Bird & Bird LLP

Bird & Bird in an international law firm that is well-known for its strategic focus on industries being disrupted by technology. While we do not practice US law, we have unrivalled expertise in advising on matters ranging from smaller innovative projects to some of the largest, most complex and ground-breaking transactions and disputes of recent years in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

We're excited to share insights from our lawyers working at the forefront of legal developments in the technology and media sectors. With our Digital Business blog, our aim is to bring you insightful content about how the law can affect your digital business, or the expansion of your physical business into the digital realm. Or, take a look at our Media Writes blog where our media & sports specialists are pairing up with our tech experts and clients to create insights on how tech developments are affecting media & sports.

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Latest from Bird & Bird LLP

Whilst COVID-19 has led to the closure of pubs, clubs and sporting events, it has done little to suppress the nation’s appetite for online gambling. Indeed, statistics released by AlphaBeta, an analytics consultancy company, indicate that one of the few areas where consumer spending has increased in Australia during the pandemic is in the area of online gambling; an increase of between 50-70% per week since around April 2020 (compared to average weekly spending prior…
The appeal has been heard by Lord Justice Lewison, Lord Justice Arnold and Lord Justice Phillips and arises out of the High Court’s decision in proceedings brought by The Racing Partnership (TRP) and Arena, the operator of a number of racecourses in the UK, against Sports Information Services (SIS) and others. SIS had been the official provider of “Raceday Data” collected from Arena racecourses until December 2016 when Arena granted TRP the exclusive right to…
In these unprecedented times, 2020 has already been a year of unprecedented change in the Australian media law landscape.  Keeping track of the breadth of proposed reform is a challenging task. The below tables (media content regulation, relationship between digital platforms and traditional news media, and digital platforms regulation) provide a concise summary of the current status of each reform process in each category, and set out each process’ expected next steps. Media content regulation…
Poland to introduce “Netflix tax” to support local filmmakers Michal Salajczyk explains a new levy on VOD platforms in Poland, designed to assist a film industry hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Michal looks at the motivations driving this change, and the criticisms levelled at the new law. Starting from 1 July, video-on-demand (VOD) platforms operating in Poland will be obliged to pay 1.5% of their local revenue to the Polish Film Institute (PISF), an…
In an extraordinary judgment, Serafin v Malkiewic, the Supreme Court has ordered a retrial of a Defamation case concerning a Polish businessman. Due to a judge at first instance who ‘harassed and intimidated’ the Claimant, followed by an Appeal Court that ‘deprived’ both parties of a retrial, the Supreme Court discussed in some detail what makes a case unfair. The Supreme Court also considered the Court of Appeal’s treatment of the ‘public interest’ defence to…
The spread of the new corona virus has affected many (if not all) aspects of society, including the gambling market. The Swedish Government has predicted an enhanced risk of problematic gambling due to the virus and has been taken actions to strengthen the protection of players. Besides proposing new temporary regulations, including provisions on maximum deposit limits, mandatory limits for login time and limitations of bonus offers, the Government has also prescribed additional assignments to…
On 7 May 2020, the Dutch Minister of Justice responsible for online gambling policy sent the answers to the latest round of questions from the Dutch Parliament’s lower chamber, the House of Representatives, in respect of the Remote Gambling Decree (Besluit kansspelen op afstand) (the “Decree”). No new major subjects were addressed, as many of the questions were reiterations of previous concerns in respect of money laundering, fraud and prevention of addiction, and many…
On 30 April 2020 the Federal Court of Justice ruled (case no. I ZR 139/15), that the Federal Republic of Germany cannot prohibit press publication of military situation reports on the Afghanistan mission of the German armed forces (Bundeswehr) by invoking copyright law. The claimant is the Federal Republic of Germany, which is represented in the present proceedings by the Federal Ministry of Defence. On a weekly basis, the German Federal Ministry of Defence prepares…
On 13 May 2020, the French National Assembly passed the Countering Online Hatred Content Act, also called « Avia Act » after the name of the Member of Parliament who introduced the bill before the National Assembly on March 20, 2019. This Act is largely inspired by the German NetzDG Act that came into force in October 2017, and the countering racism and anti-Semitism online report submitted to the French President on September 20, 2018. It aims…
Spanish legislation requires that all advertised content as well as any advertiser has to be clearly identified as such. In fact, in advertisers do not comply with this requirement, public authorities may fine them for illegal, misleading or covert advertising. Traditionally, the authorities have usually focused on punishing punishes advertisers in Above The Line channels such as TV, radio or advertising posters. Regulations concerning advertising in social media in Spain tend to be more flexible.…