Search results

Acquiring start-ups under the improved R&D regime The UK is, and intends to remain, a leading start-up hub for the tech and other sectors. R&D tax reliefs play a key role in incentivising investment in start-ups as they reduce the costs of innovation. The proposed changes to the R&D tax relief regime (am... One tech tip a day keeps the hacker away: NCSC publishes new guidance on how to keep IP safe in cyberspace Cyber risks, and the reputational fallout that might ensue, are not a new addition to the woes that keep IP practitioners up at night. Thankfully there are a growing number of resources to help you tackle this evolving threat. For example, back in May thi... SEPs and FRAND – English Courts Remain Essential SEPs and FRAND have been hot topics for a while and there are no signs of that changing any time soon. In the last couple of months alone there have been three English court decisions relating to SEPs and FRAND terms and the UKIPO has published a summary ... Merging crypto and ESG On 15 September 2022 the long-awaited transition to a 'proof-of-stake' consensus mechanism on Ethereum—referred to as 'The Merge'—finally took place. This move had environmental objectives at its core, marking a departure from the energy-intensive 'proof-... How to draft intragroup loans post-Blackrock to avoid transfer pricing problems Following the Upper Tribunal's decision in BlackRock that third party covenants (i.e. not from the borrower itself) could not be taken into account in determining the hypothetical arm's length loan, a commonly asked question is whether it is now necessary... Exclusive jurisdiction clauses and software licences – High Court reminds us that they’re not so simple When you are ‘buying’ (in this case, licensing) software, you want to know the risks associated with the deal. One key risk is where you could be sued under the licence. However, the recent High Court decision in IBM v LZLABS has highlighted some of the l... Acquiring start-ups under the improved R&D regime On 20 July 2022, the UK Government released draft legislation intended to implement a number of changes to the research and development (R&D) tax relief regime in the UK. The reliefs available are different for SMEs and larger companies, and the changes l... Privacy-enhancing technologies: what are they and when do you use them? New ICO guidance helps explain On 7 September, the ICO published its draft guidance on the use of privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs). The draft forms the latest chapter of the ICO’s new guidance on anonymisation and pseudonymisation which it is publishing in stages as part of its co... Organisations could face new security requirements under ‘cyber duty to protect’ plans? Government call for information suggests new security requirements could be introduced to protect online accounts and user data from hackers Last year saw a 159% increase in unauthorised access to personal information (including hacking) and an 89% rise i... And then there were three...Law Commission digital asset reform proposes 3rd class of personal property In the introduction to its recent consultation on Digital Assets, the Law Commission states that it is proposing few changes to the law, but that the reforms it does recommend are foundational. Tech lawyers digesting its proposal for the explicit recognit...