We're sending off 2023 with the news that by the beginning of next year at the latest we will finally have a new European regulation on artificial intelligence (AI) coming into force within two years (the EU AI Act). On 14 June 2023, the European Parliament approved its negotiating position on the EU AI Act and since then, the talks have begun with EU countries in the Council on the law's final form. The EU AI Act is intended as a fundamental and harmonizing legislative text. But is it really so and what do we read between the lines in the new regulation?

The EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) is meant to make digital markets fairer and more competitive. How DMA does this is simple: the European Commission designates the “gatekeepers” (mostly the big tech companies), imposing on them new obligations such as mandatory interoperability of gatekeeper’s services and preventing the gatekeeper from favoring its products and services against similar services or products offered by third parties on the gatekeeper’s platform.

Act Legal Botezatu Estrade Partners has recently announced it welcomed a nine-person team from Consortium Legal – including Partners Stelian Mic, Barna Bolonyi, and Valeriu Timus – in "a friendly integration and a strategic step forward."

On 16 November 2023, the Romanian Government approved the draft law aimed at ratifying the Unitary Patent Court Agreement (“UPCA”). Going forward, the draft law will be sent to the Romanian Parliament for its approval.

Pohla & Hallmagi has successfully advised SG Veteris in obtaining a virtual currency service provider license from the Estonian Financial Intelligence Unit.

Bucharest-based lawyers Claudiu Damian and Costin Teodorovici have launched Whistle Up – a platform to support organizations impacted by the whistleblowing legislation in complying with the newly applicable legal framework.