Intellectual Property

Stephen Morrall and Jonathan Godwin-Austen speak at The LAPADA Conference 2019

Partners Stephen Morrall and Jonathan Godwin-Austen are today, 21 February 2019, speaking at the 11th edition of The LAPADA Conference at the House of Lords. A unique proposition in the UK’s art and antiques trade, the annual LAPADA Conference is the most prominent industry forum of its kind. Over the last decade, the conference has…

Gregor Kleinknecht discusses social media platforms and regulation in Discover Germany

Keeping checks on Big Brother Sometimes, unfortunately, it takes incidents as tragic and avoidable as the suicide of teenager Molly Russell after her exposure to images of self-harm on Instagram to make us pause and think, and to spur government into action.  A couple of months ago, I wrote in this column about the dangers…

Gregor Kleinknecht’s article on the new EU Geoblocking Regulation in Discover Germany

Unblocking Online Shopping If, like a growing number of us, you do much of your shopping online these days, your life just got even easier, more varied and -quite possibly- cheaper: on 3 December, the new EU Geoblocking Regulation entered into force.  What on earth is geoblocking, you may well ask?  Well, I find that,…

Gregor Kleinknecht discusses journalists and the law in Discover Germany

Don’t shoot the messenger A few columns ago, I looked at the risks that lawyers take with their life and livelihood in some parts of the world, simply by going about their profession. Today, I want to look at another profession that can find itself – quite literally – in the line of fire: journalists.…

Gregor Kleinknecht discusses Brexit Britain in Discover Germany

Going, going, gone – ready or not Since the end of August, the government has been publishing a growing collection of ‘technical notices’ under the broad heading How to prepare if the UK leaves the EU with no deal – Guidance on how to prepare for Brexit if there’s no deal. These notices are part negotation…

Gregor Kleinknecht examines Brexit and the impact on financial services in Advoselect

Brexit – die Auswirkungen auf Finanzdienstleistungen

Gregor Kleinknecht, Partner

Read Gregor’s full article  here on page 3, and more news in Advoselect here.

Gregor Kleinknecht discusses Brexit and financial services in Discover Germany

Brexit and financial services Six months to go. The inevitability of Brexit is now pretty much universally accepted. In a best case scenario, agreement will be reached on the terms on which the UK leaves the EU in time for a no-deal scenario to be avoided. This will be combined with a political declaration as…

Gregor Kleinknecht discusses the legal framework of self-driving cars in Discover Germany

Driven to distraction When autonomous vehicles, also known as automated vehicles, self-driving or driver-less cars, have made the head-lines recently, it has normally been in the context of road traffic accidents. Nevertheless, they are considered to be the technology of the future and safer than ‘normal’ cars because they eliminate human error. Looking at the…

ASA rules against exaggerated success rate in “instant win” promotions

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that instant win promotions on Highland Spring water bottles and packets of McCain French Fries breached The UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (CAP Code) because the chances of winning a prize were far lower than the promotional material suggested. Highland Spring bottle labels stated that 10,000 “instant win” prizes…

Stephen Morrall discusses Brexit with the International Legal Team in Porto, Portugal

The International Legal Team, a worldwide society comprising of lawyers with a “core” for international business, debated Brexit and Catalonia. The event was organised by the Sociedade de Advogados Vilar & Associados at the Palace of Visconde de Balsemão, where there was a presence of solicitors from Berlin, Barcelona, London, Marseille, Paris, Nice, Kraków and Luxembourg representing the…

Gregor Kleinknecht discusses advertising regulation in Discover Germany

Let there be truth It must be hard to be an advertising executive and get us to part with our hard-earned cash. In particular, in times when the Brexit pinch is starting to make itself felt on consumer confidence and the economy at large, and businesses and consumers are thinking twice before committing to spending…

Stephen Morrall comments on landmark Pimlico Plumbers v Smith Supreme Court judgment in The Times, The Times Law Brief, Bloomberg, Yahoo! Finance, The National and New Zealand Herald

Plumber, Gary Smith, today (13 June) won a legal battle for working rights in a Supreme Court ruling expected to have huge ramifications for the gig economy. Supreme Court judges found that plumber Gary Smith, who worked for London-based Pimlico Plumbers between August 2005 and April 2011, wasn’t self-employed or a client of the firm, giving him…