Our knowledge resources reflect the breadth and depth of our expertise, our insight into the issues which matter to your business, and our understanding of the markets in which you operate.
The Government intends pensions dashboards to bring about a fundamental change in the way individuals access information about their pensions, allowing people to see all of their future pension entitlements in one online place.
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act) has received Royal Assent. Among other things, it will make major changes to the UK's consumer protection regime.
The new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 implements the most extensive changes to the UK competition law (and consumer protection) landscape since the Enterprise Act brought about wholesale change to the merger control regime over 20 years ago, back in 2002.
As part of its attempt to reduce the amount of EU derived law in the UK, the Government has launched a consultation on whether to repeal the Commercial Agents Regulations. Among other things, these Regulations enable certain sales agents to claim substantial sums from the business that they act for when the agency comes to an end.
Artificial intelligence
A recent dispute over whether a consumer had won £1 million in an online game has some important lessons for B2C businesses and their online terms and conditions, particularly when errors or software glitches occur. Ariana Shaw, a trainee in our Technology & Commercial Transactions team, provides a visual guide to the case, which involved the former National Lottery operator Camelot.
What happens where you're required to pay in a different currency from your own and exchange rate fluctuations mean that suddenly, the cost (in your own currency) has gone up considerably? We look at how the English courts have approached this issue and what you can do to protect yourself against this type of risk.
Our regular round-up of recent and forthcoming developments in law and practice for in-house counsel.
On 12 January 2024, the UK government signed the Hague Convention of 2 July 2019 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (Hague 2019), a framework of rules facilitating the recognition and enforcement of civil and commercial judgments between contracting states. The contracting states to Hague 2019 are currently all EU member states except Denmark, plus Ukraine and Uruguay.
Our round-up of recent and forthcoming developments in UK law and practice for our international stakeholders.
After a software glitch incorrectly showed that a player had won £1 million in an online game, the Court of Appeal has ruled that former National Lottery operator Camelot did not need to make the £1 million payout, based on its "click-wrap" terms and conditions. What lessons does this hold for other B2C businesses, particularly when the contract is made online?
The UK's departure from the European Union has not led to all EU-derived law being jettisoned; on the contrary, a significant proportion of it has been retained. This briefing explains what retained EU law is, why it's important and how it's affected by the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023.
The EU is pursuing a number of measures intended to combat misleading environmental claims about products and services aimed at consumers. These initiatives underline the need to ensure that the evidential basis for any green claims is robust.
Outsourcing: recent developments in data protection
The EU Regulation on Digital Operational Resilience (DORA) will apply from 17 January 2025 to most financial entities in the EU. DORA's increased focus on third-party risk management includes detailed requirements for provisions that must be included in existing and new ICT contracts.
Dealing with inflation in an outsourcing
Following the entry into force of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 ("FSMA 2023"), the Bank of England, FCA and PRA (the "Regulators") are consulting on new rules and a joint Supervisory Statement on their new powers to regulate critical third parties ("CTPs") which are designated by HM Treasury because of their systemic importance to authorised firms and financial market infrastructures ("FMIs"). This significant expansion of the Regulators' supervisory remits will usher in an entirely new era for CTPs, which (including those that are not based or even incorporated in the UK) will need to comply with a range of rules on governance, operational continuity and regulatory engagement as well as other areas.
It is relatively rare for contractual limitations of liability to fall foul of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 (UCTA) – so you could be forgiven for thinking that businesses don't need to be too concerned about UCTA. But a recent ruling by the Court of Appeal challenges some commonly held assumptions about the legislation and may mean that it becomes more of an issue in future – particularly for suppliers using standard terms.
The EU Data Act (EDA), which sets out new data sharing rules that will apply in respect of connected products, came into force on 11 January 2024. While its provisions will not be applicable for a while yet, businesses are likely to need the intervening period to scope out, and plan for, the impact that the EDA will have on their product designs, commercially sensitive information, terms and conditions, costs and GDPR compliance.