Introduction Restrictive covenants are clauses, which have the effect of preventing one party to a contract from doing something, which they would otherwise be perfectly entitled to do. In this blog, I am going to focus on the restrictive covenants known as “restraint of trade” clauses, which are typically inserted into employment contracts or contractor service agreements. Restraint of trade …
In “The Pit of Permanent Establishment – Part 4”, we look at the ultimate response to avoiding permanent establishment issues, which is to set up a local company in a new country. (See also articles “The Pit of Permanent Establishment – Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3). Setting up a local company in a new country is by far …
As lawyers, we often tell clients that trademark registration is important to protect good will in their business. After yesterday’s decision from the IP Enterprise Court, in the case of Caspian Pizza Ltd and others v Shah and another (2015) EWHC 3567 (IPEC), 9th December 2015, we should probably also now add “and do it quickly”. I could not resist …
Working with a Local Service Provider to Deliver Services in a New Country In the articles “The Pit of Permanent Establishment – Part 1”, we looked at how a business can accidentally create a permanent establishment in a new country by not obtaining the correct legal and tax advice. In “The Pit of Permanent Establishment – Part 2”, we looked …
The Local Distributor / Agent Model In “The Pit of Permanent Establishment – Part 1”, we looked at how a technology business could find itself creating a permanent establishment in a foreign jurisdiction by accident – just by starting to do business without obtaining appropriate tax and legal advice, and that this invariably resulted in adverse cost consequences for the …
We looked closely at the Chancellor’s 2015 UK Autumn Spending Statement this week to see how it might affect the technology industries here in the UK. It seems that up to £600 million of additional funds will be set aside to support the move to turn the 700 Mhz frequency spectrum over to wireless broadband in the UK. This follows …
When technology businesses have exhausted the market in the UK, the next logical step is to start exporting services. Exporting to EEA countries has its own challenges, including differences of language and sometimes also of culture, but exporting beyond the European Single Market may bring some more interesting additional legal and fiscal challenges, including the spectre of “permanent establishment”. A …
As the squeeze tightens on the State’s purse strings, we thought that the day of the UK Chancellor’s Spending Review was a good day to smile sweetly and say that in a world where charities almost certainly have insufficient resources to pick up the burden of much that was once provided by the State, the Government has at least proposed …
Why not just give in when a customer or supplier wants a contract to be governed by the laws of the country they are based in? Well it might work and it might not, and whilst this is not an exhaustive list, here are a few things to think about….. 1. The Biggest Show in Town Problem If you are …
Be aware that the UK Department of Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) will be consulting early in 2016 concerning its proposal that the government should introduce a broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO), with the aim of giving customers the legal right to demand a broadband connection speed of 10Mbps, regardless of location. In its 7th November 2015 press release, DCMS …
