“FRAND negotiations workshops have shown promise in resolving disputes involving large patent portfolios through pre-litigation mediation.” Patent licenses include a complicated assortment of interdependent terms and conditions. Successfully negotiating patent licenses, especially patent portfolio licenses, requires both parties to make business-driven tradeoffs to reach mutually acceptable agreements. Mutually acceptable rarely means that either party believes it “won” the negotiation against the other party. In most cases, the patentee will possess a strong belief that its patents are valid, infringed and valuable while a putative infringer will possess an equally strong belief that the patents are not valid, infringed or valuable. […]

A significant case in the fight against energy mis-selling, worth in excess of £100k has been granted permission to appeal, says specialist claims firm, Business Energy Claims (BEC). The decision to grant permission to appeal comes alongside a number of other court cases heading to the Senior Courts and represents a potential significant step forward for this area of litigation, opening the floodgates for businesses who were mis-led and mis-sold commercial energy contracts. The case involves tool and special purpose machinery manufacturer Expert Tooling and Automation Limited, based across a variety of industrial sites both in the Midlands and in […]

Administrators and lawyers handling the affairs of collapsed firm SSB Group could not even find enough available funds to pay their own fees, it has emerged. A newly-published report on the first six months of the administration by FRP Advisory, has revealed that the sale of the Sheffield firm’s work in progress comes to just £731,000. That compares with more than £200m that is owed by the business to various creditors, which went into administration in January. The FRP report states that there were insufficient assets in the administration estate to meet administrators’ remuneration in full, together with the fees […]

This might sound trite, but a common cliché is “you have to be happy with yourself before you are going to be happy with someone else.” Yes, that is true, but what happens when two people were happy, they got married, and then some life change causes one of the people to be unhappy, spiral downward, cheat, perhaps, or develop some kind of addiction, ultimately causing an unhappy marriage, followed by divorce? That is one big reason why marriages fail. It’s impossible for people not to change as they grow and as time goes by. I was a completely different […]

Litigation is something most individuals or businesses enter as a last resort, often because there is just no other option left open to them. The converse of this standard position is the vexatious litigant. The ‘berserker’ of the legal world – hellbent on pursuing numerous applications in a body of cases repeatedly, simultaneously or recurrently. The hallmark of a vexatious litigant is one who brings claims with little or no legal basis with the sole intention to subject the other party to inconvenience, harassment and expense. The term ‘vexatious litigant’ lacks a formal or statutory definition. In civil proceedings, a […]

When I was newly separated, I was brokenhearted. I also had feelings of fear, anger, resentment and confusion. I felt like I was living in a fog, like maybe I’d wake up the next day and this would all have been a dream. Unfortunately, the nightmare was real. What I do remember so vividly, even after all these years, were some of the unbelievable things people said to me when I was first getting divorced. Some were actually jaw-dropping, some were really rude, and some were just outright stupid. So, I felt like I should write an article about what […]

Criminal defence solicitors do not have the capacity or resources to support 24-hour courts, the chair of a practitioner group has told the Ministry of Justice in response to reports that the additional courts protocol could be activated to deal with cases arising from the current wave of riots sweeping the country. On Sunday, prime minister Keir Starmer declared that those who have participated in the ‘far right thuggery’ would face the full force of the law. ‘The police will be making arrests. Individuals will be held on remand. Charges will follow. And convictions will follow.’ The government signalled over […]

In the heart of Hollywood, a new star is rising—but it’s not the next A-list celebrity. Artificial intelligence is taking center stage, promising to revolutionize filmmaking while simultaneously creating a legal labyrinth that could cost unwary creators up to $150,000 per infringement. As AI tools become increasingly sophisticated, filmmakers find themselves walking a tightrope between innovation and potential legal catastrophe. So, I spoke to three IP attorneys to better understand the potential risks associated with using artificial intelligence in filmmaking. The Copyright Conundrum: Who Owns AI-Generated Content? “The integration of AI in film production is not just changing how we […]

Former BBC presenter Huw Edwards has instructed a high-powered legal team to defend him in his criminal case following his guilty plea to making indecent images of children. Edwards is being represented by BCL Solicitors, the slogan of which is ‘Shelter through the Storm’, according to the London firm’s website. BCL specialises in corporate crime, financial crime, regulatory enforcement and criminal defence. It acts for companies and individuals. The firm confirmed that Ellen Peart, partner, and Kate Chanter, senior associate, are working on Edwards’ criminal defence. Peart is head of the serious & general crime team at BCL. In February […]