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REPUTATION UPDATE: SERAFIN V MALKIEWICZ & OTHERS
On 17 May 2019, the Court of Appeal handed down a judgment in which the decision of the court at first instance has been reversed. The appeal was brought by Polish businessman Jan Serafin following the dismissal of his claim for libel in respect of an article which he asserted…May 31, 2019 -
REPUTATION UPDATE: SUPREME COURT SHEDS LIGHT ON HOW TO INTERPRET DEFAMATORY WORDS IN THE AGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Following an acrimonious divorce, Mrs Stocker wrote on Facebook of Mr Stocker, “he tried to strangle me”. The question before the Supreme Court was how the ordinary reasonable reader would construe the words, in light of the medium by which they were communicated: Facebook. Their conclusion was that the words meant…May 23, 2019 -
REPUTATION UPDATE: PRIVACY DAMAGES UPHELD FOR COUPLE EVICTED ON CAN’T PAY? WE’LL TAKE IT AWAY
In April 2019, the Court of Appeal upheld an award of a total of £20,000 in damages for misuse of private information to a couple whose eviction was included in an episode of Channel 5’s Can’t Pay? We’ll Take It Away. While the Court of Appeal recognised that other judges…May 17, 2019 -
DISTRIBUTOR NOT LIABLE FOR SECONDARY INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT IN EMINEM ALBUM
In FBT Productions LLC v Let Them Eat Vinyl Distribution Ltd the High Court has found a record company liable for primary infringement of another label’s copyright in Eminem’s first album, Infinite. Yet the related distributor was not found liable for secondary infringement under section 23 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents…May 14, 2019 -
EMPLOYMENT DEPARTMENT – SPRING BRIEFING – MAY 2019
Welcome to the Spring Employment Newsletter May 2019. In this edition we look at: EMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION CHANGES SUSPENSION PENDING INVESTIGATION: A BREACH OF TRUST AND CONFIDENCE? SHOULD HOLIDAY PAY INCLUDE OVERTIME PAYMENTS? _________________________ If you would like to discuss any of the points raised, please get in touch with a member…May 14, 2019 -
SIMKINS LLP PARTNER APPOINTMENT
Simkins LLP is delighted to announce the appointment of Ed Weidman as a partner with effect from today, 1 May 2019. Ed is a commercial lawyer specialising in drafting and negotiating commercial contracts and advising on the exploitation and protection of intellectual property rights. Ed’s areas of expertise include entertainment (including music,…May 1, 2019 -
COPYRIGHT IN THE DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET – LONG-DEBATED DIRECTIVE APPROVED
On 15 April 2019 the European Council approved the final text of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (also known as the EU Copyright Directive),[1] which has been the subject of intense debate and lobbying since its initial proposal in 2016. The Directive will enter into force on…April 23, 2019 -
SECONDARY TICKETING SAFEGUARDS IMPOSED ON TICKET RESELLERS AND EVENT ORGANISERS
After securing a court order against viagogo in November 2018, the Competition and Markets Authority issued a reminder to viagogo, StubHub and Ticketmaster that, by midnight on 17 January 2019, they were each required to have overhauled their processes to improve information on tickets listed for resale. The CMA also published…April 23, 2019 -
ARCADE FIRE – TOMBOLA GAME ADS IN BREACH OF GAMBLING RULES
The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that ads for a Tombola arcade game in an I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here app breached CAP Code rules on gambling, as they were likely to be used by under-18s. In its ruling,[1] the ASA said that, even though the app was neither directed…April 23, 2019 -
THE KRAFTWERK CASE – DOES A TWO-SECOND SAMPLE INFRINGE COPYRIGHT?
Advocate General Szpunar has provided a thought-provoking opinion in a case on sampling.[1] Sampling involves taking a sample of a sound recording for use as an element (which is often repeated as a hook or loop) in a new sound recording. The German Federal Court of Justice[2] referred several questions to…March 12, 2019