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Perspective - Blog

(Sex) Pistols at dawn over Danny Boyle's new biopic series

Published on 19 Jul 2021.

Sex Pistols band members accuse frontman John Lydon of being No Fun and creating Anarchy for refusing to authorise licences for the use of the band's music in Danny Boyle's forthcoming TV series, Pistol.

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Perspective - Blog

…and ONE MORE THING, an intention to parody is not (necessarily) bad faith

Published on 14 Jul 2021. By Ben Mark, Partner and Sarah Mountain, Partner

In 2017, Apple successfully opposed two trade mark applications for the words 'SWATCH ONE MORE THING' and 'ONE MORE THING' (the OMT Applications). The OMT Applications were filed by Apple's long-time adversary, Swatch. Apple alleged that the phrase “ONE MORE THING” had come to be associated with it and that Swatch had filed the OMT Applications with the intention of parodying Apple.

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Perspective - Blog

Philip Warren & Son v Lidl – No case of mi-steak-en identity

Published on 25 May 2021. By Ben Mark, Partner and Ciara Cullen, Partner

The High Court has dismissed a passing off claim brought by Philip Warren & Son Limited (PWS) against well-known supermarket, Lidl. The decision ultimately turned on the fact that PWS presented "insufficient evidence of a significant level of operative misrepresentation to any category of PWS' customers".

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Perspective - Blog

Patents Court finds alleged penalty clause is firm but fair

Published on 18 May 2021. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Jessica Pease, Associate

The Patents Court recently held that provisions in a settlement agreement, which restricted the ability to challenge IP rights in the future, were enforceable and did not amount to penalty clauses, as the defendant contended.

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Perspective - Blog

'Brake-ing' news: public interest defence is available in breach of confidence and privacy claims, even where the information concerned has been unlawfully obtained

Published on 27 Apr 2021. By Ben Mark, Partner and Oliver Sainter, Senior Associate

This recent High Court case concerns the accessing and sharing of emails, said to be private and confidential emails (the Emails), by the Defendants.

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Perspective - Blog

Stay on top of Intellectual Property

Published on 20 Apr 2021. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner and Sarah Mountain, Partner

Whether you’re just starting out or launching a new product, there are a wealth of intellectual property issues to consider in the world of distilling. Here, Ciara Cullen, Ben Mark and Sarah Mountain outline those do’s and don’ts, the changing landscape and how to thrive in 2021 and beyond.

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Perspective - Blog

Court of Appeal upholds copyright infringement decision against digital radio aggregator

Published on 12 Apr 2021. By David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

The Court of Appeal has refused TuneIn's appeal of a 2019 judgment finding that it had infringed the copyright of Warner and Sony by linking to online radio stations.

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Perspective - Blog

Need for reasonable enquiries upon receipt of potentially confidential information

Published on 24 Mar 2021. By Chris Ross, Partner

The Court of Appeal recently held that a recipient of information will be bound by a duty of confidentiality if it was reasonable for them to have made enquiries as to the confidential nature of the information and they failed to do so (Travel Counsellors Ltd v Trailfinders Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 38).

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Perspective - Blog

Oh (no) Polly – clothing brand infringed the design rights of a direct competitor the High Court finds

Published on 17 Mar 2021. By Sarah Mountain, Partner and Ellie Chakarto, Associate

The High Court has held that G4K Fashion Limited, trading as 'Oh Polly', has infringed UK unregistered design rights (UKUDR) and community unregistered design rights (CUDR) owned by Original Beauty Technology Company Limited (Original Beauty) by copying several of its 'bodycon' and 'bandage' garments. Original Beauty was, however, unable to establish passing off.

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Perspective - Blog

Hold your horses: Raceday data dispute likely to head to Supreme Court

Published on 06 Jan 2021. By David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech and Georgia Davis, Of Counsel

In a dispute, between suppliers of live betting and raceday data from racecourses, the Court of Appeal was asked to consider whether a duty of confidence could be applied to live sports data between its creation and broadcast when that information was available in real time. We look at the Court's decision, and the reasons for it, in more detail below.

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Perspective - Blog

Brexit – a guide to protecting your rights from 1 January 2021

Published on 15 Dec 2020.

Like many other areas of law, intellectual property (IP) will undergo a raft of changes overnight, when the Brexit transition period expires on December 31 2020.

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Perspective - Blog

Neat infringement claim leaves whiskey competitor’s trade mark on the rocks

Published on 02 Nov 2020. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Harris, Associate

The producers of Eagle Rare bourbon whiskey have succeeded in their trade mark infringement claim against competitor, American Eagle. The case highlights the impact of market-specific context in determining whether consumers are likely to be confused by similar trade marks. Whilst the case has general relevance, it will be of specific interest to alcohol and luxury goods brands.

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Perspective - Snapshot

Copyright: Online platform operators’ liability for users illegally uploading copyright material

Published on 02 Nov 2020. By David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

C-682/18 Frank Peterson v Google LLC and others and C 683/18 Elsevier Inc. v Cyando AG EU:C:2020:586 – A-G opinion

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Perspective - Blog

Too many cooks… 'Fit Kitchen' trade mark infringed

Published on 11 Aug 2020. By Ben Mark, Partner and Sarah Mountain, Partner

On 29 July, Fit Kitchen Limited (FKL) won its case for trade mark infringement and passing off against Scratch Meals Limited (SML). Both FKL and SML provide healthy pre-prepared meals: FKL via an online subscription site, which allows users to customise meal choices, based on their individual macros and dietary preferences and SML, through the manufacture and sale of products to supermarkets.

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Perspective - Blog

British Gymnastics lands well in trade mark infringement proceedings

Published on 29 Jul 2020. By Joshua Charalambous, Partner

The national governing body (NGB) for Gymnastics in Britain has succeeded in trade mark infringement and passing off proceedings against an organisation using the sign “UK Gymnastics”, in a Judgment which is likely to assist several Sport England and UK Sport-funded NGBs. In particular, it shows how to deal with organisations using signs which suggest they are an NGB (when they are not).

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Perspective - Blog

Sega’s early win against Man Utd in Football Manager trade mark case

Published on 27 Jul 2020. By Jeremy Drew, Partner, Head of Commercial and Samuel Coppard, Senior Associate

As first published by leading sports law resource LawInSport, Jeremy Drew and Samuel Coppard discuss Man United’s trade mark infringement proceedings against Sega and Sports Interactive in relation to Football Manager.

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Perspective - Blog

Luxury and online marketplaces - the next chapter (Coty v Amazon)

Published on 01 Jun 2020. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Sarah Mountain, Partner

On 2 April 2020, the CJEU ruled that storing infringing goods on behalf of a third-party seller, without knowing that those goods infringe trade mark rights does not constitute infringement, provided that the storing party does not pursue the aim of offering the goods for sale or putting them on the market.

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Perspective - Blog

Landmark case sees trade mark specifications cut down on grounds of bad faith.

Published on 29 Apr 2020. By Ben Mark, Partner and Sarah Mountain, Partner

Today, the High Court handed down judgment in Sky v SkyKick. The judgment follows the CJEU's 29 January 2020 decision, which answered various questions that the High Court had referred to it, back in June 2018.

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Perspective - Blog

COVID-19 prompts changes to working arrangements for the Court of Justice of the European Union

Published on 09 Apr 2020. By Louise Morgan, Senior Associate

Prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the CJEU announced, on 19 March 2020, that it will be temporarily changing its working arrangements.

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Perspective - Blog

EUIPO issues clarification on COVID-19 extension of time for trade mark and design proceedings

Published on 01 Apr 2020. By Ben Mark, Partner

The EUIPO has issued a clarification in respect of Decision No EX-20-3 noting that the extension of deadlines in trade mark and design EUIPO proceedings to 1 May 2020 applies automatically.

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Perspective - Blog

So Long Blues

Published on 28 Feb 2020. By Ben Mark, Partner

Following our previous IP hub update, Glaxo has suffered fresh survey woes.

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Perspective - Publication

RPC Bites #62: misleading 'freshly baked bread' claims, trademark troubles for Campari and McDonalds and more

Published on 25 Jun 2024. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner and Sarah Mountain, Partner and Harpreet Kaur, Associate and Noonie Holmes, Associate

Welcome back to RPC Bites. Our aim in the next 2 minutes is to provide you with a flavour of the key legal, regulatory, and commercial developments in the Food & Drink sector over the last fortnight… with the occasional bit of industry gossip thrown in for good measure.

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Perspective - Publication

RPC Bites #61: Trade mark trouble for Tony's Chocolonely, ASA scalding for Jack Daniels but Hovis fare better and FSA guidance on vegan labelling

Published on 05 Apr 2024. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner and Sarah Mountain, Partner and Harpreet Kaur, Associate and Noonie Holmes, Associate

Welcome back to RPC Bites. Our aim in the next 2 minutes is to provide you with a flavour of the key legal, regulatory, and commercial developments in the Food & Drink sector over the last fortnight… with the occasional bit of industry gossip thrown in for good measure.

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Perspective - Publication

RPC Bites #60: M&S vs Aldi, UKIPO win for Oatly and ASA guidance on supplement marketing

Published on 29 Feb 2024. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner and Sarah Mountain, Partner and Harpreet Kaur, Associate and Noonie Holmes, Associate

Welcome back to RPC Bites. Our aim in the next 2 minutes is to provide you with a flavour of the key legal, regulatory, and commercial developments in the Food & Drink sector over the last fortnight… with the occasional bit of industry gossip thrown in for good measure.

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Perspective - Publication

RPC Bites #59: Festive Bumper Issue

Published on 21 Dec 2023. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner

Welcome back to RPC Bites. Our aim in the next 2 minutes is to provide you with a festive flavour of key legal, regulatory, and commercial developments in the Food & Drink sector over the last fortnight… with the occasional bit of industry gossip thrown in for good measure. Enjoy and Happy Christmas and New Year to all of our readers!!

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Perspective - Publication

RPC Bites #58: Trade mark troubles, cheese-y appeals, warm ice cream and low-alcohol labelling...

Published on 29 Nov 2023. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner

Welcome back to RPC Bites. With a definite chill in the autumn air, our aim in the next 2 minutes is to provide you with a warming flavour of key legal, regulatory, and commercial developments in the Food & Drink sector over the last fortnight… with the occasional bit of industry gossip thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!

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Perspective - Publication

RPC Bites #57: New FSA guidance on CBD consumption, "irresponsible" alcohol ads and greenwashing accusations strike Tesco

Published on 17 Oct 2023. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner

Welcome to RPC Bites. Our aim in the next 2 minutes is to provide you with a flavour of some key legal, regulatory and commercial developments in the Food & Drink sector over the last fortnight… with the occasional bit of industry gossip thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!!

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Perspective - Publication

RPC Bites #56 - HFSS delays, Percy Pig's legal pursuits and Getir fails to deliver on promotion…

Published on 28 Jul 2023. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner

Welcome to RPC Bites. Our aim in the next 2 minutes is to provide you with a flavour of some key legal, regulatory and commercial developments in the Food & Drink sector over the last fortnight… with the occasional bit of industry gossip thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!!

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Perspective - Publication

RPC Bites #55 - BrewDog gold can competition strikes again and Miller High Life cans crushed by Belgian customs

Published on 27 Apr 2023. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner

Welcome to RPC Bites. Our aim in the next 2 minutes is to provide you with a flavour of some key legal, regulatory and commercial developments in the Food & Drink sector over the last fortnight… with the occasional bit of industry gossip thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!!

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Perspective - Publication

RPC Bites #54 – Aldi infringes M&S's design rights, ban on single use plastics and BrewDog pays for "solid gold" ad

Published on 10 Feb 2023. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner

Welcome to RPC Bites. Our aim in the next 2 minutes is to provide you with a flavour of some key legal, regulatory and commercial developments in the Food & Drink sector over the last fortnight… with the occasional bit of industry gossip thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!!

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Perspective - Publication

RPC Bites Christmas Bumper Issue #53 - is turkey off the menu this Christmas? Government sugar reduction targets not met amid HFSS delays

Published on 23 Dec 2022. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner

Welcome to RPC Bites. Our aim in the next 2 minutes is to provide you with a flavour of some key legal, regulatory and commercial developments in the Food & Drink sector over the last fortnight… with the occasional bit of industry gossip thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!!

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Perspective - Publication

RPC Bites #52 – trade mark wars: Red Bull v Bullards, Tesco v Lidl and Heineken v Virgin

Published on 14 Dec 2022. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner

Welcome to RPC Bites. Our aim in the next 2 minutes is to provide you with a flavour of some key legal, regulatory and commercial developments in the Food & Drink sector over the last fortnight… with the occasional bit of industry gossip thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!!

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Perspective - Publication

The Food, Beverage and Cosmetics Law Review: United Kingdom - Second Edition

Published on 14 Nov 2022. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner

RPC is excited to announce that the Second Edition UK chapter of the Food, Beverage and Cosmetics Law Review has been published and is available to download.

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Perspective - Publication

RPC Bites #50 – potential HFSS U-turn, hard seltzers under fire again and AU Vodka v NE10 Vodka

Published on 25 Oct 2022.

Welcome to RPC Bites. Our aim in the next 2 minutes is to provide you with a flavour of some key legal, regulatory and commercial developments in the Food & Drink sector over the last fortnight… with the occasional bit of industry gossip thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!!

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Perspective - Publication

Next round of HFSS restrictions land – are you ready?

Published on 30 Sep 2022. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Sarah Mountain, Partner

In July 2020 the Government launched its tackling obesity strategy. In the strategy, the Government announced a number of measures to help people live healthier lives. These included consulting on front of pack labelling, requiring large out of home food businesses to add calorie labels to the food they sell, consulting on introducing calorie labelling on alcohol, and legislating to end the promotion of products deemed high in fat, sugar and/or salt (HFSS) by restricting volume promotions and placement in certain locations. In addition to these measures, the Government announced its intention to ban HFSS products being shown on TV before 9pm and paid-for adverts online.

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Perspective - Publication

RPC Bites #49 – Kellogg's HFSS legal action fails, Ellie Goulding's seltzer falls foul of ASA rules and is the 'alcohol free' threshold about to change

Published on 29 Jul 2022. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner

Welcome to RPC Bites. Our aim in the next 2 minutes is to provide you with a flavour of some key legal, regulatory and commercial developments in the Food & Drink sector over the last fortnight… with the occasional bit of industry gossip thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!!

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Perspective - Publication

RPC Bites #48 – proposed salt and sugar tax omitted, lo/no alcohol drinks association launched in the UK and Cuthbert the caterpillar returns

Published on 15 Jun 2022. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner

Welcome to RPC Bites. Our aim in the next 2 minutes is to provide you with a flavour of some key legal, regulatory and commercial developments in the Food & Drink sector over the last fortnight… with the occasional bit of industry gossip thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!!

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Perspective - Blog

'Popping to the shop' a thing of the past?

Published on 13 Jun 2022. By Rory Graham, Associate

Have you noticed that overnight, seemingly every poster on London's streets and billboard in its tube stations advertise a service that will magic groceries to your front door in an impossibly short timeframe? These are signifiers of the battle being fought in the instant grocery delivery space.

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Perspective - Publication

RPC Bites #47 –Kellogg's takes on the Government, certain HFSS restrictions are postponed and ingestible CBD products fall foul of FSA rules

Published on 17 May 2022. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner

Welcome to RPC Bites. Our aim in the next 2 minutes is to provide you with a flavour of some key legal, regulatory and commercial developments in the Food & Drink sector over the last fortnight… with the occasional bit of industry gossip thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!!

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Perspective - Publication

RPC Bites #46 – new rules on advertising alcohol free drinks pending, Portman Group issues guidance for hard seltzer labels and a taxing finding for flapjacks

Published on 21 Apr 2022. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner

Welcome to RPC Bites. Our aim in the next 2 minutes is to provide you with a flavour of some key legal, regulatory and commercial developments in the Food & Drink sector over the last fortnight… with the occasional bit of industry gossip thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!!

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Perspective - Publication

RPC Bites #45 - Waitrose concerned by Asda's 'Just Essentials' range, HFSS restrictions potentially delayed further and the end of free-range eggs (for now)

Published on 31 Mar 2022. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner

Welcome to RPC Bites. Our aim in the next 2 minutes is to provide you with a flavour of some key legal, regulatory and commercial developments in the Food & Drink sector over the last fortnight… with the occasional bit of industry gossip thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!!

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Perspective - Publication

RPC Bites 44 - UK IPO finds gin-uine use of trade mark, another copycat product battle and plastic packaging to be scrapped for fruit and veg

Published on 15 Mar 2022. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner

Welcome to RPC Bites. Our aim in the next 2 minutes is to provide you with a flavour of some key legal, regulatory and commercial developments in the Food & Drink sector over the last fortnight… with the occasional bit of industry gossip thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!!

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Perspective - Publication

RPC Bites #43 – Colin and Cuthbert - friends again? The ASA reprimands Oatly and Lipton Ice Tea over green claims and calorie labelling coming soon

Published on 10 Feb 2022. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner

Welcome to RPC Bites. Our aim in the next 2 minutes is to provide you with a flavour of some key legal, regulatory and commercial developments in the Food & Drink sector over the last fortnight… with the occasional bit of industry gossip thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!!

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Perspective - Publication

The Food, Beverage and Cosmetics Law Review: United Kingdom

Published on 20 Jan 2022. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner

RPC is excited to announce that the UK chapter of the very first Food, Beverage and Cosmetics Law Review has been published and is available to download.

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Perspective - Publication

RPC Bites New Year Bumper Issue– M&S v Aldi (again), Bitcoin and pizza is not a welcome combo for the ASA and a green start to 2022 for Morrisons and McDonalds

Published on 19 Jan 2022. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner

Happy New Year and welcome to our New Year Bumper Edition of RPC Bites. Our aim in the next 2 minutes is to provide you with a flavour of some key legal, regulatory and commercial developments in the Food & Drink sector over the last fortnight… with the occasional bit of industry gossip thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!

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Perspective - Blog

Weighty issues for diet app developers

Published on 04 Jan 2022. By Dorothy Flower, Partner

2022 is set to be the year of the diet app. The distinction between what is a mere lifestyle app and what should in fact be a regulated medical product or service can be difficult to assess.

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Perspective - Publication

RPC Bites #41 – A close call for Meatless Farm, Mikkeller reprimanded over ale that appealed to under 18s and a potential blanket ban on single-use plastics

Published on 13 Dec 2021. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner

Welcome to RPC Bites. Our aim in the next 2 minutes is to provide you with a flavour of some key legal, regulatory and commercial developments in the Food & Drink sector over the last fortnight… with the occasional bit of industry gossip thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!!

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Perspective - Publication

RPC Bites #40 - McDonald's wins opposition and dips into Non-Fungible Tokens, border checks on animal and plant-based imports delayed again and the Food and Drink Federation releases its Net Zero Handbook

Published on 17 Nov 2021. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner

Welcome to RPC Bites. Our aim in the next 2 minutes is to provide you with a flavour of some key legal, regulatory and commercial developments in the Food & Drink sector over the last fortnight… with the occasional bit of industry gossip thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!!

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Perspective - Blog

RPC Bites #39 – Alpro in hot water over environmental claims, the ASA reports on social media alcohol ads and Tesco introduces checkout-less stores

Published on 04 Nov 2021. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner and Sarah Mountain, Partner and Ellie Chakarto, Associate and Harpreet Kaur, Associate

Welcome to RPC Bites. Our aim in the next 2 minutes is to provide you with a flavour of some key legal, regulatory and commercial developments in the Food & Drink sector over the last fortnight… with the occasional bit of industry gossip thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!!

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Perspective - Blog

RPC Bites 38 – Green Claims Code gets the green light, McDonald's announces new plant-based products and EU to UK import controls delayed until 2022

Published on 12 Oct 2021. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner and Sarah Mountain, Partner and Ellie Chakarto, Associate and Harpreet Kaur, Associate

Welcome to RPC Bites. Our aim in the next 2 minutes is to provide you with a flavour of some key legal, regulatory and commercial developments in the Food & Drink sector over the last fortnight… with the occasional bit of industry gossip thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!!

Read more

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