Open legal data - international comparisons
We are in a new era – the fourth industrial revolution, an economy of internet, automation and AI. In the last 5 years, global internet traffic has grown 17-fold , resulting in the widespread use and development cloud computing, blockchain, Big Data and the IoT. To support this increase in widespread technology, the US spent nearly 500 billion USD on R&D and whilst modest in comparison, the EU nonetheless spent nearly EUR 300 million in 2015 (1).
As part of this new industrial revolution, we have moved away from the traditional analogue world to a connected environment and new techniques are being developed to further our information society. Such techniques require an adapted legal framework to protect the rights of the various actors, but which also allows for innovation to be exploited without risk for the benefits of society as a whole.
One of the key trends to arise out of the increased use of technology and the IoT, is the value attributed to Big Data and its analysis by automated text and data mining.
Indeed, Big Data is used whether to enable strategy decisions, manage customer experience or to facilitate the delivery of digital services. It is anticipated that worldwide revenue forecasts for Big Data and business analytics solutions will reach USD 260 billion in 2022 . Big Data is therefore big business.
As we are now firmly established in our digital era, many legal innovators and developers are looking towards new ways of working, and providing access to legal services and justice. Many of these new ways involve the creation and use of innovative tools, indeed the so-called 'legal tech' phenomenon.
Such tools often require the use of technological principles and foundations, such as the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Indeed, to create the most effective solutions, such tools need to have access to large volumes of data, the so-called "big data", which raises issues about privacy, copyright, ownership of information and freedom of access to information.
Following on from the publication of the Legal Tech Book, our founder had the pleasure to speak as part of the panel at the Legal Innovation Conference hosted by Fintech Circle, a virtual event which took place on 13 May 2021.
As part of this panel, our founder along with co-panelists: Mike Bennett, Standards Coordinator, IOTA Foundation, Alexis Natalie Chun, Co-founder & Recovering Lawyer, Legalese and Drago Indjic, Managing Director, Oxquant discussed the issues related to legal tech, open data for legal purposes and the evolution and future of the legal profession and applicable tools.
To find out more and to watch the conference on re-play, don't hesitate to visit the conference website and the YouTube channel!
Of course, usual, if you are using new technologies as part of your business or are in the process of developing your innovative application (whether in the field of legal tech or more generally), please do not hesitate to get in touch to discuss!
Article by the Team @ Gerrish Legal, June 2021
Sources:
(1) Inside The New Industrial Revolution, Christopher Mims, The Wall Street Journal, 12 November 2018; Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update 2017-2022 White Paper, Cisco, 18 February 2019, Document ID 1486680503328360; Inside The New Industrial Revolution, Christopher Mims, The Wall Street Journal, 12 November 2018; Overview of the State of the U.S. S&E Enterprise in a Global Context, R&D Expenditures and R&D Intensity, Science and Engineering Indicators 2018, National Science Board; First Estimates of Research & Development Expenditure, Eurostat News Release 238/2016 - 30 November 2016; and Towards a thriving data-driven economy, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, COM (2014) 442 final, p. 2.