Articles

Part 1 – The Obstacles Faced This article is the first of several in which we consider the traditional approach to procuring construction contracts, why it might not always be suitable for the life sciences sector and what innovations are being...

In the recent case of Conisbee v Crossley Farms Ltd and others , an Employment Tribunal held that vegetarianism did not qualify for protection as a belief under the Equality Act 2010.   Facts The claimant, Mr Conisbee, was employed as a waiter for 5...

Welcome to the first instalment of our life sciences legal A to Z. We will cover a wide range of topics relevant for those working in the sector, drawing from the expertise of our multi-disciplinary life sciences team, which advises some of the...

Website accessibility in the spotlight On 7 October, the US Supreme Court denied an appeal by Domino’s Pizza and ruled in favour of a blind claimant who had sued the chain when he was unable to order pizza off its website and mobile app in the US....

It can feel like barely a month goes by without a high street retailer proposing a CVA. The recent judgment on the challenge brought by landlords in respect of the Debenhams CVA highlights some major issues for landlords of retail premises, as well as...

Harking back to law school, we had a thirst for new black letter law. Section 136 of the Law of the Property Act 1925 kindly obliged. This lays down the conditions which need to be satisfied for an effective legal assignment of a chose in action (such as a...

On 23 September 2019 Thomas Cook Group Plc (together with various of its associated UK entities) entered into compulsory liquidation and its UK business ceased trading with immediate effect. Partners from KPMG and from AlixPartners have since been appointed...

Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs) – which extend the patent life of a medicine for up to five years - are a valuable prize in the lucrative pharmaceutical market. It is not surprising, therefore, that the conditions for grant of an SPC under...

In Kasongo v Humanscale UK Ltd , the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that once a party has waived privilege over legal advice, it cannot cherry-pick which parts of the advice it wishes to disclose. Communications between a party and their legal advisers...

Background Often cases of disability discrimination are won or lost on the question of whether the employer knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that the individual alleging disability discrimination was disabled for the purposes of the Equality Act...

In the case of Harpur Trust v Lesley Brazel v Unison the Court of Appeal overturned an Employment Tribunal’s decision that holiday entitlement should be pro-rated for ‘part-year’ workers. This case is significant because it is likely to...

We recently published an article entitled “ Crossing the Rubicon – can you guarantee that you understand the terms of your guaranteed obligations ? ”, providing an insight into the recent Rubicon case. This follow-on piece explores...

In the recent case of Community Based Care Health Ltd v Narayan, the Employment Appeal Tribunal found that an out-of-hours GP who was providing her services via her personal services company was nevertheless a worker. Facts Community Based Care Health...

In Okwu v Rise Community Action , the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has considered whether an employee’s disclosure of alleged breaches of data protection legislation was a qualifying disclosure for the purposes of whistleblowing protection. ...

New priority for HMRC The draft Finance Bill contains proposals which would enhance HMRC’s position in respect of certain debts (including VAT, PAYE, Employee National Insurance Contributions, and Construction Industry Scheme deductions), the “...

Updated from the original article previously written on 9 January, 2019 As the uncertainty about whether the UK will depart the EU with a deal or without a deal continues, we set out below a checklist of the practical issues which are likely to arise in...

“Speculative invoicing” is a term used to describe the practice of obtaining details of alleged file sharers, usually by means of a Norwich Pharmacal order served on the Internet Service Provider (ISP), and then writing letters threatening...

After much anticipation, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has clarified the position on cross-border jurisdiction for online trade mark infringements.  In a decision which will be welcomed by trade mark owners, the Court has confirmed...

Three copyright decisions issued by the Court of Justice (CJEU) at the end of July this year explore the relationship between copyright and fundamental rights. They emphasise that Member States may not expand on or limit the permitted exceptions included in...

Luxury make-up brand Charlotte Tilbury, reported to be one of the Duchess of Sussex’s favourites, has obtained summary judgment against Aldi for copying its powder designs. The case [i] , heard by Deputy Master Linwood in the High Court, illustrates...

Advocate General Szpunar has advised that the supply of eBooks by download online is to be regarded as a ‘communication to the public’ rather than a distribution. This means that, for copyright purposes at least, it is to be regarded as a service...

The Home Office has published its most recent updates to sponsor guidance and Appendix D, which sets out the record keeping obligations which sponsors must abide by.  We have set out the details of the key changes.   Level 1 Users and...

Given all the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, the Home Office recently clarified that there will be no change to the EU Settlement Scheme in relation to those EEA and Swiss nationals already resident in the UK by the date of Brexit, whether the UK leaves the...

Earlier this month, the Law Commission published a report confirming that electronic signatures may be used to execute legal documents. Stevens & Bolton has been encouraging the use of electronic signatures for some time now, including the use of...

In 1992 the position of European pharmaceutical patent owners was much strengthened by the introduction of patent extensions known as Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs), part of a policy aimed at making the European Union one of the best places for...

The Government has announced that the two year post study visa is to return. This has been welcomed by universities as this would allow overseas students to remain in the UK and work for up to two years after finishing their degrees. The Tier 1 (Post-Study...

In the case of Commerzbank AG v Rajput , the Employment Appeal Tribunal found that Commerzbank’s strong discouragement of Ms Rajput attending meetings whilst on maternity leave and the diminution of her role on her return to work to be acts of...

In an article recently published on our website here , our Commercial Litigation team examined the question of what court documents a non-party can access – the answer to which, according to the Supreme Court in the recent case of Cape Intermediate...

Employers should be aware that there are a number of restrictions in relation to employing non-EEA nationals who are studying in the UK with leave under Tier 4 (General). In some cases, Tier 4 students may not be permitted to undertake the role and...

Earlier this year the Migration Advisory Committee (‘MAC’) recommended that a significant number of jobs should be added to the Tier 2 (General) shortage occupation list. This list sets out those jobs and occupations where it is recognised there...