Business Law Library & Tracker
Telecommunications, Media & Content
Networks, broadcasting, publications, classification and digital media.
Sources last reviewed 28 July 2026
Main law guides
122
Acts, regulations and codes worth reading first
Topics
60
Plain-English clusters
Published case explainers
143
Selected cases with a business lesson
Tracked updates
11
New, amended & reviewed
Plain-English explainers, not legal advice. Use the linked official source for section-level detail, and get advice for your situation.
Get legal helpMain laws
Bribery Act 2010
UKPGA 2010 c 23
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
UKPGA 1988 c 48
Data (Use and Access) Act 2025
UKPGA 2025 c 18
Employment Rights Act 2025
2025 c. 36
Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009
2009 c. 20
Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (Security Requirements for Relevant Connectable Products) Regulations 2023
SI 2023/1007
Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022
UKPGA 2022 c 46
Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007
2007 c. 19
Electronic Communications Act 2000
2000 c. 7
Communications Act 2003
2003 c. 21
Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004
2004 c. 11
Fire Safety Act 2021
2021 c. 24
Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008
2008 c. 13
The Charitable Incorporated Organisations (Insolvency and Dissolution) Regulations 2012
UnitedKingdomStatutoryInstrument 2012 3013
Cases
Acer Incorporated & Anor v Nokia Technologies Oy
If your products rely on standardised technology, do not treat a licence offer as just a pricing discussion. This case shows that the structure of the offer can be...
Amber Bridging Limited (In Administration) & Anor v Market Financial Solutions Limited
If your business relies on a servicer, manager, agent, broker or group company to collect and apply money, treat the payment mechanics as a core legal risk area....
Andrew Dixon v GlobalData plc
If your business gives comfort to a departing employee about share options, treat that as a serious legal commitment, not just a commercial reassurance. In this...
DSM IP Assets BV & Anor v Algal Omega 3 Limited (In Administration) & Anor
For most small businesses, the durable lesson is not about the science. It is about IP diligence. A patent can look commercially important, but its real value...
Emotional Perception AI Limited v Comptroller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks
If your business is filing patents for AI systems in the UK, this case changes the framing. It is no longer a strong argument to say an ANN is not a computer...
Euro Car Parks Limited v Competition & Markets Authority
The durable lesson is about process discipline and publication risk. If your business gets an information notice from the CMA or another regulator, verify it...
Ian Paul McKavney v Serco Group Plc & Ors
The lesson is narrow but useful. Do not assume that moving employees out of one group pension arrangement automatically gives them an immediate unreduced pension,...
Saxon Woods Investments Ltd v Costa
A director can disagree strongly with the board, but must use the company's governance process to do it. Honest belief is not a licence to run a private...
Tangent Properties (North) Ltd v Evans Homes (Skelton) No 2 Limited
If your business wants to reward someone through a share of development profits, success fees or project upside, document the arrangement properly at the time....
THG Plc v Zedra Trust Company (Jersey) Ltd
Do not assume an old shareholder complaint has disappeared, but do not assume it can be brought forever either. This case says the court must look at what the...
Zaha Hadid Limited v The Zaha Hadid Foundation
If your business depends on a founder’s name, designer label, celebrity brand or other licensed trade mark, do not leave duration and exit rights to later argument....
Zurich Insurance Company Ltd, Re
For most small businesses, this case is less about day-to-day trading and more about how regulated transfers work behind the scenes when an insurer moves a...
Adriatic Land 5 Limited v Long Leaseholders at Hippersley Point & Anor
If you own or manage a building with long residential leases, do not assume that a cost is recoverable just because the lease wording would normally allow it or...
Alcatel Lucent SAS v Amazon Digital UK Limited & Ors
Read this as a case about litigation strategy and business continuity, not a final win on licence terms. Amazon improved its position by doing more than saying it...
Anwar Khan v Ankar Miah & Anor
For a small business owner, the durable lesson is not that every serious fallout leads to a winding-up order. The court may accept that a two-person company has the...
AstraZeneca AB & Anor v Generics (UK) Limited & Ors
If your business is involved in a patent or similar rights dispute, do not assume an existing injunction will simply continue after an adverse appeal result. The...
Bilta (UK) Ltd (in liquidation) and others v Tradition Financial Services Ltd
For ordinary businesses, the durable lesson is not about carbon trading itself. It is about counterparties, intermediaries and warning signs. If your business helps...
Commissioners for His Majesty's Revenue and Customs v Hotel La Tour Ltd
If your business is selling shares in a subsidiary, do not assume that VAT on legal, tax, modelling, due diligence or corporate finance fees will be recoverable...
D.E.L.T.A. Merseyside Limited and another v Uber Britannia Limited
If you run a private hire business outside London and Plymouth, this case gives you more freedom over how bookings are structured, but it does not let you be vague....
Dryrobe Limited v Caesr Group Limited
If you are launching a new brand, do not rely on small spelling changes, punctuation, or a different logo to solve a similarity problem. The court treated D-ROBE as...
easyGroup Limited v Easy Live (Services) Limited & Ors
The practical lesson is not simply ‘avoid famous brands’. It is more specific: test the exact wording you want to use, not just your full company name or logo. In...
easyGroup Limited v easyfundraising Limited & Ors
Read this case as a practical lesson in running two separate trade mark checks. First, if you own registrations, can you prove genuine use of the mark as registered...
Equity & Ors v Talent Systems Europe Limited (trading as Spotlight)
If your business runs a directory, marketplace or subscription platform for freelancers, this case shows that labels alone do not decide your legal status, but your...
InterDigital, Inc & Ors v Optis Cellular Technology LLC & Ors
If your business signs contracts with sensitive pricing, royalty structures or negotiated rates, this case is a useful guide to how courts may treat that...
Merck KGaA v Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC & Anor
If your business has territorial limits on brand use, treat them as operational rules that need technical and commercial controls behind them. Audit your websites,...
On Tower UK Limited v British Telecommunications PLC
If your telecoms lease or rooftop site agreement contains a detailed landlord break clause, do not assume the Code will cure a weak notice. Start with the contract....
Optis Cellular Technology LLC & Ors v Apple Retail UK Ltd & Ors
If your products use standardised technology, do not leave SEP licensing until after launch or until litigation is well underway. This case shows that once a...
Prevayl Innovations Limited v Whoop Inc
If your innovation is mainly about where known hardware sits in a garment or device, do not assume that commercial usefulness equals patent strength. You need...
River Island Holdings Limited, Re
The practical lesson is not that every struggling business can cut leases through court process. It is that directors should act early, build evidence and compare...
Thames Water Utilities Holdings Ltd, Re
If your business is heading towards a cash shortfall, the key lesson is to start restructuring work early and build evidence around the real fallback scenario if no...
URS Corporation Ltd v BDW Trading Ltd
If your business develops, designs or helps build residential property, do not assume risk ends when the units are sold or when an old six-year limitation position...
Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company v FW Aviation (Holdings) 1 Limited
For ordinary businesses, the durable lesson is simple: if your deal is funded by lenders or secured against key assets, do not treat the supplier or original...
Alex Not & Ors v Jaguar Land Rover Limited & Ors
For ordinary businesses, the durable lesson is less about diesel vehicles and more about how product complaints can scale. If many customers say the same product...
Engineer.AI Global Limited v Appy Pie Ltd & Anor
If your brand leans on a common descriptive word, treat evidence as part of the brand asset. Keep UK-specific sales figures, campaign records, website metrics,...
Lipton and another v BA Cityflyer Ltd
If your business operates flights or handles passenger claims, do not assume that last-minute crew illness will excuse compensation. The Supreme Court treated the...
Oakwood Solicitors Ltd v Menzies
The lasting lesson is about billing process, customer communication and evidence. If your business can take fees from money it holds for a customer, do not assume a...
Panasonic Holdings Corporation v Xiaomi Technology UK Limited & Ors
If your business uses standardised technology and is prepared to take a court-determined FRAND licence, say so early, document it clearly and keep that position...
The Financial Conduct Authority v London Property Investments (UK) Limited (t/a LPI Emergency Property Finance) & Ors
For ordinary businesses, the practical lesson is simple: if you operate in the space between distressed homeowners and lenders, do not assume you are just an...
Canada Square Operations Ltd v Potter
The safest reading for business owners is straightforward. Do not assume that six years automatically closes off risk if your business model depended on not telling...
LUEN FAT METAL AND PLASTIC MANUFACTORY CO LTD v FUNKO UK LTD
For small businesses, the main lesson is to check both sides of the trade mark equation. If you are enforcing a mark, be ready to prove genuine use and show the...
Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Ltd v Compton Beauchamp Estates Ltd
Do not assume the freeholder is always the right party for a telecoms agreement. Under the Code, the occupier is generally the person who can confer code rights. A...
Wood v Capita Insurance Services Limited
Warranties and indemnities are not interchangeable safety nets. A buyer needs each risk mapped to the trigger, notice process, time limit, liability cap and remedy...