In the context of an agreement for the sale of an estate agency business, the Court of Appeal has ruled that a contractual clause should be interpreted in line with its ‘natural meaning’. Notwithstanding the rather surprising outcome, the commercial…
In a case which vividly illustrates that confusion between similar website names is not an insoluble problem, a businessman has been directed to give up two internet domain names which were capable of creating public confusion and a perception that…
A businessman who incurred a capital gains tax (CGT) liability in excess of £800,000 on the sale of shares in his company as a result of negligent accountancy advice has triumphed in his High Court compensation claim. The court found,…
The central issue before the High Court in a recent case was whether a number of letters written by a parent company and sent to the directors of a daughter / subsidiary company were legally enforceable. The letters, written by…
In resolving a dispute as to the ownership of intellectual property rights in respect of software that formed the ‘crown jewels’ of a highly successful investment business, the High Court has ruled that authorship does not necessarily equate to copyright…
When a landlord wishes to carry out works and the cost of completing them will be charged to the tenants via the service charge they pay, the law requires the landlord to carry out a consultation exercise if the cost…
A trust exists where a person who has legal ownership of something (‘the object of the trust’) is obliged to act with respect to the object of the trust for the benefit of some other person or persons (‘the beneficiaries’)…
A 15-year-long boundary dispute between neighbours on an island in the middle of the River Thames, concerning a strip of land measuring just 10 feet in width, has been resolved by a judge who treated the position of an old…
The Government has published the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (Amendment) Order 2013, which makes changes to the rules relating to collective redundancy consultation. Where an employer is proposing to dismiss as redundant 100 or more employees…
Under proposals put to the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, data protection law looks set to be reformed such that the use of ‘pre-ticked’ boxes will no longer be permitted as a way of showing…