Insights & News

Fashion & Copyright: Securing your design

12 December 2019

The recent landmark decision of Cofemel v G-Star Raw, outlines that copyright protection exists for designers across the EU if their works are original. “Originality” is defined as: the own intellectual creation of the author. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) stated that no additional national legal requirements are needed to bring a claim for copyright infringement, except for originality. The decision should help to unify the approach to EU copyright laws.

Champagne at Tiffany’s!

04 December 2019

Apologies for the terrible pun, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” didn’t sound appropriate for the soon-to-be owner. It has been announced last week that LVMH has agreed a deal to acquire Tiffany & Co. at a valuation of $16.6bn. And just before the Christmas rush of “acquisitions” of perfectly wrapped turquoise boxes!

Impact of AI in retail

28 November 2019

Chatbots, facial recognition, biometrics and a host of other Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) technologies are being utilised by the retail sector at an increasingly progressive rate and it is predicted by 2020, 85% of customer interactions will be managed by AI.

Ask About... Retail, Fashion and Hospitality

27 November 2019

Many of our clients in the retail, fashion and hospitality sector face similar HR issues. Each month one of the members of our team will identify an issue, consider how it should be dealt with and provide our advice. This month we asked Emma...

James Gill and Oliver Watson write for Essential Retail: How to avoid costly mistakes when adopting new retail tech

Press

25 November 2019

James Gill and Oliver Watson have written an article for Essential Retail which discusses the new technology and data solutions in the retail world.

Parties making false statements in pre-action witness statements to face proceedings for contempt of court

18 November 2019

In a case relating to a package holiday which will serve as a warning to anyone considering fabricating facts to support a letter of claim, the Court of Appeal has ruled that parties making false statements in pre-action witness statements (potentially exposed as being untrue by the witnesses’ own social media posts) can face proceedings for contempt of court.

Brinsley Dresden & Sophie Jamieson write for Essential Retail: Navigating the ‘child locks’ of online retail

Press

09 October 2019

With statistics from Mintel showing that seven out of 10 children spend money online and with children increasingly growing up with the internet, many retailers operating online will undoubtedly have children among their customers. Brinsley Dresden & Sophie Jamieson ask, what is the legal position for eCommerce businesses that transact with youngsters?

Rethinking retail therapy?

07 October 2019

As part of our #ThisPlaceMinds campaign, we take a look at some of the workplace mental health challenges and solutions in the retail sector.

Emma Richardson writes for Essential Retail: Tackling mental health in the eCommerce sector

07 October 2019

Emma Richardson has written an article on Mental Health in the ecommerce sector for Essential Retail.

Consumer Law Update: Who’s on the regulatory radar for 2019/20?

24 September 2019

The Government and the CMA are intensifying efforts to strengthen consumer protection in the UK with a strategic focus on ambitious enforcement of existing laws and empowering consumers through accessibility to their data.

Smart Floorspace Digitalising Retail Experience

10 September 2019

Media coverage over the last year for the retail sector has been saturated with reports about the decline of the nation’s high streets.

Privilege disapplied: the “iniquity” exception

06 August 2019

In an application brought by a hotel portfolio company (in liquidation) for a declaration that it was entitled to disclose a number of documents within its possession, the High Court has considered when the “iniquity” exception will apply to legal professional privilege. So what is the iniquity exception and what does a party need to establish in order to rely on it?

Hospitality industry welcomes post-Brexit salary threshold review

10 July 2019

On 24 June, the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to review the £30,000 minimum salary threshold it proposed for sponsoring skilled workers in the post-Brexit immigration system, which is due to be rolled out from 1 January 2021. This move has been welcomed by the hospitality industry as an opportunity to ensure it can sponsor medium skilled workers from 2021 without having to pay substantially above market rates.

Protection of guests: how far does a hotel’s duty extend?

09 July 2019

For the first time, the High Court has stated that hotels owe a duty to their guests to take reasonable care to protect them from injury caused by the criminal acts of third parties. But how far does that duty go?

Ask about... Retail, Fashion and Hospitality

12 June 2019

Many of our clients in the retail, fashion and hospitality sector face similar HR issues. Each month one of the members of our team will identify an issue, ask how you would deal with it and provide our advice. This month we asked Emma...

Secure future: Good news for tenants in relation to their retail premises

29 April 2019

Whilst recent years has seen a trend for retailers to shift from a store-based past to a digital future, for many retailers having a high street presence remains an important part of their brand. Indeed for some retailers, (particularly high end fashion labels) it is critical for their flagship store to be seen to be in a prime location to contribute to the luxury image associated with their brand and they will often pay substantial premiums to ensure they secure a lease of a prime site. Further significant sums will subsequently be spent on the shop fit-out.

The impact of protestors on retailers and how to deal with them

12 April 2019

Everyone has the right to hold opinions and impart information and ideas including by peaceful assembly and association with others. These are ‘human rights’ which we all enjoy and which protect the right to protest and which may not be interfered with by a public authority. However, whilst the right to protest is enshrined in law, any protest must be lawful and balanced with the rights of others, including those at whom the protest is directed.

Technology, Customer Authentication and PSD2: payment service providers (and retailers) - are you ready?

25 March 2019

Apparently, we will, globally, spend some $4.9 trillion in e-Commerce transactions by 2021. Smartphones generated over 42% of eCommerce revenues in 2018 and there has been a ten-fold increase in biometric smartphones in the last two years. However, against the backdrop of our increasing transactional reliance on smartphones and other mobile devices, e-Commerce fraud increased by 33% in 2016. This put pressure on the EU to keep up with the way in which we shop and to enhance consumer protection by reducing the potential for fraud.

Joanna Hunt and James Walters write for Essential Retail: How prepared is the eCommerce sector for the staffing implications of a no-deal Brexit?

Press

18 March 2019

Joanna Hunt and James Walters have written an article for Essential Retail which discusses the challenges faced by the eCommerce sector to maintain access to labour in the case of a no-deal Brexit.

Is logistics really set to become the New Retail?

13 March 2019

The term ‘urban logistics’ is certainly on trend in the property market and in an effort to keep pace with the demands of the modern consumer, retailers are increasingly targeting urban industrial units to help tackle a key part of the supply chain; the last mile. The challenges of the high street are well documented and the fragile retail market has forced many retailers to re-assess all aspects of their business model. With traditional store retailers needing more space to help service on-line orders and e-tailers needing to scale up their infrastructure network to support their growth, achieving a flexible and agile supply chain to meet these demands is certainly a topic that should be at the top of any retailers to do list.