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Perspective - Blog
Let there be light
The importance of light in WELL Building Standards and how it sits within the context of planning law and rights of light
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Perspective - Blog
MIPIM: 10 things we learnt about you
A round up of things we learnt during our first experience of MIPIM week, from what to wear to how to plan your diary and make the most of your new connections
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Perspective - Blog
Engaging with Development – do we always know what we need?
Comment on the need for public engagement in the planning and development process, following a ULI presentation on The Well-Tempered City (author Jonathan Rose)
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Perspective - Blog
Finally, a victory in the on-going battle against business rates
The Supreme Court ruling in Newbigin v Monks represents a welcome and important victory for UK property developers.
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Perspective - Blog
Green belt development - don't forget the law!
A review of the housing white paper in relation to green belt development noting that the Green Belt (London and Home Counties) Act 1938 is a further hurdle.
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Perspective - Blog
Electronic Signatures – the future of executing documents?
You could be forgiven for failing to spot the release of The EU Regulation on Electronic Identification and Trust Services in the Internal Market (910/2014/EU) (the Regulation), released post EU referendum. We consider the impact of this and the Law Society's Guidance Note on electronic signatures (the Guidance Note).
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Perspective - Blog
Garden Villages - are they necessary?
A recent Government announcement has proposed 14 sites across England to be the first garden villages, with 3 further sites to be new garden towns. But with a country full of deserted and derelict buildings, are garden villages and towns the only way forward?
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Perspective - Blog
Office to Residential Permitted Development Rights – an update
The rights to convert a building from office use to residential without needing to submit a planning application are not new, although a recent decision from the Planning Court have brought them back to the headlines and suggest that they may be more flexible than anticipated.
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Perspective - Blog
Freedom of information: access denied by ministerial veto
Not since September 2012 when the Attorney General exercised powers under section 53(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) blocking the release of correspondence between Prince Charles and seven government departments has there been a matter likely to attract attention to the use of the ministerial veto.
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Perspective - Blog
Court of Appeal's opinion on good faith clauses
In our February blog we reported on Compass Group UK and Ireland Ltd (trading as Medirest) v Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust [2012] EWHC 781 (QB) and the implications of the decision on the duty to act in good faith.
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Perspective - Blog
Costs overruns in Target Costs contracts
Who is liable for costs overruns in a Target Cost contract, and to what extent? AMEC Group recently went to the TCC to appeal against an arbitration decision which found the Secretary of State for Defence ("the Authority") would only be liable for actual costs which were reasonably and properly incurred.
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Perspective - Blog
NPPF – 1 year on: smooth transition or wasted opportunity?
Given that over 50% of Britain's local councils are still to adopt Local Plans, is the window of opportunity for local residents to take control of development in their local area about to close?
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Perspective - Blog
New Kids on the Block : alternative funders in the real estate lending market
Over the last couple of years, there has been a surge in real estate lending by non-bank lenders as traditional banks started withdrawing from the market.
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Perspective - Blog
Good Faith Clauses
There is no general doctrine of good faith in English law and it is not therefore implied into contracts.
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Perspective - Blog
JCT Insurance Options: what's the right fit for fit-out?
Where a tenant is fitting out premises within a multi-occupied building, the JCT's standard insurance options are not always appropriate and, left unaddressed, place unintended and severe risks on the tenant.
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Perspective - Blog
Government property, Kirstie and Phil style?
Ok, so Ms Allsopp and Mr Spencer haven’t quite been called in yet, but almost.
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Perspective - Blog
Is the Green Deal a great deal?
There is no denying the Green Deal has many advantages but consider the deal in relation to short term leases and it may not be as great as it initially seems.
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Perspective - Blog
NEC3 Engineering and Construction Contract "Guidance Notes": more important than you realise for interpreting the ECC
Certain terms of the NEC3 Engineering and Construction Contract ('ECC') are open to interpretation, and the recent case of E-Nik Ltd v Department for Communities & Local Government [2012] EWHC 3027 (Comm) has cast into doubt whether even something as routine as VAT is crystal-clear under the ECC.
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Perspective - Blog
Development incentives – but at what cost?
In light of what is starting to appear to be a wholehearted failure to persuade local communities to meet requisite housing targets, Nick Boles last week proposed self-proclaimed "bungs" to local communities.
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Perspective - Blog
Leaving customers without signal: the task of re-building the Telecoms Code
Now almost 30 years old, the Electronic Communications Code (the 'Code'), falls far short of representing the needs of a swiftly developing communications network.
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Perspective - Blog
H&M: Brave New World?
We have all been involved in lease negotiations where there are differences of opinion as to what is or is not institutionally acceptable.
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Perspective - Blog
End of the line for Village Greens?
Nothing can be more frustrating for a developer to see its scheme delayed or worse still derailed by an application for the registration of land as a town or village green ("TVG").
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Profile
Perspective - Snapshot
What in the AI is going on… April to June 2024
Meta launched its newest generation of its open-source LLM (large language model), Llama 3, which is the technology that powers its AI systems. The launch of Llama 3 signals a step closer to human-like AI that can reason and bestow a memory. OpenAI also discussed plans for its next AI model, GPT-5. Like Llama 3, GPT-5 will see improvements to the model’s planning and reasoning capabilities, going beyond its current capability to deal with discrete tasks. GPT-5 is expected to be released later in the year.
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Perspective - Snapshot
CMA publishes update paper on AI Foundation Models
What is the state of play for the market of AI Foundation Models (FM) and what issues in the market is the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) most concerned about?
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Perspective - Snapshot
EU AI Act is signed!
What are the core elements of the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act and how does it impact the regulation of AI systems?
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Perspective - Snapshot
Online Safety Act: Ofcom consults on draft codes to protect children online
What must businesses do to ensure online safety for children under the latest codes of practice published by Ofcom?
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Perspective - Snapshot
UK’s Digital Regulation Co-operation Forum announces new AI and Digital Hub Pilot
What is the AI and Digital Hub and how can AI innovators use it?
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Perspective - Snapshot
EU designates Apple a gatekeeper for iPadOS but not for iMessage
Can a business avoid being designated a “gatekeeper” under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) even if it satisfies the quantitative criteria under the DMA?
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Perspective - Snapshot
New EU guidelines on mitigating risks for electoral
What are the European Commission’s new guidelines and how do they protect the integrity of electoral processes?
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Perspective - Blog
Netflix files lawsuit over 'Unofficial Bridgerton Musical'
On 29 July, Netflix filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. against two TikTok stars, Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, alleging that their Grammy-winning “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical” project infringed the hit show's intellectual property rights.
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Perspective - Blog
Stream on! CMA halts plans to investigate music streaming market
The UK's Competition & Markets Authority recently published its interim report on the music streaming market, prompting mixed responses from the music industry. Record labels, publishers and streaming providers appear generally pleased with the findings, but various artists, musicians, songwriters and managers say they believe it has underdelivered.
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Perspective - Blog
Parliamentary Group urges UK government to help musicians and crew tour Europe more easily
The All-Parliamentary Group on Music (a cross-party group of more than 100 MPS and Peers) together with representatives from the music industry set out the urgent steps the Government needs to take to help UK musicians following Brexit.
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Perspective - Blog
CMA ends its investigation into online console gaming subscription practices
The UK Competition Markets Authority (CMA) has now closed its investigation into subscription practices in the online console gaming sector after key players Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft committed to making improvements to their contract terms with a view to better protecting customers.
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Perspective - Blog
Eurovision contestant and Rudimental come out on pop in copyright dispute
Coming out on pop: Rudimental's single Waiting All Night, composed by Eurovision 2021 contestant James Newman, was not the product of copying a song written in 2001 by a contestant on the Voice UK.
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Perspective - Blog
(Sex) Pistols at dawn over Danny Boyle's new biopic series
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
Who gets to deliver my news? - Ofcom starts its consultation on changes to media ownership restrictions
Ofcom is looking to update old rules governing media ownership in the UK to reflect consumers increased access to news online and the fragmented use of traditional media, and the implications of reform could be far reaching.
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Perspective - Blog
Streaming platforms to consolidate? "The stuff that dreams are made of"
Discovery and AT&T's WarnerMedia are merging to create a streaming behemoth named Warner Bros. Discovery, and Amazon is reportedly in talks to acquire Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM). Will this mark a trend in the consolidation of streaming platforms, and what are the implications?
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Perspective - Blog
Court of Appeal upholds copyright infringement decision against digital radio aggregator
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
UK Courts find hidden voice in film authorship dispute
The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) has found that there was there was an additional joint author of the Florence Foster Jenkins screenplay – in a decision of significant relevance to the film industry.
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Perspective - Blog
Reproduction of infringing content online: who's liable?
Keyword advertising, search engine optimisation and liability for infringement via online marketplaces: In recent years, there has been a plethora of cases concerning the various ways that trade marks may be infringed, through use on the internet.
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Perspective - Blog
Nederlands Uitgeversverbond v Tom Kabinet Internet – a CJEU guide on how to play it by the book
Tom Kabinet (the Defendant) is a Dutch company which sells used e-books online (the Books). The Books are purchased by the Defendant, either from individuals or official distributors, and are then re-sold for a lower price to customers who are registered on the Defendant's website as members of a "reading club".
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Perspective - Blog
All that glitters is not "Gold"
How does the court calculate what a reasonable license fee is, and what conduct will be sufficient for the court to award additional damages under section 92(2) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998?
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Perspective - Blog
Drones: don't fly out of bounds (legally)
Various commercial industries have already woken up to the myriad opportunities offered by drone technologies. Whilst the regulatory regime evolves, it is important that companies don’t fall foul of the law.
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Perspective - Blog
Could I mitigate my losses by using my premises for other purposes?
With the inevitable impact of the coronavirus on retail businesses, many will be looking to mitigate their losses. One obvious way of doing this would be to use their premises, often their single largest overhead, for other uses. But is this possible and what must you consider?
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Press and Media
Wilko becomes 'yet another casualty' of tough economic conditions facing UK retailers
'Perfect storm' of rising interest rates, increased energy bills, supply chain issues and squeezed customer spending is hitting retailers hard
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Press and Media
Local authorities install 8,000 new EV chargers in past year – up just 7%
In the last year, around 8,000 public Electric Vehicle (EV) chargers were installed by local authorities in the UK, an increase of just 7% from 7,400 in the previous year , shows research by international law firm RPC.
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Perspective - Blog
Choppy waters ahead? The significance of Oceanfill
The economic outlook for the UK in 2023 remains uncertain, and more companies may need to restructure their businesses to ensure survival. This
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Perspective - Blog
Register of Overseas Entities – one month since the deadline and thousands still face penalties from failure to register
The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 ("the Act") enacted in March 2022 brought into force the register of overseas entities on 1 August 2022. Companies House holds and manages the new register which was introduced to provide greater transparency around UK land ownership. The transitional period ended on 31 January 2023, and as at 3 March 2023, 26,481 out of an estimated 32,440 have registered. Thousands of companies are still to register over a month on from the end of the transitional period, so we've turned our minds to consider the possible consequences of not registering, or delaying registering, as an overseas entity in accordance with the Act, including the potential for the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to apply.
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Press and Media
RPC expands real estate practice with the hire of Partner, Jon Ely
International law firm RPC announced today that commercial property lawyer Jon Ely has joined the firm in Bristol as a Partner in the real estate practice.
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