March 2019 – Whitestone Chambers

Apple Patents iPhone camera change.

Leaks about Apple’s innovation always seem to come from Apple. Secretly, Apple has lodged a patent about their new iPhone. Apple is going to release an iPhone that will tell you when to take a photo and the camera will open automatically. Yes, you heard that correctly. The hardware for this production has been confirmed and it is due to feature in iPhones this year. Apple explains how this will work. The automatic camera will activate once detecting an intent to take a photograph or video. This will be effective when the phone is placed in a typical photography position, then the camera will open automatically.

Apple filed a patent with the US Patent and Trademark Office on 17 January 2019.

The motion to detect the photography position is handled by accelerometers and a proximity-based sensor. At present iPhones have a short-range proximity sensor.

Not everyone will be a big fan of Apple’s automatic camera, but it will definitely add colour to the technological market.

www.whitestonechambers.com

law@whitestonechambers.com

The demise of the Airbus A380.

Airbus SE have recently announced their decision to stop the production of the model A380 by 2021, which was delivered by Tom Enders the Airbus Chief Executive. The Airbus A380 at the start of its production was the spacious, quieter and more comfortable alternative for passengers. As a result of the halted model production, Airbus has estimated at least 3,500 jobs to be affected. The company’s largest consumer, Emirates are said to be decreasing their order from 53 aircrafts down to a mere 14 aircrafts.

The A380 for many years had been a popular aircraft among its buyers and therefore had struggled to keep up with their orders, making their decision a turning point for many in the aviation industry. Despite their popularity, Airbus encountered several glitches very early on. For the Airbus A308, issues had varied from its faulty communication to its first flight in 2007, when the climate of the economy was at crisis point.

The largest consumer of the model, being the Emirates Airline ordered 160 units in total. Despite these impressive figures, Emirates inevitably became a part of the A380 demise. As the predominant customer for the Airbus, the airline held the power to factually make or break Airbus SE. Therefore, Emirates inconclusive nature regarding the 20 units had Airbus withdrawing the production.

Unfortunately for Airbus, plans for resale have not exactly gone accordingly. With the US carrier completely avoiding Airbus, the alternatives were the Chinese and Japanese airlines. However, it is worth mentioning that the Chinese carriers have purchased models in incredibly low numbers and as for the Japanese it is a recent phenomenon as they traditionally are Boeing 747 consumers. However, adding to the vortex of negativity surrounding the A380, Qantas Airways Ltd have cancelled an outstanding order alongside the retraction of 20 orders by Amedeo.

George Ferguson the global aviation analyst says that, “Airbus” cancellations of the A380 eliminates a drag of commercial airplane margin, given at the current rate of 12 the company garnered no profit on 2 billion euros of revenue. Maintaining production at lower rates would have resulted in a loss”.

Where the A380 model has monopolised in airports such as London Heathrow with the adoption of the model, it has sadly failed to create shockwaves in the aviation industry to allure potential buyers. Airline popularity lies with aircraft models that encompass luxurious elements including flight bars, showers and suites. This decision by airlines have also proved to pay off, as the passengers have seemed to indulge in the newer model facilities.

www.whitestonechambers.com

law@whitestonechambers.com

International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women everywhere. It is a celebration of women’s rights. The first International Women’s Day gathering was in 1911 and was supported by over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland.

It is difficult to say when International Women’s Day began. It can be traced to 1908, when over 15, 000 women marched in New York City demanding voting rights, better pay and shorter working hours. In 1910, Clara Zetkin, leader of the women’s office for the Social democratic party in Germany proposed the idea that every country should celebrate on the same day ‘Woman’s Day’.

It was a time when, in the UK, woman weren’t actually considered to fall under the category of ‘people’ by the legal profession. In 1913 In Bebb v The Law Society, the Court of Appeal ruled that women could not be solicitors. Section 2 of the Solicitors Act 1843 provided that “No person shall act as an Attorney or Solicitor […] unless such Person shall after the passing of this Act be admitted and enrolled and otherwise duly qualified as an Attorney or Solicitor, pursuant to the Directions and Regulations of this Act.” Gwyneth Bebb had applied to the Law Society to sit preliminary examinations, with a view to becoming a solicitor to which she had been refused. In summary the verdict was, no woman had ever been a solicitor before so, clearly, the Act wasn’t intended to include women. Lord Justice Swinfen Eady concluded that ‘if there is to be any change from the ancient practice, it is a change which must be effected by Parliament, and the law must be altered’. Thankfully, there has been great changes from the position in 1913 re-enforced by the Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex.

Eliza Orme was the first woman to gain a law degree in 1888 but at this time females were still not allowed to be admitted as solicitors. Only in 1919 did the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act come into force amending the Law with respect to disqualifications on account of sex, letting woman become lawyers. Dr Ivy Williams was the first woman to be called to the Bar in 1922. She joined Inner Temple as a student in 1920. Dr Williams never practiced, but she was the first woman to teach law at University. Helena Normanton became the first woman to practise as a barrister in England. At first her application to Middle Temple in 1918 was refused, but after the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act came into force, she was admitted to Middle Temple in 1922.

International Woman’s Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women can be recognised for their achievements in economic, legal and political spheres. The world can appreciate the significant changes in women’s and society’s thoughts about women’s equality. Great improvements have been made but a lot more remains to be done.

For more information, please visit
https://www.internationalwomensday.com/

Whitestone Chambers ©
8 March 2019
www.whitestonechambers.com

Lithium-ion batteries

The advent of the smartphone and tablet devices in the last decade has led to a sharp rise in the number of portable electronic devices that passengers are carrying on planes.

Most personal electronic devices use a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. A fault or damage to a lithium-ion battery increases the risk that the battery will short circuit and catch fire. As a lithium-ion battery ages, the risk of a fault with the battery increases. Therefore, the risk of the battery short-circuiting and catching fire also increases.

The increase in the number of personal electronic devices being carried by passengers increase the risk of a lithium-ion battery fire on a plane.

While lithium-ion battery fires are still relatively rare, they are increasing. The Federal Aviation Administration in the United States documents 225 incidents of smouldering, fire or explosion of lithium-ion batteries since 1991.

A total of 81 of these incidents took place in 2017 and 2018. That represents more than a third of the total lithium-ion battery incidents in relation to smouldering, fire or explosion that the FAA documents have taken place since 1991.

A fire in the confined space of an aircraft cabin is potentially catastrophic.

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO QUELL A LITHIUM-ION BATTERY FIRE?

The use of a Halon Class D fire extinguisher is generally considered the safest and most effective way to extinguish a lithium-ion battery fire.

Water can then be used to cool the device and to stop the fire spreading.

Concerns have been expressed that high concentrations of Halon in a confined space like an aircraft cabin could have adverse health impacts for passengers and staff on the plane. However, this risk is generally outweighed by the toxic smoke of a lithium-ion battery fire and toxic smoke that may be given off by other material in the cabin that catches on fire.

More recently, it has been reported that some airlines have issued cabin staff with protective gloves and air proof bags in a bid to control a lithium-ion battery fire. The idea is that a device that is overheating or has caught fire can be handled with a protective glove and placed into an airtight bag where the fire is deprived of oxygen.

Attempting to bring a lithium-ion battery fire under control in this way carries two distinct risks. The first is that the device may explode, showering the person handling the device with molten shrapnel. The second is that the protective bag itself may potentially catch fire. The use of a halon fire extinguisher is generally preferred to this method and is the most effective way to bring a lithium-ion battery fire under control.

www.whitestonechambers.com

law@whitestonechambers.com