Patent Court considers Panasonic interim licence in FRAND case
In Lenovo Group Ltd and others v Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson and another [2024] EWHC 2941 (Pat), the Patents Court refused Lenovo’s application for a declaration that a willing licensor and a willing licensee would agree to an interim cross-licence of standard essential patents (SEPs) with Ericsson while the parties were waiting for a UK court FRAND hearing.
Spreadex required to sell Sporting Index
The Competition and Markets Authority has accepted the proposed sale of Sporting Index, to address the competition concerns it had found in the licensed online sports spread betting market, with some modifications and enhancements. Last year, Spreadex acquired the “business-to-consumer” business of Sporting Index from Sporting Group Holding Limited. Spreadex and Sporting Index both provide sports fixed odds betting and sports spread betting services to customers based in the UK. Sports spread betting involves customers betting on a range of outcomes of sporting events rather than the standard “win or lose” outcomes offered by fixed-odds betting. In spread betting, the closer a customer’s bet is to an outcome, the more money they stand to win, and the further away from the outcome they are, the more they stand to lose. This means that, in contrast to fixed odds betting, customers’ wins and losses could be far higher than the amount they bet. After conducting an in-depth Phase 2 investigation into the deal, the CMA’s independent panel has concluded the deal created a monopoly in the UK licensed online sports spread betting market, eliminating competition in that market. The panel concluded that the merger could lead to a worse user experience, a more limited range of products and/or higher prices for consumers in the UK. The panel has concluded that, with some modifications and enhancements, the sale remedy proposed by Spreadex is sufficient to remedy the competition concerns and restore competition in this market that is lost due to the deal. The CMA now has 12 weeks to either accept Final Undertakings from Spreadex, or to make a Final Order requiring Spreadex, to sell Sporting Index to a suitable CMA-approved buyer.
DRCF issues report on the future of synthetic media
The Digital Regulatory Cooperation Forum has issued a research paper as part of its horizon scanning work. The report explores the development of synthetic media over the next three to five years. The Forum considers both opportunities and risks, such as the personalisation of content, application of digital twins, creation of harmful content and disinformation. In addition, the report explores the potential regulatory considerations of each of these opportunities and risks, as well as outlining detection methods such as watermarking and labelling content. Going forward, DRCF and its member regulators will continue to follow the development of synthetic media and deepfakes technologies. The Forum will continue to consider synthetic media where relevant to respective remits, whilst also exploring opportunities for further collaborative efforts through the DRCF.
FCA finds crypto ownership continues to rise as it delivers plans to regulate crypto
According to the FCA’s latest research on consumer attitudes and behaviours towards crypto, 12% of UK adults now own crypto, up from 10% in previous findings. Awareness of crypto also rose from 91% to 93%. The average value of crypto held by people increased from £1,595 to £1,842. Respondents told the FCA that information from family and friends was the most common source of information for those who had never bought crypto. Only 1 in 10 people say they did not do any research before buying crypto. Around a third of people said they believed they could raise a complaint with the FCA if something went wrong and were seeking recourse or financial protection. Currently, crypto remains largely unregulated in the UK and high-risk. The research comes as the FCA has started to share their approach to regulating crypto. The FCA has also published an indicative roadmap of key dates for the development and introduction of the UK’s crypto regime. The roadmap sets out a series of focused consultations. FCA anticipates that all policy statements and final rules will be published in 2026, with the FCA’s cryptoasset regime going live sometime after that. However, the roadmap is not exhaustive, and all timelines may change depending on parliamentary time and guidance from the government. The government has indicated that it will regulate stablecoins at the same time.
European Commission requires risk reports from major online platforms
The providers of the first 19 very large online platforms (VLOPs) and very large search engines (VLOSEs) designated in April 2023 must publish their annual risk assessment and audit reports under the Digital Services Act (DSA). These reports must include the assessments that providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs carried out to identify and analyse the risks stemming from their services, such as the dissemination of illegal content, disinformation or the protection of minors. These reports also outline the measures VLOPs and VLOSEs have put in place to mitigate the identified risks. With the publication of these reports, the European Commission says that the DSA is set to bring a new era of transparency and accountability to the tech industry, helping to protect users and society from potential harm and promoting a safer, more responsible online environment.
