The 1973 European Patent Convention (EPC) harmonised patent law throughout the contracting states and was a very significant achievement. The contracting states include all the member states of the EU and some other European countries.
Continue reading “Will the UK courts ever be good Europeans?”
When insolvency law and arbitration meet, the question arises as to how the commencement of the insolvency proceeding affects the ability to arbitrate, the arbitration agreement, the arbitration proceeding and the setting aside proceeding, as well as the recognition and enforcement of the arbitral award.
In recent months we have assisted on several high-value software licensing transactions, all of which involved long debates about the ‘perpetual’ nature of the licences granted. This prompted us to revisit the important lessons to be learned from the judgment recently handed down in BMS Computer Solutions Ltd v AB Agri Ltd [2010], which all customers should be aware of when purchasing perpetual licences for their business-critical software.
The Indian IT industry is one of the success stories of the Indian economy, and a large number of American and European corporations have been relying on Indian IT expertise to fulfill their IT needs, both in terms of software development as well as IT-enabled services. According to a report issued by the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), the Indian IT business process outsourcing (BPO) industry is estimated to aggregate revenues of $73.1bn in the year 2010, with the IT software and services industry accounting for $63.7bn of revenues. The export revenues are estimated to gross $50.1bn in 2010, of which software and services export (including BPO) are expected to account for a staggering 99% of total exports, employing around 1.8 million human resources.
Continue reading “Copyright in outsourced software developed in India”
The US Immigration and Nationality Act (the Immigration Act) – the key federal law governing immigration and citizenship – is one of the more complex and frequently amended US statutes. Together with Title 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations, it contains the rules and regulations for entry to and exclusion from the US by non-immigrant visitors, or ‘aliens’. Section 212(a) of the Immigration Act lists the categories of aliens who are ineligible for US visas or admission, and covers persons inadmissible on health-related grounds (s212(a)(1)(A)).
Continue reading “New guidance impacts on health-related inadmissibility”
Our previous article ‘Confiscation: the ultimate penalty?’ showed that the law on confiscation, as set out in the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) 2002 can have severe financial consequences for both corporates and individuals.
The case law and practice that have evolved since the introduction of POCA 2002 is complex and constantly evolving to deal with the difficult practical consequences that arise from the application of the law. Continue reading “Confiscation: practicalities and pitfalls”
The majority of electricity used by businesses in the UK is currently generated by large coal, gas and nuclear power stations, and is often supplied over long distances, via the transmission and distribution networks.
Continue reading “On-site renewable energy generation: ten considerations”
ALTHOUGH you might expect to read the following story in a detective novel, it is in fact an abridged version of events that took place in Amsterdam in the spring of last year.
While there has not been the rush that some commentators anticipated of UK companies to standard listings on the London Stock Exchange (LSE)’s main market (there has been barely a trickle), there continues to be interest and speculation about whether this market will take off. This article considers whether there is a role in UK equity capital markets for standard listings in the future.
Freedom of contract is a cornerstone of English contract law. It prevents parties that have struck bad or downright foolish bargains from obtaining judicial assistance when seeking to extricate themselves from their contracts. While courts are understandably loathe to intervene in poorly negotiated contracts, they do have the power to assist in cases of genuine mistake and to give effect to the intentions of the contracting parties. In the recent case of Surgicraft Ltd v Paradigm Biodevices Inc [2010], the High Court explored the issues surrounding rectification of mistakes and the relevance of entire agreement clauses in such circumstances.
Continue reading “Rectification possible despite entire agreement clause”
The current recession has brought about significant changes in the UK financial services sector, ranging from a hardening of the public’s attitude towards financial institutions to the partial nationalisation of two of the largest banks in the world (at a cost of billions of pounds). The UK’s first coalition government for 70 years is making its mark on financial services regulation by proposing radical reforms to the current regulatory structure. This article summarises the proposed reforms, the reasons behind them and their likely effect.
Continue reading “New era in UK financial services regulation”
Many foreign companies registered in the UAE form joint ventures to execute projects, especially in areas like defence, oil and gas, engineering, and construction. However, most of them are unaware that the legal provisions generally governing a foreign company in the UAE are not applicable to unincorporated joint ventures (JV). Continue reading “Unincorporated joint ventures: remembering the basics”