The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that luxury brand owners can use their trade mark rights to prevent licensees selling goods to discount stores in breach of licence. Facts In 2000, Dior entered into a trade mark licence with Societe Industrielle Lingerie (SIL) for the manufacture and distribution of corseted clothing bearing the 'Christian Dior' trade mark ...
This is the second of a three-part report on “public private partnerships.” Also known as “PPP” or “P3” projects, there is an increasing amount of press regarding these projects, some of which is contradictory and some of which is just plain confusing. The purpose of this three-part report is to provide you with some useful information in identifying and analyzing P3 opportunities. The first part of the primer provided an introduction to the P3 concept ...
Things change over time. This is also the case in the timesharing business. The European legislator, who is well aware of this and already dealt with this type of business by adopting a directive on 26 October 1994, has recently adopted a new legislative act dealing with timesharing, thus bringing European legislation up-to-date. It was deemed necessary to modify the former European legislation to the evolutions in the business ...
Companies (listed and unlisted) spinning off real estate at Belgian or at both Belgian and European level is common practice. In comparison to the U.S. market, the trend is only just in its early stages here. Outsourcing often conceals widely varying realities:- a company shareholder may want to divide his corporate assets among his future heirs ...
In 1996, the case of Hindcastle v Barbara Attenborough Associates settled the effect of disclaimer on a lease guarantee but since then a new leasehold regime has been introduced. A recent case, Shaw v Doleman, has revisited the effect of disclaimer in this context. Original tenants of leasehold property paid a high price in the property crash of the 1990s ...
THE FACTS Ezeflow is a company specialized in the manufacturing of pipe fittings intended for refineries, gas pipelines and offshore drilling platforms. in 1998, ezeflow entered into a contract with genoyer to manufacture 142 pipe fittings to be incorporated into drilling platforms belonging to sable. Kvaerner, in turn, was responsible for installing the fittings manufactured by ezeflow ...
Not something a landlord wants to hear. But what does it mean? Before a landlord can consider what remedial action is available against a defaulting tenant, it needs to understand the reason for the default. Where a tenant is insolvent, the precise nature of that insolvency needs to be established ...
As Congress begins to work on the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (“MAP 21”), the bill to reauthorize highway funding for the next five years, policy makers are confronting the challenge of how to bridge the estimated $400 billion gap in funding between federal revenues and transportation infrastructure investment needs ...
The Advocate General of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) expressed her opinion in respect of a reference for a preliminary ruling from a German court. The main proceedings before the German court concern a German distance retailer who tried to charge the customer of a second-hand laptop for the eight months of use she had ...
Consumers currently spend €24bn every year in cross-border transactions, but this is only a fraction of the potential market.Many individuals are dissuaded from spending more by doubts over issues such as delivery timescales and after-sales service.EU forecasters expect online revenues within Member States to grow by 230% in the next five years, but only if the way is smoothed by the adoption of a new Consumer Rights Directive ...
But which practical actions could add up to substantial cost savings in the current climate and for the future?: try to capitalise on potential rent savings in volatile markets look to release funds from the portfolio - sweat the assets make sure that service charges are kept in check act quickly on sub-tenant default These are the key messages:
Many property agreements allow the developer to decide whether conditions attaching to planning permissions are onerous without imposing a parallel obligation to act reasonably.Despite this wide discretion, recent case law has confirmed that there is still an implied duty to act in good faith ...
The contract between Liberty Mercian and Dean and Dyball was for completion of a number of retail units. The Contractor was given a series of sectional completion dates for the works with liquidated damages payable if any of these were missed. The Contractor was late completing one of the early sections, and was therefore liable for LADs in respect of this section ...
Its fair to say 2008 was an extremely challenging year for UK property. Anything between 25-50% has been wiped off values from their peak in mid 2007 ...
WARNING SIGNS AND EARLY ACTIONS Works are falling behind programme. If a Contractor is struggling financially then they may not be able to buy sufficient resources to complete the job within the time limits. If a Contractor starts asking for advance payments, this is another sign that it is not in good financial health ...
The Office of Fair Trading (the “OFT”) has published the results of its market study into homebuilding in the UK. The report concludes that the sector is broadly competitive and there is little evidence of house builders holding onto land to restrict supply and so increase prices. However, the report also concludes that homebuyers can experience delays and faults and they need more protection when buying a new home ...
The three major automobile manufacturers in the United States, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, have indicated that without significant financial assistance from the government a filing for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code is likely. Such a filing would have a significant impact on car dealers ...
Given the current economic climate, it has been a busy year for all lenders, but coupled with the biggest overhaul of Consumer Credit Law since 1974, with the introduction of Consumer Credit Act 2006, the changes for this year are not over yet. On 1 December 2008 the OFT has released a new arrears and default information sheet. You can obtain a copy of the new statements the following link: http://www.oft.gov ...
Since the establishment of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) in late 2004, banks and other financial-service providers established or registered within the DIFC have been restricted to operating only in the wholesale market. From July 1, 2008 it has, however, been possible to provide financial services to retail customers in or from the DIFC. Initially, the DIFC was described as a wholesale financial-services environment ...
On November 21st, the Supreme Court of Canada released a crucial decision on the interpretation of the “faulty or improper design” exclusion in all-risks builders’ insurance policies. By a bare (4 to 3) majority, the Court adopted a comparative standard requiring insurers to show that an impugned design failed to meet “the highest standards of the day” for the exclusion to apply ...
Attorneys and Government Policy Advisors in Dykema's Infrastructure and Project Finance Practice Area, seek to keep our clients and contacts abreast of pending legislation, new developments and other topics. Our intent is to provide you with timely, relevant, and useful information that will help you with your business goals ...
For a long time, there have been negotiated general terms and conditions for the purchase of goods for construction businesses. The latest version is called ABM 07.Before I explain the changes these entail in relation to the previously provisions, ABM 92, I will give a summary description of the development, from the mid-1970’s, which has led to the ABM of today ...
The proposed amendments to the Act have now been issued by DBERR. They are due to progress through parliament this session, but the key question is are they as anticipated and do they cover the recommendations made for change? The answer is largely yes. Although some in the industry will argue that they do not go far enough, they are representative of the latest 2007 Consultation ...
The JCT Constructing Excellence Contract 2006 is seen as a radical departure from the JCT's more "traditional" building contracts. However, will it be used used by developers in the private and public sectors? Many of the more "traditional" forms of contract (JCT and ICE in particular) were perceived to encourage an adversarial approach ...
The Scottish Government has recently unveiled its long-awaited proposal for financing and delivering major public projects in Scotland. The initiative, the Scottish Futures Trust (the SFT), will replace the widely-criticised Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and heralds a golden opportunity for the delivery of high quality projects which represent value for money for the taxpayer ...
