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U.K.
High Court of Justice issues judgment on online marketplace copyright liability
On August 13, 2026, the High Court of Justice of England and Wales (ChD) issued an approved judgment in Roadget Business Pte Ltd and Shein Distribution UK Ltd v Whaleco UK Ltd [2026] EWHC 2165 (Ch) concerning alleged copyright infringement on Temu’s U.K. website from merchants’ use of Shein product photographs.
The court held that Shein proved copyright ownership for only four employee photographs, and Shein’s supplier-photograph chain of title required later PRC-law agreements. The court found consent for the remaining supplier work, defeating that claim.
A primary infringement claim under s.17 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA) based on U.K. reproduction was not pursued because Temu’s servers were outside the U.K. Authorization under s.16(2) CDPA failed because users’ browser copies fell within the s.28A temporary copies exception and Temu did not authorize infringement.
Communication to the public under s.20 CDPA failed, with the court applying the CJEU Peterson “specific knowledge” approach to online marketplaces. Secondary infringement under s.23 CDPA failed for lack of knowledge or reason to believe. The court stated Temu would have qualified for the hosting defence under Regulation 19 of the E-Commerce Regulations.
Temu succeeded on liability under Shein’s cross-undertakings for interim injunction takedowns, with quantum to be assessed separately. Temu’s Competition Act 1998 counterclaim was transferred to the Competition Appeal Tribunal for a liability trial listed for Mar 2027.
EU
Munich Regional Court I finds Suno liable for copyright infringement over AI-generated music
On July 31, 2026, the Munich Regional Court I issued a largely claimant-favorable judgment in case 42 O 763/25 against Suno Inc. following claims by GEMA concerning six musical compositions used in AI training and reproduced in AI-generated outputs.
The court held that “memorization” can constitute reproduction under Section 16 of the German Copyright Act and Article 2 of the InfoSoc Directive even without storing identifiable audio files, where protected elements are fixed in model parameters and can be made perceptible via prompts.
The court rejected reliance on the Article 4 DSM Directive and Section 44b TDM exception for reproductions embodied in the trained model and found the lawful-access requirement unmet because Suno used stream-ripping that circumvented YouTube’s Rolling Cipher.
The court granted injunctions covering training-related reproduction in the U.S., model-parameter storage and communication to the public in Germany, and reproduction and communication of infringing adaptations, and it upheld information and damages claims for several works, denied a Section 19a making-available theory, rejected DSA Article 6 hosting, authorized publication of the operative part, and held U.S. fair use inapplicable.
U.K.
Intellectual Property Office publishes Trading Standards Survey report on counterfeit goods
On Septemper 8, 2026, the Intellectual Property Office published its latest Trading Standards Survey report on counterfeit goods and wider IP crime threats identified by local Trading Standards teams.
The annual survey covered April 2025 to March 2026, and received responses from 142 of 189 local authorities.
The report states that dangerous counterfeit toys are a more visible enforcement concern, with 67% of responding local authorities reporting investigations, and that counterfeit cigarettes and tobacco remained most commonly investigated at 89%, followed by clothing at 69% and toys at 67%.
The report states that 64% of responding local authorities observed links between counterfeiting and organized crime groups, and it reports further links to money laundering, people trafficking or modern slavery, and drug dealing.
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