This Practice Note addresses intellectual property (IP) issues relating to AI in the EU. Like every disruptive technology before it, AI is challenging existing concepts of IP law and inviting a broad discussion on how the EU’s acquis captures and should be applied to AI technology and the evolving issues it presents. The Practice Note provides guidance to AI developers, deployers and users as well as IP rights holders. It explains which IP rights may become relevant throughout the AI lifecycle (development, deployment, use), what legal issues may arise from an EU IP perspective, how IP infringements can be prevented, and what steps rights holders should consider to protect their IP assets in the context of AI. AI raises legal questions well beyond IP, including employment law, financial services regulation and corporate governance, and has an evolving impact on fundamental rights issues. For more information on legal questions around AI arising in other areas of the law, see Practice Notes: • Artificial intelligence in the EU—the key

STOP PRESS: Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 amending Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 and Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 as regards the simplification of the implementation of harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (Digital Omnibus on AI) was published in the Official Journal on 24 July 2026 and entered into force on 27 July 2026. This Practice Note will be updated shortly to reflect amendments to Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, the EU Artificial Intelligence Act. For further information on the changes introduced by the Digital Omnibus on AI, see Practice Note: EU Digital Omnibus—tracker and News Analysis: Digital Omnibus proposal—re-writing the EU's digital rulebook. This Practice Note considers the key legal issues arising in relation to the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in the EU. It looks specifically at the areas of: • Regulating AI in the EU • The EU AI Act • The EU Digital Services Act • Adapting the civil liability rules for digital and AI—the revised Product

The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory (NFJO) have published a briefing paper: AI in the Family Justice System. According to the NFJO the paper aims to prompt discussion and reflection about how artificial intelligence has the potential to improve experiences for families and professionals accessing the family justice system. It also outlines the challenges and risks involved and discusses options for governance supporting safe and fair usage.

STOP PRESS: Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 amending Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 and Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 as regards the simplification of the implementation of harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (Digital Omnibus on AI) was published in the Official Journal on 24 July 2026 and entered into force on 27 July 2026. This Practice Note will be updated shortly to reflect amendments to Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, the EU Artificial Intelligence Act. For further information on the changes introduced by the Digital Omnibus on AI, see Practice Note: EU Digital Omnibus—tracker and News Analysis: Digital Omnibus proposal—re-writing the EU's digital rulebook. Artificial intelligence (AI) is being used with increasing frequency in employment and human resources (HR) contexts. Activities into which AI is being integrated occur throughout the employment lifecycle, covering recruitment, monitoring of employees and performance management. There are high stakes for both job applicants and employees, especially if AI is used for decisions in relation to hiring or promotion. The use of AI by

This Practice Note sets out the UK approach to regulating artificial intelligence (AI) in the UK under its National AI Strategy, including the proposed pro-innovation approach to AI regulation as set out in the UK White Paper and an overview of the relevant approach and guidance in each of the key sectors. For more information on matters related to AI and its regulation, see Practice Notes: • Artificial intelligence and machine learning—an introduction to the technology • Artificial intelligence—data protection • Artificial intelligence—explainability • Artificial intelligence—intellectual property • Artificial intelligence in the workplace • Artificial intelligence in the EU—the key legal issues and Contractual considerations for the procurement of artificial intelligence—checklist. To follow the progress of key legal developments in relation to AI, see Practice Notes: UK artificial intelligence—tracker, EU artificial intelligence—key developments tracker and EU artificial intelligence—horizon scanner. The UK’s National AI Strategy AI is a rapidly advancing technology with significant potential to transform industry and society and drive economic growth. It has therefore been a central focus of successive governments. The

Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies may be deployed across the advertising ecosystem, from optimising programmatic advertising and targeting, to content generation. Indeed, the digital marketing industry has utilised the technology for many years—almost all stakeholders in the digital advertising ecosystem, such as ad exchanges, networks, publishers, social media platforms and advertisers (or their media buying agencies on their behalf) have used AI to a lesser or greater extent to manage media buying budgets, real-time ad bidding and selling, reporting, placement/targeting at scale and the measurement of the success of ads. For more on the use of non-generative AI in digital advertising, refer to Further resources set out below. However, the surge in popularity for generative AI tools and technologies (referred to as ‘AI systems’ in this Practice Note) has revolutionised the industry and disrupted traditional monetisation models, which has resulted in a rise in both opportunities and risks. For example: • publishers of adverts, which typically rely on the number of impressions (sometimes referred to as ‘cost per mille’ or CPM) to generate revenue from ads served on their platforms,

This Practice Note provides a summary of EU data protection law as it applies to the use of artificial intelligence (AI). It focuses on the guidance issued in the EU and does not detail the various strategies and policies in the UK. For more information on UK policies, see Practice Note: Artificial intelligence—data protection. This Practice Note does not consider Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (EU AI Act) in detail. For more information on this act, see Practice Notes: The EU AI Act, EU artificial intelligence—key developments tracker and EU artificial intelligence—horizon scanner. If you are not familiar with AI terminology, Practice Note: Artificial intelligence—glossary of terms for legal professionals provides a glossary of key terms and concepts designed to provide legal professionals with a better understanding of key AI concepts. For a complete list of resources covering AI, see Practice Note: Artificial intelligence (AI) resource kit. Relevance of data protection law to AI Data protection law is technology neutral and the EU General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/679

Explainability has emerged as an important component of ethical and responsible artificial intelligence (AI) and a common requirement of developing AI legislation and regulation. This Practice Note addresses the explainability of AI, covering: • What is AI explainability? • Why is explainability important? • Regulatory guidance on explainability • The legal framework around explainability • An overview of practical techniques to achieve explainability For more on AI, see Practice Notes: • Artificial intelligence and machine learning—an introduction to the technology • Artificial intelligence—data protection • Artificial intelligence—intellectual property • Artificial intelligence in the EU—the key legal issues The AI project lifecycle—a quick guide Negotiation guide—AI contracts and Contractual considerations for the procurement of artificial intelligence—checklist. For AI contract clauses, including dealing with issues related to explainability and transparency, see: AI clauses—Warranties. For a timeline of key legal developments in relation to AI, see Practice Notes: UK artificial intelligence—tracker and EU Artificial intelligence—tracker. What is AI explainability? The nature of artificial intelligence The

The legal technology landscape is evolving rapidly in front of our eyes, creating a whole new vocabulary of AI-related terms and phrases. For those of us who are not product developers or software engineers, it is helpful to define what these terms mean. This Practice Note is designed to provide legal professionals with a better understanding of key artificial intelligence (AI) concepts. For more on the technology behind AI, see Practice Note: Artificial intelligence and machine learning—an introduction to the technology. The Basics • Algorithm: a coded set of instructions for software that solves a problem or performs a computation • Artificial Intelligence (AI): computer software and systems that are capable of demonstrating human intelligence. They can learn, plan, reason or process natural language as they go rather than only relying on pre-programmed tasks, ie, speech recognition, computer vision, translation between (natural) languages, as well as other mappings of inputs. In the UK and EU different approaches have been taken to defining AI. In the UK, there is no single cross-sector statutory definition of AI. The government’s regulatory framework instead characterises AI systems by reference to their

The purpose of this Practice Note is to explain and discuss the interplay between artificial intelligence (AI) (or machine learning) and IP. For the interaction between AI and specific IP rights, see Practice Notes: • Artificial intelligence and trade marks • Artificial intelligence and design • Artificial intelligence and patents • Artificial intelligence and copyright What is artificial intelligence? The term ‘artificial intelligence’ refers to a branch of computer science in which computers are designed to perform in ways which mimic human intelligence, namely the ability to perceive, analyse, learn, reason and deduce. AI has evolved from the original conception of AI in the 1950s to its current flexible and unprecedented state. The original concept focused mainly on AI systems that could be programmed via computer coding with the knowledge of human experts, leading to complex decision trees that non-experts could use to obtain a desired result. An early example of this was the Deep Blue AI system, which was programmed to search through a data bank of possible chess moves, prepared by human

This Practice Note on using artificial intelligence (AI) when conducting court proceedings is aimed at contentious lawyers (solicitors and barristers) conducting court proceedings in the civil courts of England and Wales. It is predominantly aimed at dispute resolution lawyers working in commercial disputes, however, its considerations may also be relevant to those working in the Family and Criminal courts. This Practice Note provides general guidance. Depending on the court in which your matter is proceeding, you may also need to be mindful of additional court specific provisions—see: Court specific guidance below. There are numerous AI software providers which specialise in providing litigation support services, from assisting with disclosure exercises to case analysis and providing metrics on case outcomes. It is not the place of this Practice Note to comment on the applicability or efficacy of such services nor to identify particular service providers. The observations below are intended as a generic set of observations on the use of AI with reference to various tasks undertaken by dispute

An original artistic work attracts copyright and such works means a graphic work, photograph, sculpture, collage, a work of architecture and a work of artistic craftsmanship.