April 28, 2020
Gibson Dunn’s lawyers regularly counsel clients on issues raised by the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are working with many of our clients on their response to COVID-19. The following is a round-up of today’s client alerts on this topic prepared by the Gibson Dunn team. Our lawyers are available to assist with any questions you may have regarding developments related to the outbreak. As always, for additional information, please feel free to contact the Gibson Dunn lawyer with whom you usually work, or any member of the firm’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response Team.
GLOBAL OVERVIEW
As part of the fight against the spread of COVID-19 and desire to effectively lift the lockdown, governments and private companies around the world are considering the use of data driven digital tools, in particular digital tracing solutions. Such tracing technology may serve multiple purposes; among the main ones are: (i) collecting mobile location data in order to model the spread of the virus and measure the effectiveness of confinement measures; and (ii) contact tracing, in order to alert individuals that they have been in close proximity of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
Various initiatives to develop tracing solutions are currently being pursued, including both public and private initiatives, which praise the merits of tracing solutions that have been rolled out successfully in Asia-Pac. On April 21, 2020 the European Data Protection Board adopted its guidelines on the use of location data and contact tracing tools in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak. This Client Alert summarizes the key privacy implications of collecting personal data through tracing tools in Europe.
Read more
Institutions around the world continue to grapple with the intellectual property implications associated with their efforts to facilitate the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of COVID-19. In a prior alert, we discussed recent initiatives promoting the donation of intellectual property rights in connection with businesses’ efforts to combat the pandemic, such as the Open COVID Pledge and the COVID-19 Technology Access Framework, as well as recent efforts to use trademark law to combat alleged price gouging for personal protective equipment (“PPE”). In this Alert, we provide a brief update on these and other initiatives.
Read more
With many companies and law firms implementing work-from-home policies to cope with and help contain COVID-19, the digital trend in the practice of law has only accelerated. Especially now, an increasing number of settlement and contract negotiations are occurring over email. Texas lawyers should be acutely aware of legal developments in our state applying the familiar themes of contract law—such as offer and acceptance—to this digital landscape. Originally published by Texas Lawyer on April 24, 2020.
Read more