The results of an undercover report on the unregulated private detective industry by Dispatches was shown on Channel Four last night.  The programme highlighted the ease and extent by which private investigators are able to obtain personal information about their targets.

The programme demonstrated private detective firms paying for highly sensitive personal information, some of which is only stored on government databases, including criminal records, national insurance numbers and medical histories.

The report revealed a number of different methods used by the investigators including obtaining data by pretending to be the target on the phone (known as "blagging") and using ...

Last week, the High Court ruled that 5 of the UK's biggest Internet Service Providers (ISPs) (Sky, Everything Everywhere, O2, Talk Talk and Virgin Media) must take steps to block their users accessing Swedish file sharing website The Pirate Bay ("TPB"), after the matter was brought before the court by the British Phonographic Industry ("BPI").  BT, the sixth defendant in the case, has requested more time to consider its position.

TPB was launched in 2003 and provides links to pirated videos and music files.  In July 2011, BPI asked TPB to take down music that infringed its members’ copyright.  Having ...

On 8th September 2011, Apple commenced infringement proceedings in the UK High Court against Samsung in relation to its Galaxy tablet and an alleged infringement of Apple's community design number 181-607-0001. Apple have already brought similar infringement proceedings in the Netherlands and Germany.

Samsung have meanwhile commenced a counter-claim against Apple for a declaration of non-infringement and an injunction to restrain Apple from threatening to bring infringement proceedings.

On the 4th April 2012, the High Court was asked to consider the following questions:

1. Did the High Court have jurisdiction to hear the case?

2. If not, did Samsung's claim that ...

Following a partially successful judgment by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in October 2011, the High Court in London on Friday ruled that pub landlady, Karen Murphy's, appeal against her conviction for using a Greek decoder to bypass controls over the screening of live Premier League (FAPL) matches must be allowed.

The ECJ had ruled that national laws that prohibit the import, sale or use of foreign decoder cards were contrary to the freedom to provide services under Article 56 of the Treaty on the Foundation of the European Union (TFEU). It was also held that the FAPL's exclusivity ...

Twitter says it will improve the transparency of its privacy guidelines after it was exposed for copying the entire contents of peoples' address books from their mobile phones and storing the information on its servers. 

The problem arises when the Twitter app is downloaded on to a mobile phone and the user clicks on the "Find Friends" option, as this gives the service access to the user's entire address book, often without them realising. The app is then alleged to store the information for a period of 18 months.

Twitter have responded to this high profile privacy complaint by updating ...

In scenes reminiscent of the unrest caused by the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the US, protestors have taken to the streets in the UK and Europe to announce their opposition to the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).  Executive director of campaigning organisation Open Rights Group which claims to protect "your rights in the digital age", has described ACTA as "undemocratic" and argues that "it's setting up dangerous new pressures to censor the internet."

ACTA is a multi-national treaty which aims to provide a more effective means of enforcing IP rights by harmonising enforcement standards and practices and ...

Data privacy is a hot topic at the moment with the announcement of proposals for legislative reform of data protection in the EU and increased emphasis on giving users more information and control over tracking tools such as cookies. Capitalising on this, a new website and browser plug-in, Privacy Score, offers visitors the chance to see how major websites respect their privacy.

Currently, Privacy Score has graded 1,461 websites with a score out of 100 based on the likelihood that each site will pass on a user's data and how many companies use the site to track visitors. The ...

It is hoped that a two year pilot scheme launched last Wednesday will speed up the process of patent applications in the UK and Canada. The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) programme between the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) and the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) will enable successful patent applicants in one country to request an accelerated examination of their application in the other.

The new initiative will be based on existing relationships the UKIPO has forged with the Korean, Japanese and US patent offices and will trial the new "MOTTAINAI" model whereby acceleration requests will be dealt with regardless ...

Consumers will soon be presented with a new weapon in the war against "Online Behavioural Advertising", a technique that allows companies to direct adverts at web users who have shown an interest in certain goods or services through their browsing history.

The European Advertising Standards Alliance and the Internet Advertising Bureau of Europe are to introduce a new on-screen icon that will give users the option to choose what advertising is targeted at them.

The plans which will come in to force by the summer, require those online adverts generated by cookies to include the below icon which will give ...

In a move swiftly following on from last Wednesday's announcement by the European Commission of proposals for new data protection legislation, the BBC has announced an initiative to provide its users with the option to have information it collects about them deleted.  

A finalised version of the new data privacy charter is still a couple of months away from implementation with the BBC's research and development department working to resolve the last remaining issues with the charter before it can be deployed, including whether viewers will be given the choice of different levels of deletion.

Once in force, the ...