ebusiness

This quarterly round-up looks into some of the main regulatory developments and trends in fintech regulation during the second quarter of 2018. The previous edition of this briefing for January to March 2018 can be found here. Evolution of ICOs  The market for initial coin offerings (ICOs) continues to develop despite increased regulatory scrutiny. As […]

The English Court has issued a number of recent judgments in respect of arbitration matters and its supervisory powers under the Arbitration Act 1996  We summarise some of the more important decisions emerging, including those relating to “apparent bias” challenges against an arbitrator. Progas Energy Limited v Pakistan [2018] EWHC 209 (Comm) (9 February 2018) […]

Smart contracts are one of the major developments arising out of the distributed ledger and are intended to simplify how contracts are made and executed.   This briefing considers what they are and how they fit into the law of contract. What are smart contracts? There is no standard, generally accepted definition of smart contracts but […]

An enterprise management incentive option (EMI option) is a type of employee share option which is a useful remuneration tool for employees in smaller higher-risk trading companies.  It also provides for generous tax treatment for both the employee and the company. Since the tax benefits are only available to companies with certain qualifying business activities, […]

The Asset Management Market Study carried out by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) raised concerns about weak price competition and the ability of investors to seek the best value. Therefore the FCA has decided to introduce new rules and guidance applicable to authorised fund managers (AFMs) in respect of their management of authorised funds subject […]

This quarterly round-up looks into some of the main regulatory developments and trends in fintech regulation during the first quarter of 2018. Moves to regulate The appetite of governments and supervisors to regulate the crypto-world is increasing and, although short-term the position remains uncertain, it is clear that regulation is on its way. Within the […]

Fladgate is delighted to announce the appointment of Jan Hoppe who joined the firm on 1 January. Previously a partner at Gordon Dadds, his appointment simultaneously boosts two key areas for the firm:  the already burgeoning corporate department and the firm’s well-established German desk. A corporate and commercial lawyer, Jan joins our corporate department of […]

2017 was an exciting year for fintech but 2018 promises to be even more eventful.  This briefing considers some of the regulatory developments that took place in 2017 and what these are likely to mean for fintech regulation in 2018. Please see link below for full briefing. Fintech regulation: Looking ahead to 2018  

In a much anticipated judgment, the European Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) has determined that EU competition law does not prevent luxury brands imposing restrictions on the use by distributors of third party e-commerce platforms. The judgment confirms the opinion expressed by the Advocate General to the court (see https://www.fladgate.com/2017/08/eu-general-court-opinion-delivers-boost-brands-selling-online/) that such […]

Introduction As is beginning to become apparent, Brexit has wide-ranging consequences in many commercial and business areas. This is equally true in the sphere of data protection, where much of the applicable legislation has developed at an EU level.  This is readily understandable, given (i) the wide-ranging technological advances that have occurred since the UK […]

You don’t need to be a PR guru to know that branding is all about image. This is never truer than for high-end or luxury brands, which strive to deliver a customer experience that is consistent with, and can be justified by, the price tag. This sensitivity to customer experience is borne out in distributor […]

Given that most high-profile competition law actions tend to involve the decisions of large-scale regulators following heavily-protracted investigations (such as the recent seven-year EU commission investigation into Google’s online shopping offering), small businesses and consumers could be forgiven for thinking that redress in competition law is not a realistic proposition. It was, however, with this […]