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The November 2023 AI safety summit and the UK's direction of travel
The government has confirmed that the UK AI safety summit will be held at Bletchley Park on 1 and 2 November 2023.
Read moreTelecoms supply agreement excludes "loss of profit" claim under "anticipated profits" liability exclusion (EE v Virgin Mobile)
In line with a number of recent cases, in EE Limited v Virgin Mobile Telecoms Limited [2023] EWHC 1989 (TCC) the courts have shown that parties generally cannot avoid clear wording contained in exclusion clauses in order to recover losses that have been expressly excluded (in this case, loss of profits).
Read moreRolls-Royce entitled to hit the brakes in dispute over termination of a software services agreement (Topalsson v Rolls-Royce)
In Topalsson GmbH v Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited [2023] EWHC 1765 (TCC), the High Court has provided useful guidance on how to determine whether a software implementation timeline agreed by the parties is binding, when implementation is considered complete and in what circumstances failing to complete implementation by the contractual deadlines entitles the customer to terminate the contract.
Read moreA narrow escape – software services provider entitled to rely on single aggregate liability cap (Drax v Wipro)
When it comes to bespoke software development projects, a lot can go wrong. There's risk for the customer such as project delays, software defects, functionality issues and a lack of meeting of minds in terms of project requirements.
Read moreGinfringement: Success for M&S in the Court of Appeal in registered design spat with Aldi
M&S and Aldi's gin bottle battle over design rights has reached a conclusion (for now) as the Court of Appeal has unanimously upheld the IPEC's decision that Aldi's bottle infringed M&S' design.
Read moreClear as gin: M&S and Aldi take liquor bottle battle to the Court of Appeal
Intellectual property enthusiasts' favourite supermarket adversaries were back at loggerheads this week as M&S and Aldi appear before the Court of Appeal. The pair sought to thrash out a first instance decision handed down in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) regarding alleged infringement of M&S' registered design rights in a gin bottle.
Read moreM&S v Aldi – lookalike claims lit up by design rights
As lookalike products rise in prominence, the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court's (IPEC) recent ruling that the sale and advertisement of Aldi's 'Infusionist' range of favoured gins infringed M&S's UK registered designs protecting the light-up bottles containing its 'Snow Globe' gin range (Marks and Spencer PLC v Aldi Stores Limited [2023] EWHC 178) highlights the utility of registered design rights in circumstances where other intellectual property rights (IPR) are often less able to provide protection.
Read moreLookalikes and passing off—bottle design get-up claim (Au Vodka)
Currently there's significant activity in the lookalikes space. The Au Vodka claim (Au Vodka v NE10 Vodka [2022] EWHC 2371), which focuses on bottle design 'get-up', arrived in the courts for an interim injunction hearing in September 2022. Au Vodka's application was dismissed. The judgment shows that passing off—get-up claims based on shape can be challenging to bring, particularly at the interim stage, and prompts the question of whether it's possible to bring Cofemel and copyright into the lookalikes arena.
Read moreWilliam Grant & Sons v Lidl: where to be-gin?
On 25 May 2021, the Scottish Court of Session (SCOS) granted an interim interdict (akin to an interim injunction), which prevents Lidl from selling its own brand 'Hampstead gin' in Scottish stores, pending the outcome of the matter at trial.
Read moreThaler v Comptroller [2023] UKSC 49: the UKSC rules that AI cannot be an 'inventor'
To the surprise of no one, the UK Supreme Court (UKSC) has finally ruled that an artificial intelligence (AI) cannot be an inventor for the purposes of UK patent law. This judgment accords with the decisions of the lower courts in the UK and the initial ruling of the UKIPO. It also reflects similar findings from most of courts around the world where the claimant, Dr Thaler, brought similar actions.
Read moreGenerative AI and intellectual property rights—the UK government's position
The IPO is to produce a code of practice by the summer that will provide guidance to support AI firms in accessing copyright protected works as an input to their models.
Read morePLC QTRLY - Q2 2024
This is our regular quarterly update to help our listed company clients and other market participants keep up to date with key developments relevant to issuers on the Main Market and AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.
Read morePLC QTRLY - Q1 2024
This is our regular quarterly update to help our listed company clients and other market participants keep up to date with key developments relevant to issuers on the Main Market and AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.
Read morePLC QTRLY - Q4 2023
This is our regular quarterly update to help our listed company clients and other market participants keep up to date with key developments relevant to issuers on the Main Market and AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.
Read morePLC QTRLY - Q3 2023
This is our regular quarterly update to help our listed company clients and other market participants keep up to date with key developments relevant to issuers on the Main Market and AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.
Read morePLC QTRLY - Q2 2023
This is our regular quarterly update to help our listed company clients and other market participants keep up to date with key developments relevant to issuers on the Main Market and AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.
Read morePLC QTRLY - Q1 2023
This is our regular quarterly update to help our listed company clients and other market participants keep up to date with key developments relevant to issuers on the Main Market and AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.
Read morePLC QTRLY - Q4 2022
This is our regular quarterly update to help our listed company clients and other market participants keep up to date with key developments relevant to issuers on the Main Market and AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.
Read morePLC QTRLY - Q3 2022
This is our regular quarterly update to help our listed company clients and other market participants keep up to date with key developments relevant to issuers on the Main Market and AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.
Read morePLC QTRLY - Q2 2022
This is our regular quarterly update to help our listed company clients and other market participants keep up to date with key developments relevant to issuers on the Main Market and AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.
Read morePLC QTRLY - Q1 2022
Post-Covid and post-Brexit changes are on the horizon for the UK's public companies. This is the first of our regular updates to help our listed company clients and other market participants keep up to date with key developments relevant to issuers on the Main Market and AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.
Read moreThe Times recognises RPC among Best Law Firms 2024
International law firm, RPC, has been recognised by The Times in its Best Law Firms 2024 report, an annual ranking of the top 250 law firms in England and Wales.
Read moreCode of Conduct for Leasing of Retail Premises to take effect from 1 February 2024
Following from the passing of the Lease Agreements for Retail Premises Bill which mandates compliance with the Code of Conduct for Leasing of Retail Premises in Singapore ("Code") for qualifying leases of retail premises earlier this year, the Lease Agreements for Retail Premises Act ("Act') is expected to take effect from 1 February 2024.
Read moreLook to the future: Trainees take on 2019
The trainees didn't fare too badly with their 2018 predictions. They doubted England's ability to make it past the group stages of the World Cup, but foresaw how Brexit would dominate the news agenda. They over-optimistically predicted the introduction of automated bundling, but came very close on the value of Bitcoin. Read on to see this year's predictions.
Read moreBrexit - a legal analysis: IP rights
IP rights in the UK are all influenced and moulded to a greater or lesser degree by European law.
Read moreParliamentary 'wash up' – which Bills made it through?
On 22 May 2024, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that a General Election will take place on 4 July 2024. Parliament was then prorogued on 24 May 2024 which allowed a mere 2 days for 'wash up' - the process by which outstanding bills may be rushed through the parliamentary process.
Read moreSnapshots Summer 2024
A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.
Read moreSnapshots Spring 2024
A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.
Read moreSnapshots Winter 2023
A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.
Read moreSnapshots Autumn 2023
A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.
Read moreSnapshots Summer 2023
A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.
Read moreSnapshots Spring 2023
A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.
Read moreSnapshots Winter 2022
A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.
Read moreWhistle-blowing on illegal cartels drops 70% in 5 years
Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) recently increased award to £250,000 Calls to the CMA hotline have plummeted from 1,442 in 2017 to 427 in 2022
Read moreAll is not (necessarily) lost: Crypto crime recovery
With over 2 million people in the UK now holding and using cryptocurrency, and the Chancellor announcing that a government backed non-fungible token ("NFT") is to be issued by the Royal Mint this summer, the market for crypto-assets is expected to continue to grow in the coming months and years; so much so that legislation is planned to implement a new regulatory regime for the crypto market.
Read moreWhat in the AI is going on… April to June 2024
Meta launched its newest generation of its open-source LLM (large language model), Llama 3, which is the technology that powers its AI systems. The launch of Llama 3 signals a step closer to human-like AI that can reason and bestow a memory. OpenAI also discussed plans for its next AI model, GPT-5. Like Llama 3, GPT-5 will see improvements to the model’s planning and reasoning capabilities, going beyond its current capability to deal with discrete tasks. GPT-5 is expected to be released later in the year.
Read moreCMA publishes update paper on AI Foundation Models
What is the state of play for the market of AI Foundation Models (FM) and what issues in the market is the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) most concerned about?
Read moreEU AI Act is signed!
What are the core elements of the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act and how does it impact the regulation of AI systems?
Read moreOnline Safety Act: Ofcom consults on draft codes to protect children online
What must businesses do to ensure online safety for children under the latest codes of practice published by Ofcom?
Read moreUK’s Digital Regulation Co-operation Forum announces new AI and Digital Hub Pilot
What is the AI and Digital Hub and how can AI innovators use it?
Read moreEU designates Apple a gatekeeper for iPadOS but not for iMessage
Can a business avoid being designated a “gatekeeper” under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) even if it satisfies the quantitative criteria under the DMA?
Read moreNew EU guidelines on mitigating risks for electoral
What are the European Commission’s new guidelines and how do they protect the integrity of electoral processes?
Read moreCommercial Court cracks down on crypto-fraudsters (if it can find them)
In the first initial coin offering 'ICO' fraud case before the Commercial Court, Ion Science Limited & Duncan Johns v Persons Unknown & Ors, the court granted permission to serve disclosure orders on two cryptocurrency exchanges through which the claimants' stolen bitcoin had been traced, granted a world-wide freezing order against persons unknown, and gave ground-breaking guidance on the lex situs of crypto-assets.
Read moreSilicon Valley, Signature and Credit Suisse: what do they all share(holder) in common?
In what has been termed "the biggest banking crisis since 2008", both Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank have collapsed, and Credit Suisse has been rescued. Whether more banks are to follow suit is yet to be seen.
Read moreDrones: don't fly out of bounds (legally)
Various commercial industries have already woken up to the myriad opportunities offered by drone technologies. Whilst the regulatory regime evolves, it is important that companies don’t fall foul of the law.
Read moreHong Kong Employment Law Update: Mandatory Provident Fund offsetting mechanism to be abolished after decade-long debate and campaigning
Following on from our brief update published on 9 June 2022, this article provides a detailed overview of the amendments put forward by the long-awaited Employment and Retirement Schemes Legislation (Offsetting Arrangement) (Amendment) Bill 2022 (the "Bill"), which was finally passed by the Legislative Council on 9 June 2022. The main feature of the Bill is the abolishment of the offsetting mechanism of the Mandatory Provident Fund ("MPF").
Read moreHong Kong Wage Subsidy Update – Government announces new round of Employment Support Scheme
The Government has at last finalized the details of the new round of Employment Support Scheme ("2022 ESS"). The purpose of the 2022 ESS to offer limited time financial support to small and medium-sized enterprises through providing wage subsidies to encourage enterprises to increase employment and to retain employees who would otherwise be made redundant.
Read moreIncreased penalty for employers who employ overstayers
Immigration (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 (“IAO”)
Read moreHong Kong's Legislative Council to consider Cancellation of MPF Offsetting
Under the Employment Ordinance, employers can offset long service payment or severance payment due to an employee against the employer's mandatory and voluntary contributions to the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF), Hong Kong's pension system.
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