Legal News

The EU Data Act The EU Data Act seeks to hand people using Internet‑connected products, from fridges to smartphones, greater control over the information they generate. EU lawmakers approved it in June 2023 after fraught negotiations centred on safeguarding trade secrets, and it is slated for formal adoption before the close of 2023. Negotiators aimed to balance wider data access with protection of trade secrets. A study financed by the Computer and Communications Industry Association, a technology lobby, argues the package will significantly, even dramatically, reshape the landscape for digital commerce in Europe and further afield. It foresees substantial consequences for leading US digital service providers that the European Union has designated as “gatekeepers”—large platforms expected to comply with regulatory duties—as well as for these firms’ hundreds of millions of trans‑ Atlantic European business and individual customers. From the EU’s General Data Protection...

What IP issues are involved in making a film that is based on a well-known product like the Barbie doll? ‘ Barbie’ is one of the most talked-about films of the summer. When crafting a feature based on a famous product such as the Barbie doll, a host of IP questions arises. We will return to trade mark protection and the more obvious IP categories, but the launch point for a project like Barbie is a knockout script. A production of this scale is threaded with numerous layers of IP, from the screenplay to the music script. Although Greta Gerwig’s direction has been widely highlighted, there has been less focus on her partner and co-writer, Noah Baumbach. Inevitably, there will be intricate contractual arrangements (likely several) covering authorship and ownership of the screenplay and its related copyright. Copyright also safeguards the...

Facts Jackie Maguire, aged 52, had Down’s syndrome, a moderate learning disability, and cyclothymic personality disorder. She had resided in the care home from 1993. On 22 February 2017, she tragically died due to pneumonia, a perforated gastric ulcer, and peritonitis. After hearing the inquest evidence, the coroner ruled that the enhanced procedural obligation under Article 2 ECHR was not engaged, so there was neither a requirement nor a power to instruct the jury to reach an expanded conclusion. The jury therefore returned a brief Jamieson-style finding of natural causes. Court of Appeal Hill Dickinson’s article ' R ( Muriel Maguire) v HM Senior Coroner for Blackpool and Fylde [2019] EWHC 1232' explains the Court of Appeal’s view that her ‘total dependence’ under Do LS was not equivalent to state detention. It further confirms that a series of individual mistakes by healthcare...

According to the Ministry of Justice ( Mo J), Alex Chalk, the UK’s Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, will collaborate with G7 Justice Ministers to advocate actively for the rule of law......

R (on the application of British Gas Trading Ltd) v Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero [2023] EWHC 737 ( Admin) Key points The court underscored the need for stringent time limits in judicial review to safeguard the public interest in sound administration Whilst acknowledging the Administrative Court is ordinarily not the forum for resolving factual disputes, it observed that judicial review procedures are sufficiently adaptable to deal with such issues where necessary The court affirmed that, in commercial settings where decision-makers hold particular expertise, the Administrative Court will apply a light-touch standard of review Background In 2021, Bulb, an electricity and gas supplier with roughly 1.5 million customers, faced severe financial strain. On 24 November 2021, the High Court made an Energy Supply Company Administration Order and appointed Joint Energy Administrators ( JEAs). The JEAs commenced a sale process for Bulb’s business. All three...

R ( Sandy) v Home Secretary [2023] EWHC 640 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? Applicants should note that broad‑brush claims offer scant assistance in naturalisation applications. The particulars of any asylum claim should be reviewed with care, and material from that period augmented where necessary. The guidance sets an exacting bar for good character, so meticulous attention to its thresholds and the language employed is crucial. Of wider note is Mostyn J’s analysis of why he dismissed the claimant’s striking submission—summarised at paras [43]–[45]—that proportionality, rather than rationality, ought to be the operative test. For the principled foundations of the rationality standard in this sphere, see paras [25]–[33] and [38]–[42]. Ongoing attempts to invoke proportionality are likely to meet a frosty reception from the judiciary. As he remarks at para [47], within judicial review...

R (on the application of Oceana) v Upper Tribunal ( Immigration and Asylum Chamber) [2023] EWHC 791 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? Given the thorough consultation and investigation undertaken by the Independent Review of Administrative Law, it would have been unexpected if the Administrative Court had concluded that the meticulously framed ouster provisions were incapable of achieving their narrowly targeted aim. This ruling confirms it is exceptionally difficult to maintain that they are ineffective. It further underlines that the general jurisdictional gateway in TCEA 2007, s 11(4)—showing the UT acted ‘in such a procedurally defective way as amounts to a fundamental breach of the principles of natural justice’—poses a ‘substantial hurdle’ (at para [33]). Practitioners should note that this hurdle is usually cleared only where there is ‘a failure in process which is so grave as to rob the process of any...

The Information Commissioner’s Office ( ICO) imposed a £12.7m penalty on Tik Tok Information Technologies UK Limited and Tik Tok Inc ( Tik Tok) for violations of the UK’s General Data Protection Regulation, Retained Regulation ( EU) 2016/679 ( UK GDPR), including not handling children’s personal data lawfully. The ICO estimates in 2020 Tik Tok permitted up to 1.4m UK children under......

The Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments ( JCSI) The Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments ( JCSI) has issued its twenty-seventh report for the 2022—2023 Session, reviewing statutory instruments ( SIs) made under powers conferred by an Act of Parliament. Instruments not presented to Parliament fall within the JCSI’s scope, though local instruments and those produced by devolved administrations are not examined by the JCSI, unless they......

What are the key provisions in the Bill of relevance to telecoms lawyers? Much of the law that governs the telecoms regime in the UK is derived from EU law. In broad terms, what impact would this Bill have on that existing legal framework if it is passed? The Retained EU Law ( Revocation and Reform) Bill 2022–2023 was introduced in September 2022, aiming to sweep away retained EU law automatically at the close of a sunset on 31 December 2023. That repeal would catch EU‑derived retained measures unless they are specifically kept. Consequently, any retained EU rules set out in domestic secondary legislation, as well as retained direct EU legislation, are due to lapse on 31 December 2023. In turn, for instance, elements of the Communications Act 2003 and the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 that, through domestic secondary...

The United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation, Retained Regulation ( EU) 2016/679, and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 ( FIA 2000) oblige public and private bodies to reply to subject access requests within one to three months when people seek details of the personal data those organisations hold about them. Yet, on 28 September 2022, the ICO announced that an investigation had found Virgin Media, the Ministry of Defence, the Home Office, the London Borough of Croydon, Kent Police, the London Borough of Hackney and the London Borough of Lambeth had 'repeatedly failed' to meet this statutory deadline. Following these conclusions, the regulator issued reprimands to all seven organisations and, under the FIA 2000, practice recommendations to two of the London boroughs. The agency added that these bodies have three to six months to make improvements or 'further...

The repeal of 2017 and 2021 reforms from April 2023 has been announced by the UK government as part of the Growth Plan 2022 presented by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his ’mini budget’ statement to Parliament. This move follows the new Prime Minister’s pledge to review IR35 and forms part of a broader drive to boost economic growth by trimming regulation and cutting taxes. The plan indicates the change will reduce Treasury tax receipts by £1–2bn per year. At first glance, many hirers and suppliers of contract workers are likely to welcome the shift, seeing a chance to revert to more tax‑efficient engagement through personal service company ( PSC) arrangements. Under the current rules, however, clients and suppliers can be on the hook if a PSC worker is, in reality, not truly self‑employed—an assessment that is notoriously...

What are the practical implications of this case? Braceurself Ltd v NHS England [2022] EWHC 1532 ( TCC) underlines key lessons for both sides of a procurement dispute. For advisers to disappointed tenderers, it indicates that pursuing a broad challenge on multiple grounds can be a sound strategy where even a small upward tweak to scoring might have decisively changed the result. For contracting authorities, it is a sobering reminder that, even in a process that is otherwise well organised and meticulously planned (as acknowledged by Mr Nissen QC), evaluators must accurately grasp the substance of a bidder’s reply and must not allow irrelevant factors to influence the mark awarded. Further, Mr Nissen QC confirmed the correct judicial approach when claims of manifest error are advanced against an authority. Following the reasoning of Mr Justice Fraser in Bechtel Ltd v High Speed Two ( HS2) Ltd...

The question Take, for instance, an impugned decision made on 1 January. If you file on 1 April 2022, are you in time, or do you need to file by 31 March? The short answer It is very likely that the ‘corresponding date rule’ applies, so a JR of a decision taken on 1 January must be lodged on or before 1 April. The long answer What is the ‘corresponding date rule’? Put briefly, the rule treats “three months after” 1 January as 1 April. Lord Diplock explained this in Dodds v Walker [1981] 1 WLR 1027, [1981] 2 All ER 609. The case concerned the time limit in section 29(3) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 ( LTA 1954), which required an application to be made “not less than two nor more than four months after the giving of the landlord’s notice”. The landlord’s notice was given on 30...

Background The UKIPO’s first call for evidence on AI and IP, running from 7 September to 30 November 2020, aimed to gather answers to numerous questions across patents, copyright, trade marks, designs and trade secrets. Feedback to that exercise highlighted concerns about the balance in the copyright regime between safeguarding human-created works and those produced by AI. Regarding patents, participants flagged potential obstacles to innovation as reliance on AI systems grows. For further details on that process, see News Analysis: Call for views on AI and IP—the UK government response. Building on those findings, the UKIPO opened an additional consultation to probe the key matters in greater depth. The resulting government response was issued on 28 June 2022 (see: LNB News 28/06/2022 48), and is considered below. Copyright and computer-generated works ( CGWs) The initial question for government was whether creations generated by a...

Abbott and others v Ministry of Defence [2022] EWHC 1807 ( QB) What are the practical implications of this case? Practitioners acting for a cohort of claimants, each with distinct claims and fact patterns, should think carefully before placing the whole cohort on a single claim form. They must assess whether all claims can be conveniently resolved within one set of proceedings, considering both the size of the cohort and the extent of overlap between cases. A shared defendant and a handful of common issues will not, by themselves, justify a bulk claim form. Industrial disease actions featuring differing exposure periods and circumstances are particularly unlikely to be suitable for collective disposal in one action. Where any uncertainty exists, separate claim forms must be filed and individual court fees paid. This demands robust administrative processes to avoid missing limitation deadlines and brings...

The All- Party Parliamentary Group ( APPG) on Democracy and the Constitution has released a report which sets out the findings from its investigation into how the actions of the executive have influenced the constitutional position of the independent judiciary since 2016. The publication was supported financially by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust and the Institute......

R (on the application of Good Law Project Ltd and another) v Prime Minister and another [2022] EWHC 298 ( Admin) Standing addresses who is entitled to initiate a claim in judicial review and, across successive administrations, it has been regarded as ‘ripe for review’ for a considerable period. In 2013, the government issued a consultation on reforming judicial review, proposing a tighter approach to standing that would demand a more immediate and concrete interest in the subject of the challenge. In July 2020, the government convened an independent panel to examine a range of substantive and procedural changes, with standing among the topics considered. After the judgment in GLP and Runnymede Trust, standing is poised to move from a rarely contested or discussed point within judicial review proceedings to one that may often take centre-stage in public interest cases. The ruling is...

Ukraine conflict—impact of Russian invasion and sanctions on English law contracts—frustration, illegality, force majeure & MAC Does your agreement contain an illegality, force majeure or material adverse change ( MAC) provision and, if so, has it been engaged? This turns on construction, so the orthodox approach applies—scrutinise the pertinent circumstances and the wording of the provision. What, precisely, is the operative occurrence? It might be a legal development (eg whether making payment would constitute a criminal offence) or a factual situation (routes are blocked, power is unavailable, the plant has been hit). Does that occurrence fall within the clause’s reach, expressly or by necessary implication? Many force majeure provisions enumerate events that qualify. An illegality provision may identify the system of law under which performance must have become unlawful. MAC provisions frequently do not delineate what is covered, relying instead on the plain sense of the...

What are the practical implications of this case? In dismissing Bloomberg’s appeal, the Supreme Court relied extensively on a run of first‑instance decisions recognising a claimant’s reasonable expectation of privacy while they are the subject of a state investigation but have not been charged. The outcome is unsurprising, yet claimant representatives will view it as welcome confirmation that this expectation is the legitimate starting point in any given case. Although the dispute centres on the tort of misuse of private information, the court’s acceptance that, in appropriate circumstances, an individual’s reputation may fall within Article 8 will interest defamation specialists. The ruling also intensifies scrutiny of the long‑standing common law principle in Bonnard v Perryman [1891] 2 Ch 269. In essence, that principle bars a claimant from securing an interim injunction to stop publication of proposed defamatory material where the defendant indicates an...