New press regulator IMPRESS has revealed that it is applying for official recognition under the Parliament-backed Royal Charter process. It is a move which paves the way for all publishers who aren’t members of IMPRESS to pay both sides costs in libel and privacy cases even if they win. Currently IMPRESS has yet to sign up any members. Under the Crime and Courts Act 2013 publishers who are not members of a Royal Charter-backed press regulator face the threat of exemplary damages in privacy and libel cases.