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Expert Analysis

• 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.

• Experian Ruling Helps Cos. Navigate GDPR Transparency

  

  In Information Commissioner v. Experian, the Upper Tribunal recently reaffirmed the lawfulness of the company's marketing practices, providing guidance that will assist organizations in complying with the GDPR’s transparency obligations, say lawyers at Jenner & Block.

• Salvaging The Investor-State Arbitration System's Legitimacy

  

  Recent developments in Europe and Ecuador highlight the vulnerability of the investor-state arbitration framework, but arbitrators can avert a crisis by relying on a poorly understood doctrine of fairness and equity, rather than law, to resolve the disputes before them, says Phillip Euell at Diaz Reus.

• UK Trademark Law May Further Diverge From EU Standards

  

  The recently enacted Retained EU Law Act, which removes the principle of EU law supremacy, offers a path for U.K. trademark law to distance itself even further from EU precedent — beyond the existing differences between the two trademark examination processes, say David Kemp and Michael Shaw at Marks & Clerk.

• Clarity Is Central Theme In FCA's Greenwashing Guidance

  

  Recent Financial Conduct Authority guidance for complying with the U.K. regulator's anti-greenwashing rule sends an overarching message that sustainability claims must be clear, accurate and capable of being substantiated, say lawyers at Cadwalader.