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Lucasfilm did not benefit in any way at Tyburn Film Productions Ltd's expense, counsel said to the appeals court there on 3 December 2025, in part because it already possessed rights over Cushing's likeness and an agreement and consent from the Cushing estate to 'resurrect' him as Grand Moff Tarkin. Tyburn contends it earlier made an agreement with the late actor then, at the time, granting the company a veto over any use of his image prior to his 1994 death. That contract concerns a TV series titled 'Heritage of Horror', which never aired. Tyburn further asserts the deal permits it to effectively 'resurrect' Cushing using stand-ins and CGI to ultimately finish the programme then if the actor were to die whilst filming remained in progress...
Irish telecom operator Eircom’s damages lawsuit against BT Group over a public-sector contract must be carefully managed to trial to deal with confidentiality issues and other matters, a UK judge told the parties today. At the High Court in London today, a judge said Eircom’s damages action against BT over a public-sector contract needs tight case management through to trial to address confidentiality and related concerns. Eircom brought the claim after Ofcom in 2020 penalised BT for its behaviour during a tender. Speaking to both sides, Judge Adam Johnson urged them to resolve any confidentiality flashpoints themselves and signalled he had no wish to step in unless it became unavoidable. He also expressed confidence that parties would do everything possible to keep confidential designations to a minimum, noting this was necessary to maintain control over the conduct of the trial. He framed this as the
The following document is attached: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/274 dated 5 February 2026, revising Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1981, establishing a final anti-dumping levy on imports of ceramic tableware and kitchenware produced in...
Justice Richard Arnold granted AstraZeneca leave to appeal and permitted lorries carrying about 175,000 packs of Glenmark’s generics to move on to wholesalers, provided they did not reach pharmacy shelves while the case continued at any point during those interim proceedings. In this way, Glenmark could keep its first-to-market advantage, while causing only minimal detriment to AstraZeneca should the Court of Appeal later be persuaded to issue an injunction against supply. The judge said this approach maintained the status quo with the least possible prejudice to Glenmark’s position overall. The hearing was arranged at short notice, just days after the High Court refused AstraZeneca an injunction to block the diabetes generic from sale while the court considered whether the patents supporting the branded medicine were valid in law. Glenmark, Generics (UK) Ltd and Teva Pharmaceuticals have each begun proceedings in the UK to set...
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Funding, surplus and investment Government urged to amend Pension Scheme Bill’s reserve powers to allow pension funds access to private markets through investment trusts On 25 July 2025, the Association of Investment Companies ( AIC) published a press note and an accompanying letter, dated 22 July 2025, to Torsten Bell, Minister for Pensions, urging changes to the current Pension Schemes Bill mandation provisions. The AIC asked the government to enable pension funds to invest in private assets via investment companies, also known as investment trusts, which are presently outside the scope of the Bill’s proposed reserve powers. As drafted, the Bill would grant the government reserve powers to require defined contribution ( DC) schemes to allocate a share of their assets to UK private investments. However, the AIC argues that, in its current form, the legislation would stop DC schemes from meeting any...
In this issue: Key developments and materials Air emissions and climate change Energy for environmental lawyers Environmental disputes and proceedings ESG and sustainability Hazardous substances and chemicals Nature, biodiversity and habitat conservation Waste producer responsibility regimes Water, flooding and drainage Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Key developments and materials UN committee finds UK breached Aarhus Convention over inadequate public consultation on Brexit legislation The UN Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee has released draft conclusions stating that the UK contravened Articles 3 and 8 of the Convention while preparing the EU Withdrawal Bill. It concluded the UK did not: observe the necessary public consultation periods; circulate the draft Bill for public scrutiny; and facilitate avenues for public feedback. Arising from a 2017 complaint by Friends of the Earth, these...
The three-justice panel held in one decision that auction platform Easy Live ( Services) Ltd had infringed easy Group's 'easylife' marks after reviving a stylised version alongside 'easy.com' in another ruling concerning a platform called Easy Fundraising. Yet the appellate court concluded Easy Fundraising had not infringed any marks. In the Easy Fundraising decision, Lord Justice Arnold noted: ' None of the variants altered the distinctive character of the easylife stylised mark'. Easy Group had challenged a September 2024 decision that tossed out its trade mark infringement claims against the online auction house. It likewise appealed a comparable ruling from that month concerning Easy Fundraising, after the judge set aside its 'easylife' and 'easy.com' marks and curtailed the services that 'easy Jet' could cover......
Shvidler v Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs; Dalston Projects Ltd and others v Secretary of State for Transport [2025] UKSC 30. Background The appeal raises significant issues about how the UK's sanctions framework functions, introduced to exert pressure on the Russian Federation to halt its brutal war on Ukraine. It further examines whether interferences with a designated individual’s or company’s Convention rights are proportionate. The two appellants, Mr Shvidler and Dalston Projects Ltd, were subjected to measures made under the powers in the Russia ( Sanctions) ( EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (the 2019 Regulations), SI 2019/855, as revised in 2022. Mr Shvidler’s designation occurred on 24 March 2022, one month after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The consequence was a worldwide asset freeze and the creation of a criminal offence for others who engage with him, whether privately or in...
Time bar and deck cargo under the Hague- Visby Rules ( Batavia Eximp & Contracting v Pedregal Maritime) Batavia Eximp & Contracting ( S) PTE Ltd v Pedregal Maritime SA (‘ The Taikoo Brilliance’) [2025] EWHC 1878 ( Comm) What are the practical implications of this case? Claimants encountering a time bar under Article III,6 of the Hague- Visby Rules should recognise that issuing proceedings merely to secure assets will not halt time from running. To sidestep a time-bar defence, the claimant must initiate proceedings seeking a final determination of the dispute in the proper forum, whether that is arbitration or the court. The judgment reinforces the finality and certainty that the time bar is meant to achieve. The court also offered practical guidance on the statements that should appear on bills of lading when describing deck cargo, so that it comes within the...
The Court of Appeal affirmed a decision dismissing assertions by Accord Healthcare, Sandoz and Teva that chemists would have deemed it 'immediately obvious' to create Astellas' patented cancer therapy, enzalutamide, because the expert evidence failed to explain why a particular atomic group would have been selected by chemists. The Xtandi patent is held by the University of California and is licensed on an exclusive basis to Astellas Pharma Inc. Writing for a panel of three justices in November 2024, Judge Richard Arnold said the judge was entitled to treat that omission as relevant when evaluating the expert’s evidence. The generics contended that a poster and presentation slides had disclosed a molecule akin to Astellas' claimed enzalutamide. According to the Court of Appeal judgment, they argued that the irresistible conclusion was that the patented invention was obvious. The claimed compound is...
See Q& A: Do executors have the power to pay a contingent legacy to a minor legatee before the legatee has met the contingency? If a beneficiary is under 18 and the bequest is conditional on the child reaching that age (or a higher age), neither the child nor their parents can provide the executors with a receipt that is valid for that legacy. Once the child reaches the age of entitlement, they can then give a valid receipt......
The UPC’s Court of First Instance imposed an injunction on three Eastman Kodak Company subsidiaries on 25 July 2025 under the UK Patents Act 1977, supplementing an order that Fujifilm Corp had also secured covering Germany. In February 2025, in BSH Hausgeräte Gmb H v Electrolux AB ( Case C-339/22), the Court of Justice expressly confirmed, as noted by the Mannheim Local Division, that the UPC is competent to hear patent infringement actions involving patents granted outside the EU. As there is no case currently pending in the UK concerning the alleged infringement or the validity of the patent-in-suit in the UK, there is therefore no justification to suspend the proceedings at this......
York SD Ltd and others v HMRC [2025] UKFTT 877 ( TC) The EIS encourages backing for early‑stage companies by enabling investors to claim substantial income tax and capital gains tax reliefs. As a result, the qualifying rules are tightly drawn. Investors cannot obtain relief without HMRC’s authorisation, given by way of a compliance certificate issued to the company. To secure that certificate, the company must file a compliance statement with HMRC, supported by information and declarations. Even once EIS authorisation is granted, HMRC may later withdraw relief and reclaim any related tax from investors in specified circumstances. This case arose from HMRC’s decision to remove relief from investors in six UK companies set up to trade in solar electricity generation in Spain and Portugal through local subsidiaries. The UK companies were incorporated in 2015, and the relevant shares were issued in late 2015 and early...
The Commission has issued its ‘ Guidelines on the scope of obligations for general‑purpose AI models’. Though not legally binding, they explain how the Commission reads and applies Regulation ( EU) 2024/1689 (the EU AI Act), which will underpin its enforcement practice and thus offer significant practical clarity. They succeed a prior draft circulated in April 2025 for consultation (see: LNB News 18/07/2025 40 and LNB News 22/04/2025 37). The final text concentrates on four central and closely linked themes: defining GPAI models, what counts as a provider placing a GPAI model on the market, the open‑source exemptions to the obligations for GPAI models, and certain considerations on the enforcement of the GPAI model framework. What is a GPAI model? The guidelines set out three key elements about GPAI models: an indicative benchmark for when a model qualifies as a GPAI model, how the...
Mergers Following a phase I investigation, the Commission approved the acquisition of joint control over Dhyve BV by DIF Management BV and Virya Energy NV ( M.11829); for more details, see Midday Express. Note— For a complete list of live merger investigations before the Commission, consult the EU mergers—ongoing cases tracker. Digital Markets The Commission published in the Official Journal a summary of an amending decision under Article 4(1) of Regulation 2022/1925 on contested and fair markets in the digital sector ( Digital Markets Act), relating to the designation of Meta as a ‘gatekeeper’; see the summary of decision. Note— For an overview of current EU enforcement activity under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, see the EU Digital Markets Act enforcement actions—ongoing cases tracker. Upcoming dates For dates of forthcoming EU competition developments, please see the EU Competition calendar......
According to a statement from the Prudential Regulation Authority ( PRA), Barents Reinsurance SA ( Barents) did not sufficiently plan for the regulatory consequences of the UK’s exit from the EU, the PRA said. The PRA added that Barents fell short in putting certain internal audit recommendations into practice. The regulator also found that, from July 2021 to October 2023, during this period, Barents lacked an appropriate, proportionate governance framework for its activities. Operating across multiple jurisdictions, Barents had moreover neglected to develop a governance plan reflecting its UK business. This was among a number of shortcomings that resulted in late regulatory......
Wise Payments Ltd (formerly Transferwise Ltd) v With Wise Ltd and others [2025] EWHC 1722 ( IPEC) What are the practical implications of this case? The central question concerns the onus on parties bringing or defending an invalidity claim premised on an absence of a bona fide intention to use the trade mark for some or all goods/services listed in the specification. The presumption is one of good faith. Therefore, a challenger must rebut that presumption to succeed. The evidential record must grapple with concrete facts that either directly overturn the presumption, or from which a court can properly infer facts that do so. In short, proof must target the intention to use at the relevant time. Typically, this entails a careful review of the proprietor’s business as at the filing date, together with the reasonably foreseeable or natural directions in which that business might expand....
The Irish government unveiled a 26-point programme featuring a possible ceiling on personal injury pay-outs, measures to boost competition in the insurance market, and fresh disclosure rules on the way underwriters determine premiums. This programme is broadly comparable to an insurance reform initiative launched by the previous administration in 2020, which introduced a new schedule of damages for personal injury and reinforced the remit of a state arbitration body to handle disputes......
What are the practical implications of this case? The Court of Appeal’s ruling has significant practical consequences for IP enforcement in AI model training, and more generally for the conduct of litigation. Above all, it emphasises the need for precision in pleadings. The court confirmed that claimants must set out, at the earliest stage, every element of their case with clarity. In this dispute, Getty did not exercise the requisite care when advancing its reputational harm claims. Attempts to introduce fresh allegations or further evidence during later phases of the trial can properly be refused, irrespective of apparent relevance or seriousness. For AI technology developers, this ruling—and the proceedings as a whole—serve as a clear warning about the legal risks linked to large‑scale data scraping, and the use of copyright‑protected and trade marked material for model training......
What was the background to the consultation? Between February and April 2024, the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP) carried out a consultation on ' Options for Defined Benefit schemes', assessing a range of prospective reforms to existing private sector DB pension schemes. This consultation succeeds a July 2023 Call for evidence (using the same title) and 'builds on the principles of' the funding and investment regime that came into force in September 2024. The DWP highlighted that approximately three in four DB schemes are currently in surplus on a low‑dependency funding basis, with around £160bn held as surplus assets. Consequently, the aims of the consultation included enabling schemes to channel funds into 'productive finance' by making it simpler to draw on scheme surpluses, alongside promoting further consolidation within the DB sector......
The High Court has held that Santander must reimburse AXA for sums the insurer paid to victims of the PPI misselling scandal. The court found that Santander’s subsidiary, GE Capital Bank, had repeatedly fallen short of regulatory standards when selling policies. In a written ruling, Judge Julia Dias dismissed Santander's attempt to shift responsibility to a policy underwriter acquired by AXA as 'slightly laughable'. ' GE Capital Bank is liable for all the regulatory consequences of its misselling and is therefore liable for all redress and Financial Ombudsman Service ( FOS) fees paid by AXA under the regulatory regime, irrespective of whether individual complaints would have succeeded in a court of law', Dias J wrote. The judgment follows a protracted legal dispute after AXA France IARD SA and AXA France Vie SA brought proceedings against the bank in March 2021. They argued that two parts of the...
The English courts recognise the 'significant hurdles' victims of crypto fraud face The firm reported that the relative drop in fraud filings does not indicate a general, overall fall in crypto fraud, but is partly due to wider uptake of digital assets. As adoption grows over time, a broader spectrum of disputes emerges, and fraud claims become a smaller share of the whole, the report notes. The report further explains that many crypto fraud cases are filed under seal, keeping particulars confidential to avoid alerting the perpetrators, so those figures are not captured in the firm’s data. Greater awareness and closer engagement with law enforcement also means that some victims manage to reach an early resolution without commencing litigation......
During an appearance with von der Leyen in Scotland, Trump hailed the pact as “the largest deal ever struck”, noting that 15% tariffs would cover most goods entering from the EU. In exchange for dialling back a threatened 30% levy, the EU will buy hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of US energy and increase investment in the American market. Trump argued the agreement would draw the EU and the US closer and settle long-running trade disputes between his administration and Europe. “ It’s a very powerful deal,” he said. “ It’s the biggest of all the deals.” Von der Leyen likewise sounded upbeat, admitting there was “heavy lifting” at the outset but saying both sides had arrived at a satisfactory settlement. She noted the EU had long run a trade surplus with the US and that the aim was to rebalance commerce so the...
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When evaluating a general damages claim, the practitioner ought initially to refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG)...
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...
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 ...
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 ]...
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