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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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The EPO’s Enlarged Board of Appeal dismissed the notion that examiners may ignore a patent’s description and drawings unless a claim lacks clarity or is ambiguous. According to senior EPO figures on 18 June 2025, earlier decisions endorsing that view conflict with the wording of the European Patent Convention......
Mergers The CMA has opened an invitation to comment on the planned purchase of Coverworld Holdings Limited by Kingspan Group Limited—see further, case page. The CMA has begun a phase 1 review into Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation’s proposed acquisition of Couplers Holdco AB—see further, case page. NOTE— For every active merger before the CMA, see further, UK mergers—ongoing cases tracker. Subsidy control The Subsidy Advice Unit has issued its concluding report advising UK Research and Innovation on its planned Automotive Innovation Grants scheme—see further, final report. NOTE— For all matters referred to the Subsidy Advice Unit under the Subsidy Control Act 2022, see further, UK subsidy control—ongoing cases tracker. Upcoming dates For timings of forthcoming UK competition developments, see further, UK Competition calendar......
Domestic Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe TD at the Irish Funds annual global funds conference Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe TD presented the keynote address during the Irish Funds annual global funds conference. CBI Deputy Governor, DG Mc Munn at the Irish Funds annual global funds conference CBI Deputy Governor, DG Mc Munn spoke during the Irish Funds annual global funds conference. Key themes covered process simplification, market volatility, a macro-prudential policy framework for the funds sector, operational resilience, the effectiveness of fund management companies, AML, plus technology adoption and tokenisation......
CC/ DEVAS ( MAURITIUS) LTD v ANTRIX CORP LTD, 605 US ____ (2025) ( Consolidated with Devas Multimedia Private Ltd v Antrix Corp Ltd) What are the practical implications of this case? Devas v Antrix carries practical consequences for US parties pursuing claims in the United States against foreign sovereign states and their instrumentalities. The Court clarified that the FSIA alone governs when a foreign sovereign state can be deemed to have waived sovereign immunity. Accordingly, those suing foreign states and their instrumentalities, even where the instrumentality is a corporate body, need not undertake any additional ‘minimum contacts’ assessment to establish personal jurisdiction; meeting the FSIA’s own conditions is sufficient. The Court did not, however, decide the factual issue of whether the particular claims in this dispute come within the FSIA’s arbitration exceptions at the outset. The ruling bears on how courts...
Government issues policy paper backing its Modern Industrial Strategy What is the impact on corporate law? The government’s Modern Industrial Strategy and the Professional and Business Services Sector Plan, both released on 23 June 2025, place a core emphasis on economic expansion and industrial revival. They also indicate a stronger commitment to ESG principles, enhanced corporate governance and regulatory overhaul—most notably via the much‑awaited shift from the Financial Reporting Council ( FRC) to the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority ( ARGA). The papers set out several regulatory measures that, while not aimed squarely at equity capital markets ( ECM) reform, are intended to widen access to equity funding and deepen the UK’s capital markets. ARGA—from proposal to implementation Initially mooted following the 2018 Kingman Review, ARGA is poised to become the UK’s new statutory watchdog for audit and corporate governance, supplanting the FRC. The 2025 strategy...
Allianz SE’s British division said planned redundancies will span its entire UK operation, covering commercial, speciality and personal insurance lines across the business nationwide throughout the United Kingdom. The firm, which employs about 6,000 people in the UK, added that roles are being cut as customers increasingly more frequently go online for its services and arrange policies via price comparison sites......
Ireland is recognised as a leading global financial hub, valued for its rigorous regulatory regime, talented workforce and pro-business environment. As an English-speaking common-law jurisdiction, it aligns with key legal principles in the UK and the US, while operating within the broader framework of EU law. For many years, Ireland has acted as a natural bridge between the US and the EU, and it remains ideally situated as the gateway to one of the world’s largest markets. Although recent geopolitical shifts across the Atlantic may prompt caution, there is ample reason for optimism. On 19 March 2025, the EU unveiled its Savings and Investments Union ( SIU ). The SIU’s core objectives are twofold: to give businesses simpler access to capital so they can innovate, expand and create quality jobs in Europe to offer households more, and safer, ways to invest in...
Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs v Dolphin Drilling Ltd [2025] UKSC 24 Background Total E& P UK Ltd (‘ Total’) conducts drilling at the Dunbar oil platform in the North Sea. As the Dunbar does not have the infrastructure for active drilling, it needs the assistance of a tender support vessel (‘ TSV’) to provide tender assisted drilling (‘ TAD’) services. TSVs are different from accommodation vessels, which function solely as offshore hotels, commonly referred to as ‘flotels’. Seeking to restart drilling at the Dunbar in 2012, Total invited Dolphin Drilling Ltd (‘ Dolphin’) to bid for the supply of a TSV. Dolphin proposed using a semi-submersible drilling rig converted into a TSV, the Borgsten Dolphin (‘the Borgsten’), which it leased from an associated entity, Borgsten Dolphin Pte Ltd (‘ BDPL’). On 11 November 2011, Total awarded Dolphin the contract to deliver TAD...
UK data reform act rollout plans UK businesses should anticipate the country’s data reform act being delivered through secondary legislation over the next six to nine months, with the first changes likely by autumn 2025 and the final measures pencilled in for winter 2025 under the UK privacy watchdog’s plans. The data reform bill, which entered into law on 19 June 2025, brings a range of updates to the UK data protection framework. However, the rollout will be staged, as various elements hinge on secondary legislation not yet put before lawmakers, or on additional materials still to be released by the data protection regulator. The Information Commissioner’s Office ( ICO) has signalled intentions to prepare guidance and start implementing some aspects, though firm dates are yet to be confirmed. Overall, the timetable indicates a lead-in period of six to nine months from the law’s...
For the first time, the BBC has signalled potential legal action against a generative AI firm over alleged copyright breaches. The broadcaster has written to Perplexity, instructing it to cease using BBC material and to erase any BBC data it holds. BBC News reports that the corporation is also seeking compensation for content it claims has already been used. A letter to Aravind Srinivas, CEO and co-founder of Perplexity AI, further alleges that Perplexity’s output infringes the BBC’s copyright and breaches the corporation’s terms of use, according to BBC News reporting......
Amendment to guidance on separate-sex facilities The Equality and Human Rights Commission ( EHRC) has issued a further update to its interim update on the practical implications of the Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16, which was first published on 25 April 2025. This revision concerns the requirement for workplaces to provide and maintain separate-sex (also referred to as single-sex) changing and washing facilities where such facilities are required......
See Q& A: Can a life tenant under a will trust validly and effectively assign their life interest by entering into a deed of variation pursuant to section 142 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984, despite the trustees having earlier exercised a power to advance capital to a beneficiary?......
Domestic Central Bank of Ireland’s Authorisations and Gatekeeping Report 2024 On 1 May 2025, the Central Bank of Ireland ( CBI) released the second edition of its Authorisations and Gatekeeping report, outlining the CBI’s authorisations and gatekeeping performance across the 2024 calendar year. It includes material on preparing submissions for authorisations, the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (( EU) 2023/1114) ( Mi CAR), the 2024 authorisation timelines by sector, and details of the CBI’s fitness and probity gatekeeping process. The report also features a chapter setting out the CBI’s expectations for authorisations. European Union ( Payment Services) ( Amendment) Regulations 2025 On 8 May 2025, the Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, made the European Union ( Payment Services) ( Amendment) Regulations 2025 ( S. I. No. 169 of 2025), which amend the principal European Union ( Payment Services) Regulations 2018 ( S. I. No. 6 of 2018). The...
Lawyers are increasingly alert to the threat posed by AI-produced material that can be virtually indistinguishable from genuine evidence. They also recognise that AI is being deployed to doctor videos and images, creating convincing fabrications. Joel Seager, a partner at Fladgate LLP, observed that technology moves so quickly it can be exploited across the disputes landscape to disrupt any stage of proceedings. He added that any role involving the presentation of evidence leaves room for bad-faith conduct, and that whenever testimony is required, there is scope to conjure an almost fictitious person to speak in someone’s place. The risks were starkly shown in a High Court decision on 6 June, which referred a barrister and a solicitor to their regulators after two matters in which numerous case law citations were submitted that either did not exist or contained invented passages. Judge Victoria Sharp wrote that...
Mergers Mars/ Kellanova referred to phase II The Commission has referred the planned acquisition of Kellanova (formerly the Kellogg Company) by Mars ( M.11753) to a phase II review. Mars supplies a broad array of well-known food brands worldwide, including chewing gum, chocolate confectionery, sugar confectionery, rice and pet food. In the EEA, Kellanova is chiefly recognised for its stack chips under the Pringles brand and for its ready-to-eat cereals sold under the Kellogg’s brands. During phase I, the Commission raised concerns that, by expanding its product offering with Kellanova’s highly popular brands, Mars could strengthen its bargaining power with retailers. As a consequence, Mars might use this additional leverage to, for example, obtain higher prices in negotiations, which could, in turn, result in higher prices for consumers across the EEA......
Stephen P. Younger, Senior Counsel, Withers, New York Iain Sandford, Senior Counsel, Foley Hoag, Paris Cynthia H. Cwik, Mediator and Arbitrator, JAMS, San Diego Eugenie Rogers, Partner, Reed Smith LLP, Dallas Rebeca Mosquera, President, Arbitral Women, New York Fiona Cain, Counsel, Haynes Boone, London Jack Spence, Associate, Haynes Boone, London Albert Bates Jr., Partner, Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders, LLP, Pittsburgh R. Zachary Torres- Fowler, Senior Associate, Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders, LLP, Philadelphia and New York Omer Er, Partner at Michelman & Robinson, New York Hillary Kinsey Lukacs, Counsel, Morris, Manning, & Martin, LLP, Atlanta Jack Donnelly, Associate, Morris, Manning, & Martin, LLP, Atlanta Bo Rutledge, Senior Counsel, Morris, Manning, & Martin, LLP, Atlanta Mealey’s: Have AI tools contributed to efficiency in international arbitration, such as organisation of discovery materials, review of expert...
Conservatory Insulations Northwest Ltd v HMRC [2025] UKFTT 705 ( TC) HMRC sought to have the appeal struck out on two bases: the FTT lacked jurisdiction to determine the point; and the appeal had no reasonable prospect of success. Both grounds hinged on HMRC’s stance about the timing of the assessment, which the FTT rejected. The appellant’s agent, acting on the company’s behalf, told HMRC about errors affecting VAT return periods that fell within the relevant window for notifying errors and raising assessments. It was accepted by both sides that the material provided to HMRC amounted to evidence of facts which, in HMRC’s view, was sufficient to warrant making the assessment, and that the relevant deadline for issuing the assessment was one year from the date HMRC had......
Osmond and Allen v HMRC [2025] UKUT 183 ( TCC) The taxpayers owned shares in a company that met the conditions for EIS disposal relief. In late 2014, worried that the EIS rules might be overhauled, they sought to lock in that relief while it was still available. Achieving this required triggering a CGT disposal, so they carried out share buy-backs. The price paid on the buy-backs was limited to no more than a return of capital, ensuring no income tax charge arose, and any CGT was removed by the EIS disposal relief. HMRC then issued counteraction notices under the transactions in securities ( Ti S) provisions, assessing the taxpayers to income tax on the basis that their main purpose in undertaking the buy-backs was to obtain an income tax advantage. Before the FTT, HMRC put forward two arguments. Its primary...
CC/ Devas ( Mauritius) Ltd and other companies v The Republic of India [2025] EWHC 964 ( Comm) What are the practical implications of this case? This decision may reshape multi-jurisdictional enforcement strategies. Where states resist arbitral award enforcement, investors may need to turn to alternative avenues, including diplomatic engagement or concurrent enforcement in jurisdictions with broader immunity exceptions. Dual Hurdles: To enforce against a sovereign, claimants must clear both jurisdictional immunity (under s 2 or s 9) and enforcement immunity (s 13) Strategic Risks: States may deploy delay tactics by disputing arbitration agreements, as illustrated by India’s parallel challenges across courts worldwide Recent decisions from Canada, Singapore, the Netherlands, and Australia reveal differing approaches to sovereign immunity in BIT enforcement, making forum selection a pivotal strategic choice. If the Supreme Court overturns the Commercial Court, NYC ratification alone could suffice to displace...
Digital markets CMA proposes to designate Google with SMS under DMCCA 2024 The CMA has initiated a consultation on its proposed decision to classify Google as holding strategic market status ( SMS) in relation to general search services, under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 ( DMCCA 2024)......
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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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