Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Infringement definition

What does Infringement mean? In legal practice, infringement (of copyright) means doing, or authorising another to do, acts reserved to the copyright owner without permission. It is principally a statutory concept. Across the UK, the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 defines the “restricted acts”: copying; issuing copies to the public; rental or lending; performance, playing or showing in public; communication to the public (including making available online); and making adaptations. In Ireland, comparable rights and restrictions appear in the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000. Taking the whole work is not required: reproducing a substantial part infringes. “Substantial” is a qualitative test informed by case...

Access to competition authority materials in private damages actions: disclosure and confidentiality in the English High Court and the CAT, and the impact of the Damages Directive

Published by a LexisNexis Competition expert

Practice notes

Private claims in the English courts alleging breaches of competition law often run alongside inquiries by national and/or European competition authorities, even where they are not strictly follow-on from those investigations.

Claimants frequently pursue disclosure of documents and/or information submitted to the competition authorities, or generated by them (‘regulatory material’).

The passage of the Damages Directive, implemented in the UK through The Claims in respect of Loss or Damage arising from Competition infringements (Competition Act 1998 and Other Enactments (Amendment)) Regulations 2017, SI 2017/385 (the Regulations), narrowed the opportunities for claimants to obtain regulatory material for use in future damages claims.

What do we mean by ‘regulatory material’?

This section briefly sets out the different kinds of regulatory material that may be sought and how they might be pertinent to a private enforcement action.

Infringement decision

A decision of a UK or pre-Brexit competition authority is binding on a UK court.

Accordingly, it scarcely needs saying that the court and the parties must be able to see any decision reached by an authority so they know which findings bind the court.

It also serves as a roadmap, giving claimants a quick...

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

Richard Pike

Fieldfisher

Richard is a Partner at Fieldfisher, specialising in antitrust litigation. He has acted for defendants but is usually instructed by claimants, both in standalone and follow-on actions relating to cartels and other forms of competition infringement in the UK and EU. He acts for individual clients and for large groups (whether through the collective action regime or otherwise). As a litigator, he has many years of experience in the Competition Appeal Tribunal as well as in the High Court. His notable cases include the successful defence of Shell in OFT infringement proceedings brought in relation to tobacco retailing as well as a series of cases for Hutchison. His competition damages experience includes acting for defendants in claims based on the paraffin wax and refrigeration compressors cartels. He has also had some involvement with class actions in the United States, where he studied and was...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

Popular documents

Using the Judicial College Guidelines to assess general damages in personal injury claims

When evaluating a general damages claim, the practitioner ought initially to refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG)...

Tomlin orders in England and Wales: CPR guidance on drafting, confidentiality, approval, variation, enforcement, limitation, CCA issues, court-specific requirements, sample wording and precedents

This Practice Note This Practice Note reviews mechanisms used in settling litigation. A Tomlin order consists of a consent order paired with a schedule. It operates to stay proceedings on terms that have been agreed. The provisions contained in the schedule may remain confidential. This Practice Note describes the scope of confidentiality attaching to the schedule and sets out how it differs from a standard consent order. Sample wording for a Tomlin order is included, alongside links to precedents, as well as guidance on court approval. It also addresses varying, setting aside and enforcing a Tomlin order, including the considerations the court will take into account when handling applications for each. Further guidance is provided on interpreting and applying the relevant provisions of the CPR; however, some courts and divisions impose very specific requirements for both drafting and approval, and for approaching the schedule and confidentiality issues. Accordingly, you must consider the particular rules and court guide provisions in the forum where your claim is proceeding when drawing up the Tomlin order...

Precedent: Deed of Surrender of Lease with Optional Premium, Settlement and Release, Landlord, Mortgagee and Guarantor Consents, Reimbursement and HM Land Registry Provisions (England and Wales)

Date [ date ] Parties [ name of Landlord ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Landlord) [ name of Tenant ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Tenant) [ [ name of Guarantor ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Guarantor) ] [ [ name of Mortgagee ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Mortgagee) ] Definitions Within this Deed, the terms below shall be interpreted as follows: [ Annual Rent • the annual sum reserved under the Lease; ] [ Insurance Rent • the Tenant’s share of the Landlord’s costs of insuring the Property (as set out in the Lease); ] Lease • the lease of the Property dated [ date ], entered into between (1) [ the Landlord OR [ name ...

Precedent Statutory Declaration: Standard Wording under the Statutory Declarations Act 1835

I, [ name ], of [ address ], solemnly and sincerely state that: [ Matters to be verified, set out in numbered paragraphs ] I make this solemn statement in good conscience, believing it to be true, and pursuant to the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. DECLARED at [ details ] this [ day ] day of [ month and year ] Before me ................................................................................ [ signature of the person before whom the declaration is made ] A [ commissioner for oaths OR [ solicitor OR [ insert other qualification ] ] authorised to administer oaths ]...