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Rates debate - Re-development or disrepair?
07 July 2017Business rates have been big news recently following the Government’s controversial revaluation which took effect from 1 April 2017. Against the backdrop of all this negativity, the Supreme Court decision of Newbigin (Valuation Officer) v S J & J Monk [2017] at least provided some positive news for those carrying out developments or refurbishments of property.
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Tenants still can’t assign to their guarantors
07 July 2017There are often very good reasons why a lease would be assigned to a guarantor (e.g. corporate restructuring or the tenant’s insolvency). However, a case in 2016 - EMI Group Ltd v O & H Q1 Ltd - decided that such an assignment would be void at law, even if all parties agreed to it.
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Could a timely PIA have helped save the Royal Free from falling foul of data protection laws?
07 July 2017For many organisations, the acronym PIA represents a Painfully Inconvenient Ask (if not something far less polite). But Privacy Impact Assessments are set to be a key way of meeting the General Data Protection Regulation’s accountability requirement, and their importance is illustrated by the outcome of a recent investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office.
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Seller/Landlord beware! You need to take care with replies to preliminary enquiries
07 July 2017As part of any commercial property transaction a seller/landlord will usually be required to provide to the prospective buyer/tenant replies to a set of pre-contract enquiries (known as “preliminary enquiries”) – typically using the standard form Commercial Property Standard Enquiries (CPSEs) .
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Ignore Japanese knotweed at your peril!
07 July 2017Japanese knotweed is an invasive non-native species and is problematic because it can cause physical damage to land and buildings, particularly through spreading roots. During the summer months, it can grow up to 10 centimetres a day and roots can extend to a depth of three metres and up to seven metres laterally. The presence of knotweed can have a significant and detrimental effect on the marketability and insurability of property and may also adversely affect value.
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Property fraud is on the rise, how are you protecting your assets?
07 July 2017Fraud involves a person dishonestly and deliberately deceiving a victim for personal gain of property or money. Anyone can be a victim of fraud and the increasingly sophisticated methods that fraudsters are using to target property owners should not be ignored.
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A milestone for R&D agreements?
06 July 2017R&D agreements can often cover commercially significant and highly technical subject areas. In Astex Therapeutics Limited v AstraZeneca AB [2017] EWHC 1442 (Ch) the court has had to decide on the interpretation of an R&D agreement and whether certain “collaboration compounds” were within the scope of the agreement, triggering milestone payments or not.
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Employment status – the power of three: employee, worker and self-employed
04 July 2017In an article for Employment Solicitor, Karen Baxter takes a look at recent cases which have tested the boundaries of employment status and assess how employers can keep pace with the changing market as the world of work evolves.
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Size doesn’t matter (so says the ICO about recipients of big fines for data breaches)
03 July 2017If you thought that you’re too small a business to have to bother about data protection, then think again.
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Voulez-vous retoucher moi? New French law on retouching advertising images of models
03 July 2017From the beginning of 2017, French law has required the inclusion of the words “Photographie retouchée” on any photos used in a commercial context (such as advertising) in which the body shape or silhouette of a model has been adjusted using image processing software.
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People with Significant Control - changes in force from Monday 26 June 2017
29 June 2017With very little advance notice as to the detail, notable changes regarding the disclosure regime for people with significant control (PSCs) of UK companies and LLPs came into force on Monday 26 June 2017.
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Australia - Work and Holiday visas and new six-year multiple-entry visas available for Singaporeans
27 June 2017Following the recent summit held in Singapore, it was announced that two new visa measures will come into place. These are the availability for Singaporeans to apply for Australia’s Work and Holiday Visa programme and the new six-year multiple-entry visa for business and tourism in 1 August 2017 and 1 January 2018 respectively.
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Brands and IP newsnotes - issue 5
27 June 2017Welcome to the 5th edition of our Brands & IP newsnotes put together to bring you the latest, and most interesting legal developments affecting intellectual property law. In this issue we cover; the potential pitfalls of social media, design by artificial intelligence, interesting trade mark applications and cases, an update on the UPC, and the importance of protecting trade secrets.
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Peering over the Brexit cliff edge: The Government’s plans for EU nationals in the UK
27 June 2017The Government has announced its long overdue plan for the future of EU nationals and their family members, who have been anxiously waiting for clarity since the referendum result a year ago.
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Give me a break…KitKat latest developments (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 5)
23 June 2017Last month the Court of Appeal gave us the latest decision in the long running battle between Nestle and Cadbury. Interestingly, whilst agreeing that the well-known four- fingered chocolate snack should not be registered as a 3D trade mark, all three Lord Justices chose to give their own judgment. And for Nestle, this one might just take the biscuit.
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Get me a #covfefe (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 5)
23 June 2017In case you missed it, the 45th President of the United States recently took his habit of late night tweeting to a new low. Presumably meaning to rail against the ‘mainstream media’ coverage, Trump instead complained of “negative press covfefe” and trailed off mid-sentence. Cue ridicule and the hashtag #covfefe trending on Twitter.
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Public goes nutellay crazy for AI design (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 5)
23 June 2017Nutella hit the headlines in February this year after using an algorithm to produce millions of unique labels in Italy. The jars flew off the shelves with customers keen to get their hands on a one-of-a kind jar. Each label design was completely unique with only the Nutella logo remaining the same.
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Champagne supernova: Cristal brand owner sues cava producer (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 5)
23 June 2017Do you know your Champagne from your Cava? Quite possibly, but a High Court judge held in late 2015 that a Spanish cava producer trading under the brand name, “Cristalino” had used a confusingly similar sign to that of the famous tipple preferred by rappers and the like, “Cristal”.
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All hands on deck as creative industries and search engines tackle online piracy (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 5)
23 June 2017The UK Government, through the UKIPO, Ofcom and DMCS, has helped broker an agreement between Google, Bing, the BPI and Motion Picture Association over a new voluntary code of practice.
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To UPC or not UPC – implementation of Unified Patent Court delayed (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 5)
23 June 2017The Unified Patent Court (UPC) is intended to provide a regional forum resolve patent disputes. At the moment, parties have to litigate patent disputes on a country by country basis across Europe, which is time-consuming, expensive and can lead to differing decisions in some countries. UPC decisions will have effect in all 25 states participating in the UPC, providing a single forum to resolve these disputes.