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On 2 May 2012, the English High Court made an order under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to require the major internet service providers to block customer access to The Pirate Bay peer-to-peer file sharing website. The Act (as amended) implements the 2001 Information Society Directive 2001/29/EC. The case was brought by record companies on their own behalf and on behalf of the British Recorded Music Industry and Phonographic Performance Ltd. The Act empowers the High Court to grant an order against a service provider where the latter has ‘actual knowledge’ of another person using their...

On 12 April 2012 the UK Government ratified a co-production treaty with the Palestinian Authority. The aim of the treaty is to strengthen the relationship between the film industries in the UK and the Palestinian Occupied Territories by encouraging British and Palestinian producers to make films together that reflect the creativity and diverse culture and heritage of both territories. The Treaty provides a number of benefits for co-productions. These include temporary import and export - free of duties and taxes - of equipment necessary for making such productions. Personnel employed in the making...

The English High Court has ordered the Internet Service Provider O2 to hand over the personal details of over 9,000 customers to a company acting on behalf of copyright owners and to a pornographic film production company, whilst rejecting similar claims by 12 other copyright owners. Golden Eye International Limited, an organisation acting on behalf of copyright owners, and 13 pornographic film producers sought a ‘Norwich Pharmacal Order’ to compel O2 to give them the personal details of 9,124 O2 customers in order to demand GBP 700 each in damages for alleged copyright infringement, and to threaten...

In his annual budget statement, the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that he is extending the tax credit scheme, previously available to film production (see IRIS 2012-1/29), to high-end television productions, video games and animation. This will be subject to state aid approval and a consultation process, but is likely to be introduced by April 2013. The film tax credit scheme was introduced under the Finance Act 2006. Under the provisions of the Act, the credit is available for British films intended for theatrical release costing GBP 20m or less at 20%, which means that tax is not...

A company which sold mattresses made the following claim on one of its websites regarding its products: that they were “as seen on TV”. The sole complainant challenged whether that claim “As seen in” misleadingly implied that the mattress had featured in editorials or product reviews in those media, contrary to rule 3.1 of the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (CAP Code) which states, “Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.” The company provided a copy of an email requesting a donation of a mattress for a Channel 4 quiz...