Monkey selfie: Animal charity Peta challenges ruling – BBC News

Posted August 15th, 2016 in animals, charities, copyright, intellectual property, news by sally

‘An animal charity has appealed against a court decision which ruled a monkey could not own the copyright to a selfie photograph it took.’

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BBC News, 12th August 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Do you need to review your use of images after repeal of s.52? – Technology Law Update

Posted August 12th, 2016 in artistic works, copyright, intellectual property, news by sally

‘The UK has recently repealed a fairly obscure bit of copyright law – should you be worried?’

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Technology Law Update, 10th August 2016

Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk

New Digital Economy Bill laid before the UK parliament – OUT-LAW.com

‘Plans for establishing a universal service obligation (USO) on broadband, governing the installation and maintenance of telecoms infrastructure, facilitating public sector data sharing and regulating direct marketing activities have been published before the UK parliament.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 6th July 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Threatening IP infringers – what you can (and can’t) say – Technology Law Update

Posted June 23rd, 2016 in bills, enforcement, intellectual property, Law Commission, news by sally

‘The UK’s unjustified threats legislation is intended to prevent IP rights-holders from abusive behaviour – threatening to sue a competitor’s customers, for example, to persuade them to take their business elsewhere. While there is still a place for these rules, they have become outdated and inconsistent between the various forms of IP. The Intellectual Property (Unjustified Threats) Bill aims to tidy up and modernise the threats rules.’

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Technology Law Update, 22nd June 2016

Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk

Hold Me Close, I’m an Academic – Panopticon

‘If I am an extremely well-regarded academic at Cambridge (don’t snigger at the back, I could be) and due to my eminence I do some unpaid voluntary work for a major international group (here, the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change), the work in relation to which I do over my university email account, are those emails held by the University under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (“EIR”)?’

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Panopticon, 10th June 2016

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

UK plans full throttle on driverless cars and broadband reform – Technology Law Update

‘Amongst the political noise of the Brexit campaign, the UK’s legislative plans set out in the Queen’s speech yesterday received less attention than usual. But there were some important points to note for the technology sector.’

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Technology Law Update, 19th May 2016

Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk

Bill-by-bill summary: Queen’s Speech at-a-glance – BBC News

‘The Queen has announced the government’s legislation for the year ahead, at the state opening of Parliament. Here is a bill-by-bill guide to what is in the 2016 Queen’s Speech.’

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BBC News, 18th May 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

UK government to provide guidance on obtaining website blocking orders in copyright cases – OUT-LAW.com

‘The UK government will help rights holders to clamp down on online copyright infringement by explaining what evidence they will need to build up to win website blocking orders before the courts, according to new plans it has set out.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 16th May 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Led Zeppelin’s plagiarism lawsuit: a sign of the times in the music industry – The Guardian

Posted May 10th, 2016 in artistic works, intellectual property, news by sally

‘In age of declining revenue, suing over chord progressions and samples opens a new revenue stream for disgruntled artists – but such action is nothing new.’

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The Guardian, 9th May 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Teach that judge a lesson – Technology Law Update

Posted May 4th, 2016 in expert witnesses, intellectual property, judges, judiciary, news, patents by tracey

‘Patent litigation in the English courts can be a bit of a see-saw, with experts from either side weighing in with their own perspective on technical matters. The judge must then make a choice between their views and come up with what he or she feels is the right answer.’

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Technology Law Update, 4th May 2016

Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk

England and Wales Cricket Board Ltd and another v Tixdaq Ltd and another – WLR Daily

Posted April 13th, 2016 in copyright, damages, EC law, intellectual property, internet, law reports, sport by sally

England and Wales Cricket Board Ltd and another v Tixdaq Ltd and another [2016] EWHC 575 (Ch)

‘The claimants owned the copyrights in television broadcasts, and in films incorporated within such broadcasts, of most cricket matches played by the English cricket teams in England and Wales. The defendants operated a website and various mobile applications (“Apps”) which used screen capture technology to copy clips of broadcast footage of sporting events and uploaded those clips to the Apps. The defendants’ uploaded a considerable number of clips of broadcasts of cricket matches, lasting up to eight seconds, to the Apps where they could be viewed by users. Users could also upload clips, together with commentary, on to the website and the defendants’ social media accounts. The claimants brought a claim for damages, alleging uploading the clips prima facie constituted breaches of sections 16, 17 and/or 20 of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988. The 1988 Act did not require either broadcasts or films to be original in order for copyright to subsist in them. An issue arose as to the applicable test for substantiality in circumstances where there was no intellectual creation. The question went to both infringement, which required an act such as reproduction or communication to the public of the whole, or any “substantial part” of a work, and also to the applicability of the fair dealing defence in section 30(2) of the 1988 Act, on which the defendants relied.’

WLR Daily, 18th April 2016

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Subject access request as precursor to litigation? No problem – Panopticon

Posted April 12th, 2016 in data protection, EC law, intellectual property, news by sally

‘Gurieva & Anor v Community Safety Development (UK) Ltd [2016] EWHC 643 (QB), a judgment of Warby J of 6 April 2016, is the High Court’s latest word on subject access requests. It illustrates some of the emerging trends in subject access litigation. It is also a salutary reminder to ensure that, for subject access request cases as for any other, adequate evidence is presented.’

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Panopticon, 8th April 2016

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

The Institute for Capitalizing on Creativity: “Tales from the Drawing Board” – NIPC Law

Posted March 31st, 2016 in intellectual property, news by sally

‘According to the Creative Industries Economic Estimates published by the Department in January of this year, the gross value added (“GVA”) for the creative industries was £84.1 billion in 2014 and accounted for 5.2% of the UK economy. Between 1997 and 2014, the GVA of those industries increased by 6.0% each year compared to 4.3% for the UK economy. It accounted for 3.9% of UK GVA in 1997 and increased to 5.2 per cent in 2014. Those industries employed 1.8 million individuals in 2014 in both creative and support jobs. The creative industries’ exports amounted to £17.9 billion in 2013 which accounted for 8.7% of British exports.’

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NIPC Law, 28th March 2016

Source: www.nipclaw.blogspot.co.uk

Hashtag applications on the rise #TimesAreChanging – Technology Law Update

Posted March 30th, 2016 in enforcement, intellectual property, internet, news, statistics, trade marks by sally

‘Research by Thomson CompuMark has highlighted the effect of the changing social media landscape on trademark applications.’

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Technology Law Update, 30th March 2016

Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk

It is illegal to screenshot and share Snapchat snaps without permission, Government minister says – The Independent

Posted March 29th, 2016 in consent, copyright, intellectual property, internet, news by sally

‘It is illegal to screenshot Snapchat picture messages and pass them to others on without consent, the Government’s culture minister has said.’

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The Independent, 27th March 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

The UPC – free opt-outs and UK alignment – Technology Law Update

Posted March 14th, 2016 in costs, EC law, fees, intellectual property, news, patents by sally

‘Europe’s new unitary patent is still on track, with a start date in spring 2017 now viewed as likely. Among the ongoing business of the Unified Patent Court’s Preparatory Committee a final publication on court fees and recoverable costs has recently been issued.’

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Technology Law Update, 11th March 2016

Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk

Trunki loses ride-on animal suitcase court case – BBC News

Posted March 10th, 2016 in appeals, intellectual property, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘The founder of Trunki suitcases has predicted “chaos” after his company lost a court battle with a rival over product design.’

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BBC News, 9th March 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

UK likely to ratify Unified Patent Court after EU referendum – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 25th, 2016 in courts, intellectual property, international courts, news, patents, referendums by sally

‘UK law makers are not likely to ratify the creation of a new Unified Patent Court (UPC) until after the UK public votes on whether the country should remain a member of the EU, the UK government has confirmed.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 24th February 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Court of Appeal must maintain brand owners’ right to obtain website blocking orders, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

‘The Court of Appeal in London must maintain the right of brand owners to obtain website blocking orders against internet service providers (ISPs) as a means of enforcing their trade mark rights against infringers, an expert has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 24th February 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

The Unified Patent Court’s approach to interim injunctions will influence businesses’ patent strategies in Europe, say experts – OUT-LAW.com

‘The ease with which businesses will be able to win interim injunctions to defend against rivals’ infringements of their patents will be influential in determining whether companies engage with the new Unified Patent Court (UPC).’

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OUT-LAW.com, 22nd February 2016

Source: www.out-law.com