Alerts
Alerts archive 2008

Moving on out: transfer laws due to change

The way cash equivalent transfer values (CETVs) are calculated is about to change.

Rochdale not Roanne - EU procurement update

Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council has just announced that it will re-run its procurement procedure for the choice of developer for its 350,000 square feet, £250 million town centre development scheme.

Money laundering and terrorist financing

On 8 August 2008, the Joint Money Laundering Steering Group (JMSG) issued guidance on the meaning and importance of "equivalent jurisdictions". 

Licensing and sponsorship

The Border & Immigration Agency is bringing in the new Sponsorship and Licensing regulations and have now officially set a deadline for licence applications to be submitted, being 1 October.

All signs point in one direction - mediation

Anyone who litigates will be interested in what the Master of the Rolls recently had to say, namely that parties should be encouraged and perhaps directed to engage in mediation.

Banking update: report and review on cases

The obligation to value the correct property, the need for certainty when agreeing security for loans, immunity from enforcement actions and taking a party's disabilities into account;

Open source software licences - enforceability upheld by the US Court of Appeals

On 13 August 2008, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the restrictions contained within the Artistic Licence. The Artistic Licence, commonly used for PERL software packages, is one of the top ten licences used for open source software.

Stradivarius Espana v OHIM - illegible marks: you might not understand them, but they are not confusing!

On 20 June 2001, Cristina Ricci's predecessor in title applied to register the device mark "Stradivari 1715" (the opposed mark) as a Community Trade Mark for goods in classes 14, 16 and 18.

Eli Lilly v Human Genome Sciences - gene sequence patents get a dressing down

In Eli Lilly v Human Genome Sciences, the English Patents Court sets out guidelines for the first time on the industrial application criteria for patentability (the EPC equivalent to the US "utility" requirement).

The lender's duty to obtain a proper price on a sale

In the current economic climate, it is not surprising that an increasing number of lenders are enforcing their security by exercising their power of sale either directly or by appointing a receiver.

Energy Performance Certificates - updated guidance

The Department for Communities and Local Government has published a second edition of its guide to Energy Performance Certificates for the construction, sale and let of non-dwellings.

Ryanair threatens to cancel scraped flights: how the way a contract comes into being affects its enforceability

Ryanair has announced that it intends to cancel all flight tickets which have not been purchased directly from its website www.ryanair.com or call centre.

Changes to the adjudication and payment provisions: draft Construction Contracts Bill

Last month, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) published a draft Construction Contracts Bill to amend Part 2 of the Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration Act 1996.

Data Protection reforms abound

Following the release of the Data Sharing Review, the UK's Information Commissioner Richard Thomas has continued to criticise the European Data Protection Directive (95/46/EC). He has referred to it as out of date, bureaucratic and in dire need of reform.

The shining beacon

Those involved in high density city centre developments may face claims that the scheme infringes rights of light enjoyed by one or more adjoining owners.

New money laundering registration guidance: HMRC clarifies position for trustees of occupational pension schemes

On 31 July 2008 Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs published updated guidance on the registration requirements for Trust or Company Service Providers (TCSPs) and Accountancy Service Providers (ASPs) under the new Money Laundering Regulations.

Profit warning - when is loss of profit too remote to recover?

Liability clauses – can't live with them, can't live without them. But as time, and practice, goes on, they become more and more complex. So, it is becoming increasingly important to explain the likely interpretations of the phrases used.

Equal pay chaos...

The Court of Appeal has handed down its judgment in the combined appeals in the long-running equal pay disputes of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council v Bainbridge and Others and Surtees and others –v- Middlesbrough Borough Council.