Expert Analysis

• The Unified Patent Court: What We Learned In Year 1

  

  ​​​​​​​The Unified Patent Court celebrated its first anniversary this month, and while questions remain as we wait for the first decisions on the merits, a multitude of decisions and orders regarding provisional measures and procedural aspects have provided valuable insights already, says Antje Brambrink at Finnegan.

• Decoding Arbitral Disputes: Spanish Judicial Oversight

  

  The recent conviction of arbitrator Gonzalo Stampa underscores the critical importance of judicial authority in the realm of international arbitration in Spain, and emphasizes that arbitrators must respect the procedural frameworks established by Spanish national courts, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray’s Inn.

• F1 Driver AI Case Sheds Light On Winning Tactics In IP Suits

  

  A German court recently awarded damages to former F1 driver Michael Schumacher's family in an artificial intelligence dispute over the unlicensed use of his image, illustrating how athletes are using the law to protect their brands, and setting a precedent in other AI-generated image rights cases, William Bowyer at Lawrence Stephens.

• High Court Ruling Sheds Light On Targets For Judicial Review

  

  The High Court's recent dismissal of iDealing.com's judicial review application for service complaint decisions by the Financial Ombudsman Service highlights the difficulty of distinguishing what decisions are amenable to judicial review, demonstrating that those made by statutory bodies may not always be genuine targets, say Alexander Fawke, Tara Janus and Bam Thomas at Linklaters.

• Appeal Ruling Clarifies 3rd-Party Contract Breach Liability

  

  The Court of Appeal's recent decision in Northamber v. Genee World serves as a warning to parties that they may be held liable for inducing another party to breach a contract, even if that party was a willing participant, say Neil Blake, Maura McIntosh and Jennifer O'Brien at HSL.

• CPR Proposal Affirms The Emphasis On Early Mediation

  

  While the recent proposal to incorporate mandatory alternative dispute resolution into the Civil Procedure Rules following a 2023 appeal decision would not lead to seismic change, given current practice, it signals a shift in how litigation should be pursued toward out-of-court solutions, say Heather Welham and Cyra Roshan at Foot Anstey.

• How Law Firms Can Handle Challenges Of Mass Claims

  

  With a wave of volume litigation possibly about to hit the U.K. courts, firms developing mass claim practices should ensure they heed the Solicitors Regulation Authority's May warning and adopt strategies to ensure regulatory compliance and fair client representation, says Claire Van der Zant at Shieldpay.

• Potential EPO Reproducibility Ruling May Affect IP Strategies

  

  A potential European Patent Office decision in referral G1/23, concerning the reproducibility criteria for patenting commercial products, may affect how disclosures are assessed as prior art and could influence how companies weigh protecting innovations as trade secrets versus patents, says Michael Stott at Mathys & Squire.

• Insurance Ruling Stresses High Hurdle To Fix Policy Wording

  

  In Project Angel v. Axis, the Court of Appeal recently refused to rewrite the exclusion clause of an insurance policy, reminding parties in the warranty and indemnity market to carefully word clauses, as there is a high threshold before courts will intervene to amend policies, say Joseph Moore and Laura McCann at Travers Smith.

• Taking Stock Of Changes UK Economic Crime Act Will Bring

  

  With more than six months since the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act's enactment, it is time to look at the steps organizations can take to prepare for imminent changes, including the new failure to prevent fraud offense and extensions to Companies House authority, say lawyers at Mayer Brown.

• Sanctions Ruling Opens Door For Enforcer To Clear Up Rules

  

  In Vneshprombank v. Bedzhamov, the High Court recently argued against a broader interpretation of the test on reasonable suspicion for asset freezes, offering the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation an opportunity to clarify when freezes should be applied and respond to judicial criticism of its guidance on financial sanctions, says Tasha Benkhadra at Corker Binning.

• How Gov't Response Addresses Investment Act Concerns

  

  The government’s recently published response to a call for evidence on the National Security and Investment Act is largely appropriate to stakeholder concerns raised and demonstrates in its five areas of focus that it is willing to respond to live issues, say lawyers at Watson Farley.

• UPC Appeal Ruling Clarifies Language Change Framework

  

  In 10x Genomics v. Curio Bioscience, the Unified Patent Court recently allowed proceedings to be conducted in English, rather than German, shedding light on the framework on UPC language change applications and hopefully helping prevent future disputes, say Conor McLaughlin and Nina O'Sullivan at Mishcon de Reya.

• How Generative AI Can Enhance Disclosure Review Processes

  

  As recent developments show that implementing artificial intelligence in legal processes remains a critical challenge, the disclosure process — one of the most document-intensive legal exercises — presents itself as a prime use-case, illustrating how generative AI can supplement traditional technology-assisted review, say lawyers at Macfarlanes.

• Decoding Arbitral Disputes: The Benefits Of Non-EU Venues

  

  In Spain v. Triodos, a Swedish appeal court recently annulled an intra-EU investment treaty award, reinforcing a growing trend in the bloc against enforcing such awards, and highlighting the advantages of initiating enforcement proceedings in common law jurisdictions, such as the U.K., says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn Square.