Pinsent Masons to tackle the challenges of Industry 4.0 at Hannover Messe

Pinsent Masons will be presenting at two sessions during the world’s leading trade fair for industrial technology, on data protection in Industry 4.0, and the legal challenges of Industry 4.0 for German SMEs.

At a joint stand with BITKOM, partners from the firm will also be offering their expertise to conference attendees on some of the key legal challenges facing businesses today.

Find us at BITKOM Innovation Area, Hall 7 (Digital Factory), Booth D28.

Presentations

28 April, 10.45 – 11.30am:  Industry 4.0: Data & Law (in English) - Use of corporate data, personal and personally identifiable data generated in a smart factory triggers new questions: Who owns the data and which limitations apply to the use of data if data protection laws apply? Will the legal framework for use of customer and employee data change under the prospective General Data Protection Regulation then generally applicable in Europe? Industry 4.0 often requires data transfers to group companies and external third parties in non-EEA countries: how can businesses ensure compliance with data protection law requirements for cross-border transfers, e.g. will the new EU-US Privacy Shield help? How should businesses deal with cyber risk? We will outline what the short, medium and long term priorities for businesses should be from a legal perspective.

28 April, 1.00 - 1.45pm: Smart Mittelstand? Legal challenges of Industry 4.0 for German SMEs! - The media and experts agree: German Mittelstand companies have a great deal of catching up to do when it comes to Industry 4.0. The international law firm Pinsent Masons has examined whether the same is true for addressing legal challenges arising from such increasing digitalization. A survey among approximately 100 German SMEs was conducted to investigate which legal challenges of digitalization are currently most critical to businesses and how those businesses are dealing with them. The survey focused on:

• Data protection and data security
• Insurability of damages and attacks
• Liability in the connected Supply Chain
• IP issues, in particular who owns data in the connected Supply Chain
• Employment law requirements

Dr Florian von Baum and Dr Stephan Appt, partners at Pinsent Masons in Munich, present the results of the survey and summarize the measures necessary from a legal point of view to make Mittelstand "smart" for Industry 4.0.

28 April, From 6pm: Pinsent Masons Happy Hour – Networking 1.0: join us in the Bitkom Innovation Area lounge to network with partners and lawyers from Pinsent Masons and discuss market themes surrounding Industry 4.0. We will be serving drinks and a light buffet.

Meet our Partners:
Monday, 25 April 2016: US / Europe – strength in collaboration
Tuesday, 26 April 2016: Middle East & North Africa, Asia and Iran – investment possibilities?
Wednesday, 27 April 2016: Energy
Thursday, 28 April 2016: Delivering Digital
Friday, 29 April 2016: Smart legal solutions

For more information please see: www.pinsentmasons.com/hannovermesse