Artificial intelligence

Our corporate team advises on acquisitions and/or financing rounds of AI and machine learning firms. Our commercial IT team has considerable experience helping clients license automation tools and other machine learning software in and out of their businesses, including in the context of outsourcing and digital transformation projects. Bristows has also acted on a number of collaboration partnerships between academic institutions and technology companies.

• Advising a leading developer of AI software on arrangements to facilitate use of the AI in hospitals to analyse patient data in order to predict which patients are, when admitted, at high risk of renal failure.
  Advising a Swiss provider of AI software designed to assist in the identification and development of novel therapeutics, on the negotiation of contracts with universities and research institutes for the development, training and refinement of the AI software.
• Advising WPP on its acquisition of a Satalia, a global leader in enterprise AI. Our advice covered legal issues arising from the design and deployment of Satalia’s AI products, including protection of IP assets, data inputs and outputs and compliance with the proposed EU AI Regulation.
• Advising an AI drug discovery client in relation to financing rounds, debt finance work and reorganisation of its company group. Advising on and drafting a strategic software assignment and licence in respect of the client’s machine learning models for use in drug discovery and research.

Competition law impacts on all the constituent elements of AI, including tangible (e.g. server chips), intangible (e.g. data and algorithms) and human. Competition regulators around the world have focussed their investigations on theories of harm such as foreclosure (including killer acquisitions), self-preferencing and discriminatory behaviours.

Our competition team has extensive experience in advising clients active in the AI space on the implication of EU and UK competition law. For example, the team has advised clients in generative AI on their responses to competition regulators and on competition law compliance when sharing information or collaborating with others. Our many years of experience in supporting technology companies with all of their UK and EU competition law needs gives us the tools we need to understand the issues and to assist companies working with AI to assess and manage competition law risk.

Transactions involving companies engaged in AI often trigger merger control notification requirements and may also require mandatory foreign direct investment notifications e.g. under the UK National and Security Investment Act 2021 (“UK NSIA”). We have counselled companies on the UK NSIA notification requirements and achieved clearances in a number of transactions, including a recent instance involving AI.

We have extensive experience advising on the privacy implications of AI technologies for both suppliers of AI technologies and those looking to utilise AI within their business. Our experience spans business and consumer technologies that depend on AI, including biometrics and facial recognition; medical diagnostic tools; and fraud prevention. As regards Generative AI in particular, we have supported on the launch of GAI tools for consumers and in the research community as well as advising on a multitude of privacy issues in the context of AI, including regulatory engagement, lawful basis, data subjects rights and user transparency. Our work also includes advising on AI ethics, for example helping clients create AI ethics principles and internal policy documentation.

The employment team are well-versed in advising clients on the risks, considerations and opportunities for employers and recruitment businesses arising from the use of AI in the workplace. In particular, the team have advised clients on the employment considerations (both legal and practical) arising from the utilisation of AI to facilitate recruitment and manage employee performance as well as helping clients to design and implement appropriate policies to address employee use of AI.

We act for some of the leading technology companies in AI drug discovery, as well as the AI teams of established pharmaceutical clients. Our work includes advising on all areas of the machine learning value chain in the life sciences sector, including intellectual property ownership, complex licensing arrangements and strategic partnerships and collaborations. We also specialise in data protection and regulatory advice in relation to using clinical study data and biobank data for machine learning training datasets.

• Advising Exscientia, an AI drug discovery company using patient-first artificial intelligence (AI) to discover better drugs, faster on a number of matters. One highlight includes a global project (30 countries) related to the establishment of a tumour cell bank using cells from prestigious cancer hospital and research institutes worldwide.
• Advising LifeArc, a medical research charity, on a data science research collaboration between a leading scientific research focused university and LifeArc relating to a cystic fibrosis research project. Under the collaboration, LifeArc will provide machine learning and analytics services to the University.
• Advising Google DeepMind, a world-renowned AI company, on activities related to several AI models designed to accelerate scientific research and to solve some of the biggest challenges in science. Of particular note is our strategic role in the launch of AlphaFold, the AI system that can predict the 3D structures of over 200 million proteins, which has been hailed as “the most important achievement in AI - ever” and to “spark a medical revolution” in its extensive press coverage.
• Advising a global management consultancy firm regarding misleading statements concerning levels of consent for recording conversations relating to life sciences AI products in the EU. We are also advising on the rollout of AI tools embedded in their products and services, and negotiations with their life sciences customers.
• Advising Genomics England on establishing a partnership with insitro, a drug discovery company, to bring insitro’s embedding search capabilities to Genomics’ genomic and phenotypic database. This presents a UK drug discovery company exciting convergence of artificial intelligence technology with rich genomic and phenotypic data.
• Advising a leading biotech company on the use of sensitive personal data for the purposes of training machine learning algorithms.

We are trusted counsel to some of the biggest names in AI and machine learning. We also work with both established and challenger brands in the technology space on their development and deployment of tools, products and services that are powered by machine learning. Large language models and Generative AI is a particular area of focus for us. Our advice covers a broad range of topics, including commercial contracting, data protection, intellectual property and regulatory matters.

• Advising a leading UK provider of LLM text-to-text products and services for enterprise clients on intellectual property matters.
• Advising a US-based provider of a market leading multi-media messaging app in relation to the roll out of generative AI text-to-image functionality in their flagship product.
• Data protection, corporate and technology contract advice for a provider of a machine learning product in the empathic AI space that uses facial emotion detection to analyse audience sentiment for film and television clients.
• Advising a leading Ed Tech provider in relation to an internal acceptable use policy covering employees’ procurement or development, and use of, Generative AI products and services.
• Advising a leading AI research lab on intellectual property matters associated with the deployment of AI models in virtual and physical robots.
• Advising the NHS Public Procurement Partnership on the wording of Framework and Call off Contract documentation to facilitate the procurement of AI related products by the NHS.