Featured documents
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...
Most recent News
The government’s move to resurrect a 2019 scheme curbing work visas to university alumni overlooks that roughly six in ten skilled worker visas already go to people with higher education qualifications. Analysts warn the policy would squeeze staffing in roles most dependent on lower-skilled migration, particularly in these sectors: hospitality retail construction adult social care Professional occupations are not shielded either. A white paper detailing the reforms says graduates working in fields that, according to a yet-to-be-formed expert body, draw too heavily on overseas labour should not necessarily have guaranteed access to the UK. The panel is still to be created. On 12 May 2025, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain will finally ‘take back control of our borders’, a line recycled from the last Conservative government. But Lynsey Blyth, an immigration partner at Michelmores LLP, argued this could imply the UK has...
Accuro Trust ( Switzerland) SA v HMRC [2025] UKFTT 464 ( TC) The settlor created a trust in Switzerland in September 1992 when he was neither UK domiciled nor deemed domiciled. He contributed funds to the trust up to 6 April 2005, when he became deemed domiciled in the UK. After that date, the settlor injected a cash sum into the trust. Once a ten-year anniversary had passed, the trustee computed and paid a ten-year anniversary charge of £1.7m on the footing that the assets were relevant property and not excluded property by virtue of section 48(3) of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 ( IHTA 1984) as then in force. However, in September 2014, two years after the ten-year anniversary, they revised their position and applied for a repayment related to the ten-year charge accounted for under regime......
In this issue: WTO Trade in goods Anti-dumping Safeguards Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content WTO WTO outlines reform agenda and negotiation priorities ahead of 2026 Ministerial Conference The World Trade Organization’s Trade Negotiations Committee has set out an ambitious plan for wide-ranging institutional reform in the run-up to the 14th Ministerial Conference scheduled for March 2026. The Director- General has tabled dedicated workstreams covering dispute settlement overhauls, the modernisation of WTO accords, and the shaping of prospective trade rules. The programme is to unfold in three stages: initial scoping before the conference, ministerial steer at MC14, then implementation afterwards. Negotiations continue across agriculture, fisheries subsidy disciplines, e-commerce, investment facilitation, and development matters, with a progress stocktake slated for July 2025 to decide which topics advance to MC14. See: LNB News 08/05/2025 15. Trade in goods Trump, Starmer announce limited deal to cut...
EU court says Commission failed to justify rejecting vaccine message request The EU court found that the Commission did not credibly set out reasons for turning down a New York Times journalist’s bid for messages concerning the body’s vaccine procurement during the coronavirus pandemic. According to the General Court of the European Union, the Commission also fell short in explaining its refusal to release exchanges between von der Leyen and Albert Bourla related to the body’s vaccine purchasing amid the pandemic. In November 2022, the Commission dismissed an application by Matina Stevis- Gridneff, then the New York Times’ Brussels bureau chief, seeking access to those communications. The EU’s executive branch stated it did not possess the records covered by the request. Following that refusal, Stevis- Gridneff applied to the General Court, seeking to have the decision annulled......
In this issue: Brexit highlights Brexit SIs Constitutional and administrative law State security and intelligence Judicial review Equality and human rights Public procurement Subsidy control and State aid New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Brexit highlights Weekly round-up of EU- UK TCA Specialised Committees’ publications—13 May 2025. This summary covers items released by the Specialised Committees created under the EU- UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement ( TCA) between 8 May 2025 and 13 May 2025. See: LNB News 13/05/2025 27. Brexit SIs Phytosanitary Conditions ( Amendment) Regulations 2025 SI 2025/559: This instrument revises assimilated legislation concerning plant health and trade, exercised under powers in Regulation ( EU) 2016/2031 as applied to assimilated law. It takes effect in part on 30 May 2025 and in full on 8...
In this issue: Corporate insolvency processes Restructuring Directors and insolvency The office-holder Creditors' participation Property insolvency International restructuring and insolvency Daily and weekly news alerts Key dates for restructuring and insolvency professionals New content New Q& As Corporate insolvency processes Insolvency Service announces winding up order against Kent renewable energy retailer The Insolvency Service confirmed a High Court order to wind up Renugen Ltd, a Kent-based retailer of renewable energy products, after a probe. The ruling followed findings of £74,570 worth of undelivered orders to 34 customers, with just £15,265 repaid to affected customers. Enquiries also showed the business kept trading despite declaring no activity for 2021–2023, processed £48,000 in unexplained cryptocurrency transactions unrelated to its products, and operated six business bank accounts, two of which were closed after scam complaints raised. The Official Receiver is appointed as liquidator of the company. See: LNB News 12/05/2025 28. Insolvency Service reports closure of London art gallery company over...
What is the background to the Act? The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 ( ECCTA 2023) gained Royal Assent on 26 October 2023, with some provisions already operative. A principal reform within ECCTA 2023 is the shift towards a more regulatory role for the Registrar of Companies, intended to raise the quality, accuracy and openness of information held on the Companies House registers, while also bolstering the Registrar’s stance in combating economic crime. What are the key provisions of relevance to pension schemes, trustees and managers? Although ECCTA 2023 is not aimed specifically at UK pension schemes, it captures all UK companies. Consequently, the developments affect corporate bodies and their directors, including corporate trustee boards and corporate trustee directors of UK pension schemes. General changes In broad terms, corporate trustees should anticipate closer scrutiny and more active engagement from Companies House when...
Pensions matter hugely. HM Treasury stated that 17 pension schemes, collectively overseeing 90% of defined contribution assets, had committed to sign the Mansion House Accord. Under this agreement, schemes will channel 10% of workplace pension portfolios overall into areas such as infrastructure, property and private equity by 2030. No less than 5% of these holdings will be confined to investment in the UK market. According to the government, that 10% slice equates to £50bn in total, meaning the UK stands to receive £25bn worth of investment......
In this edition: Adjudication Procurement in construction Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Construction trackers Adjudication Procedural and security for costs issues when seeking a stay of an adjudicator’s award in insolvency and a cross-claim ( Midas Construction v Harmsworth). In Midas Construction Ltd (in administration) v Harmsworth Pension Funds Trustees Ltd [2025] EWHC 1122 ( TCC), the TCC, on an application to enforce an adjudicator’s decision in favour of an insolvent claimant, invited the parties to agree an appropriate order to stay enforcement......
Morgan Lloyd Trustees Ltd v Revenue and Customs Commissioners [2025] UKUT 00102 ( TCC) What are the practical implications of this case? This appeal underlines that, notwithstanding a legal error identified by the UT—here, the FTT’s misdirection about the proper test for identifying the contract’s ‘commercial context’—the UT retains a choice as to whether the decision should be overturned. Against that backdrop, the UT’s treatment of how the relevant agreements ought to be construed, and its assessment of the findings of fact made by the FTT (valuation material included), is noteworthy. Accordingly, the UT focused on the words actually used and on the FTT’s recorded findings, rather than substituting a broader commercial gloss. That emphasis shaped the result reached in Formwise in practice. In relation to Formwise, despite the FTT’s decision being tainted by an error of law, the UT determined that the parties were to be...
In this issue: Planning policy Planning conditions, obligations and CIL When planning permission is needed Obtaining, implementing and amending planning permission Nationally significant infrastructure projects Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Related Documents Planning policy The interpretation of the sequential test in retail planning ( Tesco v SMBC) In R (on the application of Tesco Stores Ltd) v Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council and another company [2025] EWCA Civ 610, the Court of Appeal addressed the central question of whether the local planning authority had misconstrued and misapplied the ‘sequential test’ found in national policy and development plan policies for retail schemes, when deciding a planning application for a new supermarket on a site that was neither within nor on the edge of a town...
In this issue: Key developments and horizon scanning UK, EU and international regulators and bodies Prudential requirements Risk management and controls Financial crime and sanctions Investigations, enforcement and discipline Regulation of capital markets Banks and mutuals Investment funds and asset management UK Mi FID II Regulation of insurance Payment services and systems Lex Talk®Financial Services: a Lexis®Nexis community Financial Services Enforcement Database Daily and weekly news alerts Intraday news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Key developments and horizon scanning Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 ( Commencement No 9) Regulations 2025 SI 2025/572: Specified elements of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 take effect on 14 May 2025 and 31 July 2025. See: LNB News 14/05/2025 5. UK, EU and...
In this issue: New technologies Information technology Internet Media Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Telecommunications Lex Talk®TMT: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information New technologies Contractually measuring the performance of AI systems TMT analysis: Artificial intelligence ( AI) now underpins many technology services, yet framing clear performance obligations in contracts can be difficult. In contrast to classic software, AI evolves over time, depends on substantial, varied datasets, and must balance layered aims, including transparency and the mitigation of bias. Below, we examine methods to define and uphold AI performance within agreements, drawing out workable market approaches and key clauses that support consistency and compliance in a rapidly changing environment. Written by Marcus Bagnall and Mark Deem, partners at Wiggin LLP. See News...
AIB, quoted on Euronext Dublin and the London Stock Exchange, announced plans to buy back 191.7 million of its shares in aggregate at €6.2607 apiece. The off-market buyback, representing roughly 8.2% of AIB’s issued share capital, is scheduled to complete on 9 May 2025. Mc Cann Fitz Gerald LLP is acting for AIB. William Fry LLP is acting for the Department of Finance on the matter......
Iqbal and another v City of Wolverhampton Council [2025] EWCA Crim 498 What are the practical implications of this case? This decision underscores the pressing obligation on businesses to secure comprehensive registration of all trade marks and designs linked to their products. Registration is both a cornerstone of brand safeguarding and the legal platform required to commence enforcement steps (including seeking criminal penalties) against participants in the manufacture or circulation of counterfeit items. Against a backdrop of evolving global tariff measures, which are pushing up the price of legitimate goods, the likelihood of fakes gaining a foothold in the market is rising. Escalating consumer prices can fuel unlawful trading, heightening the need for companies to take an anticipatory, well-planned stance on IP protection. To reduce exposure, organisations should have resilient processes to: track market movements and pinpoint likely...
Midas Construction Ltd (in administration) v Harmsworth Pension Funds Trustees Ltd [2025] EWHC 1122 ( TCC) What are the practical implications of this case? This decision underscores that, although the courts typically take a firm line in upholding an adjudicator’s award, an insolvent claimant holding a favourable determination will often encounter obstacles where the defendant has live cross-claims. It therefore operates as a caution for parties dealing with insolvent counterparties following adjudication. Here, the insolvent entity was willing to consent to a stay of enforcement, yet the court still had to address two matters: (i) whether the litigation should be sequenced so that a discrete issue, potentially generating a £1.5m payment to the insolvent party, was tried first, ahead of the opponent’s defects cross-claim; and (ii) what level of security for costs was appropriate in that litigation. The TCC affirmed that any...
Makeality Ltd v City Doggo Ltd and another [2025] EWCA Civ 400 What are the practical implications of this case? At first sight, the ramifications of this case seem confined to parties weighing up whether the IPEC SCT is the right venue. Yet forum selection is often a pivotal tactical lever across disputes of every kind. IP practitioners enjoy an unusually broad menu of forums, ranging from the IPEC SCT, through the IPEC proper and the Shorter Trials Scheme, right up to the full High Court when appropriate and necessary. In some scenarios, narrowing the dispute to a forum constrained on costs and complexity can be markedly advantageous. In others, practitioners may seek to conduct proceedings in the widest forum available, whether for tactical leverage or because the dispute’s complexity warrants it. This decision expressly identifies central factors to consider when choosing a forum. Above all, where a...
Weis v Revenue and Customs Commissioners [2025] UKFTT 348 ( TC) What was the background? This matter concerned the Appellant’s domicile for tax purposes, namely Mr Aubrey Weis, who was born and brought up in Salford, Manchester. His father, Pinkas Rudolph Weis ( PRW), fled Eastern Europe and settled in Salford in 1939. As a Jewish family, they were not safe there and had to escape. PRW lectured in Semitics at Manchester University and built a small portfolio of properties. In 1972 he left the UK, said to be retiring to Israel (though he also became a naturalised US citizen). The Appellant lived in Israel from 1967 to 1970, but returned to Salford as a newly married man; soon after, he started a family and began his own property career. He maintained that he always intended to retire to Israel on reaching 75. He...
Central Bank of Iraq v Cardno Middle East Ltd, Paris Court of Appeal, 21 January 2025, No 23/05511 What are the practical implications of this case? The principal practical lessons from this judgment are: To begin with, the ruling underscores how limited international public policy objections truly are. The bar for setting aside an award on that basis remains extraordinarily high. Claims of fraud or misrepresentation between private parties are approached as matters of contract, not breaches of international public policy. Only behaviour offending core norms—such as corruption or money laundering—can ground annulment under Article 1520, 5 of the French Code of Civil Procedure ( FCCP). Where such points were not duly advanced during the arbitration, Article 1466 FCCP applies, treating as waived any irregularity not raised promptly. The message is unmistakable: parties cannot turn international public policy into a tool to overturn an...
State aid General Court dismisses actions as inadmissible against Commission’s decision approving extension of digital TV spectrum rights in the Czech Republic The General Court delivered its ruling in Joined Cases T-362/21, Telly v Commission, and T-363/21, Česká asociace satelitních operátorů v Commission, challenging the Commission’s conclusion that the digital terrestrial television ( DTT) licences held by České Radiokomunikace (ČRa), its wholly‑owned subsidiary Czech Digital Group ( CDG), Česká televize (ČT) and Digital Broadcasting ( DB) did not constitute State aid under Article 107(1) TFEU due to the absence of financing from State resources ( SA.55805). The Court declared the applications inadmissible Background On 15 March 2021, the Commission adopted a decision extending, in the Czech Republic, the frequency usage rights of certain network operators for the broadcasting of DTT licences until 31 December 2030. The operators concerned were ČRa, its...
Popular documents
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 ]...
Discover more from LexisNexis
