Macfarlanes has assisted PRS in securing a significant victory in the Court of Appeal in Rowntree v Performing Right Society Limited and PRS for Music Limited.
The Court of Appeal refused to allow the proposed class representative ("PCR") to revive his application to bring a class action, after it was struck-out by the Competition Appeal Tribunal in August 2025 (a decision which was the first of its kind).
The proposed claim alleged that PRS abused its position in the UK market for musical performing rights by imposing a royalty distribution system that favours publishers over songwriters. The claim related to so-called "black box" royalties, relating to musical performances where the interest-holders cannot be identified.
The Court held that the PCR has not established a realistically arguable case of abuse. On the contrary, the Court considered that PRS had taken reasonable and proportionate steps to achieve accuracy in its distributions and that its pro rata approach was fair in cases of limited data. This upholds the Competition Appeal Tribunal's decision in August 2025, in which Macfarlanes also acted for PRS, to strike out and refuse certification of the collective proceedings.
The Macfarlanes team was led by Partners Simon Day and Christophe Humpe, with support from Senior Associate Zoe Carter. Marie Demetriou KC and Charlotte Thomas of Brick Court Chambers were engaged as counsel.