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Mark A. Prinsley

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Mark Prinsley is a partner and heads the technology practice in the London office, and is a member of the firm’s Cybersecurity & Data Privacy practice. He concentrates on technology transactions, in particular IT projects and outsourcing.

A substantial element of Mark’s practice involves data protection issues and he has worked extensively for clients in the pensions and financial services sector designing and implementing GDPR compliant systems for the collection and processing of personal data by businesses and related sub-contractors, commercial transactions involving data sharing and reaction to data breach scenarios including managing data breach notifications. Recent projects Mark has worked on involving personal data include working for an automobile manufacturer implementing a connected vehicle programme globally, a supplier of facial recognition technology on methods of marketing that technology in Europe in compliance with data protection laws and for an insurtech business licensing technology and services to enable life insurers to underwrite life cover for diabetics using AI.

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On 13 April 2021, the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB“) adopted two opinions  (“Opinions“) concerning draft UK adequacy decisions published by the European Commission which would permit the free flow of personal data from the European Economic Area (“EEA“) to the UK in the post-Brexit world. The Opinions largely support the draft UK adequacy decisions and represent a positive step towards adoption of formal UK adequacy decisions. Nonetheless, organisations which transfer personal data from the EEA to the UK should continue to monitor the developments and keep planning for the possibility that the adequacy decisions, if adopted, could…
Continue Reading European Data Protection Board Issues Opinions on European Commission’s Draft UK Adequacy Decisions

On 2 April 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the “CJEU”) delivered its judgment in Coty Germany v Amazon (Case  C‑567/18), in which the CJEU considered whether Amazon was liable for trade mark infringement for storing goods that infringed EU trade marks. …
Continue Reading The Court of Justice of the European Union Provides Some Clarification on Third Party Liability of Marketplaces in Trade Mark Infringement Disputes

On 27 February 2020, the UK government unofficially announced that the UK will not participate in the Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court system. The decision was confirmed by a spokesperson for the prime minister, who stated that “Participating in a court that applies EU law and bound by the CJEU is inconsistent with…

Responding to a written question put to the UK Parliament on 21 January 2020, Government Minister Chris Skidmore stated that the UK has no plans to implement the controversial new EU Copyright Directive following the UK’s exit from the European Union. Entering into force in June 2019, EU countries have been given until June 2021…

Brexit is finally here. The United Kingdom leaves the European Union on 31 January 2020. The EU and the UK will now enter a transition period which is scheduled to last until 31 December 2020. During this time, the UK will continue to abide by the EU laws, be subject to the rulings of EU courts, and contribute to the EU budget. Hence, the status quo will essentially remain unchanged during the transition period. The aim of the transition period is to provide enough time for the final wave of negotiations between the UK and EU to …
Continue Reading Brexit – What Does it Mean for Businesses from an IP, Tech and Privacy Perspective?

In its second statement of intent of the week, on 9 July 2019, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) announced its intention to fine Marriott International, Inc (“Marriott”) £99.2m under the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) for a personal data breach that occurred in relation to the Starwood guest reservation database system.
Continue Reading UK ICO Intends to Fine Marriott over £99m for Personal Data Breach under the GDPR

The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) today (8 July 2019) announced its intention to fine British Airways (“BA”) £183.39m under the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) for a personal data breach. This is the highest fine issued so far by a European Union data protection supervisory authority for a personal data breach under the GDPR. …
Continue Reading British Airways Fined over £183m for Personal Data Breach Under the GDPR

In banking, open data, a common pool of customer data that can be freely used and redistributed by anyone, could provide a number of benefits to customers and could increase competition in banking in the UK as well as in other jurisdictions. For example, open data could be used to improve the ability to make effective decisions about the use and management of money, or enable comparison applications to make more detailed and accurate assessments of how customers can save money.
Continue Reading The Development of Data Sharing and Open Data in Banking

Any digital record of bank deposits opens up the possibility that its underlying set of data may be copied and that the nominal amount deposited may be spent more than once. With conventional bank deposits, banks monitor the digital records and are trusted to ensure their validity. With so-called “digital currencies” like Bitcoin, by contrast, the ledger containing the record of all transactions by all users is available to the public. Rather than requiring users to have trust in a central third party, reliance is placed upon the network and the algorithmic rules established to reliably change the ledger. The authentication technologies underpinning Bitcoin – known as distributed ledger or Blockchain-technologies – enable multiple instances of data to be synchronized and updated.
Continue Reading Blockchain Technologies Move further into the Mainstream