Newspaper snooping chart revealed
The Information Commissioner has named 31 publications involved with a firm of private investigators involved in the illegal trade of personal information. Published as part of a follow-up report What Price Privacy Now? the list named… Read More »
Gowers publishes Review of IP system
Andrew Gowers’ Review of Intellectual Property in the UK, initiated by the Chancellor Gordon Brown, was published today. It found that the current IP system is fundamentally strong, but made a number of recommendations for improvement. Arguing that… Read More »
No retrospective public access to court documents
The Civil Procedure Rules Committee has confirmed that new rule CPR 5.4C will be amended to give non-parties access to statements of case filed at court by parties to litigation only on or after 2nd… Read More »
Privacy case in the Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal today begins hearing the Defendant’s appeal in the privacy case brought by Canadian folk singer and composer, Loreena McKennitt. In December last year, the singer successfully sued a former friend who had… Read More »
OK! v Hello! reaches the Lords
The long-running dispute between the celebrity magazines OK! and Hello! over the publication of Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones’ wedding photographs reaches the House of Lords today. OK! Magazine is appealing the Court of Appeal’s ruling in May… Read More »
Blogs win US libel immunity
Bloggers and US internet providers are not liable for defamatory remarks written by third parties posted on their websites, the California Supreme Court has ruled. Overturning an earlier decision by the San Francisco appeal court, the court ruled that people… Read More »
Covert surveillance did not breach RIPA
The Investigatory Powers Tribunal has ruled that the filming of a former police officer mowing his lawn while on a disability allowance did not breach the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA). The former sergeant asked the Tribunal to… Read More »
Judge lifts family reporting ban
In an unprecedented move, a High Court judge today granted an application by media organisations allowing them to attend a hearing in a care case and identify the child involved. Nicola and Mark Webster… Read More »
New challenges to freedom of speech
Amnesty International has launched a campaign asking bloggers to stand up for freedom of expression on the internet. The human rights organisation has issued a call to the online community to show solidarity with those web users… Read More »
5RB tops Chambers & Partners review
The 2007 Chambers & Partners Guide has named 5RB as a leading set in Defamation, Privacy and Media & Entertainment and recommended 5RB barristers as ‘notable practitioners’ in these areas, Intellectual Property and Sport. The independent survey singled out 5RB for praise – “The first… Read More »
Ofcom dismisses school privacy complaint
Broadcasting regulator Ofcom has dismissed a privacy complaint brought by a Bristol headteacher over a regional TV news item on poorly performing schools that showed footage of the school and a small number of students…. Read More »
Irish Times editor faces prison sentence
The editor of the Irish Times, Geraldine Kennedy, and one of its senior journalists face jail terms of up to two years and fines of €300,000 for their failure to cooperate with a judicial tribunal… Read More »
Wall St Journal wins Reynolds case
The House of Lords today reversed the decision of Eady J and the Court of Appeal in Jameel v Wall Street Journal Europe, in an important judgment on the scope and application of the journalists’… Read More »
Court papers access challenge
The High Court today made an interim declaration that recent changes in Court rules allowing greater access to Court documents are for now to be treated as applying only to documents filed on or after… Read More »
New faces at 5RB
5RB today welcomes two new members of chambers. After successfully completing their pupillages, Victoria Shore and Victoria Jolliffe become the latest recruits to the media set. After attending English Martyrs School in Hartlepool, Victoria Shore studied… Read More »
Online music providers agree deal on royalties
A joint statement by the BPI and the MCPS-PRS Alliance has today announced a resolution to the dispute over the royalties payable to songwriters and publishers for UK music downloads, on the day the long-running row was… Read More »
5RB tops Legal 500 survey
The annual Legal 500 review of the legal profession has named 5RB as a leading set in Defamation & Privacy and Media & Entertainment Law and noted its expertise in both Intellectual Property and Sports Law. The independent survey… Read More »
Victory in Europe for Wainwrights
The European Court of Human Rights has today held that the human rights of Mary and Alan Wainwright were violated when they were subjected to strip-searches at HMP Leeds in 1997. The Wainwrights were visiting… Read More »
‘Smacking children’ injunction bid fails
The NSPCC last night failed in a last minute bid to prevent ITV from broadcasting a documentary about smacking, ‘I Smack and I’m Proud’. The programme depicted several identified children being repeatedly smacked by… Read More »
PCC rejects UKIP subterfuge complaint
The Press Complaints Commission has rejected a complaint from Roger Knapman MEP that a Sunday Times journalist employed subterfuge, in breach of Clause 10 (Clandestine Devices and subterfuge) of the PCC Code. It also rejected… Read More »