To coincide with the recent anniversary of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the cornerstone of the government's pro-growth agenda, this article revisits the substantive policies of the NPPF and considers its impact on retail, office and residential sectors. Growth prospects appear indeterminate to pessimistic to say the least.
05 April 2013
E-Commerce
Network neutrality, the principle against restrictions to internet networks, is a much debated issue in Europe. BEREC, the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications, responsible for monitoring developments and issuing guidance on net neutrality, recently published a number of draft publications analysing the current situation in Europe. Ginny O'Flinn, a Senior Associate at Olswang, discusses the draft publications released by BEREC, the first net neutrality law and a key case on the subject.
20 July 2012
Pensions
Over the past few years, the ballooning deficit of defined benefit corporate pensions schemes - largely created by increasing life expectancy - has been compounded by the economic and financial crises which have resulted in the value of pension schemes' assets going down - changes to legislation and the regulatory landscape have also affected the size of deficits and the funding implications for companies.
20 June 2012
Intellectual Property
Cases C-403/08 and C-429/08: Football Association Premier League Ltd & others vs QC Leisure & Others / Karen Murphy vs Media Protection Services Ltd In October 2011, we reported the European Court of Justice (ECJ) decision in two joined cases. In that decision, the ECJ was answering questions referred to it by the High Court in two UK cases.
20 March 2012
The ICO has updated and expanded its guidance on compliance with the cookie consent rules. The document also clarifies the ICO's enforcement stance, reiterating the need for websites to show they have a sensible action plan for achieving compliance by May 2012 when the "lead in" period expires.
16 December 2011
In July Olswang hosted a roundtable event focusing on practical compliance with the recently implemented UK requirements for consent to the use of website cookies. Here we highlight some of the regulatory, technical and legal insights which were shared at the event. Useful resources are available in full on our Datonomy data protection blog.
01 August 2011
the European Parliament finally put a stop to months of speculation with its approval of the Consumer Rights Directive. The last few weeks have seen some of the Directive's more contentious provisions dropped (such as a draft requirement for retailers to fund returns over €40) and provided clarity for retailers in other areas. The final hurdle for the Directive to cross is that of getting approval
23 June 2011
In the last edition of Talking Shop, we looked at potential consumer protection reforms on the horizon. In this edition, the focus is on existing consumer laws, and the enforcement risks retailers and advertisers face if they do not comply. Here we consider: the recent OFT crackdown on paid for advertorials in the blogosphere and how to avoid potentially misleading pricing.
31 January 2011
The OFT has a range of sanctions at its disposal where trading practices breach its rules. New proposals could see these extended with the introduction of fines of up to £500,000 for misleading marketing practices. Below we discuss these as well as the OFT's new policy on criminal prosecutions for consumer law breaches.
31 January 2011
Data about consumers is useful to retailers, not just for the necessary business of order fulfilment, delivery and so on, but for the insights into consumer behaviour and trends it affords for the purposes of inventory management and, increasingly, loyalty and other marketing matters. This article looks at the practical steps retailers can take to reduce the risks of a data security incident and (since
31 January 2011
In December the European Parliament issued a resolution on the impact of advertising on consumer behaviour. The resolution (which does not have any immediate legal impact on its own) highlights issues of concern, particularly in relation to "hidden" techniques like OBA and blogging, and calls on the European Commission to take action – either in the form of research or imposing stricter rules.
31 January 2011
In the Spring 2010 edition of Talking Shop, in light of a number of recent acquisitions of high profile retailers (such as Pets at Home, Cath Kidston and branded clothing chain Republic) by private equity ("PE") houses, we looked at the potential actions that owners and management teams of retail businesses should be taking if attracting PE investment is of interest, and the issues that should be considered
23 September 2010
In this article we take stock of recent developments in consumer protection and privacy law and of some proposed changes in the pipeline. These include two important consultations, aimed at online retailers, which close in mid October. Retailers need to ensure they are compliant with current rules and best practice, but also keep the potential changes on their radar, and take the opportunity to influence
23 September 2010
On 13 September, the UK government launched a consultation on changes to privacy law that could curtail the targeting of online marketing to consumers based on their behaviour. This article examines the background to these changes and looks at what retailers can do, both legally and reputationally, to negotiate this potentially tricky area.
23 September 2010
The ASA has announced that with effect from 1 March 2011 it will significantly extend its digital remit in order to "deliver more comprehensive consumer protection online." In this article we consider the extended remit and the new sanctions which apply.
23 September 2010
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