Legal News

High Court judge Joanna Smith indicated the photo library could challenge her decision that Stability’s use of Getty’s copyright‑protected collections of images to set the parameters of its Stable Diffusion model did not make the model an infringing copy of those images. She also noted this raises a novel and significant question of law about how the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 ( CDPA 1988) ought to be interpreted, a point not previously addressed by any court. That new question, she added, may carry far‑reaching consequences for AI models and for intangible articles such as software in general. Getty sought permission from the High Court to appeal the finding that Stability’s reliance on Getty’s protected image collections to configure Stable Diffusion’s parameters did not render the model an unlawful copy of those images. In written...

Original news Mrs E ( CAS-48733- H1L4)—16 July 2025 Summary The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman dismissed a formal grievance alleging that pausing a spouse’s pension in a public sector pension arrangement breached the complainant’s right to a family life and amounted to unlawful age-based discrimination under the European Convention on Human Rights ( ECHR). The pause came within the carve-out that the measure was “in accordance with the law and… necessary for the economic well-being of the country”. It was not discriminatory because the interference with her rights was not disproportionate. This decision indicates that the reach of the ECHR will sometimes need to be weighed in public sector pension matters. What were the facts? Mrs E was a pensioner member of the 1995 section of the NHS Pension Scheme (the Scheme). She was in receipt of a widow’s pension which, under the Scheme’s...

The award directed Malaysia to pay over US$14.9 billion to the purported descendants of the former Sultan of Sulu, stemming from an 1878 pact concerning the northern reaches of Borneo. Scarcely any modern arbitral decisions have drawn comparable scrutiny, whether due to the magnitude of the sum or the antique provenance of the instrument invoked to ground jurisdiction. The ruling sits at the crossroads of bedrock themes in international arbitration: the necessity of sovereign consent, the legal ramifications of procedural flaws in the formation of arbitral tribunals, and the continuing oversight exercised by domestic courts. While French arbitration law is often seen as exceptionally supportive of arbitral independence, the Court of Appeal confirmed that such deference is neither unconditional nor oblivious to defects that strike at the legitimacy of the process, and it did so strictly within the confines of annulment review...

Ruling upholds US$11m arbitration award, offers D& O lessons Although the court’s remit was narrow—confirming a US$10.96m award for the policyholder—the judgment sets out clear expectations on how insurers and policyholders should tackle allocation disputes, how widely choice-of-law and insurability provisions can operate, and the uphill task insurers face when seeking to overturn an unfavourable arbitration result. For policyholders, it serves as a practical blueprint for advancing allocation and insurability positions in complex, multi-defendant matters. For insurers, it signals that speculative allocation theories, inflexible readings of best-efforts duties, and forceful bids to unwind arbitral outcomes are unlikely to gain traction. The arbitration arose from a high-stakes trade secrets and fiduciary duty case that Flextronics resolved for more than US$42m. Allianz resisted payment on its excess layer and pursued a multi-pronged challenge: contesting allocation, resisting the application of favourable insurability law, alleging the...

Why has a new ( EIP) been published? EA 2021, s 8 obliges a Secretary of State to issue an EIP, and under section 10 it has to be revisited every five years. As the last EIP appeared in 2023, the government had no legal duty to reassess it yet. Nonetheless, delivery of the 2023 Plan drew heavy critique. The Office for Environmental Protection ( OEP), which is tasked by statute with tracking progress in improving the environment in line with the current environmental improvement plan, reported that out of 43 targets and commitments, the government was largely on course for 9, partially on course for 12, and largely off course for 20. In 2024, ministers initiated a rapid review of EIP 2023. They concluded there were key areas where delivery of the EIP needed strengthening. Presenting the new plan, the...

Original news Mr Y ( CAS-57893- P0C6)—20 August 2025 / Ms R ( CAS-58612- P1X1)—18 July 2025 Summary The Pensions Ombudsman dismissed a complaint concerning a loan note investment. The scheme’s independent trustee bore no responsibility for losses arising from this high-risk, speculative asset. The complainants had completed forms confirming the trustee was not giving investment advice and could not be held accountable for any investment loss. The arrangement ran on an execution-only basis. The trustee also undertook appropriate due diligence before proceeding. In light of these factors, no liability ultimately attached to the trustee for the loan note loss. The determination highlights the perils of placing funds into non-standard investments. Accordingly, the complaint failed. What were the facts? Ms R and Mr Y were members of the Westerby Pension Scheme (the Scheme). The Scheme was a self-directed, self-invested personal pension ( SIPP) scheme. Westerby Trustee...

Summary The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman has dismissed a grievance concerning whether unpaid leave counted as pensionable service for an individual holding protected person status following electricity privatisation. Although the claimant’s electricity pension arising from privatisation was safeguarded by statute on employment transfer, that safeguard did not cover provisions treating periods of unpaid absence as pensionable; the Deputy Pensions Ombudsman viewed that as a discretionary facility. The decision underlines the need to separate enforceable rights from employer or scheme discretions for electricity sector members benefiting from protected person safeguards. What were the facts? Mr Y previously belonged to the Capita Pension and Life Assurance Scheme (the Capita Scheme) and the ATOS UK 2011 Pension Scheme (the ATOS Scheme). He had earlier worked within the electricity industry and qualified as a ‘protected person’ under the Electricity ( Protected Persons) Pensions Regulations ( Northern Ireland) 1992 (the...

Mergers CMA publishes revised merger remedies guidance The CMA has released a refreshed version of its merger remedies guidance ( CMA87), following a March 2025 call for evidence and an October 2025 consultation on the CMA’s approach to merger remedies. Forming part of the CMA’s wider delivery of its ‘4Ps’ principles—pace, predictability, proportionality and process—across its merger control work, the update is designed to modernise and clarify how remedies are conceived, chosen and implemented. The guidance aims to provide businesses with greater transparency, flexibility and certainty, offering a clearer and more predictable remedies framework......

Tower One St George Wharf Ltd v HMRC [2025] EWCA Civ 1588 What are the practical implications of this case? FA 2003, s 53 ordinarily requires SDLT to be computed by reference to the market value where property is transferred to connected companies. By contrast, FA 2003, s 54 sets out several departures from that market value basis. Under Case 3 in FA 2003, s 54(4), an exception applies if the transfer forms part of a distribution of the vendor’s assets and the property has not been within the scope of an SDLT group relief claim during the prior three years. The Court of Appeal’s interpretation of FA 2003, s 54(4) confirms that Case 3 is only disapplied where SDLT group relief was actually obtained, and not merely claimed without success, contrary to HMRC’s position. Significantly, the Court of Appeal also upheld HMRC’s power to rely on FA...

Mergers The Commission approved: the joint control acquisition of SSCP Build Hold Co AB by Integrity Lux Bidco S.à r.l. and SSCP Build Holdings SCA ( M.12194) following a phase I investigation—see also Midday Express the acquisition of sole control of Reinhard Wolf Gmb H & Co. KG and Wolf Nürnberg Immobilien Gmb H & Co......

Counsel for the claimants told the High Court that the Australian mining behemoth ought to pay the legal costs in full, covering Pogust Goodhead’s charges, counsel’s fees and associated disbursements. Alain Choo Choy KC of One Essex Court Chambers contended that his clients had prevailed at the initial stage of the case against an adversary that had taken 'every conceivable step' to sidestep liability. He added they had throughout faced an 'extremely wealthy opponent that has fought tooth and nail for seven years'. The miner, which owned and ran the Fundão Dam via a joint venture, was sued in England over the devastation from toxic sludge and mud that tore through Brazilian communities in 2015, causing widespread harm. In November 2025, High Court Judge Finola O’ Farrell ruled in a judgment that BHP was 'strictly liable for damage caused to the...

Mergers The CMA stated that it is assessing the proposed undertakings offered by the parties, in place of referring the expected acquisition by Vandemoortele Group of Délifrance S. A. to a phase 2 investigation—see further, the case page. Note— For all live mergers before the CMA, see the UK mergers—ongoing cases tracker. Upcoming dates For dates of forthcoming UK competition developments, see further, the UK Competition calendar......

Mergers The Commission authorised: the establishment of a joint venture by CRRC Shandong Wind Power Co. Ltd...

Background As a brief reminder, after the UK’s departure from the EU on 1 February 2020, the EU– UK Withdrawal Agreement ( Withdrawal Agreement) set up a ‘transition period’ running from 1 February 2020 to 31 December 2020. Up to that point, the full corpus of EU law (including obligations arising from international agreements concluded by the EU) continued to apply in and to the UK (see Articles 2, 127(1) and 129 of the Withdrawal Agreement). The UK became subject to the Hague Choice of Court Convention on 1 October 2015 through its EU membership, as the EU approved the instrument on that date. On 28 September 2020, aiming to secure continuity after Brexit—and because Regulation ( EU) 1215/2012, Brussels ( Recast), would no longer apply to the UK once the transition ended—the UK filed an instrument to accede to the Hague Choice of Court...

Bailey v Stonewall Equality Ltd [2025] EWCA Civ 1662 What are the practical implications of this judgment? Debate over gender‑critical positions and/or gender identity beliefs, alongside trans rights, is a highly politicised and emotive subject, drawing significant press and social media attention. The Court of Appeal has upheld the findings of both the employment tribunal and the EAT, confirming that, although Garden Court Chambers ( GCC) discriminated against one of its tenants, Ms Bailey, through the way it investigated tweets she had posted, that discriminatory treatment was not caused or induced by Stonewall, the LGBT charity that had complained to GCC about those tweets. In its judgment, the Court of Appeal substantially endorsed Bourne J’s reading of section 111 of the Equality Act 2010 ( Eq A 2010)—the prohibition of instructing, causing or inducing contraventions in relation to the Eq A 2010—and...

This is the first instalment in a series of News Analyses, each concentrating on one of the principal changes within ERA 2025. The measures are arranged by the date of implementation (or anticipated implementation). Employment Rights Act 2025 (pdf) The Employment Rights Act 2025 overview factsheet, issued on 18 December 2025, confirms that: ERA 2025 will be rolled out in phases over a two‑year period common commencement dates (6 April and 1 October) will be used to bring the majority of regulations made using ERA 2025 powers into force the government remains committed to the timelines set out in the Implementing the Employment Rights Bill Roadmap, published on 1 July 2025 Review of extent of right to time off for public duties Provisions: section 19 Main changes: Requires the Secretary of State, within 12 months of the passing of ERA 2025 (ie before 18 December 2026), to review the...

Why is this legislation required? The government points to two main reasons for introducing this scheme. First, there is inconsistency over which tax advisers must register with HMRC. Making registration mandatory will create uniformity across HMRC’s services for all tax advisers. Second, following an October 2024 consultation, the government reported strong support for compulsory registration to ensure advisers are suitably trained, meet minimum standards, and to deter so-called ‘bad actors’ from entering the market. Which advisers will be required to register with HMRC? Subject to the exemptions noted below, a tax adviser may not interact with HMRC unless they are registered. ‘ Interaction’ is defined widely and includes any communication with, or filing of a document to, HMRC. For registration, a ‘tax adviser’ means either: an organisation that, in the course of its business, assists another person with their tax affairs, or an...

The Commission has set out revisions to multiple rules overseeing medical devices, featuring an amendment aimed at easing EU AI Act compliance for producers. See: LNB News 17/12/2025 28. Released on 16 December 2025, the package reshapes device regulations and clarifies how such products are handled under the EU AI Act. Central to the law’s risk-based model is a rigorous due diligence framework for AI systems tagged ‘high-risk’, given their potential to seriously and directly impact people’s health, safety and fundamental rights. A key pathway to the high-risk class is where an AI system forms a product, or a product’s safety component, governed by existing EU sectoral safety regimes, for example those covering toys, lifts and industrial machinery specifically set out in Annex I......

Deal headlines Zero tariffs on UK pharmaceutical exports to the US will continue until 2028 The UK reports it has secured ‘mitigations’ under the US ‘ Most Favoured Nation’ ( MFN) drug pricing initiative, though what these entail remains unclear Plans are underway to raise the thresholds used by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence ( NICE) to assess whether new medicines are cost-effective for NHS use by 17%–25%. In principle, this should lead to more favourable reimbursement outcomes in the UK at prices that better reflect the substantial R& D investment required to bring novel therapies to market The agreement also introduces, for 2026 to 2028, a 15% cap under the ‘ VPAG’ scheme on rebates payable by pharmaceutical firms to the UK government on net NHS sales of newer medicines Over the next decade, the UK...

EU financial services developments ESMA selects Euro CTP as first CTP for shares and ETFs The European Securities and Markets Authority ( ESMA) has chosen Euro CTP to serve as the EU’s first consolidated tape provider ( CTP) for shares and exchange-traded funds ( ETFs), following a competitive evaluation under the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation ( Mi FIR). ESMA confirmed that Euro CTP’s submission satisfied the technical and operational criteria. The authority will now invite Euro CTP to seek authorisation, after which it may run the consolidated tape for a five-year term. ESMA says the creation of a consolidated tape is intended to bolster market transparency, sharpen price discovery, and reduce data fragmentation across EU equity markets. The tape will deliver a continuous electronic data stream with both pre- and post-trade information from trading venues and other data contributors. ESMA described the selection as a...