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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
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is to refund nearly £90m to thousands of people who’ve been overcharged when taking out lasting powers of attorney (LPA) in the last four years. The errors occurred between April 2013 and March 2017. In its annual report, the MoJ said: “More people have been registering for lasting powers of
A mother with a troubled background has won the right to oppose adoption proceedings involving her youngest child. The Court of Appeal was told that the mother had depression and problems with alcohol that had led to aggression and chaotic parenting. Her son had been removed to foster care in June 2015. His two older
The government has announced plans to clampdown on unfair practices involving leasehold homes. The measures include a ban on new build houses being sold as leaseholds as well as restricting ground rents to as low as zero. Leaseholds generally apply to flats with shared spaces, but increasingly, developers have been selling houses on these terms.
Campaigners from the civil rights group Liberty are urging the government to ensure that equal pension rights for same-sex couples will be enshrined in UK law after Brexit. It follows the landmark ruling in which ex-cavalry officer John Walker won a landmark ruling to secure the same pension rights for his husband that a wife
A father has been unable to enforce a court order for contact with his children because no official body was prepared to provide supervision. The case involved a father and mother who had two children in England. They moved to Estonia in 2008, but in 2013, the mother returned to England with the children. The
A senior executive has failed to avoid garden leave by claiming his company was subject to a TUPE takeover after he resigned. Dean Berry resigned from ICAP Management Services Ltd to join a competitor, BGB Services (Holdings) LLP. ICAP put him on garden leave until the end of his notice period. ICAP was then taken
Parents who suffer the death of a child would receive statutory paid leave to grieve, under a proposed new law being supported by the government. Currently there is no legal requirement for employers to provide paid leave for grieving parents. The Parental Bereavement (Pay and Leave) Bill seeks to ensure grieving parents receive paid leave
An employee has been jailed for six weeks after breaching a court injunction prohibiting him from revealing confidential company information. The issue arose after the company lost a contract to a competitor. It brought a claim against the employee alleging that he had breached his employment contract by transmitting confidential information to a rival firm.