<p>Filter Knowledge</p>

On 29 April 2020, the English High Court handed down its decision on an important case for trade mark owners and applicants. The judgment is reassuring for trade mark owners, particularly those in the technology space where defining "goods and services" is no easy task.

Key employment and business immigration developments for employers.

Worldwide, countless races have been postponed pending COVID-19 – so too it seems has the race to the courthouse…

We appreciate that many companies have a lot to deal with in the current circumstances, but we wanted to remind you of your filing obligations if you operated an employee share incentive arrangement (whether tax-advantaged or not) in the 2019/20 tax year. 

The UK Government is under increasing pressure to set out how it proposes to manage a possible easing of the Covid-19 lockdown in order to allow more everyday activities to resume, particularly economic activity. The Prime Minister has urged caution, but we think it makes sense to look ahead to how the lockdown might be eased so that businesses can take appropriate steps to prepare.

This briefing was updated on 17 March 2021.

This briefing was updated on 26 March 2021.

This briefing was updated on 26 March 2021.

The economic impact of COVID-19 is expected to be unprecedented, but so are government promises to help economies recover from that impact.

This page was last updated on 28 July 2020. 

At a time when restrictive measures are being implemented by governments across the globe in response to COVID-19, we understand it is difficult for organisations to keep abreast of these developments.

On 20 April 2020, the Government announced a new scheme to issue convertible loans to innovative companies which are facing financial difficulties due to COVID-19, provided that funding is matched by at least an equivalent amount of funding from private investors (the "Future Fund Scheme").

The Pensions Regulator has published several pieces of guidance for trustees, employers and administrators on coronavirus related issues. Our updated summaries of the guidance are published here.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) is a government-funded scheme that provides a contribution towards wage costs for employers who stand staff down as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Where, by reason of circumstances arising as a result of the coronavirus, the employer instructs an employee to cease all work in relation to their employment for 21 days or more, the employer can make them a "furloughed worker".

This briefing was last updated on 21 January 2021.

Over a year after its initial formation, on 31 March 2020 France, Germany and the United Kingdom (the "E3") confirmed that the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges ("INSTEX") had successfully concluded its first transaction; facilitating the export of medical goods from Europe to Iran to assist with Iran's response to COVID-19.

Developers, pre-let tenants and funders are all looking hard at their development agreements, development funding agreements, agreements for leases and building contracts to assess what impact the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Government's response to it, will have on their current construction works in England. We outline in this note some of the key information and issues for such parties to consider before deciding whether or not to suspend or continue their works.