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Step by step - trade marks in China (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 4)
08 February 2017Brand owners will take comfort from a decision of China’s highest Court (the Supreme People’s Court of China) in early December. As part of a long running battle between former basketball star, Michael Jordan, and Chinese sports manufacturing giant, Qiaodan Sports, the former basketball star has finally come out on top – at least in relation to one specific trade mark. Overturning decisions from the lower courts, the Supreme People’s Court revoked a trade mark held by Qiaodan for “Jordan” represented in Chinese characters.
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Unregistered designs: Open and shut case (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 4)
08 February 2017In a recent case, Action Storage (a producer of lockers, such as the ones installed in schools) sued G-Force (another producer of lockers) for infringing its design rights in producing a similar product.
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New Year’s resolutions for better IP (Brands & IP Newsnotes- issue 4)
08 February 2017Why stop at making personal resolutions for the New Year when you can make them for your IP too. The start of the year is an excellent time to consider your general IP strategy and even to introduce new practices that will make protecting, using and enforcing your IP that much easier in 2017.
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Christmas counterfeits – How did you fare? (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 4)
08 February 2017At the end of 2016 the OECD/EUIPO released research suggesting that the total trade in counterfeit and pirated products in the EU amounted to as much as 85 billion Euros in 2013. Luxury goods are top of the list and firmly in the sights of counterfeiters for Christmas. So what was done to tackle the problem for Christmas 2016?
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Legal advice privilege: Not as wide as you think?
08 February 2017Who is a lawyer’s client and what type of communications are protected for the purposes of legal advice privilege have been the subject of two recent important High Court decisions. These cases make it clear that not all communications between lawyers and a client’s employees will be protected by legal advice privilege, even if the communication took place to allow legal advice to be given.
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Indemnity costs intended to have chilling effect
07 February 2017Court orders indemnity costs in recognition of the fact that litigation became “out of control” due to factors that were attributable to the conduct of the Claimants and their legal representatives and experts in the lead up to trial.
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Lewis Silkin speaking at techUK's gender pay gap reporting event
Press Release
07 February 2017Sean Dempsey, head of Lewis Silkin’s Technology and Communications sector group, will be speaking to members of techUK’s HR and Women in Tech groups on Thursday 16 February in relation to the upcoming gender pay gap reporting requirements.
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UK proceeding with UPC (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 4)
07 February 2017The UK government announced that it will proceed with the Unitary Patent and the Unitary Patent Court (“UPC”). This ends months of speculation in the patent community as to what would happen afterthe Brexit vote last June. The UK was a mandatory signatory to the UPC Agreement and there had been concern that the project would stall in light of the UK’s European exit. Only Germany is left to ratify the Agreement and it is expected that the UPC will open in December this year.
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‘ETO’ reasons must entail changes in workforce
06 February 2017A recent decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) serves as a useful reminder of how employers can fairly dismiss employees for an economic, technical or organisational (“ETO”) reason following a TUPE transfer.
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Lewis Silkin comments for The Telegraph: Your insurer knows when you text and drive - and they'll make you pay
Press
06 February 2017Drivers who make calls at the wheel could find that their insurance premiums rocket under plans by insurers to monitor illegal calls and texts made while driving.
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How to read an investment termsheet: Part 2 – The liquidation preference and waterfall
02 February 2017David Willbe has written a piece for Startup Grind.
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Home Office emails migrants for information
01 February 2017It has come to our attention that the Home Office is emailing migrants whose leave is due to expire within a few weeks and inviting them to provide the following information:
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Does a solicitor own the goodwill associated with their own name?
01 February 2017In (1) Juthika Bhayani and (2) Bhayani Law Limited v Taylor Bracewell LLP this question was considered by the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court.
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Lewis Silkin partners with Collider, leading tech accelerator dedicated to martech & adtech startups
Deal
30 January 2017Lewis Silkin, leading law firm and go-to advisers for the creative industries, has partnered with Collider, the leading tech accelerator dedicated to martech & adtech startups.
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Businesses urged to think ahead before the introduction of the Immigration Skills Charge
Case Study
27 January 2017From April 2017, the Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) will significantly increase the fees payable by employers when sponsoring skilled migrants.
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Geraint Lloyd-Taylor comments for Pink News: Ads featuring same-sex couples and men in heels attracted most complaints in 2016
Press
27 January 2017Adverts featuring a same-sex kiss and men dancing in heels were the most complained-about in 2016, it has been revealed.
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David Willbe is attending Startup Grind’s global conference in Silicon Valley
Press Release
27 January 2017One of our corporate partners, David Willbe, is visiting San Francisco during the week of 20th February and will be attending the Startup Grind global conference in Silicon Valley on the 21st – 22nd February.
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Extending the reach of the Modern Slavery Act 2015
26 January 2017The link between an increasingly globalised economy and the labour rights of workers was put firmly on the commercial agenda by the Government when it introduced the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (“MSA”) in October 2015.
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Should (female) employees be told how to dress to impress?
26 January 2017Hitting the headlines, two parliamentary committees have published a report highlighting the fact that discriminatory dress codes are still widespread in the workplace.
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Employee claim to compensation under the Patents Act rejected
25 January 2017Employees may claim statutory compensation if they are responsible for a patent of “outstanding benefit” to their employer.