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Overview
Technology disputes come in a variety of shapes and sizes, frequently arising in relation to service delivery and outsourcing contracts, intellectual property (IP) rights, data protection, software licensing and, more recently, cybersecurity and digital assets. The United Kingdom is a forum of choice for international dispute resolution – both within the technology sector and beyond – and there are specialist courts and dispute resolution services with particular expertise in handling technology-related disputes. Large, complex information technology (IT) disputes and litigation concerning alleged infringements of IP rights continue to be a mainstay of those specialist courts.
Claims for compensation in relation to data protection breaches and the misuse of private information are also common in the United Kingdom. Individuals are increasingly seeking to exercise their rights under the UK data protection regime (i.e., rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and the Data Protection Act 2018 (the UK GDPR), including a recent attempt to do so through a representative action2 brought on behalf of approximately four million consumers alleging a loss of control over personal data.3
However, the emergence of new technologies means that the English courts are likely to face an increasingly diverse and complex set of technical issues, with the landscape evolving particularly quickly in relation to artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain technology and digital assets. Both the UK government and the European Union are looking at the need to increase the regulation of cryptoasset markets to provide further safeguards to consumers, with the UK government aiming to make the United Kingdom a ‘global hub for cryptoasset technology’.4
Against that background, this chapter looks at some of the most common types of technology-related disputes, how those claims are resolved by the courts, what alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms are available, emerging trends from 2021 and predictions for the future in relation to technology disputes. Although this chapter comments on a broad range of technology disputes, it focuses primarily on disputes that arise from complex IT and outsourcing projects.