Technology & Media Newsletter

Updated September 2011

This edition features articles on the following topics:

BT ordered to block access to file sharing website

In a landmark decision, the High Court has ruled that BT must impose technical measures to block access to www.newzbin.com, an unlawful file-sharing website operated by Newzbin Limited.

Government to implement Hargreaves Review recommendations

The Hargreaves Review, a government-commissioned report on the UK's intellectual property (IP) framework, was published with much fanfare in May 2011. Three months on the coalition has responded to the Review, confirming it accepts all ten recommendations. That response raises the stakes for content owners, internet service providers and users of IP, who will all be affected by any new legislation implementing the recommendations.

eBay liable for promoting infringing sales

The European Court of Justice has clarified that, in certain circumstances, the operator of an online marketplace can be held liable for activities relating to the sale of trade mark infringing goods on its site. Whilst the ruling will be welcomed by brand owners, it presents a threat to some of eBay's current business practices and it will ring alarm bells for other online service providers.

Recognising disguised remuneration

Many technology and media companies believe in employee ownership and many put that belief into practice through the use of employee share plans and employee trusts. For those that do, knowing about new legislation on 'disguised remuneration' is essential.

'Team moves' to competitors

What would you do if a group of employees left your company and went to work for a competitor, potentially taking part of your business and client base with them? In 2008, a case went to court after 75 employees left UBS Wealth Management to join competitor Vestra Wealth LLP.

20 years of the World Wide Web

6 August 1991 saw Sir Tim Berners-Lee's public launch of the World Wide Web. Now, just after the 20th anniversary of its launch, the Web has moved far beyond the niche academic collaboration that characterised its early days. Whether in online retail, communications, social networks, publishing or service provision, the Web has become ubiquitous. And with that dominance has, almost inevitably, come regulation. Any company operating a website in the UK today has far more to think about in legal terms than first movers such as Amazon, eBay, and Dell did when they were trailblazing online retail in the mid-1990s.

Patents Count Court: Reform - Making it easier for SMEs to enforce their IP rights

The publication of Lord Justice Jackson's 'Review of Civil Litigation Costs' sparked radical procedural reform in the Patents County Court aimed at addressing the problems encountered by small and medium sized enterprises. Eighteen months on from the full report, we take a look at the effects.

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