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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 web of blame The report delivers a scathing assessment of entrenched failures and blame-shifting among those responsible for the refurbishment and governance of the Grenfell Tower project. At the centre were Studio E, Rydon, and Harley Facades, whose combined negligence and absence of accountability were instrumental in the catastrophic fire that followed. It sets out how these parties neglected their duties, resulting in a tragic loss of life and a profound breach of public trust. Studio E, the architectural practice leading the refurbishment design, did not ensure the scheme met essential fire safety requirements. Despite recognising the project’s high-risk nature, the firm failed to properly consider the consequences of employing combustible materials on the building’s exterior. Its lack of experience with high-rise residential work, and the failure to bring in fire safety consultants at an early stage, meant critical protections were missed. These...
Carolyn Roberts, a self-employed environmental and water consultant, has asked the Competition Appeal Tribunal ( CAT) to certify a case alleging that water and sewage operators have abused their market dominance within their regions. The companies are: Severn Trent Water Thames Water United Utilities Anglian Water Yorkshire Water Northumbrian Water Her barrister, Julian Gregory of Monckton Chambers, argued the firms have ‘significantly’ and ‘systematically’ understated sewage discharges into waterways when reporting to both the Environment Agency and the Water Services Regulation Authority, known as Ofwat. Gregory said Ofwat runs a ‘carrot and stick’ regime that caps what companies may bill customers according to whether specified environmental performance commitments are achieved. ‘ The claims maintain the defendants misled Ofwat and the Environment Agency by underreporting sewage spills,’ Gregory said. ‘ If so, they were allowed to levy higher prices for household...
As at 24 September 2024, our Practice Compliance forecast monitors proposed regulatory developments impacting law firm compliance, helping you prepare for any changes that could affect your organisation. Please review it thoroughly; key points that should be on your radar are highlighted below. New items we’re tracking this month Annual frozen asset reporting exercise — the government has issued a reporting notice and accompanying form for the annual frozen asset reporting exercise, which must be submitted to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation ( OFSI) by Monday 11 November 2024. ......
Court offers guidance on responsibility for adjudicators’ charges and ‘substantial’ remedies for late payment ( A& V Building Solution v J& B Hopkins) A& V Building Solution Limited v J& B Hopkins Ltd [2024] EWHC 2295 ( TCC) What are the practical implications of this case? This judgment underscores that an adjudicator’s ruling on apportioning its fees and expenses between the parties is final and cannot be reopened in court or arbitration. Accordingly, a party who lost in adjudication and was directed to meet all (or part) of the adjudicator’s fee stays liable for that sum—even if it later succeeds in litigation or arbitration in overturning the adjudicator’s findings on the merits. That said, the court signalled there may now be room to revisit this position (rooted in the Scottish authority Castle Inns v Clark). It remains to be seen whether, in a future dispute, a court might be...
R (on the application of Woody Carrigan) v Secretary of State for Justice [2024] EWHC 1940 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? As noted above, a structured seven-step approach is endorsed for all Judicial Review practitioners, with several stages readily transferable to other strands of Judicial Review analysis. For those practising within the Parol Board/ SSJ sphere, the judgment also clarifies facets of the jurisdictional interface between them, including: how the balance of risk-expertise sits between the two bodies policy direction and any re-orientation the need to act reasonably, give reasons, and remain within a range of reasonable outcomes the scope for reasoned divergence between recommendations and final decisions acknowledging each body’s risk expertise according appropriate respect to their distinct roles attaching proper and due weight to the organisations’ respective expertise justification of, and engagement with, the relevant processes and decisions, and providing legally adequate...
Private actions The CAT issued an order, dated 24 September 2024, in the case BSV Claims Limited v Bittylicious Limited & Others, a damages claim brought by BSV Claims Limited against Bittylicious Limited and additional parties, alleging infringements of Article 101 TFEU and/or Chapter I prohibition on the premise that the defendants co-ordinated to de-list the Bitcoin Satoshi Vision ( BSV) cryptocurrency in 2019, resulting......
Following moves by nation states to penalise refugees who arrive or stay without visas, the UK's refugee body has issued formal guidance on how to read the Refugee Convention properly......
Introducing further advertising restrictions on TV and online for products high in fat, salt or sugar In its reply to the 2022 consultation, Introducing further advertising restrictions on TV and online for products high in fat, salt or sugar, the government reaffirmed commitment to tackling childhood obesity by introducing limits on TV and online promotion of 'less healthy' foods and drinks. In practice this refers to high fat, salt or sugar ( HFSS) products that fall within the 'less healthy' categories. These advertising controls have been taken forward through the Health and Care Act 2002, which received Royal Assent on 28 April 2022 and added new sections to the Communications Act 2003, including: A 9pm television watershed for HFSS products, applying to all TV programmes regardless of programming or typical audience age, and covering all on-demand programme services ( ODPS) under UK...
Re an application by RM (a person under disability) by SM, (his father and next friend) for Judicial Review ( Northern Ireland); Re an application by RM (a person under disability) by SM, (his father and next friend) for Judicial Review ( Northern Ireland) No 2 [2024] UKSC 7 What are the practical implications of this case? This judgment clarifies how the rules on discharging a mentally disordered patient compulsorily detained for medical treatment operate, and how they interrelate with provisions on leave of absence. The Supreme Court’s conclusions will assist practitioners working with the Mental Health ( Northern Ireland) Order 1986 (the 1986 Order), SI 1986/596, and the Me HA 1983. It confirms that, despite differing wording, the detention standard under the 1986 Order aligns with that in the Me HA 1983: the decisive threshold is necessity. Accordingly, case law on the Me HA 1983 from...
Introduction TPR’s draft Code offers practical direction to trustees on fulfilling all DB scheme funding obligations. It aims to assist trustees, sponsoring employers and their advisers in managing and planning DB funding over the long term while supporting compliance with the law. The draft Code will introduce clearer DB funding benchmarks, enhance TPR’s oversight of the market, and provide greater support in safeguarding member benefits. At the same time, it retains flexibility to accommodate scheme‑specific funding approaches. What was the background to TPR’s second consultation on the draft DB funding code and its regulatory approach? The draft Code has been completed to reflect consultation feedback, the relevant Regulations, and TPR’s extensive engagement with the industry. TPR first consulted in March 2020, then launched a three‑month consultation on the draft Code in December 2022 alongside a consultation on its regulatory approach. In March 2024, TPR also...
The use of unlawful means conspiracy in procurement disputes ( Roche v GGHB & Co) Roche Diagnostics Ltd v Greater Glasgow Health Board and another [2024] CSOH 55, 2024 Scot ( D) 5/6 What are the practical implications of this case? Those practising in public procurement will find this ruling of particular note. Although determined in Scotland, the core legal architecture governing the award of public contracts, and the doctrine of unlawful means conspiracy, closely aligns with the approach in England and Wales. Its potential reach is considerable: it spotlights the exposure faced by contracting authorities when contemplating abandoning a procurement and the manner in which such choices are made. Within procurement litigation, this is a distinctly unusual claim, advancing an innovative pleading, and practitioners should track how its consequences unfold as the matter...
DJA And DJB [2024] SGHCR 10 What are the practical implications of this case? This decision succinctly distils the principles that steer the court when considering a case management stay of proceedings brought to annul an arbitral award, and sets out the relevant approach. It explains that such a stay stems from the court’s inherent jurisdiction to regulate its own procedure, and is administrative in character. Accordingly, the court is not rendered functus officio once the stay is imposed, and retains a free-standing authority to lift it thereafter. By contrast with a statutory stay under section 6 of the Arbitration Act 2001, a case management stay does not call into question the court’s jurisdiction over the controversy to which it relates; it simply influences the claimant’s selection of the sequence in which s/he advances proceedings. In deciding whether to exercise its power to grant a case...
Britain’s tax authority secured £991m through Code of Practice 9 ( COP9) enquiries, which focus specifically on tax fraud cases. That total has leapt from only £89m since April 2023, a rise of 1,000%, according to Pinsent Masons. The jump is partly linked to the case involving former Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone, who paid more than £650m to HMRC. Nonetheless, the authority still went on to collect close to £340m from other COP9 matters, the law firm said. ' Taxpayers must treat COP9 enquiries with utmost seriousness', Ian Robotham, legal director at Pinsent Masons, said in a statement......
Retired High Court Master Paul Teverson directed Trinitas Gaming Ltd, together with two of its directors, to post on its website that it had admitted infringing Alchemy Bet Ltd’s copyright in parts of its source code used to create games competing with Slingo. He refused Alchemy Bet’s bid for an order that some of its legal costs be recovered on the indemnity basis (which would relieve Alchemy Bet of proving proportionality), remarking that the court must act with considerable caution. Alchemy Bet’s barrister, Georgina Messenger of Three New Square, had pressed Master Teverson to compel Trinitas to announce the outcome, maintaining that such publicity was reasonable and proportionate. Messenger further contended that Trinitas ought to meet her client’s legal costs on the indemnity basis, asserting that Trinitas might have acknowledged its copyright infringement earlier in the case to save......
Foreign Subsidies Regulation Commission conditionally clears first in-depth merger investigation under the FSR The Commission announced it has granted conditional clearance, under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation ( FSR), for the acquisition by Emirates Telecommunications Group Company PJSC ('e&') of sole control of PPF Telecom Group BV ( PPF), excluding its Czech business. This represents the first phase II decision adopted under the FSR... Background As background, e& is a telecommunications operator based in the UAE. e& is controlled by a sovereign wealth fund owned by the UAE, the Emirates Investment Authority ( EIA). PPF, headquartered in the Netherlands, is a telecommunication operator active in Czechia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia ( Yettel) and Slovakia ( O2)......
Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programmes ( ECCP) Nicole Argentieri, principal deputy assistant lawyer general and chief of the DOJ’s Criminal Division, stated in prepared remarks at a Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics conference that prosecutors will scrutinise how companies gauge and handle the risks of new technology, including AI, across both their business and their compliance programmes. Under the ECCP policy, prosecutors will consider: the technology a company and its staff use to conduct business; whether the company has carried out a risk assessment on the use of that technology; and whether appropriate steps have been taken to mitigate any risk associated with its use. She added that the division also wants to know whether firms are monitoring and testing their technology to assess if it operates as intended and aligns with the firm’s code of conduct. Argentieri said the ECCP was further updated to include...
On 19 September 2024, the British Insurance Brokers' Association ( BIBA) noted that larger small-to-medium enterprises typically employ risk managers, making them experienced purchasers of insurance. This intervention followed the FCA opening a consultation on whether its rules 'appropriately balance customer protection and competitiveness' in the commercial insurance sector. That review, in turn, was triggered by the regulator receiving a new secondary objective—second to consumer protection—intended to strengthen the competitiveness of the UK financial sector......
Original news Mr R ( CAS-79272– B1B3) –12 April 2024 Summary The DPO dismissed a complaint regarding a fund switch. The provider was not at fault for maladministration, as no advice was given and no failure of its computer systems occurred. Responsibility lay with the complainant to input the switch directions accurately and correctly (which he did not) within the scheme’s online portal, and he was presented with a summary to review his entries before final submission. This determination serves as a reminder that members must exercise care when providing fund investment instructions. What were the facts?......
Mergers The CMA published a call for comments regarding the proposed purchase by XSYS Germany Holding Gmb H of specific entities and assets forming the Mac Dermid Graphics Solutions business—see further, the case page NOTE— For all live mergers before the CMA, see further, UK mergers—ongoing cases tracker Upcoming dates For dates of forthcoming UK competition developments, see further, the UK Competition calendar......
Easygroup Ltd v Easy Live ( Services) Ltd and others [2024] EWHC 2282 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? The practical impact of this ruling centres on whether a likelihood of confusion arises even where the signs are similar and the services are identical or akin. Here, the outcome hinged on the notion that the notional average consumer, on encountering a trader using a sign including the word ‘easy’, would not automatically suppose that another trader using a sign with the same word is linked to the first. This is because such a consumer would not believe that any one business could claim a monopoly over all marks that incorporate the descriptive term ‘easy’. In this dispute, the further elements present in each sign, when combined with the conceptual distinctions between the marks, were enough to allow consumers to...
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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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