What is the UK advertising regulator’s position on the costs of mystery items, bonus time, and levelling up? Several platforms urgently need to change their game mechanics to comply with new rules. Continue Reading
Are All the Terms in Your Standard Terms and Conditions Incorporated?
A recent High Court decision in the case of Blu-Sky Solutions Limited (“Blu-Sky”) v Be Caring Limited (“BCL”) has put terms and conditions into the spotlight. The case has highlighted the importance of making sure that any onerous terms in your standard terms and conditions are clearly brought to the attention of the other party if you want to rely on the term. In this case, Blu-Sky sued BCL, a social care provider, for cancellation charges (£180,000 plus VAT) under a contract relating to the supply of a mobile network service following the cancellation of an order form by BCL. Continue Reading
Judge Leonard P. Stark Will Bring a Wealth of Patent Experience to the Federal Circuit
On Wednesday, November 3, 2021, the White House announced President Biden’s nomination of Judge Leonard P. Stark (U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware) to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. If approved, Judge Stark will succeed Judge Kathleen M. O’Malley, who recently announced that she will retire in March 2022. Continue Reading
Server Test Showdown? The Conflicting Rulings Over Whether Embedding a Social Media Post Violates the Copyright Act
Last year, I wrote about a ruling in the Southern District of New York, Sinclair v. Ziff Davis, 18-CV-790 (KMW), that refused to dismiss claims against a media company for embedding an Instagram post into one of its articles online. This ruling and others in federal trial courts in the Second Circuit conflict with the Ninth Circuit’s ruling in Perfect 10, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., which held that embedding images could not violate a copyright holder’s exclusive display right. A recent California District Court ruling affirmed that Perfect 10’s ruling applied to the embedding of images from social media onto third party websites. This post will explain the conflict that now exists in these Circuits. Continue Reading
Practical Considerations for Prize Draws – New Guidance Issued by the ASA
Prize draws and promotions are a popular choice for brands to engage with its consumers, particularly through online social media platforms.
As discussed in a previous blog post, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has emphasised that prize draws must comply with provisions of its CAP Code. Failing which one risks being in breach of the rules, which can ultimately lead to criminal prosecution for failure to comply with consumer protection, gambling and advertising laws. Following an increase in consumer complaints that some prize draws are not being administered in accordance with the relevant rules, together with its influencer monitoring work, the ASA has recently released a dedicated resources and guidance page, which aims to help influencers and brands get their prize promotions right. Continue Reading
The Rise of ‘Voice Cloning’ Provides More Evidence of the Need for Urgent Legal Reform in the UK
Earlier this year, we published our blog on the topic of ‘Deepfakes’, in which we argued that the rise of this technology necessitates urgent legal reform. Without the courts developing English law in a way that they are usually unwilling to do, the current position is that it is not well-suited to deal with the problems that deepfakes pose. Perhaps surprisingly, there are no laws specifically regulating the use of this technology. Since self-regulation has proven to be insufficient, parliamentary legislation is therefore required. Continue Reading
AFCP 2.0 Extended: Your Mileage May Vary
On October 12, 2021, the USPTO extended its program for after-final patent prosecution practice, AFCP 2.0, to September 30, 2022. The USPTO initiated the “pilot” program in 2013, to speed up prosecution and to increase contact between Examiners and applicants. Although the USPTO has not issued statistics about the results of the program, applicants still invoke AFCP 2.0 with some frequency. The USPTO has renewed the program each year since inception.
This renewal provides a timely opportunity to discuss briefly what might make participation in the AFCP 2.0 program worthwhile. Continue Reading
Federal Circuit Allows Service by Alternative Means Under Rule 4(f)(3) in Patent Cases
Serving a district court complaint for patent infringement on a foreign defendant usually requires compliance with the Hague Convention on Service. A recent Federal Circuit decision, however, endorses alternative options under Federal Rule 4(f)(3) that could significantly simplify the process for plaintiffs and make it more difficult for foreign defendants to avoid service and delay participation in patent litigation in the United States. Continue Reading
The Covid Conundrum – CMA Closes its Investigation into Covid Consumer Refund Rights
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has today announced it is closing its investigation into the refusal of British Airways and Ryanair to provide refunds to consumers who were unable to travel on previously booked flights as a result of Covid lockdown restrictions due to uncertainty in the underlying law. Continue Reading
UK Regulators Show Unjustified Green Claims in Advertising the Red Light
“Green”, “organic”, “eco-friendly”, “recyclable”, “natural”. These are just a few ‘green claims’ that consumers are increasingly used to seeing on the products and services they buy. However, how accurate are these claims and are organisations using them correctly?
UK regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), has now published the Green Claims Code to help businesses understand their obligations under consumer protection law. It contains key principles, which require that all green claims must be truthful, accurate, clear, unambiguous and substantiated. Further, the CMA prohibits claims that omit or hide important information, and requires advertisers to consider the whole life cycle of their products and services when making environmental claims. Continue Reading
