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Commercial Litigation UK
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June 12, 2024
Anheuser's TM 'Ultra' No More As EU Court Sides With Amstel
Amstel on Wednesday was successful in persuading a European Union court to overturn a ruling that Anheuser-Busch's "Ultra" beer trademark is distinctive, proving that it's a generic term that does not merit protection.
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June 12, 2024
Sony Music Unit Sued By Label Over Viral TikTok Hit
Sony Music unit Ministry of Sound Records has been hit with a copyright claim by a U.K. record label for releasing a version of artist Jay Sean's 2008 hit "Ride It" after a DJ's remake went viral on TikTok.
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June 12, 2024
Tour De France Loses Fight Against Gym's 'Tour De X' TM
The organizer of the Tour de France cycle race lost its challenge against a German gym chain's "Tour de X" trademark Wednesday, after a European court ruled that many cycling competitions use the words "tour de."
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June 12, 2024
Gymbox Owner Takes Hit In Wage Spar With Ex-Trainer
London's Gymbox chain must face claims that it owes a personal trainer unpaid wages after an employment tribunal found that the instructor wasn't self-employed during specific tasks, despite contracts indicating that he was.
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June 12, 2024
Automakers Safe From French Law In 'Dieselgate' Disclosure
Vehicle manufacturers including Renault and Peugeot Citroen that face thousands of "dieselgate" claims for allegedly cheating car emission tests are not at any risk of criminal prosecution in France while disclosing evidence before trial in England, a London court has ruled.
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June 12, 2024
Argentina Loses Appeal Over €1.3B Payment In Bonds Dispute
Argentina cannot avoid paying out €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion) to bondholders for wrongly adjusting the way it calculates yields for government securities as a London appeals court rejected on Wednesday its construction of a contractual dispute.
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June 12, 2024
Google's GPay TM Gets Declined In Europe
Google lost its appeal on Wednesday after seeking to revive its "GPay" trademark for electronic payment services as a European court ruled that a Bulgarian rival had already cornered the digital market with "ePay."
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June 12, 2024
Female Marketer Unfairly Barred From Meeting Over Gender
A wastewater company harassed its marketing director based on her sex by banning her from a meeting with a Japanese prospective buyer because of the East Asian country's perceived culture of eschewing women in such scenarios, a tribunal has ruled.
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June 12, 2024
Recruitment Agency Boss Wins Libel Appeal At Top UK Court
A recruitment boss and her agency won an appeal against a former employee's libel claims on Wednesday as the highest U.K. court ruled that claimants cannot recover damages for injury to feelings if they do not also suffer financial loss.
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June 11, 2024
PC Gaming Giant Valve Faces £656M Action For Overcharging
Valve Corp., owner of the world's largest video game distribution platform, Steam, has been hit with a proposed £656 million ($836 million) class action for allegedly overcharging 14 million PC gamers in the U.K., the digital rights campaigner filing the claim announced Wednesday.
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June 11, 2024
UniCredit Overturns $69M Plane Payment Sanctions Ruling
UniCredit was entitled to withhold $69.3 million in payments to lessors for Russian planes because of sanctions, a London appellate court ruled Tuesday, partly overturning findings that it was not reasonable for the bank's U.K. branch to believe it could not make the payments.
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June 11, 2024
KC Advised Post Office To Remove Judge From Horizon Trial
A top barrister advised the Post Office to get a High Court judge to recuse himself from a trial dealing with wrongly prosecuted subpostmasters or else risk losing all litigation brought by the subpostmasters, the barrister recalled in an inquiry hearing Tuesday regarding the scandal.
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June 11, 2024
Lenovo Knocks Bid To 'Treble' Payment For SEPs
Lenovo hit back at InterDigital's contentions that a landmark patent ruling underestimated what the Chinese company should pay to license its essential wireless technology patents, claiming that the bid to "essentially triple" the sum should be thrown out.
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June 11, 2024
Alaska Airlines Loses Fight To Dodge $160M Virgin Royalties
Alaska Airlines lost its fight against Virgin on Tuesday to avoid paying $160 million in royalties, with a London appeals court ruling that the carrier still had to pay even if it did not use Virgin's branding.
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June 11, 2024
Tories Pledge To Tackle Court Backlog, Carry On Rwanda Plan
The Conservative Party announced a slew of justice plans on Tuesday to cut the criminal court backlog, support third-party litigation funding and abandon international human rights commitments, if necessary, to pursue its Rwanda migrants policy.
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June 11, 2024
Surgeon Fights To Overturn Loss In Race Discrimination Case
A surgeon urged the Court of Appeal on Tuesday to revive his race discrimination claim against the medical profession's regulator, arguing that an appellate tribunal was wrong to find that an investigation into him was not racially motivated.
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June 11, 2024
Deutsche Bank Trader Fights For Compensation 'Assurances'
Deutsche Bank executives gave "assurances" about compensation that the lender must now abide by, a former trader told the High Court in London on Tuesday as she sued for breach of contract.
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June 11, 2024
Serco Denies Directors Knew Of Fraud In Securities Trial
Serco Group PLC denied investors are entitled to compensation over a fraud that caused the outsourcing giant's share price to nosedive, arguing on the second day of a London trial Tuesday that none of its directors had known about the alleged wrongdoing.
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June 11, 2024
Tesco Loses Race Bias Claim Over Vibrator Joke Gift
Tesco discriminated against a British Pakistani manager by rushing through a misconduct investigation after the manager gave a vibrator as a secret Santa gift and other allegedly harassing incidents, an employment tribunal has ruled.
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June 11, 2024
Widow Who Signed Docs 'Without Reading' Still Owes $64M
A London appellate court has ruled that a former Hong Kong resident can't escape a personal guarantee to pay 500 million Hong Kong dollars ($64 million) to cover bonds issued by her husband's company, in part because she entered the contract for business purposes.
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June 18, 2024
Fieldfisher Hires Linklaters RE Pro To Open Brussels Practice
Fieldfisher LLP has hired a real estate specialist from Linklaters LLP to launch a new practice in Belgium as it ramps up its services to clients in transactional matters and litigation.
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June 11, 2024
Royal Mail Accused Of Monopoly In Address Database Dispute
A software developer has hit back at Royal Mail's copyright infringement claim, accusing the postal service of holding a monopoly over the market for address searching software in the U.K.
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June 11, 2024
NHS Board Discriminated Against 'Antivaxxer' Sonographer
A National Health Service board harassed a sonographer and discriminated against her after her inability to wear a face mask during the COVID pandemic led bosses to label her an "antivaxxer," a tribunal has ruled.
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June 11, 2024
LC&F Administrators Attack Ex-Boss' Credibility In Ponzi Case
The administrators of London Capital & Finance PLC have criticized the company's former head as a "thoroughly unreliable witness" as they closed their case that he and others operated the business as a £237 million ($302 million) Ponzi scheme.
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June 11, 2024
BHS Directors To Pay Liquidators £18M For Wrongful Trading
A London judge ordered two former directors of failed retail chain BHS on Tuesday to pay liquidators at least £18 million ($23 million) after finding that they knew that the company was beyond rescue when it was purchased in 2015.
Expert Analysis
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Bias Ruling Offers Guidance On Disqualifying Arbitrators
An English court's recent decision in H1 v. W, removing an arbitrator due to bias concerns, reaffirms practical considerations when assessing an arbitrator's impartiality, and highlights how ill-chosen language by an arbitrator can clear the high bar for disqualification, say Andrew Connelly and Ian Meredith at K&L Gates.
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Employer Lessons From Ruling On Prof's Anti-Zionist Views
In Miller v. University of Bristol, an employment tribunal recently ruled that a professor's anti-Zionist beliefs were protected by the Equality Act 2010, highlighting for employers why it’s important to carefully consider disciplinary actions related to an employee's political expressions, says Hina Belitz at Excello Law.
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Design Rights Can Build IP Protection, EU Lego Ruling Shows
The EU General Court's recent ruling in Delta Sport v. EU Intellectual Property Office — that Lego's registered community design for a building block was valid — helps clarify when technically dictated designs can enjoy IP protection, and demonstrates how companies can strategically use design rights to protect and enhance their market position, says Christoph Moeller at Mewburn Ellis.
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ECJ Ruling Clarifies Lawyer Independence Questions
The European Court of Justice's recent ruling in Bonnanwalt v. EU Intellectual Property Office, finding that a law firm had maintained independence despite being owned by its client, serves as a pivotal reference point to understanding the contours of legal representation before EU courts, say James Tumbridge and Benedict Sharrock-Harris at Venner Shipley.
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Unpacking The Law Commission's Digital Assets Consultation
The Law Commission recently published a consultation on recognizing a third personal property category to accommodate the development of digital assets, highlighting difficulties with current models of property rights and the potential consequences of considering digital assets as personal property, say Andrew Tsang and Tom Bacon at BCLP.
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1st Appellate Ruling On Digital Terms Sets Tone For Disputes
The Court of Appeal's recent ruling in Parker-Grennan v. Camelot, the first appellate decision to consider how online terms and conditions are publicized, provides, in its tone and verdict on incorporation, an invaluable guide for how to approach similar disputes in the digital space, says Eddy Eccles at Covington.
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Insurance Policy Takeaways From UK Lockdown Loss Ruling
An English court's recent decision in Unipolsai v. Covea, determining that insurers' losses from COVID-19 lockdowns were covered by reinsurance, highlights key issues on insurance policy wordings, including how to define a "catastrophe" in the context of the pandemic, says Daniel Healy at Brown Rudnick.
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How Employers Should Respond To Flexible Work Requests
U.K. employees will soon have the right to request flexible working arrangements from the first day of employment, including for religious observances, and refusing them without objective justification could expose employers to indirect discrimination claims and hurt companies’ diversity and inclusion efforts, says Jim Moore at Hamilton Nash.
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What COVID Payout Ruling Means For Lockdown Loss Claims
While the High Court's recent COVID-19 payout decision in Gatwick v. Liberty Mutual, holding that pandemic-related regulations trigger prevention of access clauses, will likely lead to insurers accepting more business interruption claims, there are still evidentiary challenges and issues regarding policy limits and furlough, say Josianne El Antoury and Greg Lascelles at Covington.
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Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents
Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.
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Opinion
PACCAR Should Be 1st Step To Regulating Litigation Funders
Rather than reversing the U.K. Supreme Court's well-reasoned judgment in PACCAR v. Competition Appeal Tribunal, imposing a regulatory regime on litigation funders in parity with that of lawyers, legislators should build upon it to create a more transparent, competitive and fairer funding industry, says Rosa Curling at Foxglove.
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Patent Plausibility Uncertainty Persists, EPO Petition Shows
While a recent petition for review at the European Patent Office — maintaining that the Board of Appeal misapplied the Enlarged Board of Appeal's order on whether a patent is "plausible" — highlights the continued uncertainty surrounding the plausibility concept, the outcome could provide useful guidance on the interpretation of orders, say lawyers at Finnegan.
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In Int'l Arbitration Agreements, Be Clear About Governing Law
A trilogy of recent cases in the English High Court and Court of Appeal highlight the importance of parties agreeing to explicit choice of law language at the outset of an arbitration agreement in order to avoid costly legal skirmishes down the road, say lawyers at Faegre Drinker.
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Risks The Judiciary Needs To Be Aware Of When Using AI
Recently published judiciary service guidance aims to temper reliance on AI by court staff in their work, and with ever-increasing and evolving technology, such tools should be used for supplementary assistance rather than as a replacement for already existing judicial research tools, says Philip Sewell at Shepherd & Wedderburn.
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Post Office Scandal Stresses Key Directors Duties Lessons
The Post Office scandal, involving hundreds of wrongful convictions of subpostmasters based on an IT failure, offers lessons for company directors on the magnitude of the impact that a failure to fulfill their duties can have on employees and the company, says Simon Goldberg at Simons Muirhead.