Germany: Technology

The EU Cyber Resilience Act establishes cybersecurity as a prerequisite for EU market access, affecting not only hardware products with digital elements but also standalone software. Manufacturers must navigate new conformity assessments, CE marking requirements, and mandatory free security updates during defined support periods. These requirements may force companies to fundamentally rethink their go-to-market processes and pricing calculations.

The EU Cyber Resilience Act introduces strict cybersecurity reporting requirements for manufacturers of connected products, with deadlines as tight as 24 hours for early warnings of actively exploited vulnerabilities and severe incidents. Manufacturers must navigate parallel obligations across multiple regulatory frameworks while facing penalties of up to EUR 15 million or 2.5% of global turnover for non-compliance.

The European Union's Cyber Resilience Act introduces mandatory cybersecurity requirements for products with digital elements, with critical notification obligations taking effect in September 2026.

The European Patent Office's Technical Board of Appeal examined whether a medical intervention control system using AI and expanded datasets could be patented, focusing on whether data analysis that assists physicians constitutes a technical effect or merely an intellectual activity.

The European Patent Office Board of Appeal examined whether a helicopter maintenance system using data clustering and mission-type modeling could be patented. The case centered on whether abstract statistical modeling methods applied to technical sensor data produce a credible technical effect sufficient to support inventive step under European patent law.

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer's Frankfurt Corporate Crime & Investigations team hosted a conference examining cybercrime threats, AI-driven attacks, and the evolving responsibilities of corporate leadership in building cyber resilience. Senior representatives from law enforcement, industry leaders, and global legal partners explored prevention strategies, incident response protocols, and the complex liability landscape facing organizations in an increasingly digital threat environment.

Die Europäische Bankenaufsichtsbehörde (EBA) und das Europäische System der Zentralbanken (ESCB) haben ihre Antworten zum MiCAR-Review vorgelegt – mit teils unterschiedlichen Positionen zu Stablecoin-Reserven, Signifikanzkriterien und globalen Multi-Issuer-Modellen. Der neue EU RegCORE Client Alert analysiert die divergierenden Standpunkte und zeigt auf, welche Vorbereitungen Banken, Stablecoin-Emittenten, CASPs, Asset Manager und Marktinfrastrukturen jetzt treffen sollten.

The European Parliament has tabled over 1,900 amendments to the Market Integration and Supervision Package, transforming it from a straightforward proposal into a complex negotiation between competing models for European market supervision and infrastructure. As the Commission's original December 2025 proposal becomes obsolete and multiple parliamentary drafts emerge with conflicting visions, financial firms face critical questions about which supervisory architecture will ultimately govern their licenses

The European Banking Authority and New York State Department of Financial Services have signed a groundbreaking Memorandum of Understanding establishing a formal framework for transatlantic supervisory cooperation on stablecoin regulation. This agreement enables structured information exchange, cross-border inspections, and emergency coordination between EU and US regulators overseeing entities engaged in stablecoin activities under MiCAR and New York's regulatory framework.