Newzbin Case

[Munir Junker]

Nontext files (such as films) posted to Usenet are encoded and the data split into a significant number of messages (typically hundreds or thousands). A user wishing to download a copy of a film from Usenet must therefore identify, download and assemble each component part. Newzbin significantly simplified this cumbersome process by providing NZB files, which enabled users to download selected content indexed on the Newzbin site at the click of a button.

The case also confirmed that liability for communication to the public may be established where the site does not actually transmit content but actively intervenes to make available protected content hosted elsewhere.

The target of the order sought was the Newzbin2 website. That site (which began operating on or around 28 May 2010) was in all material respects the same as the original Newzbin site, although its operation had moved offshore. The case encapsulated the difficulties of enforcing copyright law against the operators of infringing websites.

Newzbin2 paved the way for site blocking orders now obtained by content owners from a number of industries; directed to a number of different types of infringing sites; and granted in territories across the EU and beyond. We will investigate how the Newzbin2 precedent has been further developed in future blogs in our site blocking series.

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This Privacy Notice (Notice) describes how Wiggin collects and uses your personal data. All our data processing is carried out in accordance with our obligations under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

you means any individual whose personal data we process, including Wiggin clients, Wiggin client personnel, counterparties, counterparty personnel, other solicitors and advisors, witnesses, suppliers, supplier personnel and general business contacts.

We are not required under the GDPR to appoint a Data Protection Officer. We have, however, appointed a Data Protection Manager, currently Alexander Ross, who is responsible for overseeing our compliance with the GDPR and any other applicable data protection legislation and regulation. In addition, our Compliance Officer for Legal Practice, currently Alan Owens, oversees compliance with our professional responsibilities and with legislative requirements.

If you provide information to us about someone else (such as one of your associates, directors or employees, or someone with whom you have business dealings) you must ensure that you are entitled to disclose that information to us and that the person understands that we, without taking any further steps, may process that information in accordance with this Notice.

If we collect and use personal data about you, the types of data we collect will vary in nature depending on the circumstances and purpose of processing. Here are some illustrative and non-exhaustive examples:

If we collect and use personal data about you, we will do so for one or more of a number of reasons, the primary purpose being to provide legal advice and services to our clients, and this may involve the use of your personal data in one or more of the following (non-exhaustive) ways:

Under the GDPR, we must identify a lawful basis for processing your personal data, and that basis may vary according to the type of personal data processed and the individual to whom it relates, and the nature of the processing.

If you are a private client or an individual supplier or other individual with a direct contractual relationship with us, we process the personal data we require in order to fulfil our obligations under our contract with you.

We may process your personal data on the lawful basis that it is in our legitimate interests and/or the legitimate interests of a third party to do so. This will primarily apply when we provide legal advice and services to our clients. Our legitimate interest in such instances is the proper performance of our role as an authorised and regulated provider of legal services. Our clients also have a legitimate interest (and a more general right in law) in obtaining legal advice and services.

We may also process your personal data on the basis that it is necessary for our legitimate interest in the effective management and running of our firm, which may include (but is not limited to): engaging suppliers and supplier personnel; interviewing prospective staff members; ensuring that our systems and premises are secure and running efficiently; for regulatory and legislative compliance and related auditing and reporting; for marketing and general business development purposes; for insurance purposes; to facilitate, make and receive payments, and to collect money owing to us.

We do not consider that the processing of your personal data on the basis of our legitimate interests as described above is likely to result in any unwarranted prejudicial effect on your rights and freedoms or your own legitimate interests, and we regularly review our systems and processes to ensure that remains the case.

In certain circumstances, we may be obliged process personal data in order to comply with our legal obligations. This might include, but is not limited to, processing where required for tax and accounting purposes; where required by our regulators for conflict checking purposes; where required by the order of a court or tribunal; or to enable us to fulfil our compliance and other obligations under relevant legislation or regulation.

If we process any special category personal data, which is data relating to your racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious and philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, health data, biometric data or sexual orientation, we will obtain your explicit consent to that processing, unless this is not required by law (because, for example, it is processed for the purpose of exercising or defending legal claims) or the information is required to protect your health in an emergency. Where we are processing personal data based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time by emailing us at datapro...@wiggin.co.uk and describing the specific consent that you wish to withdraw.

We will disclose your personal data internally within Wiggin LLP and (if applicable) its associated businesses to those members of staff who provide legal services to you or your business, and/or to other members of staff with whom you or your employer or agent makes contact.

We may disclose your personal data to third parties (outside Wiggin), but only when it is necessary to do so, and subject to our obligations of confidentiality. Such recipients include but are not limited to: other clients and contacts; co-counsel, other solicitors/barristers/experts/foreign law firms whom we instruct on your behalf; our insurance brokers and underwriters; our bank, auditors and accountants; debt collectors; our outsourced IT providers and other suppliers; HMRC; the Solicitors Regulation Authority; the Law Society; the Home Office and HM Passport Office; the other side and/or other parties on any given matter (lay and solicitor).

We may also need to disclose your personal data in the course of business to our consultants who operate in the UK and in the USA, to staff in our Brussels office, and to our associated and related businesses (including INCOPRO, Overmorrow, Viewfinder, Reviewed & Cleared, Cirkus).

Your personal data is also likely to be disclosed to one or more third party service providers who provide us with IT and other technical services, and those service providers act as data processors under our control. We take suitable steps as required by law to ensure that, where the other party concerned is a data processor, they have appropriate data security systems in place and process data solely in accordance with our instructions.

We have robust security arrangements in place to guard against unauthorised access, use, alteration or destruction of, or the accidental loss of, your personal data. We take appropriate technical and organisational security measures and have rules and procedures in place to ensure that any personal data we hold that is particularly sensitive, or highly confidential, is not accessed by anyone unauthorised to access it, and where applicable to ensure client confidentiality. We have in place, and strictly comply with, an information security policy which determines the security standards we use to protect your personal data.

When we use third-party organisations to process your personal data on our behalf, we require them to have appropriate security arrangements in place, they must comply with our contractual requirements and instructions, and they must ensure compliance with the GDPR and any other relevant data protection legislation, all as required under the GDPR.

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