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Hi, here is your weekly round-up of Out-Law News highlights from international law firm Pinsent Masons.  As always, there are plenty  of other stories from this week.  You can also access our archive of weekly emails.   This week's highlights from Out-Law News TMT & Sourcing and Intellectual Property  Law Commissions call for consumer protections to be extended to end user licence agreements Legal protections preventing the inclusion of unfair contract terms in consumer contracts should be extended to apply to less formal notices, such as those included as part of software end user licence agreements (EULA), law reform bodies have said. 25/03/2013 Hong Kong businesses urged not to take direct marketing risk with new personal data rules set to come into force A Hong Kong-based data privacy expert has warned businesses in the country against ignoring new rules on direct marketing. 27/03/2013 Plans to give ICO power to conduct compulsory data protection audits in NHS unveiled Public health bodies in the UK could be compelled to open themselves up to a data protection audit by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) under new plans outlined by the Government. 26/03/2013 Firms should explain what their 'legitimate interest' for processing personal data is, says watchdog Businesses should have to specify why they should be able to process personal data without the consent of individuals if they wish to claim they have a 'legitimate interest' in processing the information, an EU privacy watchdog has said. 25/03/2013 Skype user data requests most commonly made by UK law enforcement agencies, says Microsoft UK law enforcement bodies made more requests for Skype data than authorities from any other nation including the US in 2012, according to a new report published by Microsoft. 22/03/2013 EU law gives more copyright protection than US after 'first sale' US court ruling, says expert A US Supreme Court ruling means that US copyright law now provides less protection than that in the EU to copyright holders whose works are bought abroad and imported for second hand sale, an expert has said. 21/03/2013 Commercial Late payment regulations won't give SMEs power, says expert OPINION: The Government has introduced new protections for small businesses suffering cash flow problems because of late payment of invoices. But unless the Government adopts the get-tough approach taken in other jurisdictions such as France the measures will fail. 27/03/2013 Environmental and climate change Ruling on unintentional sewage leaks liability should lead firms to review prevention efforts, says expert Companies responsible for the operation of the sewer networks in England and Wales can be found criminally liable for unlicensed depositing of controlled waste even where that deposit of waste is unintentional, the High Court has ruled. 27/03/2013 Infrastructure Government opens East Coast rail franchise to private sector amidst announcement on revised procurement timetable The Government has invited rail operators to bid to run the East Coast rail franchise. Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin made the announcement as he unveiled a revised rail franchising programme covering 15 routes across the country. 26/03/2013 Energy Government 'alive' to energy capacity challenge, says Minister after industry warning The Government has rebuffed criticism that it is not doing enough to ensure that the UK's energy supply is sufficient to meet the country's demand. 22/03/2013 Tax HMRC to adopt "more robust stance" on Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility (LDF) HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will be taking a "more robust stance" in relation to disclosures from individuals who seek to settle outstanding tax liabilities using the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility (LDF) from 1 April 2013, according to a letter  sent by HMRC to tax advisers. 26/03/2013 Financial Services MEPs back pay and bonus constraints for UCITS fund managers Investment fund managers operating in the EU could be subject to pay and bonus constraints if proposals made by a committee in the European Parliament are backed. 22/03/2013 Pinsent Masons: combining the experience, resources and international reach of McGrigors and Pinsent Masons . Copyright © 2013 Pinsent Masons LLP, All rights reserved.  You are receiving this email because you are a contact of Out-Law.com or Pinsent Masons LLP and your details are held in their clients and contacts database  Our mailing address is:  Pinsent Masons LLP 30 Crown Place London, UK EC2A 4ES United Kingdom