Long Read: AI, “Digital Twin Tech” and Fashion – An Update

 
It has recently been reported in the press that the retailer, H&M, will be producing digital replicas of 30 fashion models and using them in an upcoming ad campaign. These AI-made digital twins are set to be developed in partnership with models and modelling agencies: they will be used on social media and posters in lieu of their human counterparts as part of a new marketing initiative in the coming months.
Whilst it appears that the p…

Long Read: The registrability of images of human faces as trade marks to be assessed by EU grand board of appeal

Brand owners should be alive to the uncertainty that surrounds the scope of legal protection afforded to depictions of human faces and look out for guidance which is to be handed down by the European Intellectual Property Office (“EUIPO”) Grand Board of Appeal (“GBA”) in the case of R 50/2024-2, Johannes Hendricus Maria Smit / EUIPO, which should provide some much-needed clarity…
Background
In this particular case, a si…

Long Read: Duke of Sussex settlement leaves allegations of unlawful information gathering untested.

The Duke of Sussex has settled his long running dispute with News Group Newspapers (NGN) over claims that the publisher illegally obtained private information about him over the period from 1996 to 2011.
The parties were due to embark on a much anticipated 10 week trial before Mr Justice Fancourt, but negotiations in the eleventh hour resulted in what the Duke of Sussex has called a “monumental” victory, with the publisher admitting u…