Monthly Archives: June, 2026
Monika Leszczyńska, ‘The Egocentric Reasonable Person: Whose Norms Decide what is Reasonable in Contract Law?’
ABSTRACT When contract law invokes a reasonableness standard, whose standard applies – and what kind? Doctrine prescribes external benchmarks – industry custom, community expectations – rather than individual moral judgment. Two pre-registered experiments (N=2,342) test which benchmark laypeople apply across twenty-five contractual scenarios. Personal injunctive norms – what individuals believe one ought to do – […]
Patrick Masiyakurima, ‘The Public Interest Defence in Copyright Law’
ABSTRACT The public interest defence fills gaps in statutory copyright exceptions. Initially, those gaps were illusory and they arose from an erroneous interpretation of the fair dealing defences. Later, however, real gaps emerged especially in relation to the application of the fair dealing defences to unpublished works and photographs. Granted that the public interest defence […]
Simon, Krokida and Lapatoura, ‘Gen-AI and Trade Marks: Ascertaining Liability from a UK and EU Perspective’
ABSTRACT Over recent years, generative AI (gen-AI) technology has infiltrated society, from AI text generators being viewed as the evolution of search engines to the ever-increasing AI generation of image and media content by online users. Yet the latter often contains signs that are identical or similar to signs protected as trade marks. This Chapter […]
Takala and Häyry, ‘Justainability’
ABSTRACT Sustainability, properly understood, is an existential moral ideal. The United Nations, however, defines it in terms of 17 indivisible sustainable development goals. This definition changes the core idea of the concept. It turns sustainability from a moral ideal into a set of economy-based political aspirations. The European Union’s bioeconomy strategy demonstrates the shift aptly […]
Proposed anti-SLAPP legislation for England and Wales
For commentary on this bill see: Two Private Members’ Bills in both houses place Anti-SLAPP reform firmly on the parliamentary agenda (UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition, 16 June) Parallel legislation to tackle SLAPPs introduced in both Houses of Parliament (Free Speech Union, 19 June) New front opens in stalled anti-SLAPPs campaign (Law Gazette, 21 June) The Anti-SLAPP […]
Giuseppe Mazziotti, ‘Music Creators’ Rights under EU Law’
ABSTRACT This Study examines music creators’ rights within the EU’s legislative framework, focusing on copyright harmonisation and its effects on fairness in the EU digital music market. It provides a comprehensive analysis of challenges facing music creators, covering the topics of Fair MusE’s Work Package 2 (‘Assessing the Role of Regulation’). Part I investigates the […]
Eilis Ferran, ‘Does the UK Need the PLC?’
ABSTRACT Private capital markets have blurred traditional lines in corporate finance, outflanking the company law ban on public offers of securities by private limited companies and the use of the plc form as a hook for tailored requirements. With today’s policy focus being on improving access to capital for all companies, the company law ban […]
Misbahul Haque, ‘Defamation by AI: Actual Malice, Artificial Intelligence, and the Future of Fault’
ABSTRACT Generative AI systems often produce false and defamatory statements about real individuals, but traditional defamation law falters when the speaker lacks a mind. New York Times Co v Sullivan requires proving actual malice – knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for truth – but algorithms have no ability to know about falsity or act […]
Luke Meier, ‘The Liability of Online Marketplaces for Tort Injuries in America’
INTRODUCTION More and more, Americans are buying products online rather than at traditional brick and mortal stores. A significant portion of these online purchases occur through ‘online marketplaces’, which are platforms that connects third-party sellers with buyers. The largest online marketplaces are household names – Amazon, Ebay, and Etsy being among the prominent examples. The […]
Martha McCluskey, ‘Autonomy’
ABSTRACT This essay discusses the theme of autonomy in Martha A Fineman’s analysis of the human condition, written for a volume of essays on the development and key contributions of Fineman’s Vulnerability Theory. Over several decades, Fineman has critically examined individual autonomy as a foundational myth that impedes democracy and social justice. This myth remains […]