Privacy & Security

The amount and types of personal information available on mobile devices, combined with the unique privacy concerns raised by mobile technology, has resulted in mobile privacy emerging as one of the key privacy topics of the year.

Rechtsprechung und Aktuelles

On February 12, 2013, President Obama issued an executive order (the Order) intended to improve the cybersecurity of “critical infrastructure” in the United States.

The new provisions relating to direct marketing and legal assistance for aggrieved individuals introduced by the Personal Data (Privacy) (Amendment) Ordinance 2012 (the "Amendment Ordinance") will take effect on 1 April 2013.

The intersection of individual employee privacy and the proliferation of the use of hand-held devices and smart phones for business purposes, including the increasing popularity of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies, continues to generate thorny questions for employers.

This is a short guide to some of the key legal developments for intellectual property and data protection in 2013.

The developments include proposed changes to copyright law following consultation in 2012, new copyright exceptions, extension of copyright protection for sound recordings, new remedies for UK-registered design owners against innocent infringement, progress of the EU unitary patent package, the UK Patent Box and R&D tax credit coming into effect, the introduction of binding corporate rules for data processors and progress of the proposed new EU Regulation on data protection.

Last month, the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) issued a Guidance Note on the Proper Handling of Customers' Personal Data for the Insurance Industry ("Guidance Note"). The Guidance Note is intended to assist insurers and insurance intermediaries in complying with the requirements under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486) (PDPO) by providing practical guidelines and tips.

Can't celebrities enjoy a private moment with only family and friends? Intellectual Property partner Kenny Wong and senior associate Eugene Low in Hong Kong explain.

This legal update is part of our series of updates to discuss the implications of the Personal Data (Privacy) Amendment Ordinance 2012 ("Amendment Ordinance").

In this legal update, we look at a new criminal offence created under the Amendment Ordinance which prohibits the disclosure of personal data kept by a data user without the data user’s consent.

An example of where this provision applies is where an employee sells personal data obtained in the course of his employment to a marketing company. The new provision in the Amendment Ordinance makes the employee criminally liable for the unauthorised disclosure of the personal data.

Read on to find out how you can manage these risks in the workplace more effectively!

The Personal Data (Privacy) Amendment Ordinance 2012 will come into force in Hong Kong on 1st October 2012.

This legal update is part of our series of updates to discuss its implications for employers and other data users.

In this legal update, we look at a data user's obligations when engaging third party processors such as payroll agents, pension administrators, external IT consultants, and waste disposal/ shredding companies. We also look at ways of discharging these new obligations.

So, if you engage any of these third party data processors, it is time to reconsider your current arrangements with them to ensure you are in compliance with the Amendment Ordinance!

The UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has recently released figures, published by the BBC, which reveal that there are now ten times as many personal data security breaches reported to it compared to five years ago, with 821 data breaches reported between 2011 and 2012 but only 79 reports made between 2007 and 2008.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 47 U.S.C. § 227, prohibits placing calls using an “automatic telephone dialing system” to wireless phone numbers—absent the recipient’s prior consent or an emergency situation—and provides for statutory damages of up to $1,500 per violation.