Cutting back copyright – part III

I have looked in previous articles at the government’s proposals (or perhaps more accurately the proposals in the UK Intellectual Property Office’s consultation paper on exceptions to copyright) concerning format-shifting and parody. The consultation also covers three other areas dealt with by the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property, and for the sake of completeness I’d [...]

Brother, can you spare a quid? — But it’s not all bad at the Criminal Bar!

Some controversy has been engaged over the high sums paid to barristers who receive legal aid payments for their criminal work. At the top of the list is a Birmingham barrister Balbir Singh, head of Equity Chambers. He has earned around £1m per annum for the past two years, coming ahead of a number of [...]

UCLAN declines to provide information about past exam papers

The University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) (Lancashire Law School) is one of a number of universities refusing to provide copies of past examination papers in criminal law.
My request made under the Freedom of Information Act was for copies of past criminal law examination papers set in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Interestingly, UCLAN not only [...]

Freedom of Information

Those of you who are regular readers of this blog will be aware that recently I sent a Freedom of Information Act request to UK universities asking them for information about past examination papers in criminal law.
Most universities have now provided the information and in due course I will publish some of my findings.
However, a [...]

Diana and Dodi: The Opera

The Princess Diana/Dodi Fayed inquest is becoming such a farce that some members of the House of Lords want to see it brought to a speedy end.  Many of us must feel opposed, however, to any suggestion that matters about that tragic event should be swept under the carpet. Nonetheless, the testimony of Mohamed Fayed [...]