December/January 2010

On 14 September 2010, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that, in the field of competition law, internal company communications with in-house lawyers are not covered by the confidentiality regime regarding communication between external lawyers and clients. This judgment paves the way for the European Commission, in its role as competition regulator, to gain …

Continue reading “Communication with in-house lawyers not covered by legal privilege”

Some say that the age of celebrity is dead. That the birth of the reality star has killed off what it is to be a celebrity in the true sense. Not so. Celebrity will always be around, but just like technology and fashion, the concept of what a celebrity is will develop, adjust and adapt …

Continue reading “Defusing reputation risks for celebrity CEOs”

Investors who have suffered loss through declining asset values are likely to investigate whether their contractual counterparty (such as a bank or other financial institution) owed a duty of care to advise them as to the suitability of investments, and/or made actionable misrepresentations or misstatements. Given the extent of recent investor losses, it is likely …

Continue reading “Mis-selling claims:Court of Appeal guidance”

The concept of well-known trademarks has a long pedigree, going back to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883). Since then, protection has expanded and this has been reflected through additional dilution protection (against misuse of marks with a reputation in dissimilar goods) in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property …

Continue reading “Well-known trade mark protection in Indonesia”

The upheaval over the Past few years in the financial markets and the global economy has led to a climate of increased regulation worldwide, with greater exposures for directors and the companies by which they are employed. All of this has highlighted the importance for companies to have adequate insurance protection. Directors’ and officers’ (D&O) …

Continue reading “Protecting a company and its directors: D&O insurance”

The Court of Appeal has upheld the recent High Court decision in Softlanding Systems, Inc v KDP Software Ltd & anor [2010]. The High Court had rejected Softlanding’s claim that KDP was in breach of its contractual obligations by failing to supply the required technical support post termination, and granted an injunction in favour of …

Continue reading “Softlanding Systems, Inc v KDP Software Ltd & anor [2010]”

In this era of globalisation, markets around the world are being flooded with ‘parallel import’ goods. Parallel import occurs when the original products (and not counterfeit products) are imported cheaply to a country without the authorisation of the product owner who has intellectual property (IP) rights over the products. Unlike black market goods, parallel import …

Continue reading “Parallel imports and trade marks”

On 18 November 2010, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) published its recommendations to the government on the level for the 2011/12 permanent annual limit on economic migration to the UK under Tier 1 and Tier 2 of the points-based system (PBS).

The war for talent in the financial services sector continues. Traditionally, firms have faced some obstacles in protecting their key staff, but two separate developments may give firms cause to be more optimistic in protecting their interests.

With the huge amount of publicity and debate surrounding bribery and corruption, in-house lawyers could be forgiven for thinking that there are no other financial and reputational risks for their companies. This year has been all about the Bribery Act 2010, and the need to beef up anti-corruption programmes. Fraud seems to have faded into …

Continue reading “Fraud: forgotten but not gone”