Friday, 24 August 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



This week's highlights from Out-Law News

TMT & Sourcing and Intellectual Propery

E-crime "biggest emerging threat" to retailers as figures show £205m cost last year
Online fraud and other 'e-crimes' have cost retailers operating over the internet at least £205 million in a year according to the first comprehensive study of the make-up and scale of crimes affecting e-commerce.
23/08/2012


Universities to collaborate on new copyright initiative to meet challenges of creative economy
A consortium of seven universities is to consider how best to support the changing relationship between technology and the arts as part of a new research project, which will officially launch next year.
22/08/2012

Everything Everywhere can use existing network to launch 4G services ahead of competitors, Ofcom says
Mobile phone operator will be able to use its existing network to deliver next generation '4G' services to its customers, telecoms regulator Ofcom has announced.
22/08/2012


UK to have "fastest broadband" in Europe by 2015, Culture Secretary pledges
The Government's pledge to provide countrywide broadband access by 2015 has received another boost from the Culture Secretary, who has promised the "fastest broadband of any major European country".
22/08/2012

Facebook ordered to identify abusive users to Belfast court
Facebook has been given 24 hours to supply a court in Northern Ireland with the email addresses of account holders who used the site to post abusive messages about a Belfast company, according to press reports.
20/08/2012

US court upholds right of company to patent isolated human genes
A US appeal court has confirmed its decision last year that isolated human genes can be patented.
17/08/2012


Financial Services
Court of Session dismisses one of the first interest rate swap mis-selling claims against a bank
The Court of Session in Scotland has dismissed one of the first cases alleging that a bank mis-sold complex interest rate swap products to a small business, stating that the parties had failed to plead a relevant case.
23/08/2012


Environmental and Climate Change
Government publishes guidance on the "legal definition" of waste
New guidance on the legal definition of waste and its application will provide a practical guide to businesses new to the legal definition, the Government said.
22/08/2012


Pensions
CBI calls on regulators to change the way pension scheme liabilities are calculated
The Treasury must put pressure on UK pensions regulators to change the way scheme liabilities are calculated in order to reduce costs to employers, lobbyists have said.
22/08/2012

Infrastructure
Healthcare UK scheme will allow NHS hospitals to set up profit-making branches abroad, say press reports
Leading English hospitals will have the opportunity to set up profit-making branches abroad to help fund services in the UK, according to press report
21/08/2012


Retail
UK seeks views on adopting exceptions to EU consumer rights law
The UK Government is seeking views on whether specific types of contract should be exempt from new European consumer rights laws as part of its consultation on how to implement those laws.
21/08/2012


Tax
HMRC more than doubles home searches as part of tax evasion investigations
The number of property searches carried out by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) as part of criminal investigations into tax evasion has more than doubled, up to 499 searches in the tax year 2011/12.
21/08/2012



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