Employment analysis: Employees on US Air Force (‘USAF’) bases in the UK who are directly employed by the USAF in roles that perform a state function (such as managing records and firefighting) are not entitled to bring claims against their employer in an employment tribunal because the USAF is a department of the US Government and the principles of state immunity mean that the tribunal has no jurisdiction, according to the Cambridge Employment Tribunal.

Law360, London: British solicitors could face significant difficulties when they renew their professional indemnity insurance (PII) cover, a survey by Browne Jacobson LLP suggested on 22 July 2024, finding that almost 40% of insurers are considering exiting the PII market.

The contractual terms To establish that express terms and conditions have been incorporated into a contract, the party seeking to rely on them must show that it has done what is reasonably sufficient to give the other party notice of them: Thornton v Shoe Lane Parking Ltd and Parker v South Eastern Ry. This will be a question of fact in each case. The more onerous or unusual the terms, the more that needs to be done to bring them to the notice of the other party: Interfoto Picture Library v Stiletto Visual Programmes and J Spurling Ltd v Bradshaw. For further information, see Q&A: Is it sufficient from a contractual perspective to state that a copy of terms and conditions can be viewed elsewhere

In this scenario, it appears that what has been granted may well be a lease, assuming that the occupier has exclusive possession (which is stated to be the case) for a term. Such a tenancy may be a tenancy which falls within the protection of Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 and, on that basis, the landowner should be aware that security of tenure may have been acquired, though that falls outside the scope of this Q&A. It is not clear from this scenario whether the agreement between the landowner and the public body included provision

R3, the UK trade association for restructuring, turnaround and insolvency, has appointed Sonia Jordan as its President for a 12-month term, succeeding Tom Russell. Jordan, who previously served as Vice President, has identified three key priorities for her presidency: (1) championing the role and impact of the insolvency profession on the UK economy; (2) strengthening political engagement to support the modernisation of the insolvency framework and (3) promoting a diverse, future-ready profession. In her role, she will collaborate with R3’s Chief Executive Officer, senior management team and Council to shape and deliver R3’s strategy, while also supporting its day-to-day operations.

CASE HUB ARCHIVED–this archived case hub reflects the position at the date of the decision of 3 July 2015; it is no longer maintained. See further, timeline. Case facts Outline UK merger investigation into the completed acquisition by Sonoco Products Company (Sonoco) of Weidenhammer Packaging Group GmbH (Weidenhammer). The transaction involves overlaps in the market for the manufacture and supply of composite cans for food products. Latest developments On 3 July 2015, the CMA unconditionally cleared the merger, confirming its provisional findings. Parties Sonoco is a global packaging company, headquartered in Hartsville, South Carolina, USA. It manufactures and supplies the packaging for brands across the world. It has operations in 33 countries. In the UK, through its subsidiary, it operates two plants (in Chesterfield and Manchester) producing composite cans. Weidenhammer is one of the leading producers of composite cans, composite drums and rigid plastic containers in Europe, supplying goods in 12 countries. Weidenhammer is headquartered in Hockenheim, Germany It operates 13 production facilities in countries such as Germany, Belgium, France, Greece, The Netherlands

CASE HUB ARCHIVED—This archived case hub reflects the position at the date of the decision of 16 March 2022; it is no longer maintained. See further, timeline. Case facts Outline UK merger investigation into the completed acquisition by Sony Music Entertainment of AWAL and Kobalt Neighbouring rights business from Kobalt Music Group Limited. Latest developments On 16 March 2022, the CMA issued its final report, unconditionally clearing the transaction. Parties • Sony Music Entertainment (SME): SME is a subidiary of Sony Group Corporation (Sony) • AWAL and Kobalt Neighbouring Rights (KNR) Background On 1 February 2020, Sony and Kobalt Music Group Limited (Kobalt) announced that SME had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the shares and related assets of certain KNR subsidiaries in order to obtain AWAL, Kobalt’s recorded music label and distribution business mainly for independent recording artists, and KNR, Kobalts’s music rights management business for a total consideration of US$430m..On 19 May 2021, Sony confirmed that it had completed the acquisition of the two companies from Kobalt.On

MLex: Sony Music has warned artificial intelligence (AI) developers and streaming companies against using its copyrighted material as it steps up protection against scraping and AI model training without licenses. It is understood to have written a warning letter to more than 700 companies. It said its move anticipated enforcement of the EU’s AI Act, which allows rights holders to insist that their material be excluded from scraping by AI systems.

Law360, London: The High Court ruled on 28 April 2026 that Sony Music Entertainment UK has not infringed any IP rights belonging to, and therefore does not owe any royalties to, the estates of Jimi Hendrix's former bandmates, John Mitchell and Noel Redding, stemming from its exploitation of the band's back catalogue through streaming services in the UK.

TMT analysis: In a row over the ownership and exploitation of copyright and performers’ rights in the studio albums of eponymous rock band The Jimi Hendrix Experience (JHE), the Court of Appeal has dismissed Sony’s appeal against the High Court’s decision to refuse Sony’s application for summary judgment and strike out. The outcome in this case illustrates the complexities around the ownership and exploitation of the intellectual property rights of band members and offers helpful guidance on the applicability of seldomly seen transitional provisions relating to performers’ rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988). Written by Marc Linsner , senior associate at Bristows LLP.

Law360: Sony has won the chance to challenge a £5bn (US$6.4bn) class action as Britain's antitrust tribunal ruled on 5 January 2024 that litigants need a 'conclusive decision' on the lawfulness of funding arrangements in light of a landmark UK Supreme Court ruling.

Law360: Sony Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music and affiliated music publishers have accused Anthropic in California federal court of carrying out a 'brazen campaign' of musical composition theft, alleging the Claude-maker stole lyrics and sheet music by scraping websites, exploiting datasets and 'destructively scanning' physical copies of copyrighted music.