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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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Which? urges FCA investigation into Consumer Duty breaches On 16 January 2025, Which? called on the FCA to probe potential breaches of the Consumer Duty within the sector. It argued that the difficulties originate from a flawed sales process, where insurers are not adequately clarifying complex terms and policy exclusions. Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at Which?, condemned the situation, noting that excessive numbers of people are having claims refused and suffering dreadful treatment from insurance firms. She added that the FCA has both the authority and the responsibility to intervene to safeguard consumers. She also stated, “ The regulator must show”......
On 14 January 2024, the ASA released refreshed guidance on claims about promotional savings and discounts. There is plenty of shared ground between the ASA and the CMA, yet there are notable differences in how they handle online discount and savings assertions—most notably ‘was/now’ pricing. The overlap is real, but not absolute. WAS pretty reasonable and clear/ NOW it’s not! This territory had seemed settled and largely uncontentious for years, until the CMA chose to shift the goalposts in a way that caught online retailers off guard. In its recent case concerning online mattress retailers, the CMA introduced an entirely new and additional requirement for was/now discount claims. That stipulation is not applied in the same way in any other country and has never previously applied here in the UK. It does not flow from legislation; rather, the CMA appears to have conjured it....
Private actions The CAT issues judgment determining ‘carriage dispute’ regarding two applications to commence damages action against Amazon Marketplace; Professor Andreas Stephan proceedings more suitable for certification than claim raised by BIRA The CAT has released its judgment in BIRA Trading Limited v Amazon.com, Inc and others and Professor Andreas Stephan v Amazon.com, Inc and others, addressing a ‘carriage dispute’ between two applications to commence collective proceedings under section 47B of the Competition Act 1998 against Amazon. The first application was advanced by BIRA Trading Limited; the second by Professor Andreas Stephan. Both proposed collective actions bundle stand-alone claims for damages said to flow from alleged infringements by Amazon of Article 102 TFEU (up to 31 December 2020) and of the Chapter II prohibition of the Competition Act 1998, all arising from the operation of Amazon Marketplace in the UK. In each case, the...
On 24 December 2024, the package of proposals amending EMIR to make EU derivatives clearing more attractive ( EMIR 3.0) took effect. The EMIR 3.0 Regulation is available here. The EMIR 3.0 Directive is available here. These proposals seek to make derivatives clearing in the EU more attractive. EMIR 3.0 Regulation EMIR 3.0 refreshes clearing, risk mitigation and reporting requirements, adjusts certain exemptions from clearing and margining, and makes further miscellaneous updates (including a requirement to validate initial margin models). Validation of initial margin models is expressly required. We outline the principal changes under EMIR 3.0 relevant to financial counterparties, such as Irish funds. Two headline duties in the EMIR 3.0 Regulation — the active account obligations and the new framework for initial margin model validation ( IMMV) — are anticipated to affect only a limited subset of Irish funds. Although most EMIR 3.0...
Alphabet and Others , Case C-233/23 What are the practical implications of this case? The Opinion’s suggested approach could, in principle, spur innovation and rivalry by lowering barriers for newcomers to tap into digital platforms. It may likewise enhance the uptake of emerging technologies and back the creation of novel tools supporting, for instance, the energy transition. Yet it also poses notable hurdles and ambiguities, particularly around data protection, intellectual property, and cyber security. Dominant platforms, for example, would seek robust safeguards to prevent jeopardising their intellectual property rights, including carefully circumscribing the parameters of access. As the digital technology sector keeps expanding and maturing, further evolution in how competition law applies to digital platforms is probable, and actors in the digital economy will have to remain up to date with such developments in order to navigate an increasingly intricate and fluid...
The High Court ruled that Credit Management & Investor Solutions BV ( CMIS) had assumed the credit risk arising from swap arrangements linked to mortgage-backed securities entered into with Nat West Markets Plc and its Dutch subsidiary, Nat West Markets NV, between May 2006 and April 2008. Nigel Cooper KC, sitting as a High Court judge, determined that the purpose of the various deeds of indemnity connected to these transactions was to safeguard Nat West should an issuer fail to make payments due under the swaps. As Cooper J explained, CMIS accepted the possibility that it could be required to make payments under the deeds in situations where issuers lacked adequate funds. At the trial in July, Nat West told the High Court that CMIS had wrongly relied on contractual provisions to defer payment under seven deeds of indemnity relating to the...
Where this substantial compliance burden ultimately settles may turn on the idea of ‘intended purpose’—defined in the EU AI Act as ‘the use for which an AI system is intended by the provider, including the specific context and conditions of use.’ Drawn from EU product safety law, of which the EU AI Act is a standout example, the concept sits awkwardly with general-purpose AI ( GPAI) such as Open AI’s Chat GPT and Microsoft’s Copilot, which lack a singular aim and can execute a wide range of tasks. What, then, is the intended purpose of a system built for innumerable applications? Who carries the duty of due diligence when a GPAI supports a high-risk use? What regulatory exposure do users face when they step beyond a system’s stated purpose? These questions—and more—are likely to preoccupy the...
The Lord Chancellor v 79 Divorced Couples [2024] EWHC 3211 ( Fam) What are the practical implications of this case? The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 ( DDSA 2020) took effect on 6 April 2022, delivering significant reforms to the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. Yet section 3 of the MCA 1973 survived unchanged, providing that an application for a divorce order cannot be issued until one year has elapsed from the date of the marriage. This judgment underscores the long-established minimum interval before issuing proceedings, namely one year and one day. By way of illustration, spouses who wed on 1 April 2025 cannot lodge a divorce application before 2 April 2026. Although the DDSA 2020 brought wide changes, this restriction was retained and remains operative. The point serves as a clear prompt for practitioners to advise accurately on the timetable for divorce;...
Frontier Holdings Ltd v Petroleum Exploration ( Private) Ltd [2024] SGHC( I) 34 What are the practical implications of this case? Within this dispute, the election between local and overseas arbitration was anything but trivial. Domestic arbitration in Pakistan is hamstrung by an antiquated, ineffective framework, so cases may languish for years, even decades. In contrast, the recognition and enforcement of overseas awards in Pakistan is governed by a contemporary, swift regime anchored in the 1958 New York Convention. More broadly, the practical consequences are twofold. For Pakistan, the ruling gives comfort to international investors in the energy sector that, where proceedings arise under state‑prescribed standard form documents, those disputes will fall under an international arbitration clause. The tribunal’s declinature of jurisdiction had undermined that investor‑friendly stance. For Singapore, the ruling adds another feather to the SICC’s cap and reinforces business sentiment in favour of...
Background to OTSI guidance Following Russia’s assault on Ukraine in February 2022, the UK brought in trade sanctions covering a broad spectrum of goods, technology and services. Although direct commerce between the UK and Russia has fallen markedly since these measures were imposed, Russia has continued attempting to source such items indirectly, often via intricate supply chains. This trend has heightened the exposure of UK businesses to sanctions circumvention and the diversion of products to Russia. The methods used to sidestep restrictions are diverse and evolve rapidly, including fabricated end-use details, routed shipments, and the involvement of professional sanctions evasion networks. Participants across supply chains must recognise the diversion threats created by Russia’s procurement activity in this changed environment. Among other provisions, UK trade sanctions bar the export from the UK of sanctioned items to, or for use in, Russia, even where those items are first...
The British Insurance Brokers’ Association ( BIBA) announced on 15 January 2025 that legacy rules should be scaled back where they duplicate the new Consumer Duty for firms. It also argued that the Consumer Duty ought to be adjusted so it no longer captures large commercial policyholders, BIBA added. These requests featured in BIBA’s 2025 ‘manifesto’, setting out its key political lobbying aims for the coming year, unveiled at an event in Parliament on 15 January 2025. BIBA said: ‘ We have a golden opportunity, via the regulator’s Secondary International Competitiveness and Growth Objective, to align with the government’s......
Fund managers and advisers linked to the Local Government Pension Scheme ( LGPS) warned that hurried changes could depress investment outcomes, leaving local taxpayers to carry the cost. The government has proposed sweeping reforms to the £400bn LGPS, which is currently split across 86 smaller funds ranging from £300m to £30bn. The plan is to combine these holdings into several much larger megafunds, providing the scale to commit more capital to infrastructure projects. Crucially, the Treasury will set a 5% target for every LGPS administering authority to invest in the local economy......
Many may not know the 1994 Latham Report, which promoted good faith, while the government’s Construction Playbook and the private-sector Trust and Productivity report are more recent signals of a push for collaborative contracting to enhance delivery. In practical terms, that means embedding good-faith duties in construction agreements, which is one reason the JCT 2024 suite introduces new Article 3. Under Article 3, the parties must engage with each other and with other project team members in a co-operative, collaborative way, acting in good faith and with a spirit of trust and respect. It also obliges the parties to foster collaborative conduct and to challenge behaviour that is not collaborative. As JCT notes, the courts have shown greater openness to the idea of good faith in recent years. However, this is not uniformly applied, and the outcome in any dispute still depends very much on the...
DKH Retail Ltd and others v City Football Group Ltd [2024] EWHC 3231 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? This seems to be the earliest published ruling where the court has invoked CPR 1.4(2)(e) and CPR 3.1(2)(o) (in their form from 1 October 2024) to compel reluctant litigants to take part in mediation. Those rule changes, effective from 1 October 2024, flowed from Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council [2023] EWCA Civ 1416, where the Court of Appeal held that judges may require participation in non-court dispute resolution, so long as any direction neither undermines the core right to a judicial hearing nor exceeds what is proportionate to the legitimate goal of resolving the case justly, expeditiously and without undue expense. The court’s direction sought fair, prompt and cost-effective resolution while preserving the essence of the right to a...
Key trends shaping corporate ethics and compliance landscape in 2025 Stakeholder expectations often conflict From ESG criteria and supply chain disclosures to the priorities of a millennial workforce, alongside activist investors and consumers, pressure is mounting for companies to behave ethically and with social responsibility — not merely to meet legal requirements, but to mirror the wider values of customers, staff, investors and other stakeholders. Yet consensus on what counts as 'ethical' or 'socially responsible' is scarce. Consider the ongoing Carter v Southwest Airlines Co case before the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, pitting the airline against a flight attendant over her social media posts about abortion. At its core lies the clash between an employee's right to voice deeply held views and an employer's aim to preserve workplace civility. Across issues spanning abortion, immigration, global warming and diversity, employees, investors and...
On 16 January 2025, the professional services company indicated that weather‑linked claims for 2024 are expected to amount to £1.2bn, twice the yearly figures seen from 2017 and 2020. That sum would represent about 22% of all 2024 disbursements made by UK property insurers. Deloitte’s estimate for 2024 property insurance payouts draws on Association of British Insurers ( ABI) data to which it subscribes, while figures for the last quarter of 2024 rely on the firm’s internal data......
What impact is AI having on the telecoms market? Increased operational efficiency Arguably the most frequently cited advantage of AI in telecoms is improved network effectiveness. It can be delivered in three principal ways: predictive maintenance—leveraging network data to foresee likely equipment faults before they happen, allowing preventative upkeep dynamic network management—automated systems can apportion resources in real time according to demand, boosting overall performance fault detection and resolution— AI-driven tools swiftly spot and diagnose network issues, propose remedies and support faster restoration Taken together, these measures deliver additional network efficiency and support enhanced performance. They also expedite fault resolution and enable preventative maintenance activities. Making customer support more efficient As a condition of operating in the UK, CSPs (especially those targeting residential customers) must comply with a suite of consumer protection rules (primarily contained in Ofcom’s General Conditions of...
Mergers The Commission has been notified of the following: PGGM/ Invesis ( M.11877) (simplified merger procedure) LDC/ Viterra Assets ( M.11827) (simplified merger procedure) Yunex/ VVP/ Ascendi/ Triangle JV ( M.11795) (simplified merger procedure) The Commission has released the public versions of its phase I clearance decisions for: Rolex/ Bucherer ( M.11246)—see further, decision Arcelik/ Whirlpool EMEA MDA ( M.11086)—see further, decision The Commission also issued the public version of its Article 4(4) full referral decision in MSC/ Moby ( M.11595). Note— For all ongoing merger investigations before the Commission, see further, EU mergers—ongoing cases tracker Upcoming dates For dates of forthcoming EU competition developments, see further, EU Competition calendar......
In this issue Key developments UK immigration control: how it works Sponsored work Work sponsorship: sponsors Business, investment and non-sponsored work Family routes Long residence, discretion and human rights EU law rights and EU Settlement Scheme Challenging immigration decisions and enforcement Citizenship applications Daily and weekly news alerts Key developments Future developments— Immigration calendar Our Immigration calendar outlines upcoming changes of relevance to business immigration advisers. UK immigration control: how it works AJC opens Call for Evidence on tribunal digital reform and disadvantage The Administrative Justice Council has begun a Call for Evidence, open until 17:00 on 10 February 2025, to gather perspectives on the impact of tribunal digital reforms and on disadvantage within the administrative justice system. The exercise will underpin two working group reports and seeks submissions from...
In this issue: Planning applications Highways and rights of way Planning policy Building Regulations Is planning permission required Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Latest Q& A Related Documents Planning applications New fee regulations to introduce increased planning application fees laid The draft Town and Country Planning ( Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications, Requests and Site Visits) ( England) ( Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2025 have been presented to Parliament. These proposals raise charges for specified householder applications, prior approval submissions, and for approving details reserved by condition. They also bring in a three-band fee model for applications made under section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 ( TCPA 1990), setting distinct fees for householder, non‑major (other than householder) and major schemes. The measures are scheduled to take effect on 1 April 2025 and...
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 ]...
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