On 4 November 2025, Joanna Smith DBE J handed down judgment in Getty Images (US) Inc & Ors v Stability AI Ltd [2025] EWHC 2863 (Ch). The court found in Getty’s favour that the use of Stable Diffusion in the UK sometimes generated images bearing Getty’s trademarks.

However, Smith J said her “findings are both historic and extremely limited in scope” [757]. While there were instances of trademark infringement, the court was unable to determine that they were widespread, or that they continued beyond the release of versions of Stable Diffusion after December 2022 [756]. In the circumstances, there was no basis whatsoever for a claim for additional damages in the UK. Smith J acknowledged that Getty Images may be able to maintain such a case in the jurisdiction where the model was in fact trained, a nod to the parallel lawsuit against Stability AI in the US, but there was no basis for that case in this jurisdiction. IPKat has more information here.

The ruling has been described as a blow to copyright owners’ exclusive right to reap the rewards of their work, see Press Gazette and Guardian. The William Fry blog examines whether the ruling may fundamentally reshape our understanding of what an AI model actually is under law.

On 9 November 2025, the BBC’s Director General Tim Davie and head of BBC News Deborah Turness have resigned after a former adviser to the corporation accused it of “serious and systemic” bias in its coverage of issues including Donald Trump, Gaza and trans rights. In an announcement that caused shock within the corporation, Davie said his departure was “entirely my decision” and it comes as the BBC prepares to apologise for the way it edited a Trump speech, see below. The Guardian and Independent have more information.

On 6 November 2025, the Inquiry into the Retirement of the Former Commissioner of Police delivered its Final Report to the Government of Gibraltar. Topics addressed in the Inquiry’s Report include (1) the investigation into the alleged hacking of Gibraltar’s National Security Centralised Intelligence System, (2) a collision at sea involving a police vessel which resulted in two deaths, and (3) police actions in obstructing an aircraft at Gibraltar airport to remove an employee of the UK Ministry of Defence. It is now the duty of the Government to arrange for the Report to be published in full, save any material which may be withheld. 5RB has more information here.

Data privacy and data protection

The HawkTalk blog has an article on the European Data Protection Board’s analysis of the Commission’s Draft Adequacy Agreement/Decision covering the Data (Use and Access) Act, which identified the same deficiencies that HawkTalk had in an earlier post. The piece explains again what the EDPB has now confirmed: that the Commission’s Draft Adequacy Agreement is not fit for purpose.

Surveillance

Bloomberg examines the use of software products that flag problematic content, such as self-harm, to educators who use AI as part of teaching. The article considers the potential surveillance and privacy implications for students.

Newspapers Journalism and Regulation

On 3 November 2025, the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, commonly referred to as the “Hillsborough law”, received its second reading in Parliament. Hacked Off welcomes the bill but notices that it does not address problematic media reporting.

IPSO

Statements in Open Court and Apologies

The BBC will issue a formal apology after it aired a doctored clip of Donald Trump’s 6 January 2021 speech in a Panorama episode — the edited version omitted his call for peaceful protest and instead showed only his aggressive rhetoric. The Times and Guardian have more information.

New Issued Cases

There was one defamation (libel and slander) claim filed on the media and communications list last week.

Last Week in the Courts

On 4 November 2025 there was a hearing of a disclosure application in the case of Chanel Limited v Charlotte Skeens KB-2024-002470.

As mentioned above, Joanna Smith DBE J handed down judgment in Getty Images (US) Inc & Ors v Stability AI Ltd (Rev1) [2025] EWHC 2863 (Ch) on the same day.

On 5-6 November 2025 there was a hearing in the case of Hale-Byrne v Secretary of State for Business and Trade and another.

On 6 November 2025 there was a hearing of applications in the case of Travellers Insurance Company Ltd & ors v Baldwin KB-2025-000703.

On 7 November 2025 there was a consequentials hearing in the case of Mahmood v ITV Plc KB-2024-001060.

Media Law in Other Jurisdictions

Australia

Lawyers for News Corp have told the court that stories alleging Sam Groth began dating his wife, Brittany, while she was underage were far from “idle gossip” given the claims were being “weaponised” by rivals of the Victorian Liberal MP, who aspires to become premier. The Herald and Weekly Times reporter Stephen Drill and Herald Sun editor Sam Weir are being sued in the federal court over a series of articles published in July. Groth is suing for defamation while his wife has launched the first test case of new laws for serious invasions of privacy. The Guardian has more information here.

Canada

The Michael Geist blog has an article explaining how the government and official opposition have been quietly working to pass legislation that undermine the privacy rights of Canadians, effectively exempting themselves from the privacy rules imposed on everyone else.

United States

A federal court has preliminarily enjoined (paused) a new law in Colorado (HB 1136) that would have required social-media companies to deliver pop-up warnings to users under 18 after they’ve spent an hour on the platform or used it between 10 p.m.–6 a.m. The pop-ups would have told them about potential harms of social-media use. The Colorado Sun has more information here.

Research and Resources

Next Week in the Courts 

On Mon 10 and Tuesday 11 November 2025, there will be a hearing in Baroness Lawrence & ors v ANL KB-2022-003316.

On Tuesday 11 November 2025, a 2 day trial in the case of Optosafe Ltd v Robertson KB-2024-000054 will begin.

Reserved Judgments

We are not aware of any reserved media law judgments.

This Round Up was prepared by Colette Allen, the host of Newscast on Dr Thomas Bennett and Professor Paul Wragg’s The Media Law Podcast (@MediaLawPodcast).