Hi, here is your weekly round-up of highlights from Out-Law News. As always, there are plenty of other stories from this week. You can also access our archive of weekly emails. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) may not be granted legal immunity on opinions they express unless there is an obvious, direct link between the comments and the performance of their parliamentary duties, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled. EU ministers will today vote on whether to approve a change to EU law that would extend copyright in sound recordings from 50 to 70 years. A UK anti-spam company that had previously been ordered to pay more than $11 million in damages for 'blacklisting' a US marketing company will only need to pay a nominal $3 amount following a US court ruling. The public would be likely to be confused if three original members of Bucks Fizz were allowed to register a trade mark that included the band's name, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has ruled. The UK's advertising watchdog has received a surge in the number of complaints it has had to investigate since it was given oversight of digital marketing regulation, it has said. The Government has asked Ofcom to avoid giving alleged copyright infringers a general right of appeal against warning letters they may receive about their online activity in new regulations due out shortly, the telecoms regulator has said. Governments negotiating major energy deals with countries outside the European Union may need to get approval from the European Commission under proposed new rules. Almost a third of UK companies block or discourage employees' social media access at work, according to a new study. Forcing banks to separate their retail and investment operations will only have a limited impact on the UK economy despite bankers' concern, a new report says. A Sheffield secondary school rebuilt ten years ago through a private finance initiative (PFI) has had to delay its transition to academy status as a result of legal concerns, according to industry reports. A new bi-annual report will help tackle EU corruption, the European Parliament has said. Just eight of the top 100 UK companies have formally announced that they will meet a target of having women occupy a quarter of board places by 2015, according to research. Nearly half of those companies are meeting current targets, it found. 
This week's news on Out-Law.com
TMT & Sourcing and IP
MEPs not immune unless comments directly relevant to duties, says ECJ
08/09/2011EU ministers likely to back performer copyright extension today
07/09/2011Spamhaus award reduced from $11m to $3
07/09/2011Original Bucks Fizz members lose trade mark battle over name
06/09/2011Advertising watchdog reports soar in complaints since online remit was widened
06/09/2011Ofcom asked not to include general right to appeal under Digital Economy Act code
05/09/2011Energy
Commission proposes stricter third party energy rules
08/09/2011Employment
Security concerns leading UK businesses to clamp down on social media, study says
06/09/2011Banking & restructuring
Ringfencing's economic impact 'not likely to be vast' but profitability could be affected, report says
06/09/2011Reported concerns over would-be academy's PFI payments should be cleared up, says expert
05/09/2011Regulatory
EU report to assess anti-corruption enforcement measures
05/09/2011Corporate
Most top companies miss deadline for women on boards commitment
05/09/2011
Friday, 9 September 2011
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