Viewpoints - Harbottle and Lewis

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28 June 2023

Digital Assets: Final Report

The Law Commission's Digital Assets Final Report is in.These are the headlines:1. The Law Commission has recommended statutory confirmation that a thing will not be deprived of legal status as an object of personal property rights simply because it is…

31 May 2023

FASHION AND BEAUTY SHOWS IN THE METAVERSE – TOP TIPS TO ENGAGE IN A “CLEAN”, COMPLIANT WAY

Fashion and beauty weeks, hosted in the metaverse return this spring/summer, given the popularity last year – the most well-known being hosted by Decentraland: Metaverse Fashion Week and (the new) Metaverse Beauty Week. Runway shows, pop-ups, immersive experiences, entertainment, prize…

24 May 2023

THE METAVERSE SERIES: INTRODUCTION

As lawyers who not only advise on the creation of new technologies but also on their commercial exploitation, we’ve had many clients ask to speak to us about the future of the internet and more specifically the implications of the…

26 April 2023

UK regulators block deal to buy US video game company Activision Blizzard

The CMA has just blocked Microsoft’s proposed purchase of Activision over concerns the deal would alter the future of the cloud gaming market and potential for innovation. Part of this decision will come from a sense amongst the CMA and…

23 April 2023

Dominion-Fox defamation settlement – Latest in string of multi-million dollar US claimant victories

A rise in successful high profile defamation and privacy cases in the US is of note, as juries move to awarding huge sums in damages. The latest mammoth US$787m settlement by Fox, of a defamation claim brought by Dominion Voting…

02 April 2023

The Government’s attempts to safeguard the immigration exemption under the Data Protection Act fails in the High Court

The UK GDPR provides an exemption that allows for certain individual rights to be restricted if they are likely to have a negative impact on immigration matters. The exemption can apply to; the right to be informed including the transparency…

29 March 2023

The UK Government Releases its First AI White Paper

Partner Anita Bapat and Trainee Gina Asadi have summarised the key features of the Government’s new White Paper on Artificial Intelligence below, we will provide further analysis in due course. The UK Government has released the long awaited White Paper…

29 March 2023

Interesting times ahead for privacy law reform in Australia

On 16 February 2023 the Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department released its Privacy Act Review Report 2022 (the “Report”) on Australia’s privacy laws. The review covered a wide range of areas largely relating to data protection issues but also one of the…

29 March 2023

The Law Commission’s report on surrogacy is a step in the right direction

The long awaited report of the Law Commission on the surrogacy laws in England and Wales (alongside the Scottish Law Commission) was published yesterday. The report has made some positive recommendations which will primarily affect those undergoing surrogacy in the…

29 March 2023

The UK’s “Draft Media Bill” aims to ensure that UK broadcasters remain globally competitive

With thanks in no small part to the series of Covid-19 lockdowns across the UK from 2020-2021, the stratospheric rise of video-on-demand platforms (VoDs) over the last decade has been equally impressive as it was inevitable. According to the UK’s…