MLex: The European Commission gave EU countries a taste of the examples it sees falling under the EU AI Act’s bans. The Commission is preparing guidelines to specify the use cases that will be forbidden as of 2 February 2025.

A deed of excambion exchanges one piece of land for another.

A charity which is not required to register with the Charity Commission, but is in most respects subject to its jurisdiction.

Group life assurance schemes set up by employers which satisfy the criteria for an excepted group life policy in Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005, ss 481 and 482.

An exception in a deed is wording that withholds part of the grantor’s existing legal interest from the property being conveyed, so that the excepted right or land never passes to the transferee. In practice, it “carves out” something that already exists, such as a strip of land, a mineral interest or an established right of way.In England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland, the term is used in conveyancing and property drafting to distinguish an “exception” (retaining an existing right or parcel) from a “reservation” (creating a new right out of the land being granted), although some modern drafting treats the labels less strictly. The concept is largely shaped by case law and standard conveyancing practice rather than detailed statutory definition.In Scotland, similar effects are usually achieved by excepting subjects from the conveyance in the dispositive clause, with Scots property law focussing on the description of the subjects disponed rather than on the terminology of “exception”.Accurate use of exceptions in a deed is critical to define the extent of title, avoid unintended transfers, and ensure correct registration in the land registers across all four jurisdictions.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has published guidance on 31 March 2025 outlining the process for obtaining exceptional use authorisations (EUAs) for non-UKCA/CE certified medical devices. The guidance details separate regulatory frameworks for Great Britain under UK Medical Devices Regulations 2002 and Northern Ireland under EU Regulation (EU) 2017/745 (Medical Devices Regulation)/Regulation (EU) 2017/746 (In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Regulation). EUAs are granted for limited periods when devices serve public health interests, primarily for National Health Service and social care settings, with manufacturers required to demonstrate progress towards full certification and provide monthly reports on supply, complaints and adverse events.

Restructuring & Insolvency analysis: The court, on appeal, clarified the approach to be taken in determining whether or not exceptional circumstances were present which would mean that the possession and sale of a family home should be deferred, and reviewed the approach to be taken in determining how long to defer such orders. The first instance judge had been correct to determine that there were exceptional circumstances, however the court gave more weight to the medical evidence than to the conduct of the bankrupt during divorce proceedings which predated the bankruptcy. The court reduced the time by which the orders should be deferred, which had been set at more than eight years, and instead deferred the orders by 18 months, albeit from the date of this judgment rather than from the date of the original judgment. The court also determined that email exchanges between the bankrupt and his wife could have created a valid transfer of the bankrupt’s interest in the family home, but that WhatsApp messages, absent a clear ‘signature’ in the body of the message, could not, but that in any event the wording of the exchanges failed to evince an intention to create an immediate transfer. Written by Mark Sands, head of Personal Insolvency at Opus Business Advisory Group.

Restructuring & Insolvency analysis: This judgment concerned an application by a trustee in bankruptcy for possession and sale of a former matrimonial home. The bankruptcy order had been made seven days before a property adjustment order in matrimonial proceedings, granting the whole property to the former wife (L) of the bankrupt (B). She opposed the application on grounds (i) exceptional circumstances under section 335A of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) because B had deliberately delayed the family court judgment to frustrate its effect with the bankruptcy order, and because of her and her family’s medical circumstances; and (ii) B had entered a disposition of his share in the property-pre bankruptcy-by WhatsApps and emails. Deputy Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Frith found exceptional circumstances and delayed possession for eight years. He dismissed the disposition argument as the communications occurred while divorce proceedings were on foot, so were not legally binding until confirmed by court order. Written by Thomas Robinson, barrister at Wilberforce Chambers.

Costs which affect a company’s profit (or loss) which are associated with normal activities but are exceptional in magnitude.

Family analysis: In GH v GH, Mr Justice Peel confirmed the importance of the financial dispute resolution hearing (FDR) and that bypassing this hearing to go from first appointment to final hearing is only appropriate in exceptional circumstances. This applies even where financial positions are not fully crystallised at the time of the FDR.

A ‘patent’ is a document conferring so-called monopoly rights to an inventor. A patent protects new inventions and may cover aspects such as how things work, what they are made of and how they are made. A national UK patent or European patent designating the UK (EP(UK)) is infringed by doing certain acts in the UK without the consent of the patent owner (the patentee). The infringing acts are set out in section 60 of the Patents Act 1977 (PA 1977) and include making, using and importing a patented product or process. For more information about patent infringement, see Practice Note: Patent infringement. This Practice Note discusses: • the statutory exceptions to patent infringement set out in PA 1977, including: ◦ ‘permitted acts’ such as private use and experimental use, and ◦ the right to continue non-infringing use (third-party rights) • defences to patent infringement, including: ◦ patent invalidity ◦ consent of the patentee ◦ exhaustion of rights ◦ pseudo defences such as the Gillette defence, the Formstein defence, and abuse of dominant position

The amount the insured must pay itself before insurers will pay a claim.