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UK authorities seize £179m from suspected criminals – up 16% in a year

Published on 16 Oct 2023. By Adam Craggs, Partner and Michelle Sloane, Partner

UK authorities, including the SFO, HMRC and police, seized £179m last year[1] from criminals using draconian Confiscation Orders – an increase of 16% on £154m a year earlier, according to analysis of new data by international law firm RPC.

What To Know About AI Fraudsters Before Facing Disputes

Published on 29 Aug 2023. By Dan Wyatt, Partner and Christopher Whitehouse, Of Counsel

Fraudsters are quick to weaponise new technological developments and artificial intelligence is proving no exception, with AI-assisted scams increasingly being reported in the news, including most recently one using a likeness of a BBC broadcaster.

The CAT's new approach: I can't afford a carriage (dispute)

Published on 02 Jun 2023. By Chris Ross, Partner

Since the collective proceedings regime in the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) kicked off, a number of carriage disputes have arisen. So-called 'carriage disputes' arise when there are two or more competing proposed class representatives (PCRs) seeking certification (and therefore 'carriage') of overlapping class actions.

2023 Update - CAT Collective Proceedings

Published on 10 Feb 2023. By Chris Ross, Partner

A new era of consumer-focussed competition class actions is now well underway. It kicked off with the first collective proceedings order (CPO) granted by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) in Merricks in the summer of 2021, opening the gates for further collective claims to be certified.

FTT prevents HMRC from having two bites of the cherry!

Published on 22 Oct 2014. By Dan Wyatt, Partner

In Lady Henrietta Pearson v HMRC [2014] UKFTT 890 (TC), the First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) ('FTT') concluded that HMRC had "ignored" its previous decision by seeking to reduce the amount of a VAT refund which it had ordered HMRC make to Lady Henrietta Pearson ('the taxpayer').

What is a foundational model?

Published on 11 Jun 2025. By Caroline Tuck, Partner and Joshy Thomas, Knowledge Lawyer and Rory Graham, Associate

Part 1 - UK AI regulation

Published on 11 Jun 2025. By Caroline Tuck, Partner and Praveeta Thayalan, Knowledge Lawyer and Ricky Cella, Senior Associate

There has been consistent messaging from the UK Conservative-led government that the UK has decided to adopt a light touch approach to regulating AI. This was evident in the AI white paper published in March 2023 which outlined a principles based framework (see ['The Ethics of AI – the Digital Dilemma'] for more information about the principles themselves and see here for additional coverage of the AI white paper). The UK government held a consultation on the AI white paper in 2023 and published a response on 6 February 2024 that adds slightly more flesh to the bones of the UK framework.

Generative AI – Addressing Copyright

Published on 10 Jun 2025. By Ciara Cullen, Partner, Retail & Consumer Sector Lead and Joshy Thomas, Knowledge Lawyer and Rory Graham, Associate

When it comes to the interaction of AI and IP rights, bar a flurry of activity surrounding the inevitable outcome by the courts in the Thaler, Dabus case (see here) and the Court of Appeal's ruling on the potential for exclusion from patentability of artificial neural networks in the Emotional Perception case, most attention has been focused on copyright issues. There are three main potentially thorny issues and all have been extensively covered by the mainstream media.

AI and Privacy – 10 Questions to Ask

Published on 10 Jun 2025. By Jon Bartley, Partner and Praveeta Thayalan, Knowledge Lawyer

We set out in this section 10 key questions to ask yourself at the outset when developing or deploying AI solutions in your business.

The Ethics of AI - The Digital Dilemma

Published on 10 Jun 2025.

This is Part 6 of 'Regulation of AI – raising the trillion dollar bAIby'

Part 6 – Practical Considerations

Published on 10 Jun 2025. By Caroline Tuck, Partner and Ricky Cella, Senior Associate and Praveeta Thayalan, Knowledge Lawyer

AI focussed actors and providers have been focussing on their forthcoming AI obligations and on governance for some time, but it is now prudent for the majority of organisations to assess how their use of AI will come within the scope of regulation in key territories and become familiar with each regime (and devise a means to keep up with the anticipated fast moving changes). Planning for the costs of compliance and for AI governance including systems and procedures for data retention and record keeping should also be part of current business strategy together with building expertise on AI internally and identifying trusted advisors from the "noise" of what is being offered externally.

Part 5 – AI Regulation Globally

Published on 10 Jun 2025. By Caroline Tuck, Partner and Praveeta Thayalan, Knowledge Lawyer and Ricky Cella, Senior Associate

On 30 October 2023 the G7 published its international guiding principles on AI, in addition to a voluntary code of conduct for AI developers. The G7 principles are a non-exhaustive list of guiding principles aimed at promoting safe, secure and trustworthy AI and are intended to build on the OECD's AI Principles, adopted back in May 2019.

AI-as-a-service – key issues

Published on 10 Jun 2025. By Paul Joukador, Partner and Praveeta Thayalan, Knowledge Lawyer and Tom James, Associate

Artificial Intelligence-as-a-Service (AIaaS), in the same vein as Software-as-a-Service and Infrastructure-as-a-Service, refers to cloud-based tools that allow businesses to gain access to an AI model hosted by a third party provider.

Procuring AI – commercial considerations checklist

Published on 10 Jun 2025. By Praveeta Thayalan, Knowledge Lawyer and Paul Joukador, Partner

Many companies will no doubt be considering using AI within their business to take advantage of the massive opportunities for increased productivity and cost efficiencies promised.

Regulation of AI - introduction

Published on 10 Jun 2025. By Caroline Tuck, Partner and Praveeta Thayalan, Knowledge Lawyer and Ricky Cella, Senior Associate

As with any new technology, existing data protection and privacy, intellectual property, competition, product liability, data security and consumer laws apply to its application in each jurisdiction. This has thrown up a number of important and newsworthy issues and considerations for AI developers and providers, legislators, consumers and rights holders. There are also several sets of high profile legal proceedings both decided and ongoing in several jurisdictions. These issues and legal proceedings are discussed in other sections of this AI Guide.

What is AI and why is it topical?

Published on 10 Jun 2025. By Paul Joukador, Partner and Helen Armstrong, Partner and Charles Buckworth, Partner and Caroline Tuck, Partner

Whilst there is no universal definition of what constitutes artificial intelligence, at its core, AI refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think and learn like humans. This encompasses the ability to reason, learn from experience, understand complex concepts, interact with their environment and look to solve problems.

Cyber_Bytes - Issue 74

Published on 21 May 2025. By Richard Breavington, Partner and Daniel Guilfoyle, Partner and Rachel Ford, Partner and Ian Dinning, Senior Associate and Christopher Ashton, Senior Associate and Elizabeth Zang, Associate and Emanuele Santella , Associate and Lauren Kerr, Associate

Welcome to Cyber_Bytes, our regular round-up of key developments in cyber, tech and evolving risks.

European Data Protection Board adopts statement on age assurance technologies

Published on 10 May 2025. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

How is the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) proposing to address the benefits and risks of age assurance technologies?

New ICO guidance for “consent or pay” online ads

Published on 10 May 2025. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead

What is the view of the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on whether “consent or pay” online advertising models are compliant with UK data protection law?