High Court implies terms into settlement of copyright infringement claim

The High Court has ruled on a claimant's obligations under a settlement agreement which required the defendants to give certain undertakings to the court. The question which arose was whether the settlement agreement should be construed as meaning that the defendants gave those same undertakings to the claimant, as well as to the court. The judge held that the settlement agreement included such implied terms. The case highlights the importance of spelling out, in any settlement agreement, the exact scope and extent of any contractual obligations. The willingness of the court to "correct" the written settlement agreement by implying terms in this case is noteworthy, and cannot be assumed in every case. Case: Independiente Ltd and others v Music Trading On-line (HK) Ltd, 9 November 2006.