation: additional responsibilities of trademark owners

January 2019 – On 1 January 2019 an amendment to Czech trademark legislation entered into effect. The amendment incorporates applicable EU regulations, and also introduces some country specifics. Below, we summarise the most important changes from a...

Mandatory cyber security standards apply to operators of critical infrastructure, digital and public service providers in Bulgaria

December 2018 – Bulgaria-based operators of critical infrastructure, digital and public service providers must deploy state-of-the-art technology and processes in order to fend off cyber incidents and be able to immediately report unauthorised access...

When freedom of contract slips into an abuse of a stronger bargaining position. The Bulgarian Competition Authority fines A1, the Bulgarian subsidiary of Telekom Austria.

December 2018 – Last week, the Bulgarian competition authority fined A1, the Bulgarian subsidiary of Telekom Austria, a total of BGN 804,340 (approximately EUR 411,252) for abusing its bargaining power by imposing high sales targets on a local distribution...

New European Union regulation promotes free flow of non-personal data and more extensive data aggregation and storage in the cloud

November 2018 – A set of new EU-wide rules facilitating the cross-border free flow of non-personal data within the Union is expected to become effective at the end of 2018 or early 2019.
These rules are intended to remove within the next two...

Kinstellar Counsel Andriy Nikiforov speaks at a roundtable on cryptocurrencies organised by the Ukrainian Bar Association in Odessa

September 2018 – Andriy Nikiforov, Counsel and Head of Kinstellar’s Banking & Finance practice in Kyiv, spoke at a roundtable on cryptocurrencies organised by the Ukrainian Bar Association (UBA) on 31 August 2018. The event took place in Odessa...