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Welcome to The Lawyer Portal Monthly News roundup for September 2020. This month The Queen wins a legal battle against a former employee of Prince Charles, the most recent stage of Julian Assange’s legal battle reaches court, YouTube faces a legal battle over children’s privacy and sadly, a great loss caused by the passing of American legal giant and US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
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The Queen has won a legal battle to prevent Prince Charles’ former butler, Grant Harrold, from suggesting he has a royal connection when naming his new etiquette training firm.
Action was taken on behalf of the Queen to prevent the former butler of Prince Charles from attempting to trademark his new etiquette training firm as “The Royal Butler.”
Harrold had been previously involved in an employment dispute with the Royal Household in 2012. Harrold stated during the case that he had been given permission to use the name during the prior dispute. However, lawyers on behalf of The Queen filed an opposition to his trademark application refuting that permission was given.
The UK Intellectual Property Office ruled in the Queen’s favour.
In the next stage of his legal battle, Julian Assange was back in court in September.
The four-week hearing is part of a wider legal battle where Assange faces imprisonment of up to 175 years. Julian Assange, who is 49, has been remanded in custody at Belmarsh prison for just under a year and a half after being indicted by the US on 18 charges, the majority of which fall under espionage.
His current legal battle in the UK is focused on preventing his extradition to the US. Lawyers for Assange argue that his prosecution is politically motivated owing to information on the US involvement in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan found in the documents published by WikiLeaks.
His partner, Stella Morris argues that his case would set a dangerous precedent in terms of freedom of expression and freedom of the press warning that others in the British Journalism industry could be extradited in future.
The request to extradite Assange has been condemned by numerous human rights organisations, with Amnesty International arguing Assange is “at risk of serious human rights violations.”
A claim has been brought to the High Court against Google, YouTube’s parent company, alleging that YouTube has been breaching the privacy rights of children under 13 in the UK.
The claim is being brought by Duncan McCann, a privacy expert, who argues that YouTube’s collection of data without parental consent is a breach of not only UK but EU law. Millions of pounds worth of damages will be sought for both British children and their parents and guardians focusing on children who have watched YouTube since the new Data Protection laws came into force in 2018.
A spokesperson from YouTube told the BBC that it does not comment on pending litigation and the platform is not for use by under-13s.
The case is not expected to be heard before Autumn 2021.
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Improve Your Writing SkillsTributes were seen all over the world and across social media this month when the world learned of the passing of US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death, was only the second woman appointed to the Supreme Court. Not only this, but she was the first Jewish American to have the role. After her death, she also became the first woman to lay in state in the US Capitol.
Her death is feared to have strong political consequences as the Supreme Court vacancy will be considered alongside the current presidential campaign. Before her death, she expressed a wish that her replacement would be postponed until after the election.
Hailed as a feminist icon, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is known for her constant fight to achieve gender equality in the courts. She continuously took on work in an attempt to persuade that the US 14th Amendment right, which provides equal protection under the law, should apply not only to racial minorities but also to women.
She was the first female tenured professor at Columbia Law School and founder of the Women’s Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union. After lots of media attention, including a biographical film, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was dubbed the “Notorious RBG” by fans.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away at her home surrounded by family, at the age of 87 after 27 years in the Supreme Court.
Words: Alicia Gibson
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