So you have started a company with either friends, family or peers and while a degree of trust is necessary, business tests even the strongest relationships. The key to surviving that test would be to provide certainty in order to avoid having to cash in on that hard earned trust, thereby preserving its value. To
A director has succeeded in recovering money from the estate of a colleague who breached his legal duty by diverting funds and business opportunities to a rival company. The case involved two directors, Nigel Clegg and Andrew Pache, who were joint shareholders in a company trading steel. Clegg alleged that from 2004 until shortly before
The energy company E.On has won a longstanding dispute over who should bear the costs for repairs to an offshore wind farm. The issue arose because of seemingly conflicting clauses in the contract to construct the Robin Rigg wind farm in the North Sea. The contractor, the Danish company MT Højgaard (MTH), was required to
A telecommunications firm has defended its trademark against infringement by a rival that adopted a similar name and logo. The case involved the company COREIX, which registered its name and mark in 2010 for telecommunication and computer services. In 2013, another company registered the mark CORETX in a different business sector. However, in 2016, CORETX
More than 105,000 businesses have now been set up with the help of the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA), a fund for budding entrepreneurs with an idea for a new company. Under the scheme, successful applicants get access to a business mentor, financial support for up to 6 months and may be able to apply for
Airbnb is becomingly increasingly popular. The website allows users to rent out their homes, rooms or apartments to others. The frequently lower prices and greater choice available makes Airbnb an attractive choice for many vacationers. However, Airbnb recently came to blows with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) regarding the way in which their guest
Blue v Ashley [2017] EWHC 1928, 26 July 2017 In English Law, there must be an intention to be legally bound for a contract to be binding on the parties. In the very recent case of Blue v Ashley, the High Court considered whether the parties had this intention in an informal pub setting. In
The High Court has enabled a family to take over the ownership and running of a company after the owner died. The case involved a cleaning services company in Lancashire. The owner had left the business in his will to his family. After his death, the company continued as a going concern under instructions from
The government has published guidance on the future of intellectual property laws after Britain leaves the European Union. These are some of the key points: Trade marks While the UK remains a full member of the EU then EU Trade Marks (EUTM) continue to be valid in the UK. When the UK leaves the EU,
A company director has won his appeal against penalties imposed by HMRC for failing to submit a self-assessment tax return on time. The tribunal held that it was not the responsibility of a director to register for self-assessment and send a personal self-assessment tax return each year unless there was a prompt or reminder from