Wednesday June 12, 2013 at 11:49am
If your business takes a deposit when a customer enters into a business contract for goods or services, but the customer later cancels the contract, can the deposit be kept? Regular readers of my blog will know that the answer to a legal question is often not clear-cut, so won’t be surprised if I say that the answer is ‘yes’, your business can keep a deposit, but don’t stop reading just yet. There are a number of reasons why your business might take a deposit from its cus....
(read more...)Monday June 3, 2013 at 1:56pm
An interesting recent study from by Imperial College Business School, Leeds University Business School and Durham University Business School has revealed that family businesses are better at avoiding
bankruptcy and
insolvency than non-family-owned businesses. The study looked at what were the particular characteristics of family businesses that led to a better chance of survival. They found they were a larger board size, older and more experienced directors, greater gender diversity, directors w....
(read more...)Monday June 3, 2013 at 12:05pm
Back in June 2011 I posted a blog on copyright infringement by unauthorised use of photographs.
The explosion in social media and prolific posting of photographs has made it incredibly easy for photos to be downloaded and used by others without consent of the photographer holding the copyright.
A recent case has highlighted the issue, and indicated the sort of compensation which can be ordered.
In Sheldon v Daybrook House Promotions Limited, Sheldon had exclusive backstage rights to a gig to ....
(read more...)Monday June 3, 2013 at 10:53am
The Live Music Act came into force on 1 October last year, and this was the first phase of the government's drive to cut red tape on entertainment. See my blog for details.
New regulations are now before Parliament which will relax further the need to have a Premises Licence or Temporary Event Notice if the proposed entertainment is an indoor sporting event or a performance of a play or dance which does not exceed a specified number, or if it does, it takes place between 8 am and 11 pm.
The ma....
(read more...)Friday May 31, 2013 at 5:58pm
When is a penalty an own goal? The short answer is - if the clause you included in your business contract intended to provide compensation for your business if the other party fails to perform as agreed turns out not to be enforceable. Parties to a business contract often refer to such clauses as penalties, but that is the last thing you would really want it to be if your business is the one wanting to rely on it. The reason is that, as with so many legal issues, ‘penalty’ has a dist....
(read more...)Wednesday May 22, 2013 at 2:26pm
The changes to the General Permitted Development Order (GPDO) come into effect tomorrow.
For owners of commercial premises the following is a summary of the most important changes which will be classified as permitted development:
Change of use from offices within class B1(a) to residential dwellings (Class C3)
To qualify, the building must have been used as an office within class B1(a) immediately before the 30th April or, if it is not currently in use, was last used for that use.
Lis....
(read more...)Wednesday May 1, 2013 at 9:24am
Earlier this year I told you about the new regulations on payment surcharges which came into force on 6th April 2013. At the time we were waiting for guidance to be issued by BIS (the Department for Business Innovation and Skills). That guidance has now been published and is available from BIS. To summarise, the regulations prevent businesses from charging excessive surcharges for processing payments from consumer. A business must not charge consumers a fee (or surcharge) that exceeds the cost t....
(read more...)Tuesday April 30, 2013 at 4:55pm
I was intrigued when I saw a recent headline announcing that the government was launching a ‘Good Law’ initiative. The cynic in me wondered why we don’t always have good law (as opposed to bad law!), but hopeful of some positive news to counter the overwhelming pessimism we encounter in many quarters these days, I read on. The initiative is from the Cabinet Office and the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (OPC) – the people who actually write the laws for the government....
(read more...)Friday April 19, 2013 at 3:50pm
From October 2012 every Licensing Authority has been able to decide whether to introduce a Late Night Levy in its area. In making the decision they must consider the costs of policing and other arrangements for the reduction of crime and disorder relating to the supply of alcohol between midnight and 6am.
Current soundings suggest that very few licensing authorities are currently considering introducing the levy, but the majority may be holding fire until they see how the levy works in pr....
(read more...)Wednesday April 17, 2013 at 12:20pm
It is good to see a Licensing Authority setting out what it expects of licensed premises in its area. The recent Code of Good Practice and accompanying Traffic Light System introduced by the City of London do make it clear to licensees what, in the opinion of the City of London, they need to do to operate a successful business which does not undermine the licensing objectives and jeopardise the Premises Licence. But, I give a word of warning. The Code does not have any legal effect. The City of ....
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