Entertainment Law, Media Law and Telecoms Law

On 7 July 2026, the High Court dismissed the misuse of private information (“MPI”) and breach of confidence claims brought by Prince Harry and six other high-profile claimants against Associated Newspapers Limited (“Associated”), publisher of the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and MailOnline, in Lawrence v Associated Newspapers [2026] EWHC 1637 (KB).

Acquiring or developing land with telecoms apparatus requires careful navigation of the Electronic Communications Code. Operators hold powerful statutory protections that can restrict landowners' ability to relocate or remove equipment, creating potential delays and unexpected costs. Understanding your rights and obligations early in the development process is essential for managing timelines, negotiating effectively, and avoiding complications once construction begins.

Telecoms operators rely on the Electronic Communications Code to secure rights over land, but landowners retain important powers that can affect network deployment and maintenance. Understanding the interplay between statutory protections, lease renewal regimes, and contractual relocation provisions is essential to managing risk and avoiding costly disputes over apparatus installation and removal.

The ASA has ruled against Sports Direct for misleading pricing practices, but the decision raises important questions about reference pricing regulations. As retailers face increased scrutiny from both the ASA and CMA under new enforcement powers, understanding what constitutes a "genuine" saving has become critical for avoiding substantial financial penalties and reputational damage.

The UK's Sporting Events Bill has undergone significant amendments in the House of Lords, removing restrictions that previously excluded annually held events like Wimbledon and the British Grand Prix from its protective framework. With cross-party support in the Commons and a new organiser-choice safeguard, the Bill now offers major annual sporting events access to protections against ambush marketing, ticket touting, and unauthorised commercial association.

The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court has ruled that combining descriptive words like "flower" and "box" does not automatically create a descriptive trade mark, finding FLOWERBX valid and infringed by a competitor's similar branding. The decision demonstrates how strong evidence of brand recognition and actual consumer confusion can be decisive in trade mark enforcement cases, particularly in the context of online retail where visual similarity carries significant weight.

Elliott Sparsis shares his entrepreneurial journey from founding Sociable Surveyors at university to launching Together, a hospitality-led meetings and events business. He discusses how COVID-19 transformed corporate demand for meeting spaces, why companies are abandoning in-house auditoriums, and his vision for creating human-first experiences that combine real estate expertise with exceptional hospitality.

New discretionary powers for mayors and local leaders to introduce visitor levies have sparked controversy in the UK hospitality sector. With Manchester, Liverpool, and Edinburgh already implementing accommodation taxes ranging from £1 to 5% per night, the industry faces questions about whether these charges support local regeneration or place unsustainable burdens on an already heavily-taxed sector. As more cities consider following suit, the debate intensifies over balancing municipal revenue needs a

Branded residences have evolved from a niche luxury offering into one of the fastest-growing sectors of the global real estate and hospitality market. Industry experts explore the sector's rapid growth, key market trends, and the opportunities and challenges facing developers, investors and brands as demand grows for high-quality, service-led living experiences.

Co-production agreements enable theatre companies to pool resources and share risks when developing and staging theatrical productions. This article examines the essential contractual provisions that parties should negotiate before embarking on a co-production, from financial contributions and rights ownership to marketing responsibilities and future exploitation rights.

“KPop Demon Hunters” has grown far beyond a successful animated film, becoming a global phenomenon that has attracted audiences around the world.

In Take 3.9 TV Partnership and others v HMRC [2026] UKFTT 696 (TC), the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) held that the appellants were carrying on a genuine trade and therefore the equity-funded portion of their film production expenditure qualified for tax relief, but the debt-funded expenditure was incurred only to enhance tax relief and therefore did not qualify for tax relief