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New permitted development rights to allow offices to be converted into homes without the need for planning permission have been introduced. The move is designed to provide much needed new homes, regenerate town centres and provide a boost for the construction industry. The permitted development right will be in place for three years. Local authorities
The court heard that Utopia Tableware Ltd had registered and unregistered design rights over its Aspen range of glasses, which were characterised by being tall and having a narrow waist towards the centre. The glasses were used by some major brewing companies. Utopia objected when another manufacturer started producing glasses which were very similar in
Redundancy regulations are being modified in a move designed to help both businesses and employees. The main change is to reduce the minimum period before large scale redundancies can take place from 90 days to 45 days. This affects redundancy programmes involving more than 100 employees. The Government will also legislate to make clear that
The courts are seeing an increasing number of disputes between landlords and commercial tenants over break clauses. It’s thought the economic downturn is putting pressure on both sides to minimise their financial losses. It means landlords are now more likely to scrutinise tenancy agreements as closely as possible to prevent a break taking place. A
A model agency has won its case against a former employee who defrauded it of £21,000 and disclosed some of its confidential information while helping to set up a rival business. The employee had worked for the agency as a booker responsible for hiring models. His contract of employment restrained him from engaging in competition
A director has been given a 28-day suspended prison sentence after defying court orders during a dispute with another company. His fellow director was fined £1,000 for his part in the offences. The two men were directors of a company that leased premises to a business tenant. A dispute arose which led to the tenant
Nine out of ten small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) say they would quickly go out of business if they didn’t have access to an overdraft, according to a recent survey. The commercial finance group, ABN AMRO, questioned 250 SME owners, managers and finance officers. The survey revealed that 89% said that their firm wouldn’t last
Planning permissions for new homes rose by 36% in the third quarter of last year, according to figures released by the Home Builders Federation (HBF). The increase followed the introduction of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) last April, which gave local authorities more power over what is built in their areas. There were 33,881
Businesses will soon be able to use a new 90-day premium service when applying for patents. There will also be a faster trademarks service which will provide a full examination report in five days instead of the current 10 days. The changes, which will be introduced by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), were announced in
There’s to be a new Groceries Code Adjudicator with increased powers to protect supermarket suppliers from unfair practices. The adjudicator will be responsible for enforcing the Groceries Code, which was put in place by the Competition Commission in 2008. It applies to the 10 retailers with a turnover in the groceries market in excess of