The HM Courts and Tribunals Service has confirmed that fees will be introduced into the Employment Tribunals and Employment Appeals Tribunal on Monday 29 July 2013. A claimant will be expected to pay an issue fee upon raising a claim in the employment tribunal and a hearing fee prior to the hearing date. Subject to … Read more
On 4 April 2008 Google notified its advertiser customers of a change of policy regarding keywords corresponding to trade marks. Google had previously operated a policy in response to notifications by trade mark owners of blocking trade marks from being purchased as a keyword. Henceforth, for the UK and Ireland, third parties would be free … Read more
In a judgment published on 24 May 2013, Mr Justice Tugendhat has found that Sally Bercow’s tweet about Lord McAlpine was defamatory of him. Facts On 2 November 2012, the BBC’s Newsnight programme broadcast a report about sexual abuse at children’s homes in Wales. One victim, Mr Messham, alleged that he had been abused at … Read more
In a case which demonstrates the potential pitfalls of using photographs posted on social networking websites (Tumblr in this case), the Patents County Court (PCC) has given a preliminary ruling on what constitutes a reasonable royalty for copyright infringement involving the unauthorised use of a celebrity photograph. The claimant (Jason Sheldon, a professional photographer) obtained … Read more
The Government will introduce legislation permitting individuals to copy lawfully owned content (eg music on a CD) to another medium or device (eg an MP3 player) owned by that individual, for that individual’s own personal use. The Government intends that the new legislation will come into force in October of this year, and we do … Read more
Just when the EAT ruled that post-employment victimisation was not unlawful under section 108 of the Equality Act 2010 (Rowstock Ltd and another v Jessemey), a differently constituted EAT panel, in Onu v Akwiwu and another, has now ruled that post-employment victimisation is protected under the Equality Act 2010. Ms Onu, a Nigerian, was employed … Read more
After the controversial parliamentary “ping pong”, the House of Lords has now accepted the clause in the Growth and Infrastructure Bill which introduces the new employee shareholder status in exchange for employees giving up certain employment rights. The Bill received Royal Assent on 25 April 2013 and is expected to be implemented on 1 September … Read more
By a majority of 9 votes to 8, the European Court of Human Rights on 22 April held that the UK’s ban on political advertising in broadcast media does not violate the right to freedom of expression as provided under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The case concerned a television advert … Read more
