In a recent High Court case, the Court considered whether a deceased’s wife lost the money left to her in her husband’s Will because she brought a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975 (“the 1975 Act”). 

There continues to be many widely publicised examples of retailers taking legal action to protect their much-loved products against lookalike products circulating in the market and IP lawyers have been eagerly anticipating the judgment on Aldi’s attempt to overturn the judgment made last year. The result? M&S were victorious as Aldi’s appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal.

In February 2021, residents of Exeter had the briefest of glimpses into life almost 80 years ago, when a large unexploded World War II bomb was found by site workers. In the vicinity were various residential properties and several blocks of halls of residence owned by the University. The plans to make the bomb safe were always going to be risky and, alas, the bomb detonated in quite spectacular fashion, causing damage to properties in the vicinity.

Visit high streets in some parts of England and you will find a lot of empty shops. They can look unattractive, make the public less inclined to venture into their local shopping area and, like a vicious cycle, this then adversely impacts on the businesses clinging on to survival.

As an animal owner, you may have thought about - or even experienced - your animals escaping and causing damage to property or even injuring someone. Have you ever worried about your liability for damage caused by your animals? Our latest insight provides advice to animal owners on this Act which is notoriously difficult to interpret.

What better time is there than mid - February, just as the over-priced flowers and fluffy bears appear on shop shelves, to show some love for a much under-appreciated part of any commercial landlord or tenant’s life - the lease!

A covenant is the legal term for a promise, usually not to do something on your land (a negative or restrictive covenant) but occasionally to do something (a positive covenant).

Adverse possession is all about claiming someone else’s land as your own on the basis of your possession of it for a period designated by law. Of course, not all kinds of occupation lead to eventual ownership.

Land is a great asset to have - I don’t think anyone would dispute that. But by the same token owning land (like having money) can be a worry as well. If you are lucky and your land has clearly identified boundaries and so long as there is no argument about them, all is well. That is the case for most land but some people are not quite so lucky. Boundary disputes can be a headache, especially if not well handled from the start.

A drive around any country lane will demonstrate that rural landowners have a real entrepreneurial spirit. Everything from farm shops to glamping sites to alpaca trekking have been popping up and they can bring good commercial returns.

The UK has been no stranger to the battle of the brands with numerous cases cropping up over lookalikes.

Copyright does not protect a mere idea, but it can protect an original idea which is captured in some recorded form.