Monthly Archives: May, 2025
Rachel Landy, ‘Did Copyright Fail Music Artists?’
ABSTRACT Music soundtracks our lives, supports over two million domestic jobs annually, and is being listened to more than ever before. The record industry is thriving, having made over $17 billion in 2024. Yet, many professional artists are barely surviving. Artists signed to record deals lament royalty payments that amount to a fraction of a […]
‘Anatomy of a Fall: On the anticipated withdrawal of the AI Liability Directive proposal’
“On 11 February 2025, the Commission published its 2025 work programme and revealed the likely withdrawal of the Proposal for an Artificial Intelligence Liability Directive (‘AILD proposal’), citing ‘no foreseeable agreement’ among Member States. The announcement followed the AI Action Summit in Paris, where US Vice President JD Vance criticised the EU’s regulatory stance on […]
‘Does AI have a copyright problem?’
“There are many valid concerns about AI’s use of copyrighted material, writes Lance Eaton. But there is no merit in rejecting AI simply to re-legitimise the same inequities in the enforcement of copyright that led to piracy in the first place …” (more) [LSE Impact Blog, 6 May 2025]
Rosie Midget, ‘Intellectual Property or Modern Folklore? The Problem with Open Gaming Licenses in Tabletop Gaming’
ABSTRACT This Note addresses how courts and legislatures should address ‘Open Gaming Licenses’ commonly attached to tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs), which game publishers use to promote a false image of accessibility – misleading consumers and building goodwill from the misunderstanding. Part I discusses what TTRPGs are, including the defining features of the hobby and culture […]
Ludovico Bossi, ‘Volunteering for the Platforms. How the Fair Remuneration Principle of Authors and Performers May Be Violated by Social Media Terms of Service’
ABSTRACT While there is currently an intense discussion about the use of content posted by the users of social media to train Artificial Intelligence (‘AI’) models, there is urgent need to reflect on the fair consideration of the interests of authors and performers, including their remuneration through digital media. Major social media terms of service […]
Michael Wang, ‘Empirical insights on evidential presumptions: the impact of Pang Siu Hing v Tsang Kwok Man in Hong Kong’
ABSTRACT This article assesses the advantages and drawbacks of using evidential presumptions to determine undue influence. These presumptions serve to protect vulnerable parties by shifting the burden of proof to more powerful entities, such as banks. Cases like Etridge and O’Brien highlight their protective role. The article presents empirical evidence showing that these presumptions have […]
Humphreys, Malovic and Martin, ‘Round-up of non-traditional EU trade mark decisions 2024’
ABSTRACT In 2024, a total of 151 177 trade marks were registered by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). Only 542 of these were ‘non-traditional trade marks’, by this inter alia meaning sounds, colours, patterns, shapes, holograms. Data suggests that the present trend towards obtaining EU trade mark (EUTM) registration for non-traditional trade marks […]
David Erdos, ‘The Retained EU Law Act and Regulations 2023/1417: Undercutting the UK’s European Data Protection Rights Commitments?’
ABSTRACT Both the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act (REULA) and its Regulations 2023/1417 significantly reform UK data protection and raise tensions with the UK’s Council of Europe commitments. Whilst including a non-binding incompatibility mechanism, REULA generally prohibits overriding other law for inconsistency with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Since key UK […]
Chang and Ho, ‘Intestacy and Inequality Under China’s Revised Succession Law’
ABSTRACT This Article assesses how Chinese intestacy laws augment and redress wealth inequality. In 2021, China’s first civil code took effect, reforming, among other things, the decades-old Succession Law. Focusing on the Intestacy Rules within the Revised Succession Law, we show how the prioritization of testamentary freedom and intrafamilial wealth preservation undercuts the Chinese Communist […]
Siyi Lin, ‘Justifying the Law of Unjust Enrichment: A Confucian Perspective’
ABSTRACT In a wide range of situations, the law in different jurisdictions requires that a person who has been unjustly enriched at another’s expense make restitution to the other. However, what justifies the liability for unjust enrichment? This fundamental question has perplexed unjust enrichment scholars, especially in the common law world, for decades, with various […]