UK law Patents Court refuses interim licence for video coding patents including SEPs The Patents Court has issued its judgment in Alcatel Lucent SAS v Amazon Digital UK Ltd and others [2024] EWHC 1921 (Pat). The case arose in the context of a dispute between Nokia and Amazon. The court dismissed a claim that Amazon…
The UK government is consulting on three draft regulations under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act 2024. They set out: The DMCC Act received Royal Assent on 24 May 2024. It contains provisions requiring the CMA, the courts and other enforcers to estimate or calculate a business’s turnover. This is to assess if…
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The Competition and Markets Authority is consulting on draft direct consumer enforcement guidance and rules as required and permitted under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act). The DMCC Act grants new direct enforcement powers, relating to consumer protection law, to the CMA. These new powers enable the CMA to investigate, determine…
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The ICO has provisionally decided to fine Advanced Computer Software Group Ltd £6.09m, following an initial finding that Advanced failed to implement measures to protect the personal information of 82,946 people, including some sensitive personal information. Advanced provides IT and software services to organisations at national level, including the NHS and other healthcare providers, and…
Last week, following its investigation into Wowcher’s online selling practices, the CMA announced that Wowcher will change the way it promotes products and services to customers, in addition to paying £4 million in refunds to consumers. Some organisations use so-called “dark patterns” or online choice architecture to “nudge” customers into buying products that they otherwise…
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Ofcom has fined TikTok £1.875 million for failing to accurately respond to a formal request for information about its parental controls safety feature. Under the Communications Act 2003., organisations regulated by Ofcom must respond to all statutory information requests from Ofcom in an accurate, complete and timely way. This includes providing accurate and complete information….
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UK law Software development that built on existing code qualified as R&D In Get Onbord Ltd (in Liquidation) v HMRC [2024] UKFTT 617 (TC) the First-tier Tribunal held that expenditure incurred by a company when it developed a new AI-based analytical process qualified for R&D tax relief. The project built on existing material, but its…
The EU’s Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network is taking action following concerns that Meta’s “pay or consent” model might breach EU consumer law. The Commission is coordinating the action. It is due to Meta requesting that consumers either subscribe to use Facebook and Instagram for a fee, or consent to Meta’s use of their personal…
The Information Commissioner’s Office has published its annual report for 2023-24. This article sets out the highlights. The ICO commits to four “enduring strategic objectives”: Investigations The ICO concluded 285 civil investigation cases and 80 incidents in 2023-24. Five prosecutions and five cautions were brought for ‘unlawfully obtaining’ offences under the Data Protection Act. These…
The European Commission has concluded that Meta’s “pay or consent” advertising model fails to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The binary choice forces users to consent to the combination of their personal data and fails to provide them a less personalised but equivalent version of Meta’s social networks. Preliminary findings on Meta’s pay…
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