The Offer of Amends procedure was introduced into the law of libel by section 3 of the 1996 Defamation Act. It was intended to provide a means to the media and other defendants of avoiding the uncertainty of jury awards. After a slow start, the regime is increasingly being used, although the media is watching … Read more
By a majority of three to two, the New Zealand Court of Appeal has approved the development of a law of privacy in a jurisdiction which is closer than any other to that of the UK. Since the judgment was only handed down on 25 March, it is too early to say whether the approach … Read more
The case law on formats and television programmes still only amounts to a handful of decisions (see our Format Rights early warning of January 2004). The recently reported case of Miles v ITV Network Limited gives a further indication as to how such issues will be dealt with. It concerned a dispute over the rights to an … Read more
Mr Justice Tugendhat earlier this month dismissed a defamation claim in an interlocutory appeal hearing because he concluded that it had no reasonable prospect of success. The claimant was a social worker who was studying for a diploma in social work, for which he had to complete two placements. The two defendants were the manager … Read more
In the wake of “Black Tuesday” (10 February 2004), when the UK Treasury effectively closed down a number of film production funds utilising “Generally Accepted Accounting Principles”, there was good news in the recent Budget about the proposed replacement for Section 48 (sale and leaseback) tax relief. The Government has published an initial outline of … Read more
