Technology

This quarterly round-up looks into some of the main regulatory developments and trends in fintech regulation during the third quarter of 2018. The previous briefings for 2018 can be found here and here. Regulation, regulation, regulation The much anticipated Treasury Committee report on crypto-assets in the UK was published in September.  The main takeaway is that […]

The European Parliament has recently voted in favour of a controversial new Directive relating, among other things, to use of copyrighted materials on the internet. The lead-up to the vote has been hugely divisive. Support for the approach adopted by the proposed Directive has largely come from artists, authors and creators of content. They argue […]

The introduction within the EU of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) led to frantic scrambles in the EU to achieve compliance. Such behaviour is understandable, given how easily a complaint may be made to a supervisory authority about organisations which allegedly breach data protection rules: in Britain, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has provided […]

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 […]

Fladgate LLP has advised GCC Group on its second acquisition in three months. The deal to buy Perfect Dynamics is the second in a planned series of acquisitions intended to make GCC Group one of the UK’s largest managed IT services providers. Corporate partner Ian Brent led the transaction. GCC Group CEO Chris Harthman commented: […]

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 […]

Following an investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s data protection watchdog, WhatsApp has signed a public commitment not to share personal data (i.e. data which identifies individuals) with Facebook until data protection concerns are addressed. Facebook acquired WhatsApp in 2014, and the ICO’s investigation commenced in August 2016 to address concerns being […]