Friday, 25 May 2012

Hi, here is your weekly round-up of highlights from Out-Law News. As always, there are plenty of other stories from this week. You can also access our archive of weekly emails

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This week's highlights from Out-Law News

TMT & Sourcing and Intellectual Property

Chocolate-shaped rabbits with red ribbon wrapping not Community trade mark protectable, ECJ rules
Chocolate bunnies wrapped with red ribbon are shaped in a form that cannot be registered as a Community trade mark, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled.
24/05/2012

Personality rights of child celebrities do not automatically trump media's right to freedom of expression, German court rules
The media can legitimately publish information that could be damaging to the image of child celebrities in some circumstances, the highest court in Germany has said.
23/05/2012

Facebook users may get to vote on company's data use policy
Facebook may be forced to make changes to its data use policy after campaigners helped drive enough complaints about the company's own proposed amendments to trigger a user vote on the matter.
23/05/2012

Government admits anonymisaton of data does not always secure individuals' privacy
Health and care service providers and private sector life scientists will have access to anonymised medical data relating to individuals who consent to the sharing of their records under a new 10 year information strategy outlined by the Government.
22/05/2012

Firms warned that online 'advergames' must generally comply with advertising standards
The body responsible for writing the rules governing online advertising has issued a reminder to companies that develop electronic games as a means of advertising itself, its products or brands that the games may be subject to its rules.
22/05/2012

Google must change search practices to escape punishment for abusing position of market dominance, EU regulator says
Google has been given a "matter of weeks" to propose changes to its search practices after the EU's Competition Commissioner said the company had infringed on competition laws.
22/05/2012


Tax
Franked investment income case could "open the floodgates" for EU-law based tax claims says expert
The latest ruling in a long running case concerning the tax treatment of dividends could have a significant impact on taxpayers who have made claims based on the application of tax laws contrary to EU discrimination law, according to a tax expert.
24/05/2012


Infrastructure
Proposed alternatives to HS2 will not solve railway capacity problems, say MP
None of the proposed alternatives to the new high speed rail link between Birmingham and London will be able to create the long-term capacity increase that the UK network needs, according to a cross-party group of MPs.
24/05/2012


Financial Services
Review of interest rate swaps could consider eligibility to refer complaints to ombudsman, FSA says
The City watchdog could reconsider the grounds on which small businesses can refer claims to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) as part of its review into the potential mis-selling of complex interest rate swaps, it has suggested.
24/05/2012

Bank of England commissions three independent reviews on its role during the banking crisis
The Bank of England has commissioned three independent reviews on its role and performance during the economic crisis, which it says will ensure the Bank has the capability to respond to future events.
22/05/2012


Energy
Approach to draft Energy Bill indicates more thinking still to be done, says energy law expert
The Government's "unusual" approach of publishing its plans for reform of the electricity market for pre-legislative scrutiny indicates that "thinking is still being developed despite months of deliberation", according to an energy law expert.
23/05/2012


Employment
Controversial employment law report "not full of new ideas", says legal expert
A controversial employment law report, published by the Government following its leak to a national newspaper, largely ties in with official Government policy or proposed reforms, according to a legal expert.
23/05/2012


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