When assessing your business assets, IP might not be at the front of your mind, but it could be one of your most valuable assets as it’s at the heart of your business. This article provides a whistlestop tour of the IP assets that are important to consider ...
NPF4 forms part of the statutory development plan taking precedence where it postdates local development plans. Tesco argued that the local planning authority failed when considering whether the store was "small scale neighbourhood retail development". Tesco has successfully challenged a decision by Perth and Kinross Council granting planning permission to Aldi for a store at Pitheavlis, Perth. The store was intended to be a direct replacement for Aldi's existing store at Glasgow Road ...
Last month, Shoosmiths hosted a second event with leading industry body, Regen on REMA, The UK’s Review of Electricity Market Arrangements – Second Consultation, which closed [this week ]. The event featured insights from Dan Osgood, the director of energy markets and analysis at Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, as well as a number of expert panel discussions around the key parts of the consultation ...
Cabinet Office has developed and published a standard Carbon Reduction Contract Schedule which provides standard terms and conditions to support contract-specific decarbonisation objectives to be set and delivered and provides a framework to monitor and assess the Suppliers’ decarbonisation performance ...
Shoosmiths’ energy & infrastructure partner Chris Pritchett hosted a panel discussion at the Solar and Storage Live London last week, focussing on the often-overlooked elements of the low carbon transport transition, namely accessibility, regional parity, and the regulatory and industry code barriers to rolling out some of the solutions that this transition so desperately needs ...
In our fourth article in the series focusing on the risk of discrimination in the workplace, we consider the protected characteristic of pregnancy and maternity, the common issues that arise and what employers should do to avoid claims of discrimination. Despite the Equality Act 2010 (EqA) making it unlawful to discriminate against women because of pregnancy or maternity leave, women continue to face significant challenges in the workplace when they become parents ...
On 23 April 2024 the U.S.A.’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a final rule banning non-compete clauses in employee contracts. The rule will take effect six months following formal publication.1 The scope of the rule is an absolute and immediate prohibition of non-compete clauses, with the obligation on employers to serve notice on employees informing them they are no longer bound by the clause ...
Between September 2021 and May 2022, the words 'stress', 'mental health' and 'depression' appeared in more than 12,000 early conciliation or employment tribunal cases , demonstrating the prevalence of this subject matter in employment-related disputes. Today, more than ever, employers are expected to afford greater consideration to workplace conditions that do or could impact upon employees’ mental health ...
Earlier this month, the UK Joint Taskforce (UKJT) formally launched the Legal Statement on Digital Assets and English Insolvency Law. The statement aims to provide clarity to critical legal questions regarding how digital assets are treated in any insolvency. Shoosmiths contributed towards the consultation for this legal statement through the Crypto Fraud and Asset Recovery network ...
A local planning authority (“LPA”) can take enforcement action in respect of planning breaches where it considers it to be expedient to do so. However, breaches of planning control can become lawful and immune from enforcement action after a period of time ...
From 2 May 2024 Companies House is set to receive new powers to impose financial penalties for non-compliance with company legislation. Currently, the Registrar of Companies operates a civil penalty regime only for late filing of accounts. Under the new regulations (The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (Financial Penalty) Regulations 2024) the Registrar will be able to impose direct financial penalties for a wider range of offences under the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) ...
Do social media users have a fair choice between giving up their privacy and paying a subscription fee? The European Data Protection Board has given its opinion on what’s fair for large platforms in the latest shake up of personalised online advertising. When it comes to justifying processing personal data for targeted advertising under EU data protection laws, Meta (along with other online platforms) has been feeling the squeeze ...
The reception, hosted by Lord Borwick, focussed on how to operationalise the Automated Vehicles Bill (AV Bill), and realise its full potential, now that it is expected to receive Royal Assent and become law later this year. Despite the swift movement through Parliament of this landmark legislation - aimed at establishing a legal framework for the safe deployment of autonomous vehicles - the UK remains at the beginning of its regulatory journey ...
On 12 April, the Cabinet Office published the second tranche of its official guidance documents on the Procurement Act. The guidance documents cover: The National Procurement Policy statement (‘NPPS’); Technical Specifications; Pipeline Notices; Planned Procurement Notices; and Preliminary Market Engagement. Each guidance document clearly sets out the key points and the policy intent in respect of these discrete parts of the Procurement Act ...
The EU published a report on 18 April 2024, ‘Much More than a Market’.1 The reasons behind the call for the report are the EU’s concerns that just over 30 years after its creation there are important aspects of the Single Market that are not complete, and that the world is very different to what it was 30 years ago ...
In On Tower UK Limited v British Telecommunications Plc [2024] UKUT 51 LC, the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) was asked to address key aspects of the Electronic Communications Code ...
A podcast series that explores privacy themes within some of the most well-known movies. In this episode, William Moore and Max Schrems discuss “The Social Network”. Whether you are a film buff, a privacy advocate, or simply curious about the intersection of storytelling and privacy, take a journey with us as we explore how the big screen tackles privacy ...
Following the recent High Court decision in R (Dennis) v LB Southwark [2024] EWHC 57 (Admin), Shoosmiths’ planning practice has received a raft of queries over the issue of ‘drop in’ consents, and the future-proofing of planning permissions for large multi-phased developments. There has been much debate on the issue ...
18 – 24 March 2024 marked Neurodiversity Celebration Week, a week held annually which aims to challenge misconceptions regarding neurological differences. We look at what employers can do to improve neurodiversity support in the workplace going forward. Neurodiversity is an umbrella term which is used to describe alternative ways of thinking and learning and it includes conditions such as autism, dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) ...
The Sexism in the City inquiry was set up to establish what progress has been made in tackling sexism in the financial services sector. We discuss the findings and offer advice for those in the sector trying to navigate the current regulatory landscape. The financial services industry is crucial to the UK economy. It employs more than 2 ...
It’s hard to keep up with the twists and turns of AI regulation at the best of times, but the suggestion this week that the UK Government may be looking again at its opposition to statutory AI regulation poses as many questions as it answers. It’s hard to keep up with the twists and turns of AI regulation at the best of times, but the suggestion this week that the UK Government may be looking again at its opposition to statutory AI regulation poses as many questions as it answers ...
The Online Safety Act 2023 (the "OSA") became law on 26 October 2023 and will affect over 100,000 organisations. Here, we focus specifically on the overlaps between the OSA and data protection legislation, outlining the synergies (and differences) in key areas, together with some practical tips. This firm has been a consistent source of commentary and practical guidance on the new Online Safety Act 2023 (the ‘OSA’) ...
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has launched a campaign highlighting the risks of food labelled as vegan to people with allergies. Research from the FSA has shown that 62% of consumers with an animal-based allergy were confident that products labelled as ‘vegan’ were safe to eat. The FSA says this confidence is incorrect and is putting people at risk ...
Shoosmiths litigation team recently hosted a roundtable discussion with senior inhouse lawyers with clients in financial services, technology and the automotive sectors. In this discussion, each participant discussed their key takeaways from our recent Litigation risk 2024 report, their biggest concerns for the year ahead and identified some areas that need further exploration in 2025 and beyond. AI continues to create uncertainty making it a key litigation risk ...
The Bitcoin ‘halving’ event is rapidly approaching, anticipated to occur around the 19th or 20th of April. Currently, there’s an unprecedented level of attention on Bitcoin due to this event. So, what exactly does ‘halving’ entail, and why is there such a buzz surrounding it? The term itself evokes the intrigue of a suspenseful horror film, one that could be straight out of a Stephen King story ...