By Deborah Kirk The Delegated Legislation Committee’s (DLC) support for the Unified Patent Court (Immunities and Privileges) Order 2017 (the Order) suggests a swift approval of the Order by the House of Commons. Presuming a rapid approval by the House of Lords thereafter, this could mean the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPC Agreement) is ratified … Continue Reading
By Karl Mah and Sean Finn Against a stormy backdrop of government instability and Brexit uncertainty, the 2017 Budget was always unlikely to rock the boat. The Chancellor chose not to launch a sweeping attack on “tax avoiders” in light of the public outrage over the Paradise Papers, instead targeting announcements in this area at specific perceived abuses. … Continue Reading
By Deborah Kirk and Elizabeth Purcell Brexit discussions will need to address the application of the Community unregistered design right (CUDR) in the UK following the UK’s exit from the EU. The CUDR currently provides: Unregistered design protection in all of the EU member states Automatic and broad protections to UK designers for qualifying designs … Continue Reading
By Deborah Kirk The European Commission (EC) has released a position paper on its objectives for the Article 50 Brexit negotiations with the UK regarding Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs). The EC has effectively set out six key principles for the Withdrawal Agreement, including: Continued legal protection for certain IPRs: Any IPR with unitary character … Continue Reading
By Gail Crawford and Calum Docherty Her Majesty’s Government last week published a position paper outlining its preferred post-Brexit landscape for data protection. The high-level takeaways are hardly surprising: the government stresses that it intends to “remain a global leader on data protection” and, as we already know, the UK’s Data Protection Bill, announced in … Continue Reading
By James Inness A new prospectus regulation (Regulation (EU) 2017/1129) (the Regulation) will come into direct effect on 20 July 2017, with a small number of provisions applying immediately and the remainder applying from 21 July 2019. The changes under the Regulation will likely be relevant to issuers both before and after Brexit. Which Provisions … Continue Reading
By Daniel Harrison In a recent challenge to an arbitral award under section 67 of the Arbitration Act 1996 (the Act), the High Court in Ruby Roz Agricol LLP v Republic of Kazakhstan[1], confirmed that the tribunal had correctly declined jurisdiction. The court interpreted the underlying contract literally and found that Ruby Roz Agricol LLP … Continue Reading
By Deborah Kirk Following the Prime Minister’s triggering of Article 50 today, 29 March 2017, we have 2 years until the legislative reality of Brexit and its implications will truly impact IP owners. However, there are steps that brand owners should be taking now to position themselves for when Britain leaves the EU. Here are our … Continue Reading
By Rob Moulton Theresa May’s speech on Brexit covered many of the topics that were central to the Brexit referendum debate. Immigration, the European Court of Justice, and Parliamentary sovereignty all had starring roles. But, for once, serious comments were made on a topic that has so far been subject to little comment from government … Continue Reading
By Sophie Lamb and Samuel Pape Recent innovations at a number of arbitral institutions have brought into sharp focus arbitration options for post Brexit financial disputes. The English Arbitration Act is in its 20th year. It provides a tried-and-tested framework for international arbitration. Brexit will not affect that framework. Brexit should have no impact on London’s … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies, Charles Claypoole and Michael Green We have commented previously about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and its relationship with environmental obligations. Here, following Brexit, we turn our attention to future trade arrangements for the UK and the implications for environmental law. As a member of the EU, the UK was … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies, Charles Claypoole and Michael Green The UK’s decision to leave the European Union (EU), assuming the UK does not negotiate continued participation in the EU’s Internal Market and the Common Commercial Policy (on similar terms as now), will impact its existing participation in EU trade agreements and free trade access. Once the … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies and Michael Green While the overwhelming majority of the UK’s environmental legislation is derived from EU legislation and UK climate change and energy policy is largely influenced by the EU, surprisingly, environment and energy has been the subject of only limited discussion in the context of Brexit. Observers anticipate that most environmental … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies, Julia Hatcher and Alice Gunn Barack Obama signed the bipartisan Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act on 22 June of this year. This Act, which came into immediate effect, amends the core provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the primary federal law governing chemicals for the … Continue Reading
By Sophie Lamb London has long enjoyed a reputation as one of the most popular and trusted arbitral seats in the world. The reasons for this deserved reputation have never depended on membership of the EU. The most important features of an arbitral seat are: respect for the rule of law domestic arbitration legislation which … Continue Reading
By Gail Crawford and Ulrich Wuermeling As the whole world now knows, the UK voted to leave the European Union (EU) in its historic referendum on 23rd June by a vote of 51.9 percent in favour of “leave” to 48.1 in favour of “remain”. This blog focusses on how that decision will impact both UK … Continue Reading
