Hi, here is your weekly round-up of highlights from Out-Law News. As always, there are plenty of other stories from this week at http://www.out-law.com. You can also access our archive of weekly emails at http://out-law.com/en/newsletter/weekly-round-up/ The Out-Law Team ***Free Out-Law Breakfast Seminars, November 2011*** The Olympics and Paralympics – how to celebrate athletes in the record books without landing in the dock. An Out-Law practical guide. London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Book Now: http://www.out-law.com/en/outlaw-events/ ***Olympics and Paralympics marketing survey*** Participate in our 2 minute survey for the chance to win a £50 Amazon voucher https://response.questback.com/pinsentmasons/olympicsurvey3/ ***This week's highlights from Out-Law News*** TMT & Sourcing & IP 1. Courts cannot force ISPs into broad filtering and monitoring for copyright-infringing traffic, ECJ rules Court injunctions that force internet service providers (ISPs) to filter and monitor user traffic in order to prevent illegal file-sharing are contrary to EU law and fundamental rights, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has said. 24/11/2011 http://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2011/november/courts-cannot-force-isps-into-broad-filtering-and-monitoring-for-copyright-infringing-traffic-ecj-rules/ 2. Technology companies can stifle competition through use of IP rights, EU Commissioner says The EU's Competition Commissioner has raised concerns that technology companies can use intellectual property (IP) rights to stifle competition. 24/11/2011 http://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2011/november/technology-companies-can-stifle-competition-through-use-of-ip-rights-eu-commissioner-says/ 3. Feasibility study into digital copyright exchange launched A report into how a new digital copyright exchange (DCE) could work will be submitted to the Government before Parliament breaks up for summer next year, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has said. 23/11/2011 http://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2011/november/feasibility-study-into-digital-copyright-exchange-launched/ 4. Content mining copyright exemption would harm UK business, publishers claim Allowing people to use computers to 'mine' vast banks of copyrighted material would damage the economy, the UK Publishers Association has said. It wants to block an exception to copyright law for the practice. 22/11/2011 http://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2011/november/content-mining-copyright-exemption-would-harm-uk-business-publishers-claim/ 5. Proposed US copyright laws threaten innovation, growth and cybersecurity, brands say Several major internet companies have expressed their "concern" at draft US laws that aim to combat online copyright infringement by foreign websites. 18/11/2011 http://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2011/november/proposed-us-copyright-laws-threaten-innovation-growth-and-cybersecurity-brands-say/ 6. Traffic management practices must not be anti-competitive, European Parliament says The European Parliament has adopted a resolution promoting the principles of an "open and neutral" internet. 22/11/2011 http://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2011/november/traffic-management-practices-must-not-be-anti-competitive-european-parliament-says/ Employment 7. Reduced consultation periods and overhauled tribunal system proposed as part of 'radical' employment law changes The 90 day minimum consultation period for collective redundancies may be restricting business and could be reduced as part of the most radical reform to employment law for decades, the Government has said. 24/11/2011 http://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2011/november/reduced-consultation-periods-and-overhauled-tribunal-system-proposed-as-part-of-radical-employment-law-changes/ 8. Government report proposes independent assessments and job-brokering for long term absent An independent service should assess employees who are signed off work with long-term health conditions, a Government report has recommended. 22/11/2011 http://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2011/november/government-report-proposes-independent-assessments-and-job-brokering-for-long-term-absent/ Projects and Construction 9. Current PFI projects will not be affected by review, Treasury confirms The Treasury's current review of the way in which private sector funding is harnessed for public infrastructure projects will not affect projects that are already operational, the Treasury has confirmed. 22/11/2011 http://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2011/november/current-pfi-projects-will-not-be-affected-by-review-treasury-confirms/ Pensions 10. Excluded workers not all entitled to retrospective pension scheme membership, says Court of Appeal Women who had been excluded from a pension scheme but did not join it within three months of being allowed to are not entitled to retrospective membership of the scheme, the Court of Appeal has ruled. 21/11/2011 http://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2011/november/excluded-workers-not-all-entitled-to-retrospective-pension-scheme-membership-says-court-of-appeal-/ Tax 11. General tax avoidance prohibition should be introduced, report says The Government should consider introducing a general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR) into the UK tax system, an independent report has recommended. 21/11/2011 http://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2011/november/general-tax-avoidance-prohibition-should-be-introduced-report-says/ Property 12. Government Green Deal anticipates £14bn private sector investment in energy improvements for buildings Proposals setting out the details of the Green Deal, a Government-backed scheme established by the Energy Act that will enable new energy efficiency measures to be installed at no up-front cost, have been announced by Energy Secretary Chris Huhne. 24/11/2011 http://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2011/november/government-green-deal-anticipates-14bn-private-sector-investment-in-energy-improvements-for-buildings/ ***About this email*** This is a weekly email for subscribers of Out-Law.com, a website with more than 10,000 pages of free legal news and guidance. If and when you need further advice, we hope you'll choose Pinsent Masons (http://www.pinsentmasons.com), the law firm behind Out-Law.com. Feel free to forward this email to your friends. If someone forwarded this email to you and you'd like your own subscription, register free at http://www.out-law.com. 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