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Recent Articles

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  03.10.2023

  United Kingdom

  DCMS Select Committee Final Report on Draft Media Bill: Public Service Television Reforms

  On 22 September 2023, the DCMS Select Committee (the “Committee”) published its final report on the draft Media Bill (the “draft Bill”), having published its interim report on the draft Bill’s radio measures in July.In our previous articles, we looked at the proposed changes to the regulation of public service broadcasters (which we will refer to as public service media owners or “PSMOs”) set out in Part 1 of the draft Bill (see here) and the impact assessment in relation to those proposed changes (see here).In this article, we explore the Committee’s...

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  29.09.2023

  International

  EP Case Law in Brief: Erroneous Disclosures

  “Mistakes in a document do not in themselves constitute prior art such as to prevent the grant of a patent.”So begins section I.C. 4.9 of the Case Law of the Boards of Appeal. This statement, and the accompanying case law, provides for the possibility of a ‘get out of jail free card’ for novelty objections in certain circumstances.An invention is "considered to be new if it does not form part of the state of the art". The "state of the art" is defined as "everything made available to the public by means of a written or oral description, by use, or in any other way, before...

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  29.09.2023

  United Kingdom

  My Computer did it! Exploring SHEIN’s latest lawsuit

  In the latest of a series of copyright infringement claims, three independent graphic designers - Krista Perry, Larissa Martinez, and Jay Baron, have launched a claim in the California Federal Court  accusing Shein of selling exact copies of their textile and print works – example below. This lawsuit covers a similar territory to H&M’s ongoing copyright infringement lawsuit towards Shein in Hong Kong. While this is not of itself remarkable  there are several interesting aspects to this case.  Left: Krista Perry’s...

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  29.09.2023

  United Kingdom

  DCMS Select Committee Final Report on Draft Media Bill: Reforms to Channel 4

  On 22 September 2023, the DCMS Select Committee (the “Committee”) published its final report on the draft Media Bill (the “draft Bill”). In this article, we explore the Committee’s findings in respect of the Government’s key plans for Channel 4 (set out in Part 3 of the draft Bill), which are: (i) to enable Channel 4 to produce and monetise its own content, and (ii) to require the directors of Channel 4 to consider the long-term sustainability of the channel when making decisions.The Committee’s recommendations regarding the Government’s reforms to...

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  29.09.2023

  United Kingdom

  DCMS Select Committee Final Report on Draft Media Bill: levelling the regulatory playing field for VOD and linear services

  On 22 September 2023, the DCMS Select Committee (the “Committee”) published its final report on the draft Media Bill (the “draft Bill”). The report follows on from the Committee’s interim report on the draft Bill’s radio measures (which was back in July), focusing on the remainder of its provisions. In this article, we explore the Committee’s findings in respect of the proposed enhanced regulation for video-on-demand services (set out in Part 4 of the draft Bill).In the report, the Committee makes three recommendations: 1. In the same way that the...

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  29.09.2023

  United Kingdom

  Upheld: ASA finds People's Postcode Lottery advert violates CAP Code

  The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has recently issued a ruling on a People's Postcode Lottery advertisement that appeared in the Daily Mail on July 1, 2023. This ruling has raised important questions about how lottery advertisements should be presented to the public, particularly in relation to financial concerns. In this article, we will explore the details of the case, the ASA's decision, and its potential implications for lottery marketing.The AdvertisementThe People's Postcode Lottery advertisement featured a heartwarming story of a couple, Craig and Angie, who were able to resume their...

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