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Global rules on foreign direct investment (FDI)
Cross-border acquisitions and investments increasingly trigger foreign direct investment (FDI) screening requirements.
Canada | Publication | January 17, 2022
With the growth of the high-tech industry worldwide, it is no surprise that more and more transactions involve the transfer of rights to access or control data and derivative data. In our previous update we discussed protecting business data in a commercial context. In the M&A context, this valuable information is either the driving force of the deal or a significant area of risk requiring special consideration, from due diligence to the drafting of substantive provisions of a purchase agreement.
As data has become a larger component of transactions and business, regulators have imposed requirements to address privacy concerns and protect the ownership of personal data. Non-compliance with these restrictions can result in significant unexpected costs in a transaction. At the outset, it is important to get a sense of the following in relation to data and derivative data in a prospective deal:
The results of the due diligence process will inform the key representations and warranties of the deal. Many of the data-specific representations and warranties parallel aspects of due diligence. As such, consider including assurances as to the following:
Vendor counsel should look to include a disclaimer as to data being provided “as is” and/or “with all faults,” and seek to have the purchaser waive any implied warranty of merchantability, fitness, accuracy or completeness.
Data-specific provisions can and should extend to the indemnities section, where they can protect parties from some of the most dangerous and costly risks present in IP and/or data-centric transactions. Given the weight of this section, vendors and purchasers have important vested interests and should come to an agreement on the following suggested items:
As more and more corporations engage with big data and the internet of things, the relevance of data and its derivative sets continues to spread beyond the tech sector and into everything from consumer goods to personal services. With every new transaction we encounter more novel ways in which data is collected and sold. Accordingly, we expect these kinds of considerations to be relevant in not only data-specific transactions but a majority of commercial deals in the future.
Experience in drafting agreements and negotiating these terms can help you better manage these new, blended transactions.
The authors wish to thank Sol Kauffman, articling student, for his help in preparing this IP monitor.
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Cross-border acquisitions and investments increasingly trigger foreign direct investment (FDI) screening requirements.
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On February 2, 2024, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union confirmed that the Committee of Permanent Representatives had signed the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Regulation, referred to as the AI Act. Approval by the EU Parliament followed on 13 March 2024, and the AI Act is likely to appear in the EU’s Official Journal around May 2024. The AI Act aims to establish a stringent legal framework governing the development, marketing, and utilisation of artificial intelligence within the region, thereby marking a significant advancement in the regulation of this burgeoning domain.
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The EU’s Artificial Intelligence Regulation, commonly referred to as the AI Act, is expected to come into force during the summer of 2024 (the AI Act). The AI Act will be the first comprehensive legal framework for the use and development of artificial intelligence (AI), and is intended to ensure that AI systems developed and used in the EU are safe, transparent, traceable, non-discriminatory and environmentally friendly.
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