Facebook teamed up with Ray-Ban to create Ray-Ban Stories, new smart glasses. The product, which will initially be only available in stores in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy, the UK and the US, is already facing severe scrutiny over privacy concerns. So, how are different privacy watchdogs taking the development of these spectacles? Did Facebook take any steps to respond to privacy concerns? And finally, could the smart glasses come under the radar of privacy watchdogs in the Western Balkans? What are Facebook’s Ray-Ban smart glasses? Smart glasses are not a new technological development. The concept has been around for […]
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China again demonstrated the potential of its impact on the global economy as its actions and signals sent ripples through world markets last week. China’s central bank reiterated last Friday that all cryptocurrency-related transactions are illegal and will be outlawed, delivering the clearest signal yet of the country’s determination to crack down on the industry to “preserve economic, financial and social order”. The move comes after Chinese authorities banned cryptocurrency mining earlier this year. Chinese authorities have said they will coordinate their efforts to ensure the end of cryptocurrency trading. The People’s Bank of China stated that cryptocurrencies may not […]
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We are immensely pleased to announce that our own Ognjen Colić was elected partner at Gecić Law. This is a greatly important milestone marking five years of continued successes. Ognjen’s independent practice joined Gecić Law in 2016, complementing its corporate arm and contributing to the strengthening of common values. Ognjen has since headed our Corporate/M&A, Labor and Energy, Infrastructure & PPP practices, taken them from strength to strength and will continue driving their growth as a partner. Ognjen’s career path has been remarkable, with more than fifteen years of professional experience across the Western Balkans (Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, North […]
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The European Union (“EU”) will launch a project called Global Gateway, European Commission (“EC”) President Ursula von der Leyen said during her latest State of the Union address. The project will aim to bring the EU closer to its partners worldwide. Besides revealing plans for the Global Gateway, the commissioner also announced her Western Balkans trip. The fact that the two topics were brought to light in the annual EU policy speech may mean that the Global Gateway could bring more investments from the EU to the region. Commenting on the project, Von der Leyen added that the bloc wants […]
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The Irish Data Protection Commission (“DPC”) fined Facebook’s WhatsApp with EUR 225 million in its latest EU data protection ruling. The fine is the second largest of its kind in the EU. So far, only Amazon paid more in a privacy case in the EU. The DPC said in its ruling on September 2 that WhatsApp’s policies were not in line with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), noting it registered breaches of Article 5(1)(a) as well as Articles 12 through 14. The breaches particularly include the provision of information and the transparency of that information to both users […]
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The struggle for existing and new users between companies that develop applications is relentless as our lives have been practically moved to the Internet over the years. It seems that the opposing sides do not choose the means anymore, so this is an IP perspective on Instagram Reels vs TikTok. Back in 2010, when Instagram was launched, social media (“SM”) networks were used to post personal content and maintain contacts, and Instagram focused on creating a photo-sharing platform. As the popularity of SM networks increased, sales came into focus and advertising content became a widespread feature. An SM network collects […]
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Why Schrems? The EU’s trust in the processing of personal data seems to be shaken. With the famous case Maximillian Schrems v Facebook Ireland Limited pending before the Austrian Supreme Court (“Court“) for a while now, Maximillian Schrems requested the Court to refer four questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU“) concerning the lawful use of personal data of all Facebook users from the EU. So, who is Maximilian Schrems? Maximillian Schrems is a law student from Austria and a personal data protection activist who has been extremely vocal about data protection before EU authorities. […]
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We live in the era of digitalization. Changes in technology inevitably affect our lives. One such innovation in Serbia are digital assets, which can be virtual / cryptocurrencies or digital tokens. Although the local legislation has only recently recognized this institute, an increasing number of companies that operate in Serbia now work in the sphere of cryptocurrencies. The Digital Assets Act (the “Act”) provides options and opens many doors for the use of digital assets, primarily cryptocurrencies. Therefore, the question whether cryptocurrencies are our future or our present arises. Opportunities for the use of cryptocurrencies are yet to be fully […]
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, our usual work habits changed completely. From the well-established mechanism of going to the office, we moved to an armchair in our living room. Are we now returning to work from business premises? What are the conditions for us to return to the office? What are employers allowed to do to implement occupational health protection measures and what are they not allowed to do? All these issues have not yet been fully resolved, although it is evident that their resolution is becoming increasingly important day by day. For this reason, the Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veterans’ […]
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In April, the Commercial Court of Madrid (“Court”) granted provisional measures forbidding FIFA and UEFA to adopt, any type of actions against the so-called European Super League (“ESL”) or against the teams and players participating in the newly proposed European football competition during the course of the main proceedings (Gecic Law has already given legal insight on this topic). Before the measures, the ESL sent a letter to FIFA and UEFA officials calling for cooperation, but also warning that they had taken legal actions to prevent and nullify any efforts to block their project. The Madrid Decision The Court […]
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