AI Regulation & Rivalry Roundup

• OpenAI flagged competition issues to EU regulators, arguing that dominant firms like Google may be leveraging their infrastructure to crowd out AI rivals. Reuters

• The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority designated Google’s search and search advertising services as having “strategic market status”, enabling new regulatory interventions over rankings, user choice, and content usage. The Guardian

• Meta is resisting a subpoena in a children’s safety lawsuit in New Mexico, producing a dispute over whether it must turn over internal AI chatbot records and communications. Business Insider

• The European Commission has unveiled a €1 billion “Apply AI” plan to bolster AI deployment across strategic sectors like healthcare, manufacturing and defense, aiming to reduce European dependence on foreign tech. Reuters+1

• Italy’s newly passed AI law, the first of its kind in the EU, comes into force today. It builds on the EU’s AI Act while adding national rules, penal regimes and sectoral obligations. JD Supra+2The Guardian+2

Regulation

• The USPTO has launched its Artificial Intelligence Search Automated Pilot (ASAP!) to deliver “top‑10” prior art results to applicants before formal examination. USPTO

• Alongside ASAP!, the USPTO’s Automated Search Pilot Program will allow petitioning applicants to receive an AI‑generated search notice (ASRN) identifying possible prior art, though responding to it is optional. IPWatchdog+2National Law Review+2

• The European Commission is consulting on a revised Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation (TTBER), relevant to how IP licensing and AI component supply chains will be regulated. National Law Review

• In Peru, a new Supreme Decree (No. 115‑2025‑PCM) regulates AI uses in public and private sectors, classifies risks, and sets rules for transparency, oversight, and accountability. DLA Piper GENIE

• Italy’s AI law (Law 132/2025) comes into force today, providing national specificity on governance, oversight, transparency, liability and criminal penalties, but not introducing obligations beyond the AI Act. JD Supra

Cases

• The UK First‑Tier Tribunal upheld that the ICO lacked territorial reach to fine Clearview £7.5 million under UK GDPR in relation to scraped images, continuing a landmark interpretation of data jurisdiction. The Register

• In Hungary, a case before the CJEU (referred in April 2025) is awaiting a ruling to clarify whether AI‑generated works may receive copyright-like protection within the EU. LawNow

• In the US, the USPTO Federal Circuit is showing caution in balancing patent incentives for AI innovation with rigorous standards to avoid overbroad protection. Mayer Brown

Academia

• A fresh paper introduces Self‑Filtered Distillation, a method for training LLMs with trust indicators (self-consistency, entailment alignment, agreement) to improve patent classification reliability. arXiv

Business

• The ParTec v. Nvidia case is proceeding in the Unified Patent Court (Munich), where a German firm seeks to block the sale of DGX AI systems across 18 European countries over alleged patent infringement. Tom's Hardware

• In legal services, lawyers warn of increasing risk in e‑discovery: AI tools are being misused to surface hallucinated or inaccurate decisions, triggering sanctions in some courts. Reuters

Adoption of AI

• The USPTO’s ASAP! and Automated Search Pilot programmes mark a significant step in embedding AI directly into patent office workflows, offering applicants data earlier in the examination lifecycle. USPTO+1

• Within UK and EU antitrust policy, AI’s infrastructure role is under fresh scrutiny, notably via the CMA’s SMS designation of Google and OpenAI’s competition flags in Brussels. The Guardian+1

• Italy’s new law signals that national regulators are ready to adopt enforcement frameworks on AI systems (including redress, oversight and end‑user rights) even as the EU’s framework evolves. JD Supra+1

Takeaway

Today’s developments chart a clear trajectory: intellectual property offices are adopting AI tools internally, regulators are escalating scrutiny of AI’s competitive and infrastructural impact, and national laws are beginning to layer on enforcement mechanisms. Key domains, patents, competition, and data regulation. are merging in the regulatory fabric of AI’s future.

Sources: Reuters, Business Insider, The Guardian, USPTO, IP Watchdog, NatLaw Review, TechnologysLegalEdge, JDSupra, The Register, Mayer Brown, NatLaw Review, CMS LawNow, KingPatentLaw, arXiv, Tom’s Hardware