5RB nominated for three top awards
5RB has been nominated in three categories in the annual awards by leading directory Chambers & Partners. In the category Chambers of the Year, 5RB has been nominated with 1 Brick Court and Matrix Chambers. 5RB‘s Desmond Browne QC… Read More »
5RB at Media Law Conference
5RB’s Christina Michalos speaks today at the IBC’s Protecting the Media Conference in association with Richards Butler. She will be participating in a practical case study session concerning Management of the Flow of Information in Intellectual Property and… Read More »
London hosts MLRC Conference
The American-based Media Law Resource Center is hosting its annual Conference in London this year between 19-20 September. The conference draws together delegates and speakers from across the US, Europe and the Commonwealth for perhaps… Read More »
Fall in defamation court cases
The number of reported defamation court cases declined over the past year, statistics from Sweet & Maxwell’s online legal information services reveal. The figures, drawn from Lawtel & Westlaw UK, show that reported defamation cases… Read More »
Tapping up’ case goes to Lausanne
Ashley Cole’s solicitor has announced that an appeal against the decision of the FA Premier League has been lodged on the footballer’s behalf with the Court of Arbitration in Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland. In… Read More »
Ofcom raps BBC for daytime vice
Communications regulator Ofcom has found the BBC guilty of breaching the Broadcasting Code for its four-part Streets of Vice programme. Ofcom received 58 complaints after the series – which dealt with issues of drugs, pornography and prostitution… Read More »
Concern for London bomb suspects’ right to a fair trial
In the wake of the arrest of four suspects in connection with the failed 21 July London bombings, human rights groups have urged the Attorney General to issue a warning to the media to refrain from… Read More »
Criminal trials may be televised
A leaked government memo suggests that legislation may be on the way that would allow the televising of high-profile criminal trials, according to today’s Sunday Times. On the basis of the documents it has seen, the newspaper claims… Read More »
New regulatory code for broadcasters
The new Ofcom Broadcasting Code, which replaces the old codes devised by the ITC, BSC and Radio Authority, came into effect today. The Code itself is divided into sections that represent the objectives set out… Read More »
Polanski awarded £50,000 damages
Roman Polanski has won his libel action against Conde Nast, with the jury awarding him £50,000 in damages. Mr Polanski was suing over an article in Vanity Fair which alleged that he made a pass at… Read More »
Media must be told of injunction applications
by Mike Dodd, Media Lawyer Lawyers acting for children and local authorities must heed the need to notify the press and media when applying for injunctions which will inhibit reporting of issues involving children and… Read More »
Appeal allowed in database case
The Court of Appeal today gave judgment in the long running British Horse Racing Board v William Hill case. The case concerned database rights – a relatively new form of intellectual property that derives from… Read More »
Health Care Trust wins High Court Libel Trial
The Vale of Aylesbury Primary Care Trust has seen off a libel action brought by a former employee over a reference it provided to a new employer. The Claimant, who had been employed as a dietician for… Read More »
Bid to stop under-cover footage fails
The High Court yesterday rejected an attempt by two 15-year-old school children to ban footage of them appearing in a Channel Four Dispatches programme looking at discipline problems in English schools. Alex Dolan, a supply… Read More »
Journalist jailed for refusing to reveal source
Prominent New York Times journalist Judith Miller was today sentenced to prison for refusing to reveal the identity of a confidential source of information for an article. The conviction related to a story naming CIA agent… Read More »
PCC claims to resolve record number of complaints
The PCC annual report, published today, claims that a record number of complaints have been resolved, despite a slight fall in the number made. Chairman Sir Christopher Meyer further claims that the organisation is the preferred route to… Read More »
Televising the Courts: results of consultation
The Department of Constitution Affairs today released the results of the consultation process over televising courts in England and Wales. Announcing the results, The Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, said that there were “powerful” reasons for keeping television cameras… Read More »
Software firms face file-sharing liability
Companies manufacturing and distributing file-sharing software were today held liable for the copyright infringements carried out with the software by end users. The Supreme Court unanimously held that a person who distributes a device with… Read More »
Trial date set in Barclays v Times
At a procedural hearing, Paris’s civil court set a date next February for the full hearing of Sir Frederick and Sir David Barclays’ libel trial against The Times. The brothers, who own the Telegraph, are suing… Read More »
High Court Judge quits the bench
Mr Justice Laddie has announced he is resigning from his position as a High Court judge in order to join a specialist solicitors’ firm. Laddie, 59, was appointed to the Chancery Division in May 1995 and becomes… Read More »