Tesco has lost its appeal over a long-running trademark dispute with budget supermarket Lidl. The primary dispute in question concerned its use of a yellow circle against a blue background in its Clubcard logo. The decision in the Lidl v Tesco Court of Appeal case means that Tesco will now be forced into changing its […]
Tag Archives: Commercial Law
How can you protect commercial property against severe weather events?
While the UK has a reputation for its relatively mild, albeit rainy weather, at times it can become more serious. Some time ago, the UK experienced severe weather, leading to us receiving many enquiries from customers regarding commercial properties that suffered from flooding which caused water leakage, repairs and other losses. With the prediction […]
EHRC Investigation Reveals Racial Discrimination Practices at Pontins Holiday Parks
Pontins is a historic holiday park company, which at its height, had a number of parks up and down the country. It now runs just two, and recently found itself in hot water over a racial discrimination investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). This investigation has resulted in Pontins being served […]
Walkers poppadoms are actually crisps! Zero rated VAT should not apply to the product, rules tribunal
When is a poppadom not a poppadom? Well, according to the First-tier tribunal it’s when it’s actually a potato crisp. Sensations Poppadoms, a potato-based snack made by Walkers, was recently the subject of a tribunal deciding whether the product should benefit from zero rated VAT, the sales tax applied in the UK to certain products. […]
Fair dismissal – when is an employer allowed to dismiss an employee?
How can an employer dismiss an employee fairly? First, let’s demystify what ‘fair dismissal’ actually means. Fair dismissal should otherwise be simply referred to as a ‘dismissal’, which happens when an employer chooses to end an employee’s contract. In common parlance, it usually refers to someone being either sacked or fired. So, how can […]
What is the duty of my bank if I am a victim of fraud? Supreme Court provides clarity on Quincecare
The Supreme Court has recently made an important decision in the case of Philipp vs Barclays Bank, potentially spelling the end of the duty of care known as ‘Quincecare’. Following this decision, victims of authorised push payment (APP) fraud can no longer rely on Quincecare duty, with the Supreme Court deciding that no such […]
What is the threshold for ethical veganism as a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010?
The Equality Act 2010 affords protections against discrimination to a wide range of people based on a range of characteristics including: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. The word “belief” within the Equality Act is rather broad, leaving room for interpretation. […]
High Court case could open floodgates to thousands of COVID business interruption claims
A recent High Court case could pave the way for thousands of insurance claims by small to medium sized businesses in the UK. The fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic continues to have an impact on businesses, with the latest high-profile case involving the ExCel conference centre in London and their insurers, Royal & Sun Alliance. […]
Is it wrongful dismissal if the employer issues a P45 and the employee is absent from work after being asked to return?
By Krystal Yan This is a recent case that we have defended in which the Claimant sought circa £140,000 for unlawful and wrongful dismissal against our client, the Respondent. Background The Claimant started working as a kitchen helper for the Respondent from August 2015. In December 2018, the Claimant’s job title was […]
Late-night sausage rolls on the menu as Greggs and Westminster Council reach license agreement
There are many who, after a night out on the town, may find it difficult to resist the siren’s call of the nearest fast-food establishment. However, licensing rules in England and Wales often prevent certain hospitality businesses from opening late at night. Such a situation recently arose in a dispute between the high-street bakery chain, […]
Abuse of YouTube copyright policies leads to permanent injunction against defendant
By Fiona Huang For those who conduct business by using Amazon, eBay, YouTube or other platforms, you may have encountered intellectual property (IP) infringement by your competitors. One of the most effective ways to protect your IP rights is to report the infringement to the platform provider. The provider should always respond swiftly and […]
Expansion Worker Visa granted to Australian wine company within 24 hours
By Lily Dai We recently dealt with a private limited company which was incorporated in Australia and specialises in brewing and producing bacteria–free red wine. In 2018, our client manufactured its first batch of wine. The wine achieved many sales and had a lot of success when it first launched locally in Australia. As […]
EU court says online marketplaces like Amazon can be held liable for trademark infringement
Today’s article takes a look at a recent intellectual property case involving Amazon and the Court of Justice of the EU. The court finds that online marketplaces like Amazon can be held liable for trademark infringement, keep reading to learn more. This is a highly significant case due to the status and profile of […]
Legal privilege – when is the right to confidentiality lost for data held on company servers?
Today’s article examines a case involving legal professional privilege, work emails and company servers. It provides a great deal of relevance to many businesses, as the issue of legal privilege in the context of work emails on corporate servers is one which arises regularly up and down the country. In this case, the applicant […]
Register of overseas entities – Lisa’s Law part of select group that can complete verification checks for you
In a bid to crack down on money laundering and improve transparency, the Economic Crime Act 2022 introduced a new Register of Overseas Entities. This came into force on 1st August 2022. Those who do not comply will face severe sanctions, including restrictions on buying, selling, transferring, leasing or charging their land or property in […]
What are the rights of a business when it comes to noise complaints? And what to do if your business receives an abatement notice?
A Manchester music venue has recently found itself the subject of a noise abatement notice by Manchester City Council, threatening its future as a result. The venue, called “Night and Day” has been responsible for hosting many well-known music artists over the years, including Arctic Monkeys, Elbow, and Ed Sheeran. However, its future is now […]
Ban on exclusivity clauses extended to low-earning workers
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has introduced a new set of regulations targeted towards low-earning workers. These regulations will come into force on 5th December 2022, and include a ban of exclusivity clauses, which prevent employees and workers from taking on additional work with other employers or undergo any other arrangement for […]
Storage company failed to incorporate terms and conditions in contract with meat producer, says High Court
Today’s article takes a look at a commercial law case focusing on a contract dispute between a red meat producer, Scotbeef Ltd, and D&S Storage Ltd, a storage company responsible for storing the claimant’s meat produce. The High Court ruled on two preliminary issues in this contract dispute, which were: Whether, as alleged […]
Employee unfairly dismissed due to lack of proper redundancy consultation
It’s a word no one particularly likes to hear – redundancy. Nevertheless, it actually serves an important purpose. When it comes to a redundancy situation, companies can’t just make dismiss an employee on a whim – there are strict rules that they have to follow as part of the redundancy process. A key aspect […]
Commercial Court finds in favour of Greggs in relation to Covid business interruption losses
The financial impact of government enforced lockdowns on companies during the pandemic continues to be of significance in the legal world. Most recently, the well-known high-street bakery, Greggs, brought forward a claim to the Commercial Court against Zurich insurance plc over insurance pay-outs in the form of business interruption losses (BIL). This claim was held […]
Does size really matter? First-tier Tribunal decides ‘Mega Marshmallows’ should not be subject to standard VAT rate
It appears that when it comes to confectionary, size certainly does matter. In a recent case, Innovative Bites Ltd v Revenue and Customs Commissioners, the First-tier Tribunal decided that a food product called “Mega Marshmallows” was not a confectionary and therefore is VAT zero rated. This is not the case with standard marshmallows, which are […]
Is supporting a football team grounds for unfair dismissal under the Equality Act 2010?
“Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it’s much more serious than that”. This famous quote by Bill Shankly is certainly a sentiment the claimant in this case, a life-long Rangers fan, would identify with. Like Shankly, the claimant in this case was a fellow Scot. But […]
With the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, will these famous products lose their Royal Warrant?
Following the sad passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, a number of the features of everyday life will begin to change. These include replacing Queen Elizabeth II with His Majesty King Charles III on all currency, changing the silhouette on stamps from Queen Elizabeth to King Charles, and, in the legal world, the Queen’s […]
Skilled worker visa vs Scale-up visa – which is best for employers?
You may have read our recent article about the brand-new Scale-up visa, which looked at how both employers and workers can benefit from the new visa route. You can find out more by reading it here. While the in-depth Scale-Up visa article mainly looked at the visa from an employee perspective, this article will look […]
The Scale-up visa has launched – what do you need to know?
The brand-new Scale-up visa has finally come into force. Described as “the biggest visa improvement in a generation” by the Coalition for a Digital Economy, the Scale-up work visa is designed for the UK’s top high-growth businesses to attract exceptional talent, including scientists, engineers, programmers, and architects. With the UK facing several challenges to its […]
Britain’s hot strike summer heats up as legal sector industrial action gathers steam
The British summer of 2022 may well go down as the summer of strikes. Workers across a wide range of sectors, including railway workers, bus workers, post office workers, airport workers, and barristers have all been on strike so far this summer, largely over disputes involving pay and conditions as inflation continues to increase and […]
What does it mean for a payment to be ‘subject to completion’? Judge rules in favour of law firm after client refused to pay legal fees!
Written by Paul Cheuk The High Court of Justice has recently handed down an instructional judgment (Blacklion Law LLP v Amira Nature Foods Ltd [2022] EWHC 1500 (Ch)) in a lawsuit between a law firm and its client. The case involved a small London-based law firm suing a multinational rice distributor and its owner-director […]
Investigation launched into ASOS, Boohoo and Asda over ‘greenwashing’ claims
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an investigation into three fashion brands over their ‘green’ claims. The three fashion brands being investigated by the CMA for greenwashing include the supermarket Asda, as well as the online fashion brands, ASOS and Boohoo. The CMA will look at the extent to which green claims […]
Supreme Court says part-year workers entitled to proportionally same holiday pay as full-time workers
A new ruling (Harpur Trust v Brazel) by the Supreme Court has favoured part-year workers and casual workers, opening the door to thousands of claims for compensation. The ruling says that these workers are entitled proportionally to the same holiday pay as full-time workers. It also found that the methods of calculating pro-rated annual leave […]
Is breakfast cereal junk food? Yes, according to the High Court!
Is breakfast cereal junk food? That’s what the High Court decided recently when the cereal manufacturer, Kellogg’s, failed in its legal challenge against the government’s new food strategy. The proposed regulations by the Department for Health and Social Care would mean that foods which are high in fat, salt and sugar would be banned […]
A fast track to digital surveillance? European Consumer Organisation takes action against Google
You probably have a Google account, and probably also assume that everything you do on Google’s services is tracked, but do you realise the extent to which Google actively pushes you towards ensuring that you don’t avoid its surveillance practises? The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) has directly sought to tackle this issue by announcing that […]
Samsung found liable for hosting apps which mimicked luxury Swatch brands
The South Korean technology giant, Samsung, ranked by Forbes in 2020 as the 8th largest company in the world, has found itself on the receiving end of a decision by the UK’s High Court which determined the technology company to be held liable for trademark infringement. In principle, this came down to the fact […]
Amazon held liable for Intellectual Property infringement by Court of Appeal! What are the consequences?
The online retail behemoth, Amazon, has been found by the UK Court of Appeal to have made a trademark infringement in a recent legal battle with Lifestyle Equities CV, a Netherlands-registered company. The case, Lifestyle Equities CV and another v Amazon UK Services Ltd and others [2022] EWCA Civ 552, reinforces the fact that […]
The end of fake reviews? New rules claim to protect consumers and boost competition
The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has announced new rules which it claims will protect consumers and boost competition. This follows the “reforming competition and consumer policy” consultation which was launched by the government last year. The Government-sponsored Consumer Protection Study 2022 found that between April 2020 and April 2021, the equivalent to […]
